Commerce Commission's view on Install/Connection fees for Residential Fibre Services

Luke Chandler made this Official Information request to Commerce Commission

The request was successful.

From: Luke Chandler

Dear Commerce Commission,

Does the Commission have a view on Retail Service Providers whom charge an "Install" or "Connection" Fee for a Standard Residential Fibre Install?

Further, Has the Commission received any complaints about these costs?

Background:
The Government current offers a fully subsided standard install for residential fibre. 2degrees for example state that "You'll need to pay for your connection fee up-front. Connection fee: $99" if you opt for an open term.

This is clearly misleading as 2degrees does not incur a $99 "connection fee" from Local Fibre Company.

Yours faithfully,

Luke Chandler

Link to this

From: Commerce Commission Enquiries
Commerce Commission

Thank you for the information you have provided. We use reports like yours to identify and take action on the things which are causing the most harm to New Zealand consumers. We appreciate you taking the time to make this report to us.

REPORTING A BUSINESS OR PERSON

If you have contacted us to report a business or person that you believe has breached consumer and/or competition law, your report will be assessed according to the Commission’s enforcement criteria<http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission...>.

Following an assessment the Commission will decide whether to take further action. We are not a complaint handling body and we do not investigate every report made to us. We must prioritise what we investigate to ensure we are using our resources efficiently.

The information you provided will remain in our database and may be referred to for future assessments of similar conduct. We will also use your report to support analysis of consumer harm as part of our annual Consumer Issues report. You can find our annual Consumer Issues report<http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission...> on our website.

Please note that we will only contact you again if we need more information.
REPORTING A DISPUTE WITH A BUSINESS

If you have contacted us to report a dispute that you are having with a business, please be aware that the Commission is not a dispute resolution service. There are a number of other organisations that may be able to assist you in resolving your individual dispute. Please refer to the “Who else can help<http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission...>” page on our website. If you wish to resolve your dispute with a business you should take your own legal advice as to what your options are. You should not wait for the Commission’s actions (if any) to be completed.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Our website provides information about your rights as a consumer and information about consumer and competition law. Please take a look at our fact sheets (Fair Trading<http://www.comcom.govt.nz/fair-trading/f...>, Competition<http://www.comcom.govt.nz/business-compe...>, Consumer Credit<http://www.comcom.govt.nz/consumer-credi...> or Regulated Industries<http://www.comcom.govt.nz/regulated-indu...>).

COMPLAINT AGAINST THE COMMISSION

Your complaint will be read, logged and assigned to a manager to answer. The manager will make contact with you, and may in some cases seek further information. Please refer to the Complaints Policy<http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission...> on our website for details on how we handle complaints about us.

Link to this

From: OIA Requests
Commerce Commission


Attachment image001.png
1K Download


Dear Mr Chandler

 

This email is to acknowledge that we have received your request for
information under the Official Information Act 1982.

 

You can expect a response to your request within 20 working days, on or
before 23 May 2017.

 

Ngā mihi

Lynette

 

Lynette Gollop-Davidson

OIA Coordinator

Commerce Commission | Te Komihana Tauhokohoko

44 The Terrace | PO Box 2351 | Wellington 6140 | New Zealand

[1][email address]

 

[2]twitter-bird-16x16 Follow us on Twitter [3]@NZComCom

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.twitter.com/nzcomcom

Link to this

From: OIA Requests
Commerce Commission


Attachment image001.png
1K Download


Dear Mr Chandler,

 

Thank you for your e-mail dated 24 April 2017.

 

The Commission is unfortunately unable to provide generic legal advice, or
to comment on all information it receives.  If you wish to make a
complaint to the Commission this can be done using the following form:
  [1]http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission....

 

Any reports received about a trader are assessed in accordance with our
enforcement criteria and enforcement response guidelines:
[2]http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission...
The Commission receives a large number of reports each year, and it is not
possible to investigate all matters.  In addition to assessing any
individual report against our enforcement criteria, any reports received
will be used to support analysis of consumer harm as part of our annual
Consumer Issues report. The Consumer Issues report is an assessment that
looks at the issues currently affecting consumers from trading activities,
and identifies potential risks which could affect consumers in the future.
The purpose of the report is to inform the Commission’s internal planning
by identifying issues that may affect markets or consumers, or provide
opportunities for protecting and promoting competition.

