TRAI to take operators to task on threat calls

TELECOM TANGLE

Alarmed by the rising number of threatening calls made to defaulters, who do not pay their bills, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is planning to take the operators to task.

The regulator has sought information from telecom licencees on their recovery methods, under an attempt to curb the growing problem.

"A large number of subscribers are receiving threatening calls for payment of outstanding dues, which may or may not be correct. This is not specific to any company, but if this practise goes unchecked it would bring a bad name to the entire telecom sector," Trai said in a letter to the telecom oerators' associations.

The regulator was of the opinion that calls made by "anti-social bullies" are also being extended to the subscribers' relatives and friends. Strongly objecting this, Trai was of the opinion that this was not possible without the help of the operators who would be providing the call data recorder (CDR) details to these outsourced agencies.

"The telecom operators are not taking enough care to check the veracity of details, credentials, authorisation and there is an apprehension that even CDRs have been shared," it said.

Telecom companies and banks have outsourced their recovery operations to direct-selling agents (DSA) and agencies, who in turn, call up the defaulters. These agencies threaten users with non-bailable warrants, while some of them use force by sending "bullies" to customer premises.

Similar incidents have been largely reported in the last two months, which is a serious and an undesirable practice. This is also a blatant violation of licence conditions, the regulator said.

According to an industry analyst, Trai has the power to bring the telecom companies to book, if any of these operators are found to be guilty of such practices. At present, the regulator is looking at curbing this menace.