The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), formerly known as the Consumer Protection Council, has ordered MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, operator of DStv, to provide an option that would allow its subscribers pause their active subscription.
With the new directive, MultiChoice is compelled by the commission to allow its subscribers to periodically suspend subscription for at least three times every year for up to 14 days in each instance.
The instruction was part of the 11 directives in a “Final Order” issued by the commission against MultiChoice for raising its subscription tariffs despite a court order barring it, and in line with its new mandate after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 (FCCPA) into law in January 2019.
The law provides the statutory and regulatory framework for a more robust regulation of anti-competitive conduct and greater scrutiny of conduct in the market place that could distort the market, or impede competition, according to FCCPC.
The commission said the directives contained in the final order were issued “considering that consumers were not receiving the benefits of the proposed modification of MultiChoice’s approach to consumer protection”.
It would be recalled that the commission had filed a suit against MultiChoice before a Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja for increasing subscription rates on its packages against a consent order agreed jointly by both parties, according to the commission.
The consent order contained a mutual understanding that no material terms of the Subscription Agreement between MultiChoice and its subscribers – which includes increasing subscription rates – will change during an agreed period of supervision by FCCPC.
This is “to ensure that the crucial issues in repeated complaints, and that were covered by the Consent Order were sufficiently addressed under the existing terms and rubric of expectations by consumers,” the commission said in a statement.
Furthermore, the court granted an interim injunctive order prohibiting MultiChoice from raising its subscription tariffs. However, FCCPC claimed the firm failed to obey the court order, but went ahead to challenge the validity and proprietary of the order and powers of the Abuja Court at the Court of Appeal.
While the case remained pending in the Court, the commission noted that its mandate under the FCCPA is not retroactive, but renders MultiChoice’s argument before the court “mute and untenable.”
“The combination of the commission’s new mandate/powers under the new law, and its Final Order, renders the issue the commission sought to enforce in part mute, and MultiChoice arguments defeated,” FCCPC stated.
Consequently, the commission directed MultiChoice to operate fully resourced call centres 24 hours, and 7 days a week, including public holidays. The firm was also directed to develop and publish a clear complaints resolution process describing the process for receiving, addressing and resolving complaints.
The commission mandated MultiChoice to state in its compensation policy that subscribers will be compensated for inconveniences experienced in addition to the compensation for disruption of services resulting from failed, faulty, poor, or unprofessional installation by its agents.
MultiChoice is also obligated to create multiple and additional social media platforms where subscribers can easily upload proof of payment when service is not restored immediately after payment, ensure that all subscribers have free and automatic access to the prevailing selected local free-to-air channels, and carry out periodic customer sensitisation about changes made pursuant to the commission’s orders during a 12-month monitoring period.
