TRC issues guidelines on Value Added Services (VAS)

Remember all those times you looked at your phone bill and found out you were paying for some random Value Added Service (VAS)? Or when you kept getting random text messages to things you have little memory of subscribing to? Well, it looks like the Telecommunication Regulation Commission is finally doing something about it.

In a recent announcement, the TRC issued a set of guidelines for licensed mobile operators with regards to VAS. Accordingly,

• All VAS information should be available in Sinhala, Tamil and English
• Before activating any type of VAS, the operator should inform following information to the subscriber using subscriber’s preferred language:
  • VAS name
  • VAS terms and conditions (The direct link to T&C should be made available)
  • VAS charges including TAX (Billing Frequency if Daily, Weekly, Monthly, etc.)
  • Subscription tenure of service (Daily, Monthly, Weekly, etc.)
  • Deactivation method
• Following successful activation of a VAS, the operator should send a confirmation SMS which includes all the details reagrding the particular service. This should also include a “confirm to proceed” call to action
• After every successful validation of the VAS, a reconfirmation is mandatory via OTPs. Customers can only be charged after both confirmations
• All activated VAS enrolled to by the Subscriber, should be followed up with a message at each time the subscriber is charged based on the opted billing cycle
• Operators should not share subscriber’s ownership details including connection numbers with third-party content service providers without the express consent of the subscriber
• No VAS may be promoted as being free if it involves any charges whatsoever to the consumer even at a later date. Any associated charges for services rendered should be clearly disclosed upfront at the point of subscription

You can find the the complete list of guidelines here.

VAS: the “subscriber forgets” marketing strategy

Issues around telecom operators and VAS is nothing new. For years, customers have been complaining about being charged for services they never subscribed to. However, the reality isn’t as straightforward. Some of these services are indeed unknowing subscriptions. There are also quite a few VAS that customers initially susbcribe to, but later forgets about the service entirely. These are then added to the billing of unsuspecting consumers. Telecom operators are aware of this situation. Hence why active efforts to keep the customer informed has often been minimised.

The insurance industry followed a similar approach with regards to utilising mobile service providers. Though recently, the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka ordered insurance companies to halt insurance hawling via mobile.

The basic marketing strategy here, according to @TRCSL is "subscriber forgets". It was the same manner in which insurance was being hawked over mobile phone connections, with no clarity over what would happen when a SIM changes hands.

— Namini Wijedasa (@nimilamalee) September 19, 2021

Third-party billing, or more notoriously known as cramming, is another problematic aspect of the mobile services industry that has prevailed for years. In case you didn’t know, this refers to when users mistakenly click on specific adverts or webpages, only to automatically subscribe them to a service.

A step in the right direction

It’s clear that the root of the problem is a combination of negligence and miscommunication from the service providers. Ironically, clear-cut communication was hardly their strong suit anyway. After all, It’s one of the reasons why nighttime data is a thing when subscribing to internet packages.

Regardless, the introduction of these guidelines reflects an active effort from the TRC to curb all of these practices. While these measures probably should have been announced a few years earlier, it’s still a step in the right direction. Here’s hoping it continues in the same trajectory.