The Market Court has issued on June 6, 2025, a prohibition on Telia Finland Oyj regarding the price of phone services, in accordance with the Consumer Ombudsman’s request (MAO:301/2025). In phone services, a number may not be used that charges higher costs than what the consumer would incur for a call to a regular geographical fixed-line or mobile network number according to their subscription agreement. The prohibition reinforced with a conditional fine of EUR 150,000 must be complied with from September 1, 2025.
The Consumer Ombudsman expects other companies to proactively adjust their operations to comply with the decision by the time it becomes final.
Last year, the Consumer Ombudsman sought a preliminary ruling from the Market Court on how much cost a consumer can incur at most when calling a company regarding an existing contract or a previous purchase.
The aim of the legislation is to ensure that consumers can manage matters related to their contracts, file complaints about breach of contracts, terminate contracts, and exercise other statutory rights effectively and without additional costs. Calls related to contract matters may incur at most the usual costs that a consumer would pay for calling a regular phone number.
Telia’s contract service number is a nationwide subscriber number, also known as a business number, which has a pricing structure that differs from regular phone numbers. Calling a business number incurs a mobile or local network charge, which is usually not included in the fixed price of the subscription or is more expensive than calling a regular phone number. The mobile call charge currently ranges from about 17 to 18 cents per minute, depending on the operator.
The Market Court confirmed the Consumer Ombudsman’s view that consumers should not have to pay costs from contract-related calls that exceed costs from calls to a regular geographical fixed-line or mobile network number. In making its decision, the Market Court considered the impact of the Consumer Rights Directive on the interpretation of consumer protection law.
Because calling Telia’s telephone-based customer services concerning existing contracts incurs costs that exceed those of calling regular numbers, the Market Court found Telia’s practice to be contrary to consumer protection law.
“Finally, we received confirmation that consumers must be able to conduct business by phone without additional costs related to their contracts or purchases. This is crucial for access to consumer rights, and it is important that clarity has now been achieved through a court ruling.”
The Consumer Ombudsman initiated a change in the regulation of contract-related calls back in 2018 and has sought to influence the matter in various statements and contexts. Legislation was amended in 2020, but the concerns raised by the Consumer Ombudsman were not addressed at that time either.
The Market Court’s decision is not final.
Read more:
June 6, 2025 Market Court decision MAO:301/2025 (In Finnish)