When facing any kind of issue regarding for example quality of service, access or billing, consumers should first address a complaint to their service providers, before referring to the national regulator, mediator, or any other competent authority.
Cullen International’s research shows that in six of the 15 European countries studied, there are no rules setting a maximum timeframe for providers to respond to a complaint.
In some cases, however, operators set such maximum timeframes in practice even in the absence of mandatory deadlines. These timeframes can be part of an industry agreement, like in Belgium, or included in the operators' general terms and conditions, like in France.
When maximum timeframes are set by law or regulation, they vary from two days (in Ireland for example) up to 45 days in Italy (where providers can set shorter deadlines themselves).
For more information and access to the benchmark, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to our European Consumer Protection (in Telecoms) service.
more news
04 July 25
Online intermediaries in the Americas are protected against liability for third-party copyright infringements
Cullen International’s latest benchmark shows that most countries in the Americas limit the liability of online intermediaries for third-party copyright infringements, reflecting digital-era updates to copyright laws. The research also examines liability rules for defamation and other IP violations, as well as varying takedown obligations across jurisdictions. Some countries have introduced specific measures to address the unconsented sharing of intimate content.
30 June 25
LTE and 5G in the 410–430 MHz and 450–470 MHz bands in Europe
Our latest European benchmark shows the countries where the 410–430 MHz or 450–470 MHz bands can be used for LTE or 5G.
27 June 25
Can European end users choose their own router or modem?
Our new benchmark research shows that national regulators clearly defined the network termination point in five of the 14 European countries studied.