" ITREALMS: Sanction looms: NCC uncovers multiple illegal deductions by mobile operators - ITREALMS

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Sanction looms: NCC uncovers multiple illegal deductions by mobile operators - ITREALMS

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has uncovered large volume of forceful and illegal deductions by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the country, insisting that consumers must be refunded, reports ITREALMS.

NCC, in a public statement sighted by ITREALMS, the Commission noted that as a consumer-centric regulator, its dismayed by this act by MNOs with great displeasure.

The Commission said this is unacceptably high level of consumer complaints in respect of forceful subscriptions to Value-Added Services (VAS), as well as airtime deductions for these subscriptions.

ITREALMS gathered that NCC mandated several initiatives to tackle the menace, stressing these included the institution of a comprehensive investigation and resolution process, the Do-not-Disturb (DND) facility, and the imposition of sanctions for breach.
Additionally, NCC said, disturbed by the persistent occurrence of the menace despite these measures, it had carried out a long and comprehensive investigative audit into VAS subscriptions across all MNO and VAS platforms.

The investigative audit was led by the Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Department of the Commission, with participation from its other Departments such as the Technical Standards and Network Integrity (TSNI), Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB), Legal & Regulatory Services (LRS), and Licensing & Authorisation (L&A).

The Audit Team analyzed subscribers’ Call Detail Records from MNOs and subscription logs from VAS providers over a period of two years, leading to the conclusion that a huge percentage of VAS services were not voluntarily subscribed for. The audit team also found that some providers had implemented disingenuous mechanisms by which large numbers of innocent consumers were “forcefully” subscribed to VAS platforms, leading to regular deduction of their airtime without their consent.

As all Stakeholders are aware, the Commission has persistently insisted that actions of this sort are unacceptable as they are in direct breach of the Nigerian Communications Act and NCC’s many regulatory instruments on the matter. Such actions also undermine the very foundations of the customer/service provider relationship, that is, transparency and trust.

Based on the outcome of the investigative audit, the Commission will shortly be directing the indicted organisations to make refunds to affected consumers as appropriate. The Commission is also considering, and will impose appropriate sanctions as necessary. This outcome justifies the Commission’s commitment to evidence-based interventions.

We wish to use this opportunity to inform the general public that the Commission may suspend or outrightly decommission some VAS platforms and services in the overall interests of consumers. We assure consumers that these measures will be implemented with minimal inconvenience to them, and trust that we can count on the understanding of consumers who may be affected by these measures.


The Commission assures all Stakeholders that we will continue to use all available resources to protect the rights of consumers of telecoms services and to ensure that they get appropriate value for their interactions with service and platform providers.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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