Less than 10% are still under investigation, the CRA said in a statement yesterday. CRA’s Consumer Affairs Department is working closely with both service providers – Ooredoo and Vodafone-Qatar – to finalise the unresolved complaints. In 2015, CRA had also received a total of 1,985 inquiries from telecom consumers.
CRA’s consumer affairs manager Amel Salem al-Hanawi said: “CRA is mandated by an Emiri decree to manage a dispute resolution system that is transparent, fair, speedy and effective. These figures show that CRA is proactively managing disputes, with nearly 100 complaints received on average each month against both service providers. Resolving these complaints is a vital part of our role in protecting telecom consumers in Qatar. In the spirit of transparency, we will continue to share these figures with the consumers in Qatar.”
Common complaints received by CRA by consumers include disconnections, delays in service provisions, refunds, incorrect billing, slow Internet, weak broadband services, services not activated or mistakenly disconnected, high roaming charges, double debiting, replenishment failures and failure to activate SIM cards.
Specifically, 30% of the complaints received about Ooredoo’s mobile services are related to billing issues and 20% are related to network coverage issues. A total of 30% of Vodafone mobile services complaints are related to service disconnection issues and 20% are related to billing issues.
From the data collected, 53% of Ooredoo fixed line complaints are related to delay in installation and activation while 32% of the fixed line complaints are related to fixed line disconnection issues.
The figures correlate to each service provider’s share of subscribers. Ooredoo’ share of mobile subscribers is 67% compared to Vodafone’s 33%. Ooredoo’s share in the fixed line market is 98% (Source service providers published financial results for Q3 2015).
The Telecommunications Law and the licenses issued to service providers include provisions to protect consumers by placing obligations on the service providers to be honest and be fair in their dealings.
Consumers with a complaint can approach the CRA if they first complain to their service provider and this complaint remains unresolved for 30 calendar days, or if they are dissatisfied with the resolution offered.
The Consumer Affairs department within CRA is responsible to receive and investigate telecom consumer complaints by working with both consumers and service providers in a prompt and balanced way to find mutually acceptable solution. The Consumer Affairs department also responds to consumer inquiries about any issues they have regarding the services provided by their telecom service provider.
Consumers can contact the CRA if they are first unable to resolve their disputes with their service provider within 30 days using a variety of communication channels: the 24/7 hotline number 103, e-mail at [email protected], using the CRA’s online complaint form via the website, by tweeting directly to the CRA @CRAqatar, or by visiting the CRA’s headquarters at Al Nasr Tower B.
The CRA regulates the communications and information technology sector, postal services, and access to digital media. CRA uses its regulatory powers mandated by the Emiri decree to protect consumer rights, ensure competition, manage the resolution of disputes, and manage the electromagnetic spectrum. In all its activities, the CRA seeks to ensure the provision of advanced, innovative and reliable ICT and postal services across the state of Qatar.
