No estimated bills in telecom sector says NCC - ITREALMS

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Bills for services in the nation’s telecommunications sector are not estimated but exact says the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), reports ITREALMS.

This was made known to ITREALMS at the maiden edition of the Telecom Consumer Conversation held at Garki International Market, Abuja recently on the theme: "Know your Rights and Obligations as a Telecom Consumer."

Speaking through live video monitored by ITREALMS, the Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, Mr. Efosa Idehen, said that telecom consumers haver various rights they should be aware of, which includes but not limited to the fact that their bills must not be estimated.

According to him, bills in the sector must have a given pattern and must be exact, hence at the end of each call there must be call notification, which offers brief on call duration and cost from your operator.

This exact billing system cuts across both post-paid and pre-paid customers.

NCC also said that every service in the industry must have a timeline at when it must be completed or escalated to the next level if it becomes necessary.

NCC, he pointed out, is keen in the promotion of universal access, and thus, a stop-in gap for consumers.

CAB therefore urged consumers to take advantage of NCC, so that they would not be taken advantage of, stressing that consumers have several rights include the right to know, right to safety, to choose among others.

One of the biggest challenges discovered by CAB is for consumer to know when and how to leave one network to another, which is largely the issue of changing the consumer numbers.

This, he said, was one of the reasons NCC introduced porting of lines, an option that offers telecom consumers an avenue to still retain their lines even if they leave a particular network for another.

In addition, consumers have rights to privacy, which paved the way for NCC to introduce the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) code across the networks, especially with regards to unsolicited messages.

“Take advantage of us, so that no one takes advantage of you,” he urged.

Chuks Egbune/Editor


Pix: Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Nigerian Communications Commission, Mr Efosa Idehen (centre) flanked by other senior staff of the department during the maiden Telecom Consumer Conversation (TCC) hosted by the Commission at the Garki International Market Abuja recently.