The FF Plus has invited people who have unresolved billing and administrative problems with cellphone company MTN to\u00a0come forward\u00a0so they can ask Parliament and the Consumer Protection Commission for help.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The complaints range from excessive data charges to unexplained amounts billed on dormant accounts.<\/p>\n
“For example, a woman working in Saudi Arabia received a bill for thousands on an account that was dormant,” said Alberts.<\/p>\n
They say they\u00a0were approached after the radio station Radio Sonder Grense (RSG) was inundated with complaints about the company.<\/p>\n
According to Alberts, even though disputes were being declared by customers, they were still expected to pay now.<\/p>\n
Alberts is on Parliament’s portfolio committee on trade and industry which oversees the Consumer Protection Commission.<\/p>\n
“The people on the committee are also consumers and they listen to complaints like these,” he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
A dispute should be declared with MTN and the FF Plus would report it to the Consumer Protection Commission.<\/p>\n
Next year when Parliament sits again, Alberts said he would present the complaints to the committee.<\/p>\n
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