Communications Regulatory Authority

AGCOM enacted regulations for the settlement of disputes between users and
telephony operators with Resolution no. 182/02/CONS, as subsequently amended by
Resolution no. 307/03/CONS.
Under article 2 of the regulations users are entitled to file petitions and complaints –
also by submitting ad hoc forms available on AGCOM’s website – with regard to the
breach of rules by their electronic communications service providers or to commercial
and contractual aspects handled by the latter.
The submission of complaints by consumers and other parties involved was
simplified by a user-friendly form available on AGCOM’s website.
In 2005 approximately 7,000 complaints and requests for action submitted by
consumers, legal firms, consumer associations and other institutions were examined by
AGCOM.
Applications are not always submitted by filling in the on-line form mentioned
above, and cover several types of cases, such as, in particular:
- requests for action aimed at various types of compensation in compliance with
operators’ service charters;
- reports of activation of unwanted services;
- reports of lawbreaking with requests for the level of current sanctions to be
raised;
- complaints relating to general lawbreaking that would imply some regulatory
action;
- reports of poor-quality service provision;
- complaints relating to criticalities arising in the carrier pre-selection and local
loop unbundling service provision;
- problems concerning the billing of special-rate services;
- problems concerning the portability of mobile and fixed numbers;
- problems concerning the lack of territorial coverage by broadband services.
Some complaints involve requests for explanation with regard to electronic
communications regulations, mostly with respect to the activation of unwanted services,
contractual and billing problems and problems involving methods to re-enter the
incumbent operator’s network in case of local loop unbundling or carrier pre-selection
services.
Also in 2005 the Complaint Management Unit (UGS) set up by AGCOM in late
2003 carried out a systematic analysis and electronic filing of complaints submitted, by
which the compliance of operators’ behaviour towards users could be verified both with
telecommunications regulations and with general consumer protection rules. The UGS
then represented the necessary institutional lookout body for regulatory and supervisory
purposes.
197