NCC vows to protect consumers from erring telecoms operators
In a bid to protect telecom customers from exploitation and customer service infringements, the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), has said that it would punish telecoms provider that flout NCC’s regulations in its engagement with consumers.
The NCC’s Director of Consumers Affairs Bureau, Mrs Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, handed down the warning at the 44th edition of the NCC Consumers Town Hall Meeting with telecom consumers and service providers held in Oguta, Imo State, where she delivered a speech themed “Using Information and Education as Tools for Consumers Empowerment and Protection”.
The warning came on the heels of a deluge of complaints by telecoms customers in Nigeria who have been shortchanged by their telecoms providers. Mrs. Onwuegbuchulam affirmed at the event that the commission was committed to protecting telecom consumers from unwholesome practices from their network providers.
Speaking further she insisted that service providers must ensure that consumers get quality service, value for money spent and timely redress of complaints. “You must engage your consumers on constant empowerment through education to fortify them in making good choices,’’ the NCC official stressed.
She said the meeting was targeted at bringing together telecom consumers in the rural areas with the network operators to proffer solutions to their problems.
The NCC director listed some of the unwholesome practices by service providers as unsolicited text massages and calls, failure to roll over unused data and automatic renewal of data, and VAS without consent of the subscriber.
She, however, said NCC had taken adequate measures to checkmate erring telecom operators by developing DND Short Code to solve unsolicited text massages controversy.
Onwuegbuchulam said that the commission had developed a service Toll free line for consumers to lay down their complaints.
In her remark, the representative of GLO Mobile, Chinwe Ejiofor, assured GLO consumers of quality services, adding that the company had been interfacing with its customers.
Some participants at the programme and telecom consumers said NCC should roll out more programmes to protect telecom consumers against unnecessary extortion.
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