The Communications and Multimedia Consumer Forum of Malaysia (CFM) said it recorded a 33% increase in complaints from users on various communications and multimedia issues in 2018 compared to the previous year.
It received 6,330 last year and 4,746 in 2017, and claims it resolved 88% of complaints in fewer than 15 days with the help of service providers.
Complaints on cellular service remains the highest from year to year with 2,513 complaints received last year, while complaints on high-speed broadband (HSBB) recorded the highest increase.
All the complaints received were classified according to service problems into 10 categories with the Network category recording the highest at 1,919 complaints. The complaints in this category were mostly about service disruption and downtime.
Next comes Billing & Charging at 1,822 complaints. The most reported issue under this category is billing dispute, followed by unreasonable charges, rebates or refunds, being blacklisted, poor billing system and roaming charges.
The other categories are Service Delivery (1,220), Pricing (505), Unfair Practice (244), Misrepresentation of Service (190), Mobile Number Port Out (183), SMS Service (134), Dispute on Terms & Conditions (107) and others (6).
CFM chairman Mohamad Yusrizal Datuk Yusoff said the Pricing category, which only received 33 complaints in 2017, reached the fourth position last year.
“We received a lot of complaints about pricing. The increase in complaints was due to attractive new packages and strategic rates offered to new customers. However, existing customers were dissatisfied because service providers set out terms and conditions that were not in favour of them,” he stated.
Yusrizal said consumers should practice self-regulation to protect their rights. He reminded consumers to always check the terms and conditions and read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section before signing up for a service, as well as pay close attention to any changes in billing and charges.
Unfair Practice was fifth with consumers complaining about false registration and change in packages without prior consent.
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