According to reports received by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA), many Lippupiste customers have encountered problems in the pricing, findability and reachability of the customer service number. Lippupiste has promised to carry out the corrections required by the Consumer Ombudsman.
According to the Finnish Consumer Protection Act , companies must offer a basic-rate customer service number for telephone services concerning an already concluded contract. Customers must be able to easily identify the number on the website, for example, and the company must actually be reachable by calling the number.
Service number for contract customers was too expensive
The price of the service number offered to contract customers may not exceed the price specified in the consumer’s phone subscription contract or the calculatory basic rate determined by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, which is currently €0.084/min. The Consumer Ombudsman deemed that calling Lippupiste was too expensive for contract customers.
Basic-rate number must be easy to find
Based on consumer reports, the service number intended for contract customers was also difficult to find. On the front page of its website, Lippupiste only provided the number of the ticket sales service subject to an additional fee. The service number for contract customers was on a separate contact information page where it was only displayed after the numbers that are subject to an additional fee.
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“The placement of numbers must not create an impression that a service number that is more expensive than the basic-rate number is also intended for customers who have already concluded a contract. The clarity and comprehensibility of the information provided to consumers is essentially influenced by how and where the information is presented on the website.”
Customer cannot be left on their own
According to consumer reports, the customer service for contract customers at Lippupiste had also been very difficult to reach. For example, customers have had to call customer service several times, the queue has been unreasonably long and, in some cases, customer service has not been reached at all.
“Appropriate customer service must also be provided after the sale so that consumers can effectively exercise their rights.”
Lippupiste committed to offering contract customers a basic-rate service number that can be easily and clearly found. Lippupiste has also promised to respond to consumer contacts within a reasonable time.