Unhappy With Quality Of Service From Your Telecoms Service Provider? Here’s The Complaints Procedure

Sometimes you do not get an acceptable quality of service from your telecommunications service provider. I recently got sub-par service which I shared with you all. After sharing my own experience out of Harare over the holidays, several people commented sharing their own experiences. A good number are not getting acceptable quality of service apparently.

After I shared my story, the telecoms regulator, POTRAZ got in touch with me. They asked me if I had made the complaint to my service provider and if I had gotten a satisfactory response. I proceeded to make my complaint to POTRAZ and it was forwarded to my service provider. My service provider dealt with my complaint professionally.

Seeing as a good number have terrible experiences daily and yet nothing is done about it, could it be that people are not making complaints to their service providers? Or could it be that complaints are being made but are falling on deaf ears? Whatever the case we need to look at the Consumer Complaints Procedure.

Before we do that, I feel we have to remind each each other that none of what we are talking about means we have anything against any telecoms company. As paying consumers we are entitled to quality service and when we don’t get it, we are well within our rights to complain and demand action.

CONSUMER COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

All complaints from the consumer should first be dealt with by the affected operator. The service providers have different complaint handling procedures. Find out your service provider’s procedure and make your complaint, it should be available at all customer service centres.

You could alternatively make a call to your service provider’s toll free number and make the inquiry, they all are encouraged to provide free phone numbers and most do.

If no satisfactory response is given in 7 working days by the service provider then you can proceed to contact the regulator, POTRAZ.

Write to: Block A, Emerald Park, 30 The Chase, P.O. Box MP843, Mt Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe or

email: the.regulator@potraz.gov.zw

Attach copies of previous correspondence if available. Even if you made the complaint to your service provider verbally you can go on to contact the regulator. You however can only make your complaint in writing to POTRAZ except in exceptional circumstances. POTRAZ should investigate and get back to you within 7 working days.

For more on the procedure, click here.

It is as simple as that. In my case I have to say that both the regulator and my service provider acted professionally and responded swiftly. Of course the service provider had the incentive to respond because the complaint had been taken to the regulator first. Within an hour of me lodging my complaint with the regulator, my service provider had been notified and they too responded within hours.

I’ll reiterate, unless we make these complaints we can never be sure that the service providers know about whatever problems we may be facing. Notifying them is meant to help them improve their service, it is a win-win situation. POTRAZ is the last port of call if the service provider does not give you a satisfactory response.

Some may have been discouraged in the past when they made their own complaints and POTRAZ did not act but it seems the regulator is really following up on these matters now. Complain away.