Did you know that by signing up to Melita’s postpaid contracts you are tying yourself down to 15 months minimum?

You may say big deal…if I don’t like their service I can always cancel the contract.

Hmmm… not really... in order to cancel the contract during the 15 months you still get to pay the full price of the mobile phone.

You may say well … that is reasonable, after all I get to keep the phone.

True, but did you know that you also need to pay the access fee for each month?! Yes for all 15 months even if you terminate in the 2nd month, even if because of no coverage or bad service, you still need to pay the full access fee for all 15 months!

Now I’m not a lawyer or something, but one thing I know for sure… this is an unfair contract term under EU and Maltese consumer law. Melita cannot be charging you the access fee for all the months if you cancel before the 15 months are up.

It is an unfair contract term because it is not proportionate to the service being offered.

So if you're stuck in this situation with Melita my advice would be to contact the Consumer and Competition Division within the Office of Fair Trading. They should be able to guide you. You can access their web site here

Here’s a form you can use to contact the Consumer & Competition Division. This form is also available in different formats: Microsoft Word, PDF format, RTF format.

Consumer & Competition Division contact details: