Senator suggests telcos refund overcharge via free text messaging

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A senator suggests that telecommunications companies refund the overcharged amounts from subscribers totaling over P1 billion through special services and promos including free text messaging.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said in an interview Wednesday that most consumers would agree to be offered the same amount of free text messages if, for example, they buy prepaid cards worth P300 or P500.

“It’s easy enough to give the refund back through services,” Cayetano said. “I think they (consumers) will accept the refund through special promos.”

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered the country’s top telecommunications companies to refund an estimated P1.42 billion to subscribers for overcharged rates on cross-network texts.

The rate for cross-network text messages should only have been 80 centavos each, but telcos have been collecting P1 since December last year.

Based on 2010 records of the NTC, 20 million cross-network text messages are sent every day.

If the volume of text messages have remained the same since 2010, telcos would have to refund an estimated P1.42 billion for the 20-centavo overcharged.

“I think rather than resorting to legal cases, because I’ve read that some telcos will bring the NTC to court, telcos should just sit down with the consumers to thresh this out,” Cayetano said.

He further said that the reduction of 20 centavos was a very big thing considering the amount of text messages sent.

“All our research has shown that even (cellphone load) is competing with food in (a person’s) expenditures,” Cayetano said.

“We want the telcos to continue to be economically viable, meaning as businesses they should grow, but at the same time allow the consumers to maximize every peso they spend for the service,” he added.

Refund a tall order

At the House of Representatives, minority leader Danilo Suarez said nothing would become of the NTC’s directive for telecommunications firms to issue refunds to its subscribers.

While he welcomed the NTC’s refund ruling, Suarez said that it was unlikely that subscribers will be given refunds.

“How can you be refunded when you don’t have receipts?” he asked, referring to the issue of how the companies will be able to determine how much they will refund for prepaid subscribers. Postpaid subscribers have a better chance with such a ruling, he said.

But he added that most subscribers are on prepaid, with around 85 percent of total consumers to be prepaid subscribers. He said that prepaid subscribers are the ones who do not have any protection.

The legislator felt that NTC’s decision was done “just to placate people that they are doing something.”

Subscribers were at the losing end even if the issue gets elevated to court, according to Suarez.

“Nothing will happen. The telco will not refund and will have to go to court and contest it. How can you fight a P700 billion industry?” he pointed out.

“The chances of winning are steep,” he said.

Suarez proposed that telcos provide meters text messages and keep the information in a databank. With a report from Karen Boncocan