Last week, the CCMA published a press release reviewing the discussion between the Consumer Ombudsman and the 24 Center, and the shortcomings that have been identified in the 24 Center's operations. I would like to open this discussion also from the 24 Center's point of view.
We have been cooperating with the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) since last spring, when the FCCA approached us with a request for an investigation on 28 May 2019.
Our aim is to develop 24 Center's service to the best of our customers' ability, and improving the customer experience has been at the heart of our work.
Since the KKV's request for an investigation, we have tried to develop the shortcomings on our own, and we also wanted to separately arrange a meeting with the Consumer Ombudsman at the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority on 28 August 2019, where we discussed, among other things, 24 Center's business model and development ideas on how we could clarify our business from the customer's perspective.
On 11.12.2019, the KKV sent us a request for commitments listing all the things we needed to fix. The following issues were raised in the commitment letter:
- States clearly and unambiguously in the sales call and on its website who the seller of the service is and who the consumer's sole contractual partner is.
- Ensures that the consumer is informed by telephone before the conclusion of the contract at least of the information referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, 6, 7, 10 and 17 of subsection 1 of subsection 1 of section 9 of Chapter 6 of the Consumer Protection Act, and that the consumer has access to the prior information referred to in section 9 of Chapter 6 of the Consumer Protection Act other than that provided by telephone.
- Ensure that its activities comply with the provisions on the right of withdrawal.
- Presents a price list on its website.
- Provide the consumer with an order confirmation containing all the information referred to in Chapter 6, Section 9 of the Consumer Protection Act and a cancellation form.
- Provides the price of the emergency number whenever the number is mentioned and offers customer service from the basic price number for issues related to a previous contract, such as a service error.
We acknowledged receipt of the commitment request on 13.12.2019 and committed to correct all the above items by 01.01.2020 (most of them had already been corrected and other corrections were made before Christmas), except for the change of the payment term from 10 days to 14 days on 01.02.2020 due to the postponement of the technical implementation.
At 24 Center, we constantly strive to improve our service and add value for our customers. We have received high praise from our customers for our fast response. The main problems have been due to pricing for non-urgent work. Our goal is to be a nationwide Building Services Emergency Centre, where we can respond quickly and provide first aid for problems around the clock. The future will show whether we can better serve customers with non-urgent building services problems.
- Joose Pinomaa, Managing Director
Link to the KKV's press release:
https://www.kkv.fi/ajankohtaista/Tiedotteet/2020/25.2.2020-talotekniikan-paivystyspalveluita-epaselvin-ehdoin/
