The new possibility of requesting a refund of the credit of a prepaid or FullControl card in case of a change of mobile provider comes into force on 3 January 2023

In case of a requested transfer of a number to another mobile provider from 3 January 2023 onwards, upon request, result in a refund of the prepaid amount remaining actually purchased (excluding “bonus” credit or credit received free of charge as part of promotions) on the card after deduction of an administrative fee of 5 euros. The Price List, to which the General Conditions refer, will be adapted accordingly as of 3 January. If the remaining credit does not cover these costs, the refund will not be made.

Requests for refunds can be asked on: www.proximus.be/refundprepaid

If the customer transfers their number to Proximus, they must contact their former operator to make the request.

If the customer transfers their Proximus number to another operator, they can submit their request to Proximus within one month of the day on which their number is actually transferred to the new operator. After this period, the refund will no longer be offered.

Proximus will refuse the refund request in case of fraud or abuse. For example, a customer having not used at least 50% of the credit actually purchased during the last 6 months at the time of the request will be considered as fraud or abuse.

The refund request is made via the Proximus website. The customer's number must be ported and active at the time of the request in order to receive a personal security code.

Modification of the contractual indexation clause for telecom services for professionals (more than 9 employees) from 01/01/23

Due to inflationary conditions, all standard contractual conditions applicable to telecom services intended for professionals with more than 9 employees will be adapted from 01/01/23: as of this date, Proximus will have the right to index the prices of all telecom services twice a calendar year (instead of once a year) on the basis of the consumer price index, without the customer being able to terminate the service in question at no cost. The absence of indexation cannot be interpreted as a waiver of this right by Proximus. It is also stipulated that for the very first indexation, the previous index that will be used as a reference will be the index applicable one year before the current indexation.

The standard general and/or specific terms and conditions applicable to telecom services are all adjusted accordingly even if the current standard terms and conditions did not provide for contractual indexation or did so on the basis of another index or at a certain period of the year.

The words telecom services refer to electronic communication services within the meaning of the law of June 13, 2005. IT services and PBX products (except Call Connect) are therefore not concerned.

Specifically, the current standard contracts and new contracts for telecom services without exception are modified as follows as of January 1, 2023:

1. The following contractual indexation clause is incorporated in replacement of any other contractual indexation clause

[Notwithstanding the General Terms and Conditions for professional customers]*, Proximus reserves the right to adjust the prices twice per calendar year, in accordance with the Consumption Price Index and the following price adjustment formula:

P1 = P0 x (CPI 1 / CPI 0)

Where:

- P1 = the new price;

- P0 = price applicable before the current indexation;

- CPI 0 = the Consumption Price Index applicable on (i) the date of the previous instance of indexation or (ii) the date one year before the current date of indexation if no previous instance of indexation has occurred yet;

- CPI 1 = the Consumption Price Index applicable on the date of the current indexation.

A price adjustment based on the price adjustment formula shall not give the Customer any right to terminate the Agreement without an early termination fee.

Any decision by Proximus not to index its prices or certain price components at a given indexation occasion shall not be considered as a waiver of this right. Proximus explicitly reserves the right to adjust the prices or other price components accordingly at a future occasion of indexation.

*The text between […] applies to all telecom services excluding mobile services. The rest of the clause applies to all telecom services, including mobile services.

2. Any other contractual indexation clauses is deleted:

Proximus may review and adjust prices once a year, based on the consumer price index (using to the formula: new price = old price x (current index/previous index). A price adjustment based on this formula shall not give the Customer any right to terminate the Agreement without an early termination fee

or

By way of derogation from the General Terms and Conditions, Proximus reserves the right to adjust prices before the Order Form is submitted and at the start of each new calendar year, in accordance with the wage indexation and the following price adjustment formula:

P1 = P0 x (0.2 + 0.8 X (S1/S0))

Where

- P1 = the new Price (applicable from January)

- P0 = the Price applicable in December of the previous year (i.e. the Price last applied)

- S0 = the base salary in the technology sector (the national average published by AGORIA) of the month preceding (1) the month of December before the Contract was concluded, in case of the first indexation, or (2) the last price increase or (3) the last indexation, depending on which of these events takes place last.

