CPC summons telecom providers over poor services

The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) on Thursday summoned the chief executive officers of telecommunications companies operating in the country over complaints of poor services by consumers.

Speaking with journalists after the meeting, the Director-General, CPC, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, said ways of addressing various consumer complaints arising from poor network and unsolicited services were discussed.

Others are unlawful deductions/wrong billings, exploitative automated services; unauthorised SIM swaps/line disconnection, as well as poor Internet and customer service.

She said, 'I called the meeting of all the CEOs of the telecommunications operators in Nigeria to discuss issues that all Nigerian subscribers are aware of. The main issues that are of concern to Nigerian consumers are drop calls, truncated services, poor network services, unsolicited services, unlawful deductions/wrong billings, exploitative automated services and poor customer services. I commend the operators that attended. Some of them did not attend.

'However, I am glad to report that we had a fruitful deliberation. The telecoms operators have recognised that these are valid concerns. But the stand of the CPC is that consumers must get value for the money they pay for telecommunications services.

'This is the appropriate time for us to have this dialogue in order to lay on the table these issues that affect the Nigerian consumers. We have come to the conclusion that there will be another meeting to further deliberate on the various challenges and issues that border on the complaints that have been raised so that we can come to an identifiable conclusion on the way forward.'

Atoki noted that while the CPC was aware of some of the challenges of doing business in the country, which the government was currently addressing, such would not serve as genuine excuses for the operators to short-change consumers.