About the activation period of the MTS SIM-card. Legal aspect
On one of the December days of 2010, a citizen walked with his wife. Having entered the MTS sales office, they decided to buy several sets of connection to the operator’s mobile network. The purchase was due to the fact that I came across an advertisement for the sale of sets with the so-called golden numbers. As a result, connection sets for the Maxi Plus, Super Zero 2011 and Ultra tariff plans were purchased for a total amount of 2100 rubles. The need to activate one of the SIM cards arose only a year later, in December 2011. But, as it turned out, this is impossible. Then the citizen (also with his wife - Sim-cards were issued in her name), turned to the communication salon, where they purchased the sets. Inside, they were literally told to go and throw cards in the trash, because they can only be activated within six months. If it had been said politely, calmly and sympathetically about the six-month validity of the SIM card, then the story would have ended there. But rudeness generates (and should, in my opinion, generate) retaliatory actions. Arriving home, a citizen leafed through a little book of the conditions of the contract and did not find there any mention of the period during which the SIM card must be activated. And in order to understand the question that arose, he applied for legal assistance: not for the sake of two thousand rubles, but because he was tired. . And in order to understand the question that arose, he applied for legal assistance: not for the sake of two thousand rubles, but because he was tired. . And in order to understand the question that arose, he applied for legal assistance: not for the sake of two thousand rubles, but because he was tired. .
First of all, a claim was sent to Moscow Mobile TeleSystems OJSC. The claim, written in simple human language, contained a description of the situation and it was indicated that the agreement attached to the SIM cards did not contain conditions for activation for any period. Consequently, the essential information on the product, provided for in Article 10 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, was not reported, which led to the loss of funds paid for the goods. The claim contained a request - to replace the purchased Sim-cards with others with "gold" numbers, and if this option is not possible - to return the paid sum in the amount of 2100 rubles. The stated requirements are quite reasonable.
A little more than a month later, a response was rejected. The main argument justifying the refusal was a reference to p.18.1 of the Rules for the provision of communication services of MTS, according to which the unilateral refusal of the Subscriber to execute the Agreement is:
- non-receipt of the funds in the Subscriber’s Personal Account within the term specified in the Tariff Plan of the Subscriber , sufficient to achieve a positive balance on the Personal Account after suspension of the provision of the Services in accordance with the terms of settlements;
- non-use by the Subscriber of paid services during the period specified in the Tariff plan of the Subscriber. ”
At this stage, everything looked quite logical. The rules contain a reference norm on the terms of the tariff plan. In response to the claim, this tariff plan is allegedly cited:
“The subscriber number ********** was served according to the Super Zero 2011 tariff plan. In accordance with the conditions for the provision of services of this tariff, if for a period of 150 days the subscriber does not use paid services and does not make payments, the tariff plan is changed to the Basic tariff by number. If during the period of 180 days the subscriber does not use paid services, this circumstance means the client’s unilateral refusal to fulfill the contract. ”
On the MTS website of the Tver region (region of card purchase), we read the terms of the tariff plan and find slightly different conditions:
“If you do not use communication services (including free) and do not make any payments within 150 days (5 months), you will be transferred to the tariffication of communication services in accordance with the terms of the Basic tariff plan.” At the same time, the service “On full trust” is turned off
Attention! The “Basic” tariff provides for a monthly tariff fee, which is debited until the subscriber’s account reaches zero balance. ”
And here the first logical question arises. At what point should these days be counted? Common sense dictates that they should be counted from the day the SIM card was activated. You insert it into the phone, enter the PIN code, and then the provision of communication services, charging of a subscription fee, etc. begins. But I failed to find confirmation of “common sense” in any documents. On the contrary, clause 3.1 of the Rules for the Provision of Communication Services of MTS says that the Agreement enters into force and becomes binding on the parties from the moment of its conclusion. That is, it turns out that having acquired a SIM card with a tariff plan including a monthly fee, it starts to be charged from the moment you sign the agreement! A good way to get money on a "legal" basis!
