The Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is continuing its efforts to crack down on consumer complaints pertaining to value added services (VAS).
Prior to this, the regulator recommended that VAS providers were required to obtain a confirmation from the consumer through SMS or e-mail within 24 hours of activating the service. The service provider should bill the consumer only if confirmation is received. If not, the services should be discontinued.
Now, TRAI is considering initiating third-party audits on the operators? records of activating such services.
The regulator?s guidelines however, met with strong resistance from VAS companies. These players felt that the proposal, if implemented, would restricting the growth of these services, as the proposed directive expect mobile users to send an SMS as a confirmation of subscription service every month.
Further, VAS providers felt that this could adversely impact this space and may also cause a revenue loss of Rs 15 billion to the government.
Meanwhile, mobile operators have reacted to the guidelines. These companies have terminated all the outsourcing deals inked with VAS companies and, according to news reports, have opted for an in-house model to promote all their ?push?-based services.
Moreover, the players have informed the regulator that they will use inform the consumer three days before a VAS is due to be renewed via text messaging.
This text message is to contain information pertaining to the due date for renewal of the service, the renewal charges and a toll free telephone number in case the user wishes to unsubscribe from the service.Telecoms regulator Trai may order third-party audits on telcos’ records of activating value added services (VAS) to ensure compliance, a senior official told ET. The move follows consumer complaints of mobile phone companies activating VAS without consent.