 

We note the second paragraph of your e-mail asking whether the Commission
has received any complaints about fibre installation or connection fees. 
We are processing this as a request under the Official Information Act
1982, and will respond as soon as possible. 

 

Yours sincerely

Lynette

 

Lynette Gollop-Davidson

OIA Coordinator

Commerce Commission | Te Komihana Tauhokohoko

44 The Terrace | PO Box 2351 | Wellington 6140 | New Zealand

[3][Commerce Commission request email]

 

[4]twitter-bird-16x16 Follow us on Twitter [5]@NZComCom

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission...
2. http://www.comcom.govt.nz/the-commission...
3. mailto:[Commerce Commission request email]
5. http://www.twitter.com/nzcomcom

Link to this

Nigel Jones left an annotation ()

Hi Luke,

You could potentially clarify your first request to what records of complaints regarding installation costs for Fibre installs, and any case notes/position statements that com-com have written regarding them.

(On a more general note, you'll likely find ComCom are okay with "Connection Fees" as ISPs can argue that is the cost of connecting someone to their part of the network, rather than to the physical Fibre network that CFH/etc cover)

Link to this

From: Luke Chandler

Dear OIA Requests,

Thanks for your reply, while I note that the Commission is not required to provide an opinion, how ever further to my question, the following information was requested:

"Has the Commission received any complaints about these [install/connection] costs?"

Further to this, if so, how many.

Yours sincerely,

Luke Chandler

Link to this

From: OIA Requests
Commerce Commission

Thank you for contacting the New Zealand Commerce Commission.

If your request is for information under the Official Information Act (OIA) we will respond to it within 20 working days.

If your enquiry is not a request for information under the OIA, please contact our Contact Centre, on 0800 943 600 or [email address]<mailto:[email address]>

OIA Co-ordinator
Information Systems | Organisational Performance
Commerce Commission l Te Komihana Tauhokohoko
44 The Terrace l PO Box 2351 l Wellington 6140 l New Zealand
E: [Commerce Commission request email]<mailto:[Commerce Commission request email]>

Link to this

From: OIA Requests
Commerce Commission


Attachment image001.png
1K Download


Dear Luke

 

You are correct, and you will see at the bottom of our earlier response it
states:

 

" We note the second paragraph of your e-mail asking whether the
Commission  has received any complaints about fibre installation or
connection fees.  We are processing this as a request under the Official
Information Act  1982, and will respond as soon as possible."

 

Ngā mihi

Lynette

 

Lynette Gollop-Davidson

OIA Coordinator

Commerce Commission | Te Komihana Tauhokohoko

44 The Terrace | PO Box 2351 | Wellington 6140 | New Zealand

[1][Commerce Commission request email]

 

[2]twitter-bird-16x16 Follow us on Twitter [3]@NZComCom

 

show quoted sections

Link to this

From: OIA Requests
Commerce Commission


Attachment image001.png
1K Download

Attachment 2897104 Attachment A Complaints about Installation Fees.PDF.pdf
257K Download View as HTML

Attachment 2897100 16.155 Fibre Install Connection Fees Response.PDF.pdf
434K Download View as HTML


Dear Mr Chandler

 

I attach the Commerce Commission’s response to your Official Information
Act request.

 

Nâku noa, nâ Lynette

 

Lynette Gollop-Davidson

OIA Coordinator

Commerce Commission | Te Komihana Tauhokohoko

44 The Terrace | PO Box 2351 | Wellington 6140 | New Zealand

[1][Commerce Commission request email]

 

[2]twitter-bird-16x16Follow us on Twitter [3]@NZComCom

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Commerce Commission request email]
3. http://www.twitter.com/nzcomcom

Link to this

Things to do with this request

Anyone:
Commerce Commission only: