Telenor charges a fee of NOK 79 for sending an invoice by post. It can be illegal a lot. Jan Petter Nielsen is one of many who have contacted news about high invoice fees. Like many others, he helps his elderly mother pay the bills. Her telephone bill has long been charged automatically in the online bank by direct debit. Last spring, the mother was suddenly sent a paper invoice from Telenor. LATE: Jan. Petter Nielsen thinks that the invoice fee from Telenor is too much. Photo: Snorre Tønset / news – We have never asked for it. This has worked perfectly for seven years without a paper invoice. The bill will be due directly in her online bank anyway, says Jan Petter. The invoice the mother received is NOK 328. Of this, the subscription is NOK 249, the rest – over a quarter – is the invoice fee. – It’s a lot. It’s pretty close, at least I think now, says Jan Petter. The Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority demands answers The Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority also thinks the fee seems excessive. They have sent letters to Telenor, Telia and ICE. The companies are required to state what costs they have when they send out an invoice. – We have received many inquiries from consumers who point out the high invoice fees, says Director Tormod Rønningen of the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority to news. LETTER: The Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority has sent a letter demanding that three telecommunications companies provide information about their fees. Photo: Snorre Tønset / news From New Year it was forbidden to charge a higher fee than what it actually costs to send out a bill. If the companies take more than this, it is an offence, says the director. – It is serious in that the legislation is so clear on what can be counted in the invoice fees. There are many invoices sent out from these companies. When the Consumer Council raised the matter earlier this year, Telenor replied that they believe invoices are not covered by the legislation that was changed from New Year. – We think they are wrong. We believe that only actual costs linked to the actual sending of the invoice can be included in the fee, says Rønningen. Costs a fraction So what does it really cost to send out an invoice? Last year, Norges Bank made a comprehensive survey of the costs in the payment system. The investigation has been little known to the public until now this autumn. On 4 September, the conclusions were published on a blog written by two employees of the central bank. INVESTIGATED: Norges Bank investigated last year what it actually costs companies to send out invoices, Knut Sandal and Mats Bay Fevolden say. Photo: Snorre Tønset / news – The purpose of the blog post was to highlight the costs. Then we point out that the fees are in many cases much higher than the costs of sending out the invoices, says Knut Sandal, who is director of Norges Bank’s unit for payment analysis and innovation. The numbers speak for themselves. The cost is only a fraction of what customers often have to pay. – Paper invoices cost just over six kroner, while the fully electronic ones cost around three, says Mats Bay Fevolden, who is a specialist advisor in financial infrastructure. Upset Telenor customers who receive a monthly paper invoice therefore pay NOK 948 in fees in one year. According to Norges Bank’s survey, it should cost around NOK 72. Jan Petter Nielsen. Photo: Snorre Tønset / news In that case, the customer pays 13 times more in fees than they should have to receive the bill. Put another way: Telenor earns an extra NOK 876 a year from each customer who receives a paper invoice, if the central bank’s investigation is correct. Jan Petter Nielsen has canceled his mother’s subscription to Telenor. He interprets the company’s practice as that they want to get rid of customers they make little profit from. – You don’t get any closer to fraud by old people, says Jan Petter Nielsen. – Conscious use of fees Both ICE, Telia and Telenor confirm that they will provide the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority with the information they are required to provide. Telenor says they have made a thorough assessment of their practice. They are confident that they are staying within the Financial Agreements Act. The company says that they deliberately use fees on paper invoices to get customers to switch to digital solutions. DIGITAL: Like many others, Telenor is trying to get customers to become fully digital and invoice fees as part of this, says Ric Brown. Photo: Lars Thomas Nordby / news – Telenor, in line with other companies in Norway, is working hard to get customers over to fully digital solutions. Like many others, we use paper invoice fees as part of this work, says Ric Brown, head of personal market at Telenor Norway. He adds that the company offers a free alternative for those customers who find digital solutions difficult, and that they only need to contact customer service for help. Risking large fines Director Tormod Rønningen of the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority demands that the telecommunications companies explain what it costs to send bills. Photo: Snorre Tønset / news The companies have been given a deadline of three weeks to hand over the information on fees and costs to the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority. If the companies have broken the law, they must change their practices within a certain period. They also risk fines and infringement fees, says director Tormod Rønningen in the supervisory authority: – What size can that fee be? – I don’t want to advance that, but it can be quite large amounts, as they are large companies. – Do they risk having to pay back consumers who have paid too much? – We do not want to advance that, says Rønningen.
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The Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority threatens Telenor with fines for high invoice fees – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
