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No Compromise To Those Who Failed To Provide Best Services To Consumers

21 Feb 2019
CYBERJAYA, 21 February 2019 --- The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will not compromise and will take stern action against any telecommunication service providers, postal and courier companies that are found to have failed in providing quality customer services to consumers.

In 2018, MCMC received 49,065 complaints from the public pertaining to the quality of telecommunication, postal, and courier services in the country. Out of the 49,065 complaints received, issues mainly revolved around telecommunication (76%), new media (17%), and broadcasting and postal services (6%). In the period between June until December 2018, most of the service providers failed to comply with the requirement to resolve 90% of complaints within 15 working days.

Pursuant to the General Consumer Code (GCC), service providers are obligated to comply with the Complaint Resolution Timeframe (CRT) standard which requires 90% of complaints to be resolved within 15 days and 95% within 30 days.

Thus, in an effort to ensure that complaints are addressed effectively and efficiently, MCMC has taken several proactive measures which include the following:
  1. Ensure that all service providers submit the Mandatory Standard for Quality of Service (MSQoS) Quarterly Report that contains promptness in resolving billing and non-billing complaints such as customer service issues, pricing, SMS and unfair contractual terms. Failure by the service providers to adhere to the Standard contained in the MSQoS, may result in penalty under Section 105 and 242 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA 1998). In 2018, a total of 168 compounds amounting to RM3.7 million were issued to the service providers on various non-compliances concerning the CMA.
  2. Conducted billing accuracy audit from August until December 2018 to verify the accuracy of charging mechanism implemented by the respective service providers. Besides the audit, a workshop was organized by the Commission in January 2019 to serve as a refresher to the service providers on their obligations to adhere and comply with the CRT standard.
  3. Enhanced the Integrated Complaint Management System or ICMS, which provides end-to-end complaints resolution from the consumers to the Consumer Forum of Malaysia (CFM) and MCMC. The ICMS system offers transparency to the consumers throughout the resolution process, and at the same time monitor the Complaint Resolution Time Frame.
  4. Undertook review of the General Consumer Code (GCC) to further strengthen consumer protection measures as well as set out minimum standards on the level of services delivered by the service providers. MCMC will also introduce a compensation guideline by Q3 2019 to ensure a fair compensation plan is granted to both consumers and service providers.
To guarantee continuous quality of service amongst the service providers as well as in the postal and courier sector, MCMC plans to implement several other initiatives in the near term that include:
  1. Provide regular updates on the MCMC website pertaining to the service provider’s performance based on several criteria namely Complaints Response Time, Notices on Non-Compliance, and MSQoS findings.
  2. Organise Industry Star Rating Award that aims to create a culture of compliance and provide incentives to improve performance among the service providers. Under the Industry Star Rating Award, assessment of service providers’ performance will be based on the following parameters such as consumer satisfaction, quality of service, network investment and compliance to the CMA 1998.
Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin, Chief Officer Network Security and Enforcement of MCMC said, “We view superior customer services from the service providers as an essential prerequisite towards building consumers’ trust in the communications and multimedia industry. With increasing connectivity, data and information sharing, service providers must be at the forefront of safeguarding their customers’ trust through superior customer services. As the regulator, MCMC is determined to ensure that all service providers strengthen the quality of their customer services as part of the effort to ensure the industry’s sustainability and long term success."

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