Complaints against telcos piling up

The stack of complaints against mobile phone operators is increasing everyday but the authorities are having to keep those aside because of a case pending at High Court (HC).

The Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection is the authority dealing with the complaints.

The directorate started receiving complaints and fined the operators in 2017. After imposing a fine of Tk 9 lakh on three operators over eight complaints till May that year, they had to stop the process.

On May 28, 2018 mobile phone operator Robi Axiata filed a writ petition with the High Court after it was fined Tk 2.5 lakh on charge of cheating customers by not providing services promised under its internet package.

In the writ petition, Robi argued that they had been fined and that the directorate needed to have a judicial guideline to enforce laws against mobile companies. Later other mobile phone operators, including Banglalink, also filed petitions of a similar kind.

The HC issued an eight-month ban on the activities of the directorate regarding the complaints. Later hearing of the writ petition remained pending. The last hearing took place on November 5, 2020.

Taposh Kanti Baul, representing the directorate, said the hearing of the case was last scheduled to be held at Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah's bench in 2021 but that ddid not happen.

"After the bench was reshuffled, the case was not fixed for the next hearing. Maybe after this vacation (March 17 to 19), it will be refixed," he told The Daily Star on March 16.

In the meantime, the number of complaints against four mobile phone operators, Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink and Teletalk, is increasing every day.

Till 2018, there were 1,246 complaints. With no results coming from filing complaints, the number reduced in the next three consecutive years, said a directorate official.

A total of 748, 546 and 659 complaints were filed in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively, according to the directorate data.

Till February 15 this year, the number of complaints was 193, said a directorate official.

He said the maximum number of complaints was over being cheated by the companies through several internet data packages.

Other major complaints were charging for bills without informing the consumers about the issues and not providing services as per commitment, he said wishing to remain unnamed.

The directorate is active in cases that does not involve mobile phone operators, he said, adding, "We didn't solve those complaints as the HC is yet to deliver any judgement."

"Complainants became dissatisfied as they saw our inability," said the directorate Director (Admin and Finance) Monjur Mohammad Shariar.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is another organisation which could deal with consumers' complaints and they also have the right to issue enforcement order and penalise the operators.

Asked whether the complaints could be handed over to the BTRC to be resolved, Shahriar said, "No. Telecommunication is one of the eleven services in our law."

"If there was an opportunity for a handover, it would have been mentioned in the law," he said.

The directorate Director General AHM Shafiquzzaman said he was new there and knew little about the issue.

"We want to settle the case as soon as possible. So that the consumers can get their complaints addressed," he said.

Contacted, spokespersons of Grammenphone, Robi, Banglalink and Teletalk did not want to say anything as the issue was now under trial.

Ghulam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said many consumers did not carefully read package offers issued by the operators and they got cheated.

"But if the complaints were settled, they could get a remedy and that's why the writ petition should be settled soon," he added.

On April 6, 2009, the government enacted the Consumer Rights Protection Act for the first time. Then on June 30, the Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection was formed.

From 2010 to February 2022, a total of 68,703 complaints have been filed with the directorate. Of these, 51,759 have been settled. The number of complaints waiting to be addressed is 16,944.