By NEVILLE OTUKI, notuki@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- The amendments to the Kenya Information and Communications Act 1998 make it mandatory for service providers to inform customers of the charges for premium services before use.
- Violation of the legislation will see executives of telcos risk jail terms of up to three years or a fine of up to Sh300,000 or both.
Mobile phone operators will be required to disclose
charges of premium rate text messages to subscribers before use in a new
law that seeks to seal avenues for unexplained charges on handsets.
The amendments to the Kenya Information and Communications Act 1998 make it mandatory for service providers to inform customers of the charges for premium services before use.
The amendments to the Kenya Information and Communications Act 1998 make it mandatory for service providers to inform customers of the charges for premium services before use.
Hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting subscribers are being
sent premium-rate texts they never asked for — and charged up to Sh50 a
time.
Customers have complained of being billed for the
daily, weekly or monthly texts, which advertise gaming services,
‘glamour videos’ or Bible verses.
Messages do not always make recipients aware they are paying, prompting the review of the laws.
“A telecommunication operator shall, before levying
or allowing to be levied, any specific charge relating to a premium
rate service provided to a subscriber, disclose the fact, amount, and
frequency of the charge to the subscriber,” the amended law says.
This shall, however, “not apply to services rendered by a telecommunications operator on behalf of a public body”.
Violation of the legislation will see executives of
telcos risk jail terms of up to three years or a fine of up to
Sh300,000 or both.
It is increasingly becoming common for customers to
unknowingly subscribe to a service or app that ends up deducting their
airtime or data bundles daily whenever they receive notifications.
Premium rate services are usually channelled
through SMS short codes or special numbers that mobile phone operators
have leased to PRS providers, often companies to run promotions such as
betting or offers.
In October, Safaricom issued a statement saying all
its customers who have been subscribed to premium rate subscription
services without their knowledge will be fully refunded any money
billed.
The statement came after a number of customers
complained that they were losing airtime in an unexplained manner. At
the time, some unsuspecting subscribers had signed up to ‘Cheza Games’,
which offered entertainment games for a fee.
“I have committed that all customers who have been
erroneously subscribed to the ‘Cheza Games’ service shall be refunded by
the providers of the ‘Cheza Games’ service for the amounts erroneously
billed,” Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore said.
Services such as ‘Cheza Games’ are run by third
parties commonly known as content service providers (CSP) and are
licensed by Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) — the telecoms
regulator.
Safaricom laid blame on the regulator, which licences the premium rate services providers.
“All mobile service providers are obligated to work
with CSPs. We remain concerned that some service providers who are
supposed to ensure that their services have a simple opt in and opt out
option have not done so, despite continued operator and customer
complaints,” said Safaricom.
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