Tormund Hansen Skinarmo discovered by chance that since September 2023 he had been paying NOK 29 per month for a channel package through T-We. It is believed that he never ordered this.
– I contacted Telenor customer service and learned that Telenor itself “detected a discrepancy” in the channel package.
This discrepancy meant that from September they changed the value of the free package he had from 120 to 122 points.
– When Telenor made the change, they sent me an email informing me that they would start billing me for an additional package of 20 points, because I was 2 points higher than the package that was included.
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The right time to make changes
In a response to Skinnarmo from customer service, Telenor stated that the change applies to all customers and that they should have received the information earlier.
Telenor does not want to answer the number of customers it is interested in for competitive reasons. In Telenor's 2022 annual report, it is mentioned that they have half a million TV subscribers.
If it is billed at NOK 29 per month, this equates to NOK 14.5 million each month. Skinnarmo received its first invoice in September.
Telenor press director Anders Krokan told Norge Nettavisen that all customers who received an increase in the value of points were notified well in advance of implementation.
– Customers who do not wish to pay for the additional points package are given ample time to make changes to their content configuration in order to release points.
He believes that Skinnarmo made changes to the content such that the 120 points included were exceeded.
– The customer will then receive an additional points package or packages of 20 points, at a cost of NOK 29 per month. This is likely what the customer was billed as.
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– It must be covered
Krokan says that with Telenor's T-We you get a basic package with Norwegian channels, with the most popular TV channels. Additionally, you get 120 points that you can spend on optional content.
He further explains that Telenor has a cost for different streaming services and when the cost of this good increases, this is the main reason why point values for streaming services increase.
– Unfortunately, we have to cover these cost increases, and this is likely the type of change this client is referring to.
He says that in such cases Telenor informs customers, but they realize that not everyone receives such information.
– In any case, we want to provide good information and implement changes in an organized manner.
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Provocative
Skinarmo believes this is an incorrect description and an interesting treatment for customers.
– I was never asked to confirm that I wanted a new package, or access a new payment service. It is not acceptable to refer to an email that is confusingly similar to hundreds of other newsletters issued by Telenor. It was sent three days before Telenor started charging for this additional service.
Skinarmo says that although the amount is relatively small for an individual, he still believes it is a robbery.
– I use AvtaleGiro and do not automatically detect changes to the invoice. I have to trust that Telenor won't suddenly charge for additional products I didn't order, so this incident is particularly provocative to me.
Skinarmo responded via email to the Customer Center that if the money was not returned, he would have information about appeal options and legal steps to move forward with the matter.
“This is clearly a scam,” he wrote in his last email.
He then got back the money he paid for the points packages.
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– No fraud
– How do you think customers will feel deceived after this step?
– It's a shame for a customer to feel this way, but I hope it's clear here that this is definitely not the right thing to do, Krokan answers.
He goes on to say that they have not registered many complaints about this matter. Finally, Skinnarmo encourages everyone with T-We packages to check the following:
-I hope Telenor comes up with better ideas and returns the money they took to all customers, but I'm not holding my breath. They probably make a lot of money from this practice. In the meantime, I encourage all T-We customers to check their channel package and contact Telenor to get their money back. I have also reported the case to the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority, and I hope they will follow up on the case, concludes Skinarmo.
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