GO, Melita and Epic have temporarily eliminated surcharges on consumers who do not pay via direct debit, pending an investigation by Malta’s consumer regulator for price fixing. 

The three telecoms firms have come under scrutiny for their decision to charge a €1 fee for bills that are not settled via direct debit.

They have argued that the change was forced upon them by an instruction issued by Malta’s Central Bank, acting to implement a European directive, and that affected customers have been given an equivalent discount on each bill. 

But that explanation did not wash with the government, which referred the companies to the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority for investigation last June.

Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba has also raised the issue at EU level and asked the European Commission to investigate whether the introduction of the surcharge goes against the Payment Services Directive, which ensures equal prices regardless of payment method.  

Agius Saliba and Consumer Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli have argued that the surcharge will unfairly impact poorer members of society.

On Thursday, Agius Saliba said that Epic and GO had both stopped charging the surcharge to customers who do not opt for direct debit payments.

Affected GO customers were informed via email that the company would be revising its billing methodology to remove the €1 charge per bill. 

On Friday, Melita issued a statement saying that it, too, had paused the charges and would be refunding customers for any additional charges incurred this past month. Prices would now revert to their “pre-July levels”, the company said, in line with its competitors had done.

The statement said that the change was "temporary". A spokesperson for the company clarified to Times of Malta that the pause would remain in effect until the MCCAA probe is concluded.