Cyberjaya, July 27, 2005 - The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has recently received several complaints about the method by which SMS download subscriptions are being marketed.
The complaints have come from both the consumers who claim they are unaware that they have subscribed for such a service; as well as some content providers who allege that unscrupulous persons are making use of this service to make quick profit without regard to consumers or the long term benefit of industry.
According to Adelina Iskandar, Head of Corporate Communications MCMC, “The unscrupulous acts started when the content provider provides an ‘auto membership’ mechanism where customers who download any content from that content provider will automatically become a ‘member’.
The customers will then be charged a download fee (cheaper than the average download fee) and subsequently levied weekly ‘membership fees’ such as RM 2.00 - RM 8.00 per week. Then the customers complain that they are unaware of these weekly charges or the auto membership status when downloading from a ‘membership based’ advertisement, as the related terms and conditions are sometimes not clearly stated. Even if they are highlighted, they will be in fine print or in an odd or inconspicuous corner of the advertisement material.”
The MCMC views this matter very seriously and is currently working with the mobile operators and content providers to eliminate such practices. An announcement will be made in early August on the remedial steps to be put into effect in order to protect consumer interests as well as to ensure the healthy growth of the industry.
In the meantime, consumers are advised to check what kind of charges that are levied for the service before downloading the content or registering for the service. Consumers are also advised to check their bills for any such charges to ensure that charges are only for those services that they have subscribed for.
For clarification on matters relating to billings, consumers should call their service providers’ customer service centres such as Celcom, DiGi or Maxis.
Consumers who are not satisfied with the response of the service centres may lodge complaints with the MCMC at its website at www.mcmc.gov.my or call: 1-800-88-8030 or the Communications and Multimedia Consumer Forum of Malaysia at its website http://www.cfm.org.my or call: 1-800-18-2222.