- S1 = the base salary in the technology sector (national average published by AGORIA) of the month of December preceding the indexation applied in January.

3. The following references are deleted from the general or specific conditions of telecom services:

• any reference to a yearly indexation (to be replaced by contractual indexation)
• any reference to indexation in January, December or any other specific period of the year.
• any reference to the right to terminate mobile services without compensation in the event of a contractual indexation (for mobile service contracts signed before 10/01/22),
• any reference to an indexation formula based on the Agoria index

4. The new clause mentioned under point 1 is added to the contractual conditions of telecom services that did not yet provide for contractual indexation

Modification of the general conditions of mobile services for professionals (more than 9 employees) as of 01/01/23

In addition to the contractual indexation, Proximus is also adapting the notion of “misuse” of mobile services in order to limit the risks induced by certain new consumption patterns, in particular in the context of unlimited offers. Proximus also reserves the right to limit the Internet speed beyond what is considered as a misuse.

Specifically, with respect to existing and new contracts for Mobile Services as of January 1, 2023, Section 3.11 of the General Terms and Conditions for Mobile Services is replaced by the following clause:

3.11. The rate plans offering an “unlimited” volume are based on normal usage of the Service within the framework of a limited offer. In the event of an exceptional increase in the Customer's use of the Service, Proximus reserves the right to limit the Service or suspend and/or terminate the Agreement if the monthly usage of the Service is regularly 10 times (or more) greater than the average usage of all users of the unlimited offer, or in case of abnormal use of the Service, e.g. if the phone is used as a baby monitoring phone, the Service is used for call center or SIM box purposes, or the Service is made available to third parties

3.11 Proximus reserves the right to limit the supply of the Service including to reduce the data speed or to suspend and/or terminate the Agreement without compensation when the service use can be considered as abusive e.g. if the tariff plan designed for interpersonal communications is used for any video or camera monitoring or any other machine-to-machine purpose, if the Service is used for call center or SIM box purposes, or if the Service is made available to third parties or if calls or sms to value-added numbers is 30 times (or more) higher than the average usage of all users for calls or text messages to such numbers ( non-exhaustive list). Proof of the above prohibited practices may be provided by any means and by any legal means, including using data and records from Proximus systems or systems provided by third parties. The Customer and Proximus shall consider such data and records as authentic, until proven otherwise.

The tariff plans offering an “unlimited” volume are based on a moderate use of the Service. In the context of unlimited tariff plans, the following practices are considered as abusive: if during 2 consecutive month or during 4 non-consecutive months over a total period of a year (non-cumulative list)

(a) the user of the service sends more than 10,000 text messages per month and/or 500 SMS messages per day

(b) the user of the service sends text messages to more than 250 different recipients per month

(c) the user of the service regularly makes calls for more than 6 hours per day and/or 30 hours per week

(d) the user of the service uses more than 600 GB per month

(e) the monthly usage of the Service is regularly 30 times (or more) greater than the average usage of all users of the unlimited offer.

In the interest of uniformity, the conditions applicable to mobile services subscribed before 10/01/22 are now fully aligned with the conditions applicable to mobile services subscribed after 10/01/22. This standardization includes the modifications indicated above (contractual indexation and misuse). In case of contractual indexation, these customers will no longer be able to terminate the mobile services free of charge. The other adaptations aim to (i) provide for bilateral termination clauses in certain situations (serious breach of contractual obligations, cessation of business, insolvency, bankruptcy, …) not covered in the previous version (ii) remove from the previous version any reference to consumers to make it a version exclusively applicable to services intended for professional customers with more than 9 employees.

Specifically, the following sections are added to contracts signed before January 10, 2022:

12.3.1. Either Party may terminate the Agreement unilaterally, at any time and without referral to the courts, by written notice to the other Party if the latter materially breaches any of its contractual obligations or (insofar as remedy is possible) fails to rectify this within thirty (30) Calendar Days of the written notice.

