Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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154. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the agency which is responsible for the regulation of television contracts with persons; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that television companies making it difficult for persons to disengage from their contracts despite the contract term having expired; and if she will investigate this matter in order to determine whether action could be taken to ensure that television companies are not deliberately blocking persons from moving to another supplier when their initial contract period is up. [26617/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the statutorily independent body with primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with consumer protection legislation. The issues around contractual terms and termination policies raised by the Deputy come within the CCPC’s remit. The main consumer protection enactments relevant to these issues are the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 27 of 1995) and the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 2007 on unfair, misleading and aggressive commercial practices.

The CCPC has advised me that it is aware, through its Consumer Helpline, of concerns about trader behaviour and policies in respect of the termination of contracts with television service providers. While it is not the role of the CCPC to pursue individual cases, the contacts it receives from consumers are a key source of market intelligence which help to inform and prioritise its enforcement activities. While the volume of contacts received in relation to termination of television contracts has not necessitated enforcement action at this point, the CCPC will continue to keep the issue under review. In addition to welcoming contacts from consumers on the issue it would be happy to receive information from the Deputy. 

As part of its information role, the CCPC (and its predecessor the National Consumer Agency) has consistently advocated that consumers should shop around when considering signing up for a service. Where consumers encounter difficulties in switching service providers, the CCPC’s helpline and website provide extensive information to assist consumers in fully asserting their rights.

The Deputy may also wish to note that, to the extent that television services providers provide electronic communications services, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) could have a role in respect of the issues highlighted in his question. ComReg has dual enforcement powers with the CCPC in respect of certain consumer protection legislation, including the legislation governing unfair contract terms.  As the telecommunications sectoral regulator it also has a role in tackling operator conduct that hinders or prevents switching.  There is a Cooperation Agreement in place between the CCPC and ComReg that permits the two bodies to consult and agree on the most appropriate ways of resolving issues of mutual concern in the electronic communications services sector.