Operators warned over service cancellation fees

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has asked the UAE’s two telecoms operators Etisalat and Du to stop charging for the cancellation of services that customers did not agree to sign up to, Emirates 24/7 reports, citing a TRA statement published by local newspaper Emirat Alyoum. ‘The service providers in the UAE must not impose any fee for cancelling services on customers who have not requested such service in the first place,’ the TRA said in a statement. ‘Service providers are also not authorised to introduce a service to clients without getting their prior approval after informing them by a written letter of such a service and resulting fees….TRA is fully committed to protecting customers against misleading and improper telecom practices.’ The move is a response to growing complaints from subscribers that they have been asked to pay fees of between AED100 (USD27) and AED200 after they cancelled certain services, such as promotional text messages.