By the Bohol Chronicle
Complaints against draining unused cell phone loads are mounting as this remains unexplained by authorities concerned. There’s not even an office in the province to inquire from.
Aside from loss of loads, which refers to the “phone credits of prepaid subscribers,†unsolicited promotions have proliferated and remain unabated.
Promotions include: “1/2 Your Caller Ringtune Careless Whisper by Kris Lawrence has been renewed for P7 valid for 7 days. Need help? Text HELP to 2728 or call *888 for customer…Sender 2728.â€
Another is: “A new hit from Chris Daughtry! Narinig mo na ba ang No Surprise? Well surprise ur friends w/ d caller ringtune! Txt GIFT <smart No> NOS to 2728. P15/15days. Sender 209,†“1/2 The Caller Ringtune, The Time of My Life by David Cook has been added to your jukebox. You have been charged P5 valid for 5 days. To stop this service an … (some txt missing) Sender 2728.â€
A complainant, who declined to be named, said that concerned agencies such as the National Telecommunications Commission of the Department of Transportation and Communications should have investigated this and impose on the phone service providers stiffer penalties.
It was learned that a lot of subscribers are similarly situated but they cannot file complaints since no NTC office is based here.
The Department of Trade and Industry based here said that complaint such as this is beyond their jurisdiction.
But DTI said that a customer or user should first be informed of any promotion of a certain product or service without cost on the part of the prospective customer.
But a complainant said that what the service providers are doing and keep doing is that they send information of the product or service they offer to the cell phone holders and immediately impose on charges.
Even if a subscriber or cell phone holders refuse to avail of the promotion, they actually are “forced to good†to send response to the sender to avoid the charges imposed on them on a given time limit, a complainant explained. This is a kind of a racket and a form of abuse on the part of the service providers, he added.
In an interview, Vice-Gov. Julius Herrera hinted of calling the attention of and inviting the authorities of service providers in the province to shed light on matter. (RVO)
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