TRAI finds 87 percent dip in complaints for wrong VAS activation

The number of complaints made against wrong activation of value added services like mobile Internet and caller tunes has declined by about 87 percent since July when TRAI issued directions to operators for putting an end to such practices, the regulator said Sunday.

According to data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), number of consumer complaints against wrongly activated VAS services on mobile phones has come down by about 87.56 percent to 9,338 in August, from 75,117 in July.

"A decline in complaints pertaining to value added services is noticed after measures taken by TRAI," the regulator said in statement.

On July 10, TRAI issued direction to telecom operators to take double confirmation from consumers before activating value added services (VAS) and refund money of subscriber if the complaint is made within 24 hours for services that are valid for more than a day and 6 hours if a service is valid for a day.

Under the rules, consumers can register complaints about wrongful activation of VAS on a toll-free common number, 155223, irrespective of the network they use.

The regulator observed that total number of complaints received for VAS reduced almost halved from 1,85,468 in July to 95,510 in August.

The value added services activation on mobile network also reduced by about 57 percent from about 7 crore in June when rules were not in place to 3 crore in July.

The data released by regulator did not incorporate details of state-run BSNL, Sistema Shyam, Videocon and Punjab based Quadrant.