But back to the answer from MTS. Suppose that the validity of the contract really began from the moment of conclusion and 150 days after the acquisition of the SIM card, it was transferred to the service at the Basic rate. Therefore, the relations of the parties should be regulated by this tariff. And from its conditions it follows that if the subscriber does not use communication services and there are no payments within 150 days, tariffing will be carried out in accordance with the terms of the Basic09 tariff plan. Well, we get acquainted with the terms of the tariff “Basic09”. Here, our attention is drawn to the fact that according to this tariff plan a subscription fee of 3.35 rubles per day is set. Given that there were 450 rubles in the account, the debiting will be carried out for 450 / 3.35 = 134 days. Further states that if the balance reaches zero and within 31 days the subscriber does not use at least one paid service or does not replenish the balance, this will mean the subscriber’s unilateral refusal to fulfill the contract. It turns out that if you follow the logic of MTS, the validity of the SIM card should be: 150 days at the “Super Zero 2011” tariff, 150 days at the “Basic” tariff, 134 days at the “Basic09” tariff, 31 days after reaching the zero balance. Total 465 days.
As for Sim-cards with Maxi Plus and Ultra tariffs, the arguments were as follows: “in accordance with the conditions for the provision of these services of these tariffs, if for a period of 60 days no payments are received to the number sufficient to achieve a positive account balance, this also indicates the unilateral refusal of the subscriber to fulfill the terms of the contract. ” That is, here the operator is guided by the logic that the subscription fee starts from the moment of concluding (read - signing) the contract, reaches zero and then 60 days are considered after which the contract is considered terminated. And no “activation" of the SIM card is required!
But in fact, all these arguments are erroneous and that is why. If you take into account clause 12.2 of the Rules for the provision of communication services of MTS, then it says: “payments are made by the Subscriber for the Services actually rendered in the Settlement Period”, “advance payments made to the Subscriber’s personal account are used to pay for services as they are consumed Subscriber. " But what kind of actual services can we talk about if the SIM cards are not activated and two of them are generally attached to the plastic frame from which they must be removed before being inserted into the phone?
These arguments, in a more detailed and expanded form, were set out in a new claim, which was received at MTS, according to the delivery receipt, January 25, 2012. Was an answer received? Was not. We prepared a statement of claim and demolished it in a magistrate court.
Conclusion: MTS has no legal reason not to activate the SIM card purchased by the subscriber after any period.
This situation can be avoided only by including this provision in the text of the contract or tariff plan in an explicit form. Why this is not done, I do not know. It is hard to say whether there is negligence here or is this a way to mislead the subscriber.
But most of all in such situations the following saddens. When the solution to a controversial issue is worth a penny, why is it necessary to aggravate the situation and not offer options for a compromise out of it? This article would not appear, not a nakh seller to the customer. And it wouldn’t have appeared if MTS had responded to the claim, let's say that it is not possible to restore the work of the SIM cards you bought, but we are ready to compensate, say, a thousand rubles by crediting it to your account. I can not say anything at all about the fact that no answer was received to the second claim, where it was necessary to give counterarguments to logical arguments. In fact, this is the same rudeness. Tolerate which is becoming more difficult.
First of all, a claim was sent to Moscow Mobile TeleSystems OJSC. The claim, written in simple human language, contained a description of the situation and it was indicated that the agreement attached to the SIM cards did not contain conditions for activation for any period. Consequently, the essential information on the product, provided for in Article 10 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, was not reported, which led to the loss of funds paid for the goods. The claim contained a request - to replace the purchased Sim-cards with others with "gold" numbers, and if this option is not possible - to return the paid sum in the amount of 2100 rubles. The stated requirements are quite reasonable.
