Proceedings before AKOS

A party may appoint an agent to represent him or her in the proceedings, except in the case of actions in which the party is required to make his or her own statements. Anyone who is of full capacity to act may act as an agent and need not be a lawyer. However, a lawyer or a law firm and a natural or legal person registered to carry on a particular activity directly related to the rights and obligations claimed by the party may also be authorised to represent him before the authority. A power of attorney must be submitted to the Agency.

If the subscriber lodges an objection or proposes a dispute settlement, the operator may not restrict access to its services or disconnect the subscriber for non-payment of the obligation and may not terminate the subscription contract until the dispute has been finally settled or the final decision of the Agency has been taken, provided that the subscriber has paid the undisputed part of the invoice within the time limit, or an amount equal to the average value of the last three undisputed invoices.

An end-user who considers that an unjustified charge has been made by the operator must lodge an objection with the operator within 15 days of becoming aware of the bill, and at the latest within 60 days of its issue. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the procedure with the operator, you have the right to lodge a dispute settlement application with the Agency.

The dispute settlement procedure before the Agency is free of charge. You are responsible for administrative costs, such as the cost of posting your application (if you do not submit it electronically), the cost of attending the hearing, etc.

Every end-user has the right to object to a decision or conduct of an operator in relation to the rights and obligations set out in the Electronic Communications Act and the regulations issued pursuant to it. You must file a dispute resolution application with AKOS within the following time limits:

• if the operator does not meet the objection within 15 days of the objection being lodged, you may lodge a dispute resolution application with the Agency within 15 days of the operator's decision being notified to you;
• if the operator does not decide on the complaint within 15 days of the complaint being lodged, you may lodge a dispute settlement application with the operator within 30 days of the complaint being lodged.

The provisions of the General Administrative Procedure Act apply to the running of time limits. The commencement and running of time-limits shall not be prevented by Sundays, public holidays or public holidays, which means that the time-limit shall begin on the day following receipt of the operator's reply and shall run uninterruptedly for all 15 days together, irrespective of whether any day in between falls on a Sunday, public holiday or public holiday. If the last day of the period is a Sunday, public holiday, other public holiday or a day on which the Authority is closed, the period shall expire on the expiry of the first working day following.

For example, if you received a reply to your complaint on Friday 22.4.2022, the 15-day period would start on Saturday 23.4.2022 and would expire on 7.5.2022 (regardless of whether there were any public holidays in between). However, if the day in question is a Saturday, a day on which the Authority is closed, the period would expire on Monday 9.5.2022. If the day in question is a Saturday, a day on which the agenncy is closed, the period would expire on Monday 9.5.2022.

You must submit your dispute settlement application within the following time limits:

• if the operator does not uphold your objection within 15 days of the objection being lodged, you can lodge a dispute settlement application with the Agency within 15 days of being notified of the operator's decision;
• if the operator does not decide on the complaint within 15 days of the complaint being lodged, you may lodge a dispute settlement application with the operator within 30 days of the complaint being lodged.

Yes, by email to info.box@akos-rs.si.

There is no form for lodging a dispute with the Agency. A dispute resolution request must be submitted in the form of a letter or e-mail addressed to the Agency, stating the subject matter of the dispute and a clear claim against the operator (what is disputed and what you are asking the operator to do, e.g. a request for a credit of a certain amount), together with a brief explanation of the problem. Please make sure that your proposal is duly signed (handwritten or with an electronic signature).

You can send your dispute settlement proposal by registered post to AKOS, Stegne 7, 1000 Ljubljana, by fax to 01 511 11 01 or orally on the record at the Agency's headquarters. Alternatively, the proposal can be sent by e-mail to info.box@akos-rs.si.