The Communications Regulatory Authority confirmed that it has set rules for subscribing to services provided by other parties

Dealers in telecommunications services complain of withdrawing amounts for subscriptions that they did not request

Subscribers were surprised by the deduction of amounts up to 400 dirhams on their mobile phone without any apparent reason

Subscribers to telecommunications services in the country said that they were surprised that service providers deducted material amounts for subscribing to services that they did not finally request to subscribe to, such as gaming services, ringtones and content, or what is known as services provided by other parties.

They called on the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) to set strict controls to confirm participation and to intervene to stop the collection of fees and deduct sums of money in exchange for services that they did not request to subscribe to except after obtaining the subscriber's explicit and clear consent to subscribe.

For its part, the authority confirmed to "Emirates Today" that it has issued a set of executive instructions to the operators, which include basic points that bind the approved telecommunications service providers in the country to terms and conditions for applications and services provided by other parties.

Games service

In detail, the subscriber, Ahmed Nasser, said that he was surprised by the deduction of more than 300 dirhams from his mobile account during the recent period without any apparent reason.

He added that he contacted his telecom service provider, who informed him that the discount was a result of his subscription to a new gaming service, and that this service is not affiliated with him, but rather called third-party services because it belongs to other parties.

Nasser emphasized that he had never participated in this game, especially since he was not a fan of games and did not have young children playing these games, calling on the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to set controls to confirm participation by the subscriber before the opponent, and to stop withdrawing cash money without the subscriber's explicit consent. And its clear to subscribe.

«Tones»

For his part, the subscriber Abdullah Muhammad said that he was also surprised by the deduction of all his mobile phone credit without any justification, indicating that he was unable to make any calls or send messages, even though a few days had passed since the beginning of the month.

He reported that he had contacted the service provider, informing him that he had subscribed to the "Tones" service, and that the withdrawal was made to pay for this service, confirming that he had not subscribed to this service, nor was he aware of its existence in the first place.

Muhammad, in turn, called for “Communications Regulation” to set strict controls to confirm subscription to any service, to intervene to stop the collection of fees, and to deduct sums for services in which he was not asked to subscribe at all, and he does not know how to subscribe to them, or the date of subscription.

Content services

In the same context, the participant, Noha Al-Obaidi, said that she discovered a deduction of 400 dirhams from her account for no reason, and when she inquired from the service provider, he told her that she had subscribed to the content services that she received through promotional messages, explaining that these services fall under the so-called With other parties, not the operator itself, and include entertainment, sports, economic and music services.

Al-Obaidi asked how to withdraw sums from her in return for a subscription that she did not do, and no message from the service provider confirming her participation in this service permanently, she also asked to set strict and clear controls for subscribing to services and not withdraw amounts except after clearly informing the subscriber of the withdrawal of funds, and clarification Services for which the amounts were withdrawn.

Consumer protection

For its part, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority confirmed that it is keen to work closely with telecom service providers in the country to ensure that the interests of consumers and subscribers are protected from all sides, the most important of which is the issue of subscriptions to smart applications provided by third parties or from other parties.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority stated that it issued a set of executive instructions that bind the approved telecommunications service providers in the country to terms and conditions for applications and services provided by third parties, such as games applications, ringtones, content, and others.

Terms and Conditions

The authority clarified that these instructions included basic points, most notably the consumer receiving details of the terms and conditions related to the purchase of a product, service, game, ringtone, etc. before subscribing, in addition to not completing the subscription process for any product, service, game or tone with one click, and confirming the subscription By entering a single "OTP" password, to avoid accidental subscription, and to confirm the consumer agreeing to purchase the service.

She added that if consumers are offered a yes or no option on the screen as part of the purchase process, the “no” option must always be selected by default, to avoid choosing a “yes” by mistake.

'Consumption ceiling'

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority indicated that it obligated suppliers to inform subscribers about the application of the "consumption ceiling" system, and about the procedure that consumers can choose to set a "consumption ceiling" in an amount chosen by the consumer himself.

She emphasized that it strictly imposes and applies the "consumption ceiling" system on purchases of additional services, indicating that the "consumption ceiling" must be programmed so that its reference account is zero dirhams per month, which means that only consumers who perform specific procedures according to those instructions are the ones who will be able to do With purchases of additional services.

Cancellation of the service .. and complaints

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) stressed the need to provide the consumer with a text message after the purchase process at each purchase, while providing consumers with a mechanism to cancel the service.

She pointed out that the Authority’s Consumer Protection Regulations include provisions mandating licensed companies to implement an effective system to deal with consumers ’complaints, explaining that in principle, any consumer who has a complaint about telecommunications services provided to him by a company licensed in the state can file a complaint against the licensee in accordance with For procedures published by the licensed company.

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