The FF Plus has invited people who have unresolved billing and administrative problems with cellphone company MTN to come forward so they can ask Parliament and the Consumer Protection Commission for help. By Jenni Evans, NewsAgency
FF Plus parliamentary spokesperson on communications Anton Alberts said they had received numerous complaints about unresolved billing and administrative problems at MTN and decided to help.
The complaints range from excessive data charges to unexplained amounts billed on dormant accounts.
“For example, a woman working in Saudi Arabia received a bill for thousands on an account that was dormant,” said Alberts.
They say they were approached after the radio station Radio Sonder Grense (RSG) was inundated with complaints about the company.
According to Alberts, even though disputes were being declared by customers, they were still expected to pay now.
Alberts is on Parliament’s portfolio committee on trade and industry which oversees the Consumer Protection Commission.
“The people on the committee are also consumers and they listen to complaints like these,” he said.
He said the commission’s annual report back to Parliament on the complaints it receives, always showed that complaints about cellphone and vehicle sales companies were sky high.
Although the campaign was starting with MTN consumers, he anticipated that customers of other companies would also contact them and they could see if there was a pattern with cellphone providers generally.
“People who have already taken up the issue with MTN and could not be assisted, are invited to write to Neels Hattingh at help@vfplus.org.za,” the FF Plus said.
A dispute should be declared with MTN and the FF Plus would report it to the Consumer Protection Commission.
Next year when Parliament sits again, Alberts said he would present the complaints to the committee. – News24
