There are too many complaints channels in the South African telecoms and Internet sector.
This is one of the preliminary findings of research conducted by Wits University`s Link centre on consumer activity in the telecoms and Internet sectors in SA. It is part of a three-country research project that includes Senegal and Kenya.
There is also vibrant, energetic consumer activism in the country, says Wits lecturer and researcher Charley Lewis.
Lewis says despite this, there is a lack of awareness regarding consumer rights and where one can complain when the service provider fails to resolve a customer`s complaint.
He says the legislative framework in which the telecoms and Internet sectors operate is too complex, creating a range of channels and institutions. As a result, ordinary consumers don`t really know where to complain.
In addition to the public institutions that have been mandated by the various acts, regulations and codes of good practice to protect the consumer`s rights, there are also bodies that have organised themselves to provide consumers with a forum for complaining.
Companies and individuals who are educated and affluent are most likely to access these services. He says people living in townships and rural areas are not only unaware that they can complain but also do not know where to go.
Lewis says the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has failed to take the issue of consumer complaints seriously. He says although ICASA has a consumer protection unit, there is little data provided on the number of complaints received annually, as well as how these complaints were resolved.
An action that would demonstrate how seriously ICASA took the recording and management of customer complaints would be for the regulator to compel service providers to provide such data, he adds.
Balancing Act CEO Russel Southwood, who initiated the project, says complaints are a normal part of doing business. Those selling a product in large quantities must expect to receive complaints, he notes. The key is to put infrastructure in place that deals with those complaints.
Southwood says the project was born out of interest to look at how effective consumer activities are in influencing key stakeholders in the telecoms and Internet sectors and the media. The project also aims to provide an overview of the extent of consumer activity across Africa, providing a summary of positions of the regulators, governments and other interested parties.
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