It doesn’t work and you still have to pay. The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection took on HBO
The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection accused HBO Europe of violating the collective interests of consumers because users lost access to the HBO Max service on their devices, even though they still had to pay the subscription fee.
HBO in the crosshairs of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
The office questions, among others: unilaterally removing TV models and other devices from the list of supported devices and unclear information about the technical requirements of the service.
According to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, some time after concluding the contract, HBO removed some models from the list of compatible devices, which caused the application to stop working, although the subscription was still active.. The problem particularly concerned customers who purchased access to HBO Max through telecommunications operators – despite the inability to use the service on their existing equipment, they were still obliged to pay the subscription.
Unilaterally limiting the list of devices compatible with the service puts HBO users in the situation: “if you want to watch, buy a new device.” Meanwhile, we buy devices such as TVs with the intention of using them for years. Without a clear and precise definition of the rules and limits of these changes, consumers have no way to predict or verify the risk of losing access to the service at the time of concluding the contract.
The office is also looking at the provisions of the regulations in which HBO Europe does not guarantee compatibility with devices that were compatible with the service at the time of concluding the contract.
The method of informing about technical requirements is also questionable – the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection points out that for a long time they were available only in the regulations or on the website, and not on a durable medium (e.g. in an e-mail confirming the conclusion of a contract).
Additionally, the information was often vague, referring to “the latest operating system or two previous versions” or “models from the current year and two previous years.” This placed the burden on the customer to independently assess whether their hardware would still be supported.
For using practices that violate the collective interests of consumers HBO Europe faces a fine of up to 10%. annual turnover for each infringement found. In addition, the website may be obliged to remove its effects, including a potential refund of unjustly collected subscription fees.
