NTC drafts rules to end ‘nakaw’ loads
The National Telecommunications Commission is drafting stricter rules to respond to complaints that phone loads are being deducted arbitrarily for value-added services (VAS) like ring tones or wallpapers. Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo called the deduction “unfair consumer practice” affecting prepaid and postpaid customers.
Help is coming, however belatedly, for victims of “nakaw” loads, or disappearing prepaid mobile loads.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is drafting stricter rules in response to complaints that phone loads are being deducted arbitrarily for value-added services (VAS) like ring tones or wallpapers.
NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Caballos said in a Senate public hearing on Tuesday that the commission was crafting strict rules on “opt in,” or enrollment in VAS.
Sen. Bam Aquino, chair of the committee on science and technology, led the hearing following complaints from prepaid mobile subscribers.
Arbitrary deduction
Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said the arbitrary deduction of loads for the use of VAS was an “unfair consumer practice.” The practice, she said, also affects postpaid customers.
Caballos said that while the NTC had issued regulations on the use of VAS almost 10 years ago, these were strictly observed for only three to four years.
Aquino and Sen. Nancy Binay asked Smart Communications and Globe Telecom whether “clicking X” to VAS providers meant the subscribers would be automatically enrolled.
Globe and Smart officials said this should not happen.
Froilan Castelo, Globe senior vice president for legal, told the committee that the network was following the procedure set up by the NTC on enrollment in VAS.
Castelo said Globe had suspended a VAS provider—Got Deals—when it made erroneous billings to its customers who were later reimbursed.
He said a case had been filed against Got Deals in the NTC.
Opt out
Starting Monday until the end of the week, Globe will implement an “opt out all customers” in VAS or a “systemat- ic refresh” following complaints, said the Globe official.
This will allow subscribers to register again to the VAS of their choice, he said.
“That’s a good move,” Aquino told Castelo as this would make it clear to subscribers where they were registered.
Castelo said Globe was not providing the contact numbers of its subscribers to VAS providers, as the company was giving premium to the privacy of its customers.
He said Globe was the one communicating with the mobile subscriber once he sought to avail himself of a VAS.
Roy Cecil Ibay, Smart vice president for regulatory affairs, said Smart had trimmed down from 200 to 95 the number of its VAS providers, removing those who were inactive, those with records of complaints and those not providing good services.
Mon Isberto, head of public affairs for PLDT-Smart, told reporters that Smart had cut down the number of VAS providers because it wanted to keep only those “who really add value to costumer experience and those patronized by the public.”
Isberto said Smart had been doing a “system refresh” starting two to three years ago, ahead of Globe.
Smart also installed a new platform “which would handle the VAS so that all the transactions of customers here will be monitored,” he added.