The survey revealed that 68% of consumers read the service terms or contract details before they purchase a communications service, while 50% of consumers lodged complaints with their service providers last year and 47% thought about switching their service provider, CRA said in a statement.
The survey was held during a public outreach event hosted by CRA to commemorate World Consumer Rights Day from March 15 until Sunday at Katara – the Cultural Village.
About 200 visitors participated in the survey.
The results indicate that the first point of contact when facing a communications service issue for 61% of consumers is usually a friend or family member, while 21% of consumers contact their service provider and 12% choose to ask others on social media for advice and solutions.
Amel Salem al-Hanawi, Consumer Affairs Department manager, said: “We commemorate consumer protection every day at CRA. However, the World Consumer Rights Day gives us a great opportunity to talk to our consumers face-to-face and listen to their concerns.
“The brief survey we conducted has given us valuable data about consumers’ behaviour and this will help enhance our outreach activities. I encourage all of you to contact us via our hotline 103 if you are unable to resolve your complaints with the operators.”
Besides the survey, the event included fun activities for children and adults alike. Visitors could also lodge complaints against licensed service providers onsite and learn more about CRA’s complaints resolution process.
Consumers are free to approach the CRA if a complaint lodged directly with their service provider remains unresolved, the authority has said. They can lodge a complaint with CRA after 48 hours for mobile service disconnections, after 72 hours for fixed line disconnections, or after 30 calendar days for complaints that are not related to a service disconnection.
Consumers can also contact CRA any time if they are dissatisfied with the offered resolution of the closed complaint. Special needs consumers can lodge complaints with the authority for service disconnections or any other unresolved issues as long as a period of 48 hours has passed.
Complaints are assessed by CRA against a set of criteria to validate a complaint. It receives and investigates complaints by working with both the complainant and service providers to find a fair and mutually acceptable resolution.
