PRESS RELEASE: Operators will no longer charge fees for credit refund

Prague, 16 June 2020 – At the end of May 2020, CTU started to review the amount of fees charged by operators for unused credit refund on pre-paid services. In the last couple of days, all three major operators announced, they will no longer charge this fee.

The information published in the monitoring report 05/2020 about fees for returning unused credit on pre-paid services strongly resonated in media. The operators can charge this fee according to an amendment to the Electronic Communications Act, effective from 1 April 2020, which also allowed the consumers to request return of unused credit on pre-paid services when switching an operator.

But according to the Act, the fee for credit refund can me charged only if previously settled in contractual conditions. “We have therefore directly contacted mainly major mobile operators and discussed the reasons for and amount of the required fee”, said Ms Hana Továrková, CTU Council Chair.

As of today, all three major mobile operators announced, that they will no longer charge any fee for returning of unused credit when customers decide to switch the operator. “We appreciate such self-regulatory approach showed by mobile operators and we see it as a positive and consumer oriented decision”, said Ms Továrková.

Press Unit
Czech Telecommunication Office