BOCRA receives 12 complaints in Q2 of 2015/16

Pauline Dikuelo | Friday December 4, 2015 10:57

Ten of them were resolved while two are still pending. According to BOCRA deputy director of corporate communications, Aaron Nyelesi the escalated reports were restricted to telecom and value-added network service providers.

Nyelesi said the resolution was made possible by monitoring and enforcing defined metrics with respect to pricing, availability, standards and quality of services and products offered by the regulated service providers.

“These complaints are the ones that the operator and the complaint could not solve hence the reason they were escalated to BOCRA for further investigation,” he said. “It is important to provide facts when escalating a complaint to BOCRA and have copies related to the case.”

Nyelesi said the two pending complaints were the result of an operator taking long to resolve the complaint in one instance while for the other, the complaint was registered on the last day of the month and it has since been sent to the operator for rebuttal or resolution.

In the registered complaints, he said, the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL) escalated five complaints, followed by beMOBILE with three, Mascom with two and Orange with one.

Under poor Internet speed, BTC escalated three complaints while Mascom had one case that was solved. beMOBILE was the only operator that has an escalated complaint about repeated SMS, which was also solved.

“BTC had two billing complaints while Orange had one regarding the contract agreement which were all solved. A complaint against Mascom was lodged regarding airtime while beMOBILE has one on simcard as well as Be free, a service which gives customers more time to talk free,” he said.

BOCRA also received complaints regarding unconfirmed reports in June this year regarding Yarona Fm, which was resolved. The following month there was another one about service disconnections regarding Multichoice’s DSTV and a broadcaster misconduct against Gabz fm in September, which were all resolved.

As per the Act, BOCRA is mandated to protect and promote the interests of consumers, purchasers and other users of the services in the regulated sectors.

To this end, BOCRA is required to maintain a registry available to members of the public detailing disputes and complaints reported to the authority by the consumers and regulated supplies, the action taken by the authority and the result of that action.