The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued fresh guidelines for service providers on activation and de-activation of Value Added Services (VAS). The regulator has made it mandatory for service providers to implement a uniform procedure for taking explicit consent of the consumer for activation of value added service and for deactivation of value added service.
The telecom regulator notes that the activation of value added services had become the cause of many customer complaints.
“The Authority has been addressing, from time to time, consumer issues, which have come to its notice through consumer complaints, relating to activation of value added service through different modes, without the explicit consent of the consumer,” it said in a release.
As per the new guidelines, VAS activation procedure to include all forms of activations and scenarios –OBD, IVRS, WAP, Mobile Internet, USSD, SMS, Tele-calling and any other mode of activation. The service provider needs to develop a system that has second consent from the customer before activation any value added service. The system may include any means- OBD, IVRS, WAP, Mobile Internet, USSD, SMS, Tele-calling or any other mode of activation.
“The first offer of a service is on the service providers’ platform and a second confirmation from the customer is through a dedicated consent gateway which is owned by a third party and not by the service provider. It is only after receiving a second confirmation from the customer, that the service provider shall activate the value added service,” adds the regulator.
The TRAI has sought a common de-activation procedure using toll Free Common Short Code 155223. (all requests for de-activation to be completed in 4 hours)
Moreover, 24hrs before auto renewals of the VAS services, information about renewals has to be provided to the customers, through SMS and Outbound Dialing (OBD).
In a major relief to customers, the amount, in case of a wrong activation, should be refunded within 24 hours of the customer’s requests. It’s notable such customer requests should be within 24 hours for value added services with validity of more than one day and within 6 hours for value added services with validity of one day.
“In case of USSD and SMS mode of activation, no activation response time should be greater than 10 seconds and 60 minutes respectively and in case of non-response, the same should be treated as ‘no activation required’.”
“Upon activation of VAS service, the de-activation number, the validity of the VAS service and charges for renewal should be explicitly informed.”
You can check out the TRAI’s guidelines for activation and de-activation of Value added Services in detail here.