Unsolicited SMS Charges

THE National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) , questions the transparency of the complaints handling procedure undertaken by MCMC. Its director Darshan Singh said most of the time, the telco will seek to offer a refund to the complainant. "Whether refund actually happens is quite questionable. But a more pressingissue here is that there is no deterrent action against repeated offenders,"he said.

To address the issue effectively, NCCC is calling for the issuance ofitemised billing for pre-paid users. "There should be no more subscription-based service for rich contentslike wallpaper, song download, games or ringtones. Only allow pay perdownload for these type of services. They may allow subscription for text-based services. This will eliminate a lot of problems," Darshan said. The regulator should revoke the application service provider licence ofcontent providers who commit offence repeatedly - perhaps when caught forthe third time.

"MCMC should enhance complaints handling by dealingdirectly with complainants instead of asking telcos to communicate withthem. International gateway providers should also be stopped. Currently,there are many fake messages sent to mobile users. For instance, users didnot request for a particular service but are sent a message and charged.When they complain, the telco log will show that they had subscribed tothe service," said Darshan. "Don't issue multiple short codes to companies. Just issue one shortcode. Thus if they are caught spamming, all their services would bebanned. Currently, many short codes are issued to one company. Onceaction is taken against a particular shortcode, they will migrate toanother shortcode. Therefore, suspension is pointless," he added.

On making services available, Darshan said the "opt out" method shouldcease. "It should be `opt in' instead. If I want something, I should beable to take it. I don't want contents that I have to say no to. Even byjust saying no, telcos will charge 15 sen. Multiply that with the numberof mobile phone subscribers and you will see the picture." Darshan also urged all subscribers to check their monthly bills and makea police report under commercial crime if they have been victimised. Theycan lodge complaints with NCCC at 03-78779000 or log on to our Web site'se-aduan form at www.nccc.org.my.

Guys, please lodge complaints if you find unsolicitesd SMS charges in your bills. Make sure that you always check your bills.