A customer attempting to terminate a television service contract via Elisa's self-service system ran into trouble, as the company's website does offer a contract termination option, but after completing the required fields, the page reset and the information could not be saved.

After several failed attempts, the customer called Elisa's customer service and was informed that, in fact, it is not possible to terminate a contract through the self-service system and that one must go to a physical location to do so.

"A contract term stating that a contract can only be terminated by appearing in person is likely to unreasonably restrict consumer rights," said Geili Pais, a lawyer at TTJA's communications department.

Additionally, a consumer who has submitted a contract termination notice via the self-service system does not need to wait for the company to confirm it, Pais said. The contract ends upon notification.

"This is based on Section 100, Subsection 1 of the Electronic Communications Act, which gives the consumer the right to terminate a communications service contract at any time by notifying the service provider. This means that if the consumer has submitted a termination notice to the company, the contract is considered terminated as of the next business day after the notice is received, unless a later date is specified in the notice," Pais explained.

Elisa: Often the customer does not want to end the service

Evelin Tulp, head of telecom services at Elisa, said it is not strictly necessary to visit a service center to terminate a contract. In many Elisa locations, it is not even possible to do so on-site.

"However, this can be done, for example, over the phone, we can verify the customer via Mobile-ID or Smart-ID during a call. If these services are not used and the customer wants to make changes or terminate the contract in writing, it can be done by sending us a digitally signed request," said Tulp.

However, she said it was important for the company to understand why a customer wants to end the contract. Additionally, it is important to review related conditions together, such as valid equipment lease or installment agreements, to avoid unpleasant surprises later.

"Most of the time, it's not that the customer no longer needs the service, but that their needs have changed or they need help using the service," Tulp said. "That's why we want our specialists to advise and assist them. Our experience shows that most termination requests do not end in service cancellation, but rather in changes to the service or clarification on our part."

According to Telia's head of communications, Raigo Neudorf, most services can already be managed in self-service, including termination.

"For example, for business customers, the option to terminate mobile services in the self-service portal has been available for some time," he added.

Private customers still cannot terminate contracts via self-service, but Neudorf said that this option will likely be added at the beginning of next year.

Tele2's head of private customer services, Kristel Lepik, said customers do not need to visit a service center to terminate a contract.

"This can be done in self-service, by calling the info line, or via the chat window on the website. For verification, we ask for the password set when the contract was signed," she said, adding that if the contract is no longer available or the password has been forgotten, it can be found in the self-service portal.

However, Tele2 has one exception among its services. Home internet contracts cannot currently be terminated via self-service. Lepik said they are working on creating this option.

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