12.3.2. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Agreement shall automatically be terminated if either Party ceases its activities, becomes insolvent or goes into bankruptcy, is dissolved or undergoes a similar procedure.

Proximus is adapting its contractual conditions for mobile services to comply with the new European roaming regulations that will come into force on July 1, 2022.

Thanks to the new European roaming regulation, roaming customers within the European Union will continue to enjoy their national tariffs for the next ten years without any additional costs compared to Belgium for calls, texts and MMS. This is called 'Roam Like At Home'.

As a reminder, the following tariff conditions apply to roaming:

• The national rate applies to calls, texts, MMS and data within the European Union (+ Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and other countries included by Proximus such as the United Kingdom, the full list is available on proximus.be/roaming).
• A roaming charge is always applied for roaming users to calls and texts to Value Added Services numbers even when these services are advertised as free for local users.
• A reasonable usage policy may apply to the relevant tariff plan in the event of a certain volume of data having been exceeded. The applicable volumes and tariffs are specified in the description of the relevant tariff plan.
• The tariffs applicable outside the European Union and/or when connecting to non-terrestrial networks are specified in the price list or in the description of the relevant tariff plan (the national tariff does not apply).

On accordance with the new regulation, these principles have been reclarified in the general and/or special conditions for the mobile service. 

The latter now also specify any local factors that may influence the quality of mobile roaming abroad and how to lodge a complaint if the quality of service abroad within the EU does not live up to the contractual conditions.

Finally, changes have also been made continuously better to protect customers and avoid high roaming bills:

• Currently, mobile Internet use abroad is limited to EUR 60 (incl. VAT) outside the bundle unless the customer decides to remove this protection to continue surfing without limit.
• Pursuant to the new regulations, customers will still be able to continue surfing beyond the 60 EUR (incl. VAT) of Internet usage abroad, but their mobile Internet connection will be interrupted again if the usage reaches 121 EUR (incl. VAT) outside the bundle, unless they have decided to remove this second limit too and to continue surfing without limit at their own responsibility. Customers can change their mind at any time.

All these changes will come into force on July 1, 2022, at the same time as the new EU roaming regulation.

Proximus is adapting its contractual conditions to the new legal framework governing electronic communications services

The changes are designed to provide better protection for customers and will be applicable to ongoing contracts as of January 10, 2022 (entry into force of the « law of December 21, 2021 transposing the European Electronic Communications Code and amending various provisions on electronic communications »), except:

• the reimbursement of the remaining credit of a prepaid or FullControl card in the event of a change of operator;
• the extension of the right to keep the email address beyond the current 18-month period in the event that the customer terminates his internet contract if such a service was included.

These two changes will be applicable as soon as the royal decrees determining the practical and financial terms of their implementation come into force.

The changes include:

A. Concerning the conditions applicable to products and services for consumers, self-employed persons and small businesses (up to 9 employees):

• Extending the deadline for submitting number portability requests. Customers will be able to request the transfer of their number to another operator by applying to the latter up to one month after the date of termination by the customer of the contract linked to this number. Furthermore, if the number porting procedure fails within the time limits set by law, Proximus will reactivate the customer's contract linked to the number and will continue to provide services under the same conditions until the porting procedure is successfully completed.
• Standardizing the cancellation period in the event of price increases or changes to contractual conditions that are unfavorable to the customer. Proximus will notify the customer before the changes come into force, and a customer who does not accept the changes to the contract may terminate the contract free of charge, at the latest 3 months after the notification (except when these changes are exclusively for the benefit of the customer, are of a purely administrative nature and have no negative impact on the customer, are directly imposed by or pursuant to legislation, or concern a price increase linked to the consumer price index).
• The General Terms and Conditions now include information about devices and tariff plans adapted for customers with disabilities.
• The Price List now sets out the maximum tariffs for premium numbers & text messages as well as the mobile tariffs outside the bundle, in order to provide customers with this information on a durable medium that they can keep.
• It is also specified in the General Terms and Conditions that Proximus does not provide a minimum quality of service, unless otherwise stated. Proximus naturally undertakes to implement all the resources necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the Service and to provide it in accordance with the contract and as soon as possible.

• The new possibility for the consumer/customer to request reimbursement of the credit on a prepaid or FullControl card in the event of a change of operator. When the consumer/customer changes operator and transfers their number, they can then apply for a refund of the remaining credit actually purchased (excluding "bonus" credit or credit received free of charge as part of a promotion). If the customer transfers their number to Proximus, they must contact their former operator to make the request. If the customer transfers their Proximus number to another operator, they can submit their request to Proximus within one month of the day on which their number is actually transferred to the new operator. After this period, the customer loses the right to a refund.

  Proximus will refuse the refund request in case of fraud or abuse. For example, a customer having not used at least 50% of the credit actually purchased during the last 6 months at the time of the request will be considered as fraud or abuse.

  The refund request is made via the Proximus website. The customer's number must be ported and active at the time of the request in order to receive a personal security code.

  Refund requests may only be made by consumers for porting requests made after the entry into force of the applicable law.

  Proximus will apply an administrative fee for the refund operation which will be determined by the future Royal Decree and specified in the Price List. These costs will be deducted from the remaining credit. If the remaining credit does not cover these costs, the refund will not be made.

  This change will be applicable from the entry into force of the Royal Decree determining the practical and financial arrangements for its implementation.

• The extension of the right to keep the email address beyond the current 18-month period in case the customer terminates their internet contract if such a service was included. This change will be applicable from the entry into force of the Royal Decree determining the practical and financial arrangements for its implementation.
• Contracts for electronic communications services concluded with business customers and providing for an initial term with tacit renewal will be automatically extended for an indefinite term at the end of their initial term. During this extension, they may be terminated in writing at any time by giving one month's notice. This applies only to the following electronic communications services within the meaning of the law: Internet access services, number-based interpersonal communications services and transmission services other than machine-to-machine services.

B. Concerning the conditions applicable to products and services for large companies (as of 10 employees):

The changes listed above for business customers with up to 9 employees are also applicable from the entry into force of the Act to contracts for electronic communications services with other business customers (with 10 or more employees) subject to the following:

• A customer of machine-to-machine services with more than 50 employees shall not have the right to terminate their contract in the event of price increases or contractual changes which would be unfavorable to them.

Services that do not meet the legal definition of "electronic communications services" as defined by law are not covered by these amendments.

Automated interactions with our customer service

When you contact Proximus customer service, via call or chat, you will first meet an artificial intelligence (AI) that will offer to assist you. Proximus aims to improve its interactions with its customers through different means, aiming to reduce as much as possible the waiting time when you try to reach our services. Given the large number of services offered by Proximus, and the broad range of support provided to our customers, one of the most efficient ways to better improve our interactions is through artificial intelligence.

The way this AI works is the following:

Step 1: You contact Proximus through the communication mean of your choice
Step 2: You are put in contact with an AI, that identifies itself as being an AI, and that offers to assist you.
Step 3: The AI will attempt to identify the reason for call/message to assist you in the most efficient way.

Note that:

If the AI can correctly identify the reason for your call/message, and it is able to assist you without the intervention of an agent, then it will offer you the information it believes you need or the solution you might have requested.

If the AI can correctly identify the reason for your call/message, and it is not able to assist you without the intervention of an agent, then it will put you directly in contact with the right agent that will attempt to assist you with your request.

If the AI is not able to correctly identify the reason for your call/message, then it will put you directly in contact with an agent that will attempt to assist you with your request.

In any case:

You are always offered the possibility to be put in contact with an agent if you wish to.

Although the aim of the AI is a triage of the requests received by our customer service, to put you in contact with the right agent, some small decisions might be taken automatically (cancellation of an invoice for instance). However, such actions could require additional identification from you in order to prevent usurpation of your identity before taking any actions that could impact you.

The interaction with our AI is stored in our systems for documentation purposes for a maximum of 3 months after the closure of the conversation, to allow us to access the history of past conversations for more efficient management of requests when you have recurrent issues.

Do you have questions about your personal data? Please click here!