Digicel fined $15,000 for false advertising

Panama’s consumer protection agency (Acodeco) has fined the Digicel telephone company $15,000, for repeated misleading advertising.

The company offered an unlimited LTE data promotion,  unlimited minutes for 7 days, among other benefits that generated irregularities deeming  the company a repeat offender in matters of truthfulness of advertising.

The  fine is  the highest penalty imposed for this issue to date

.In a statement issued on Friday, September 27  Acodeco said it based its decision on the statement that “unlimited minutes” generated the idea of ​​“unrestricted” consumption and the application of a limitation such as the “fair use policy” to the service brings confusion in the advertising message.

The regulator states that an anonymous complainant reported that he had been offered the package with unlimited minutes to other Digicel numbers and that he had talked more than 15 hours over a weekend so the company decided to restrict calls due to its policy of fair use.

.According to Digicel, the “fair use policy” aims to protect the network when a pattern is detected in customers who are using the minutes or the data plan for purposes that appear to be fraudulent or illegal.

“While it is true that advertising can maintain restrictions, they must be informed clearly and truthfully to the consumer, so that he has all the necessary information that conditions the offer,” says the regulator in its statement.

So far this year, 15 telephone service companies have been fined $27,350 in terms of truthfulness of advertising, Acodeco reported.