Don’t Compel Subscribers Into Voice Mail Service, NCC Warns Telcos
TECH DIGEST – The Nigerian Communications Commission has again warned the telecommunication network operators to desist from compelling subscribers into Voice Mail Service (VS).
Voice Mail is an easy-to-use answering service, available to both Prepaid and Postpaid telecommunication subscribers.
The service offers you the ability to receive voice messages from callers in cases where your phone is switched off, not reachable, busy or not answered.
As a user of any of the telco’s SIM card your line is already provisioned on the service hence you will not be required to send any code to subscribe.
To use Voice Mail service; “Caller- A” calls “Receiver-B” who is active on Voice Mail and is not reachable, switched off or out of network coverage, “Caller-A” will hear the prompt:
“The number you are calling is switched off/busy/not answering. To send an Voice Note or Voice message at regular call charges, please stay on the line, otherwise hang-up now…At the tone record your message.”
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At the tone, you will record the message and hang up. The voice Mail is sent after “Caller-A” hangs up.
But why is NCC concerned, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, in a video clip posted by the industry regulator on social media as part of its consumer awareness campaigns, hinted that some mobile network operators are not shortchanging subscribers through the service.
TechDigest realized that, on a normal ground, subscribers are not supposed to be charged for being on the service.
But, Danbatta said, “It is important in this context to mention the Voice Mail Services which of recent, we detected as one of the avenues some of the mobile network operators are shortchanging consumers.
“The Voice Mail Service is also a service that consumers can subscribe to and therefore, they should not be forced to subscribe to the service”
The Commission further advised subscribers thus: “Don’t be compel into buying an optional service you don’t want to”
You can call 622 or visit www.ncc.gov.ng to lodge complaint if compel to subscribe to any service that is optional.
