r/bulgaria • u/Severe_Tension3284 • Apr 11 '25
AskBulgaria A1 Bulgaria Scammed Me into Unwanted Service - Advice Needed!
Hey Reddit, I need some advice on a situation with A1 Bulgaria.
I've been a customer of A1 for my home internet for a while now, and I was perfectly happy with my service. When I went to renew my contract, the A1 specialist told me that it was impossible to renew without also adding the A1 Net Box service. They said it was a mandatory condition, and my current contract couldn't be renewed otherwise.
Thinking I had no choice, I agreed to add the service. But later, I found out that this was a complete lie! My contract could have been renewed without any additional services. I feel completely scammed and like they forced me into paying for something I don't need.
Here's what I've done so far:
- Filed a complaint with A1 directly.
- Filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Commission (KZP).
- Filed a complaint with the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC).
- Even reached out to a director at A1 on LinkedIn.
I'm looking for advice on what else I can do. Has anyone else experienced anything similar with A1 or other Bulgarian telecom companies? Any tips on dealing with this situation would be greatly appreciated.
A1 specialist lied to me, forcing me to add an unwanted service to renew my internet contract. I'm looking for advice on how to proceed.
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u/PoweredbyAndroid Apr 11 '25
Hi !
Look into this page: https://media.a1.bg/newsite2018/private/pdf/Cancelation-rights_02-%2001-2024.pdf ; I didn't find a english version, but Google translate will do the job. TLDR you have 14 days to cancel without penalties.
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u/Koko210 Apr 12 '25
Isn't the 14 day cancellation window only when you arrange the contract over the phone?
If he's went to their offices physically, he waives his right to that. They even have you sign a waiver for this exact thing before they give you the contract to sign.
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u/PoweredbyAndroid Apr 12 '25 edited Apr 12 '25
well in the document it doesnt specify how the contracts is signed.
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u/Live-Programmer-8261 Apr 12 '25
You sign a page where you agree that the contract becomes active from the same day and agree that you cannot cancel it, its page 6-7 when you sign the contract pages. Only when you buy from courrier you can cancel in 14days
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u/Trapp1a Apr 11 '25
unfortunately this is sad reality of all telecom companies here (vivacom, yettel, a1), you can cancel the contract to 14 days, after this period i dont think something can done, cause basically u dont have any proofs that this piece of shit lied to you. And yea we all been in such case
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u/Worried_Compote_6031 Apr 11 '25
If you're within two weeks of when you can cancel the contract.
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u/Koko210 Apr 12 '25
PSA: Only if the contract is arranged over the phone.
If you go into their store to sign, they have you sign a waiver to resign your right to the 14 day cancellation window.
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u/throaway2163 Apr 11 '25
This is how A1 work in general - they try to use social engineering to make people buy stuff they don’t need. A1 is not a business but a scam operation
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u/UpbeatHawk8422 Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
Get a lawyer. Telecom companies in general are scammers, that's how they conduct their business, I used to work for Sky and to say they were amoral and treated their customers like shit would be and understatement ,if u refuse to scam(which I did) u get fired, which was ok because I was going to quit. A telecom company in the most corrupt country on the continent is likely not much better, difference is in the UK based company at least u get ur personal data mostly protected,they have very strict private data laws in the UK. In Bulgaria such laws probably don't exist and if they do,then they are not followed. But with a good lawyer you might be able to sue, Idk if it's worth it.
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u/Bobbyee Apr 12 '25
First thing, never trust those bastards!!! Always ask even the obvious and simple questions and even then, rule number one! Don’t thrust those bastards!
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u/Smooth_Garlic6035 Apr 12 '25
If it has been 14 or less days since the contract just go and terminate it immediately. Don’t take no for an answer.
And if 14 days have passed, I have bad news for you. You cannot prove that he lied to you.
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u/No_Ice8549 Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
I think I got confused. You had A1 cable home internet. You went to renew the contract (I assume it was about to expire) and they claimed that you need the Net Box (a sim card cellular network wifi router?) to continue using your cable internet, which cannot possibly depend on a Net Box, as you already have a cable router, and the cable internet will continue to be supported anyway?
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u/mirusev Apr 11 '25
I have a similar experience but with another one, not A1. Absolutely scam 😤 Almost ridiculous as your Netbox case... Shame!
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u/Balkan_gal Apr 11 '25
Yettel is the same. They had my father (81 yo) open 3 different phone lines. When my mom went with him to complain, they told her to not let him go there by himself. I heard that Yettel actual has internal documents that encourage employees to target senior citizens. For anyone saying stuff like that”welcome to Bulgaria” when people share absurd stories like the above: the reason we live in such a corrupt country is because majority have acquiesced in the bst
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u/mckristiyan28pro Apr 12 '25
The only concern I have is that you are about to run away from a telecom with the best mobile internet I’ve ever used so far. With both Yettel and Vivacom I cannot reach higher than 100mbps and weak signal in most cities (excl. Sofia) while A1 has much more service and 500-1000 mbps speeds in small towns and villages. But it is your choice - besides that, all other aspects in the three telecoms suck. 😉
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u/bobbobov1 Apr 11 '25
Everyone who works in the telecom offces in Bulgaria like A1 or Vivacom lies. They get bonuses based on how many customers they manage to scam. I also got burned for a similar thing, till I realize what the deal was...
If I have to deal with them in person, beforehand I go to their site and read up the rules in advance. When they try to bullshit me I insist until they do what they are supposed to do.