Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has received a total of 3,522 complaints filed by the consumers of mobile phone operators in Bangladesh.
A staggering 1,973 complaints was filed against Grameenphone (GP), which is currently the largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh, said a recent BTRC report.
The report revealed that a total of 612 complaints were filed against Banglalink, 604 against Robi, 221 against Airtel, 104 against Teletalk, and eight against Citycell. Consumers filed the complaints between December 7, 2016 to December 31, 2017.
Major issues reported by the consumers include-- issues relating to social networking platforms, SIM card blocking, internet problems, queries about tariff and value added services (VAS), network issues, queries about online games, quiz contests, queries about data volumes and financial services on mobile phone, such as banking, call drops, package migration and reports of fraud.
According to the report, the commission takes cognizance of the consumers’ complaints and issues show-cause notices to mobile phone operators.
The BTRC also mediates between the customers and the operators to help resolve the above mentioned issues. It also ensures that the consumers get proper compensation, if allegations of negligence are proven against the companies.
The correspondent has learned that the commission has ensured compensation to a number of consumers, by cancelling eight short codes based on the customer feedback.
On the other hand, addressing a complaint filed by a Banglalink customer regarding auto activated subscription services, the telecommunications operator told the BTRC that it will upgrade its system in February to resolve this issue.
Banglalink has also agreed to pay compensation to those who are subscribed to unwanted services.
The report also mentioned that many issues are being resolved by the BTRC. From April 1, 2017 to December 31, the commission has resolved 732 out of 745 complaints against Grameenphone, 305 out of 308 complaints against Robi, 300 out of 304 against Banglalink, 66 out of 72 against Teletalk and two out of two against Citycell.
Addressing the issue, GP Head of External Communications Syed Talat Kamal said: “I wholeheartedly welcome BTRC’s initiative to take feedback from both the consumers and the telecommunication firms.
“Grameenphone has already resolved 98.9% of the complaints that were filed at the commission. We have improved access to our services for the consumers in 2017, and as a result the complaints went down by 74%.”
An official concerned, preferring to be anonymous, told the correspondent that not all complaints were against the telecommunication firms, some were filed over issues relating to social networking platforms.
Another official of the mobile phone operator Banglalink, asking not to be named, added: “We have a customer base of around 32,000,000 people. It is normal that there will be some complaints against us, and we make a serious effort to resolve them.”This article was first published on banglatribune.com
Thursday, April 25, 2024
