Around 68% of complaints received by the NTRA were regarding voice services (prepaid and postpaid subscriptions), while 19% were false claims
Telecom operators in Egypt had to pay around EGP 2 million in fines and refunds to their customers in the first half (H1) of 2021, states the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA).
According to NTRA, Orange accounted for the largest share of refunds at 65%, followed by Vodafone 23%, Etisalat 10%, and WE 2%.
The NTRA previously announced that it had obliged telecoms to refund EGP 970,000 to their respective customers in Q4 2020, increasing complaint resolution rates to 96 percent.
In a separate report earlier this week, the NTRA had announced Etisalat Misr as providing the most satisfactory service according to a recent survey, with Vodafone at its heels with 78% of its customers happy with their service.
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Around 68% of complaints received by the NTRA were regarding voice services (prepaid and postpaid subscriptions), while 19% were false claims, 9% were regarding subscription to services without users’ request, and 4% about roaming issues.
They received over 117,000 complaints from telecom customers in H1 2021, with over half (52%) of complaints focused on ADSL issues, and 31% linked to mobile-related complaints.
The response rate of operators to complaints in H1 of 2021 was 92%, and the average response time to a complaint was two days.
The authority also requested ADSL providers to update their subscription system, which is set to activate starting October 2021, to facilitate approving customer requests to no more than a week.
Telecom companies were also compelled to notify users, through an SMS, of any amounts that will be deducted from their credit when recharging, as well as send out SMS for when customers use 50%, 75%, and 100% of their bundle.
According to the report, the number of complaints related to the landlines amounted to about 19,600, representing 17% of the total complaints.
NTRA receives complaints through call centers via 155, in addition to electronic means, such as its website, email, and WhatsApp.
NTRA said it received 86% of the complaints via call centers, 9% on its website, 4% on WhatsApp, and 1% via email.
