As part of its plans to bring wayward wireless application service providers to heel, industry watchdog, the Wireless Application Service Providers Association (Waspa), has been secretly monitoring their advertising and customer interaction activities.
Complaints against wireless application service providers increase by 30% every quarter, Waspa says. It expects to receive 2 300 complaints during the last three months of 2008.
The body has appointed someone to actively monitor service providers` advertising and their interaction with customers as part of a programme of proactive enforcement of the Waspa code of conduct.
Leon Perlman, Waspa chairman, says the identity of the monitor is being kept confidential in order to prevent "lobbying by the wireless service providers".
He says the secret monitor has laid 40 complaints against various providers since being appointed three months ago.
Pioneering move
Waspa was established four years ago as a means to bring some order in the form of good governance and consumer protection to the burgeoning industry that offers services and products over cellular networks. The body is non-statutory, but has the endorsement of the cellular network operators and telecommunications regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of SA.
Perlman says the increase in complaints is largely due to the rise in consumer awareness of the association. It can investigate, adjudicate, and, if necessary, either fine or expel a service provider that is not adhering to the code of conduct. Last year, it levied R491 000 worth of fines, including one of R200 000, although this is still subject to an appeal.
"What we are doing, in effect, is pioneering a quasi-judicial system," he says.
Complaints are resolved either through an informal method that means a consumer lodges the issue with Waspa, which then facilitates interaction between the individual and the service provider, and if it is settled satisfactorily then it ends there.
Taking it further
If the complaint cannot be settled, then the formal channel is used whereby a written complaint is issued. Waspa gives the service provider five working days in which to respond. A decision is made within 48 hours of the service provider`s response.
The complaint is then taken to one of eight adjudicators, who are all ICT lawyers, for a decision, which could be a fine of up to R200 000, should the service provider be found guilty. If necessary, there is an appeal panel of three people to review cases.
"We are more nimble than legislated regulatory bodies, as our code of conduct can be fine-tuned regularly to keep pace with fast-changing technology and business models," Perlman says.
During the last quarter of 2007, Waspa received 837 complaints, of which 468 were against unknown, unwanted or misunderstood content changes. Another 178 complaints were received from customers who had difficulty unsubscribing from a service. An additional 119 complaints were over spam, 19 complaints were about alleged breaches of Waspa`s advertising rules, two complaints about inappropriate adult content, and 51 complaints were of a miscellaneous nature, or were about issues that Waspa could not assist with.
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