Profeco: how to request a 20% refund if internet service fails

If the supplier does not make the return within the next five business days of the complaint registration, he will be obliged to pay interest

Cables are pictured in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil March 10, 2022. Picture taken March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Internet service has become a basic need for people, even more so in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that promoted distance classes or the home office to avoid crowds in transport and offices.

Therefore, when the connection fails, the world ends. It is at that moment that users report the problem so that it is resolved as soon as possible and not have to spend their cell phone data or return to the internet cafe after a few years.

However, it is almost certain that the solution will take time to arrive, whether due to workload or communication failures, experts perform their work several days later, when everything has been done to obtain a signal.

Read more!

Companies are not fully responsible for this lost time, so the periodic payment that is made remains the same, without any bonus for the damage, even if the problem took weeks to return to normal.

That is why the Federal Consumer Prosecutor's Office (Profeco) made available to people a way to report these errors and obtain a 20% bonus over the period in which the damage was recorded.

The internet became vital due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remote activities (Photo: Rruters)

According to the agency, this request can be made to all internet, telephone and pay television companies that have not complied with the quality and conditions of their services, as established by the contract.

For reimbursement to be effective, users have to experience one of the following failures in their services:

- When the supplier makes undue charges.

- When the user has made overpayments.

In the event that the complaint proceeds, the provider will have five working days after the procedure to refund 20% of the amount of the affected period and the price of the service. However, to do so, you have to follow a series of steps.

1. Verify that the problem is with the service and not the user. If it is caused by a fault of its own, the complaint will not proceed.

2. If it will be done online, the applicant will have to enter the Concilianet portal of the Profeco, which is active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, as long as the provider is registered in the online complaint resolution module, whose listing can be consulted here.

If the company does not reimburse the amount, it will be sanctioned and will have to pay interest (Photo: UNAM Global TV)

3. There is also the face-to-face manner, with which you will have to go to the Consumer Defense Offices (Odeco) to proceed with the application by submitting the following documents:

* Name and address

* Official identification

* Proof of purchase

* Name and address of the provider

* Description of the good or service claimed and the narration of the events that gave rise to the complaint

* Printed complaint form, which can be downloaded through the following link: https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/226748/Formato_de_recepcion_de_quejas.pdf

If the company is not responsible and refuses to make the refund, it will be penalized and will be obliged to pay the refund plus the interest accrued during the period. In addition, it should be remembered that individuals will have up to one year to apply this request.

For users who have doubts or need personalized advice on the subject, they can contact the Consumer telephone number (800 468 8722), with free lada from within the Republic. There is also the number 55 5568 8722 for Mexico City and the metropolitan area.

KEEP READING

Read more!