Telia increases security for customers in Sweden

On May 9 Telia will increase security for its private subscribers by introducing a billing limit for customers in Sweden who have a fixed telephone subscription and/or dial-up Internet service with Telia. The limit is set at SEK 5,000 per billing period (including 25% VAT) and includes traffic charges for fixed telephony and dial-up Internet service, but not fixed fees.

With Telia’s billing limit, private subscribers will have a better overview of their costs. If the billing limit is reached, a line blocking function is activated that stops overseas, mobile and collect calls from being made. With the blocking function, only calls in Sweden, toll-free calls and calls to the emergency number SOS 112 can be made with the subscriber’s fixed subscription. At the same time, Telia sends the subscriber an extra bill. When the bill is paid, the blocking function is removed and the subscriber can continue to call and surf on the Internet as usual. Calls made with operators other than Telia are not covered by the billing limit or blocking function. ”We are now taking yet another step towards increasing security for our customers,” says Indra Åsander, head of the Consumer Segment at TeliaSonera Sweden. “We have already stood up for protecting consumers against modem hijacking and we are acting completely in line with the views of the Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket). Later this year, we will also introduce a billing limit for mobile telephony.” As an extra service, customers can receive a message, free of charge, notifying them when 80 percent of their billing limit has been reached. This message can be sent by SMS and/or by e-mail. Telia expects to improve the function later this year by introducing an interactive voice response message that is played when the customer dials from his or her fixed line phone. Messages sent by SMS and e-mail are activated by the customer on www.telia.se under “My Pages” (Mina Sidor), or by calling Telia’s Customer Service. The billing limit of SEK 5,000 is the sum regulated by Telia’s General Terms and Conditions for the Swedish market. If the pre-selected billing limit does not suit the customer, a new limit can be easily selected. The limit can be as low as SEK 1,000 and as high as SEK 10,000. Through Customer Service, customers can also request a higher limit after their credit rating is approved.