Polish regulator accuses T-Mobile of misleading advertising

WARSAW (Reuters) -Polish regulator UOKiK has accused the Polish unit of T-Mobile of misleading advertising relating to a free mobile data offer, with the company potentially facing a fine of 10% of annual revenue.

UOKiK said on Monday that T-Mobile Polska's slogan "1200 GB free for a year" was misleading as 100 GB Internet packages are granted each month, for a maximum of 12 months, as long as the consumer renews the offer periodically at a cost of at least 35 zlotys ($7.99).

"After reading the advertisement, the consumer should have a general, but realistic, idea of ​​the presented offer," the head of UOKiK Tomasz Chrostny said in a statement.

"The T-Mobile promotional slogan may suggest receiving a one-time data package of 1200 GB, and not a dozen or so smaller packages, provided that the fee is paid periodically."

T-Mobile Polska said the promotion was well received by clients and its construction was typical for pay-as-you-go offers.

"Nevertheless, if in the opinion of UOKiK, the communication in the offer was not clear enough, we are ready to improve it to ensure the satisfaction of as many customers as possible," the company said in a statement.

"In the coming days, we will provide UOKiK with materials related to the promotion of the offer and we will cooperate with the office to improve the communication of the offer to one that leaves no doubt as to its terms."

($1 = 4.3822 zlotys)

(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Marek Strzelecki and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Louise Heavens)