The Consumer and Competition Division said that the advertisement and the promotion in relation to the new mobile service launched by Melita plc would appear to contain elements that might potentially mislead consumers.

Advertisements state that the rates are ‘Up to 30 per cent cheaper’. The situation that a full minute is charged for a call lasting even a few seconds for the first minute would seem to lend itself to confusion from the part of consumers.

This would eventually lead the consumer to take a transactional decision which he would not have taken otherwise, the Division said; while the note in small print that “Calls are on a per second basis after the first minute” does not to seem to be clear enough for the average consumer to take an informed decision.

The matter is currently being investigated by the Division.

Meanwhile, Melita has denied the allegation while saying that the Division was acting arbitrarily without consulting the company on this claim.

Melita said that it was only informed of the allegation through the media; adding that the Melita promotional material clearly indicate that calls are charged on a per second basis after the first minute.

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