Melita fined €5,000 for removal of football channels without prior warning

Melita plc has been slapped with a €10,000 fine and a €100 daily administrative fine over the removal of its football channels from its digital TV platform and its failure to provide a letter of comfort to the communications regulators on its billing system.

In two decisions issued yesterday, the Malta Communications Authority said Melita had failed to inform in writing the impacted subscribers to its XL package – which included the Roma, Inter, Juventus and Milan football club channels – of the discontinuation of the channels.

The MCA said that subscribers would have had the right to opt out of the contract made with Melita within 30 days, had they been informed of the channel line-up.

Melita claimed removing these channels and adding a new sports channel was “not a modification to any contractual term” and said flexibility was required in the TV broadcasting environment.

Melita claimed that clause 4.1 of its terms and conditions empowers it to change channels "at its absolute discretion" but the MCA said this term may be in breach of applicable law. "Going by Melita's logic there is no material change of the terms and conditions of an agreement... if it had to unilaterally discontinue even more channels without advising subscribers beforehand..."

Melita was also fined another €5,000 due to continued complaints by clients about its billing system.

The company failed to provide the MCA a letter of comfort by an independent auditor stating that Melita’s billing system “is operating satisfactorily and is meeting generally accepted standards with regards to accuracy of bills issued to consumers.”

Melita claimed that the MCA’s request for the audit was “disproportionate” and that the regulator had no remit at law for such a request.

But the company is now paying €100 daily fine until such time it furnishes the MCA with a suitable letter of comfort.

The MCA says it held a meeting back in September 2009 with CEO Stephen Wright on various separate consumer complaints about Melita’s billing system. “Continued complaints involving Melita’s billing system with the evident anguish this causes impacted end-users cannot be left unattended to,” the MCA said.