A little more than a month later, a response was rejected. The main argument justifying the refusal was a reference to p.18.1 of the Rules for the provision of communication services of MTS, according to which the unilateral refusal of the Subscriber to execute the Agreement is:
- non-receipt of the funds in the Subscriber’s Personal Account within the term specified in the Tariff Plan of the Subscriber , sufficient to achieve a positive balance on the Personal Account after suspension of the provision of the Services in accordance with the terms of settlements;
- non-use by the Subscriber of paid services during the period specified in the Tariff plan of the Subscriber. ”
At this stage, everything looked quite logical. The rules contain a reference norm on the terms of the tariff plan. In response to the claim, this tariff plan is allegedly cited:
“The subscriber number ********** was served according to the Super Zero 2011 tariff plan. In accordance with the conditions for the provision of services of this tariff, if for a period of 150 days the subscriber does not use paid services and does not make payments, the tariff plan is changed to the Basic tariff by number. If during the period of 180 days the subscriber does not use paid services, this circumstance means the client’s unilateral refusal to fulfill the contract. ”
On the MTS website of the Tver region (region of card purchase), we read the terms of the tariff plan and find slightly different conditions:
“If you do not use communication services (including free) and do not make any payments within 150 days (5 months), you will be transferred to the tariffication of communication services in accordance with the terms of the Basic tariff plan.” At the same time, the service “On full trust” is turned off
Attention! The “Basic” tariff provides for a monthly tariff fee, which is debited until the subscriber’s account reaches zero balance. ”
And here the first logical question arises. At what point should these days be counted? Common sense dictates that they should be counted from the day the SIM card was activated. You insert it into the phone, enter the PIN code, and then the provision of communication services, charging of a subscription fee, etc. begins. But I failed to find confirmation of “common sense” in any documents. On the contrary, clause 3.1 of the Rules for the Provision of Communication Services of MTS says that the Agreement enters into force and becomes binding on the parties from the moment of its conclusion. That is, it turns out that having acquired a SIM card with a tariff plan including a monthly fee, it starts to be charged from the moment you sign the agreement! A good way to get money on a "legal" basis!
But back to the answer from MTS. Suppose that the validity of the contract really began from the moment of conclusion and 150 days after the acquisition of the SIM card, it was transferred to the service at the Basic rate. Therefore, the relations of the parties should be regulated by this tariff. And from its conditions it follows that if the subscriber does not use communication services and there are no payments within 150 days, tariffing will be carried out in accordance with the terms of the Basic09 tariff plan. Well, we get acquainted with the terms of the tariff “Basic09”. Here, our attention is drawn to the fact that according to this tariff plan a subscription fee of 3.35 rubles per day is set. Given that there were 450 rubles in the account, the debiting will be carried out for 450 / 3.35 = 134 days. Further states that if the balance reaches zero and within 31 days the subscriber does not use at least one paid service or does not replenish the balance, this will mean the subscriber’s unilateral refusal to fulfill the contract. It turns out that if you follow the logic of MTS, the validity of the SIM card should be: 150 days at the “Super Zero 2011” tariff, 150 days at the “Basic” tariff, 134 days at the “Basic09” tariff, 31 days after reaching the zero balance. Total 465 days.
As for Sim-cards with Maxi Plus and Ultra tariffs, the arguments were as follows: “in accordance with the conditions for the provision of these services of these tariffs, if for a period of 60 days no payments are received to the number sufficient to achieve a positive account balance, this also indicates the unilateral refusal of the subscriber to fulfill the terms of the contract. ” That is, here the operator is guided by the logic that the subscription fee starts from the moment of concluding (read - signing) the contract, reaches zero and then 60 days are considered after which the contract is considered terminated. And no “activation" of the SIM card is required!
But in fact, all these arguments are erroneous and that is why. If you take into account clause 12.2 of the Rules for the provision of communication services of MTS, then it says: “payments are made by the Subscriber for the Services actually rendered in the Settlement Period”, “advance payments made to the Subscriber’s personal account are used to pay for services as they are consumed Subscriber. " But what kind of actual services can we talk about if the SIM cards are not activated and two of them are generally attached to the plastic frame from which they must be removed before being inserted into the phone?
These arguments, in a more detailed and expanded form, were set out in a new claim, which was received at MTS, according to the delivery receipt, January 25, 2012. Was an answer received? Was not. We prepared a statement of claim and demolished it in a magistrate court.
Conclusion: MTS has no legal reason not to activate the SIM card purchased by the subscriber after any period.
This situation can be avoided only by including this provision in the text of the contract or tariff plan in an explicit form. Why this is not done, I do not know. It is hard to say whether there is negligence here or is this a way to mislead the subscriber.
But most of all in such situations the following saddens. When the solution to a controversial issue is worth a penny, why is it necessary to aggravate the situation and not offer options for a compromise out of it? This article would not appear, not a nakh seller to the customer. And it wouldn’t have appeared if MTS had responded to the claim, let's say that it is not possible to restore the work of the SIM cards you bought, but we are ready to compensate, say, a thousand rubles by crediting it to your account. I can not say anything at all about the fact that no answer was received to the second claim, where it was necessary to give counterarguments to logical arguments. In fact, this is the same rudeness. Tolerate which is becoming more difficult.