Mobile users fleeced by telcos over ‘dropped calls’

PETALING JAYA: Have you ever been in the midst of a call on your mobile and then the call suddenly disconnects for no apparent reason?

Thus, this necessitates you having to call the person back to resume the conversation.

This is what is known as “dropped calls”, something that seems to have become quite a norm in Malaysia.

It may not seem like such a big deal, right? After all, how hard is it to just hit the “redial” button on your phone to call the person back?

But you are actually being charged anew for your call again, said National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) legal and dispute resolution manager Santhosh Kannan.

“For example, say a telco charges you 30 sen a minute for calls made. If you call someone and speak for 10 seconds before the call is suddenly cut off, and you call the person back, you are charged afresh 30 sen.

“This means that you are charged 30 sen for the 10 seconds and then you are charged afresh 30 sen a minute when you call the person back. Can you imagine how much telcos make from these dropped calls?” asked Santhosh.

Telcos have subscriber bases of millions and if they make just a few sen from each consumer from dropped calls, this would mean profiteering from providing shoddy services.

After all, if it’s just 30 or even 60 sen, most Malaysians would simply pay it without thinking twice or even thinking of lodging a complaint. However, if you multiply it by millions, telcos stand to make a comfortable profit.

In 2013, there were 8,626 complaints lodged with the NCCC on issues related to telcos, of which 1,783 were complaints on dropped calls.

But as Santhosh aptly pointed out, this may not actually reflect the actual situation when it comes to dropped calls.

“The actual number of consumers affected by this problem may be a lot larger as most people would not bother to complain about this, thinking it’s a small matter and not realising that they are being charged anew when they have to make the call again when it is cut off,” he said.

Santhosh wants the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to come up with key performance indicators (KPI) for telcos on the quality of their service.

“There should be a check and balance. MCMC should conduct service quality checks regularly to see if they are meeting their KPIs,” he said.

He said issues such as regular dropped calls would upset and irritate some consumers, who would then not pay their bill due to the quality of service provided, despite them having signed contracts with the telcos.

“This will then result in the consumer getting blacklisted by financial institutions, especially if they check with private credit reporting agencies,” said Santhosh.

In March last year, MCMC compounded three of the biggest telcos in the country to the tune of RM190,000 over dropped calls.

DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd had a total of four compounds amounting to RM100,000, while Celcom Axiata Bhd was slapped with RM60,000 via three compounds and Maxis Mobile Services Sdn Bhd was served two compounds amounting to RM30,000.

The amount of the fines, said Santhosh, was negligible compared to the revenue these companies generate and thus would not serve as a deterrent to them.

Plus, dropped calls were still occurring as could be seen from the complaints lodged with NCCC throughout 2013, he added.

With Malaysia reported to have a 140 per cent mobile penetration, and with 47 per cent of Malaysians said to own more than one mobile phone, telco issues affect many consumers.

In fact, it is something affecting consumers the world over as mobile penetration increases with even schoolgoing children now having mobile phones.

This is why the theme for the World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) on March 15 this year is “Fix our phone rights!”

Consumers International (CI), the world federation of consumer groups with over 240 member organisations in 120 countries, will commensurate WCRD with the launch of a new Consumer Agenda for Fair Mobile Services.

The CI website states that the agenda sets out the issues that most affect consumers, including the need for access to a reliable service, the security of their data and fair contracts and billing.

The agenda will be submitted to the World Telecommunications Development Conference, held by the International Telecommunications Union, where CI will call on phone regulators and companies to take action to stop these issues from undermining the success of this technology.

Closer to home though, MCMC should seriously look into the complaints on this matter lodged with NCCC and take heed of Santhosh’s recommendations.

by Sonia Ramachandran