Consumer body to probe Mentari duplication

Consumer body to probe Mentari duplication

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) said
it would ask cellular phone operator PT Satelindo to explain the
suspected duplication of refill vouchers of the latter's prepaid
cellular phone service Mentari.

YLKI chairwoman Indah Sukmaningsih said on Friday the
foundation would also ask Satelindo how it planned to compensate
its customers.

"We want to know how this problem occurred. They (Satelindo)
should also be able to identify the voucher numbers that have
been duplicated," she told The Jakarta Post.

Indah said Satelindo could be charged for violating the 1999
law on consumer protection, and if proven guilty, liable to a
five-year jail term or a maximum fine of Rp 2 billion (about
US$227,272).

The law stipulates that a company must not produce and/or
market products that do not meet the standard or are not in
accordance to the quality promised.

However, she said it would be difficult for YLKI to take
Satelindo to court as it would need the cooperation of the
latter's customers themselves.

"All we could do is warn Satelindo's customers on the alleged
violations committed by the company," Indah said, explaining that
YLKI needs the testimonies of more than 50 customers to be able
to file a class action suit.

Separately, Satelindo's general manager for customer service
Dino Purwana said the company had recalled and blocked since
Wednesday Mentari refill vouchers with codes that were suspected
to have been duplicated.

Dino said the duplication was discovered after a customer
reported that the serial number of the voucher he had purchased
was rejected by the operator.

He said the company was recalling vouchers from Greater
Jakarta, Bandung (West Java), Semarang (Central Java), Surabaya
(East Java) and Medan (North Sumatra).

Satelindo is currently investigating the extent of the
duplication, saying there is no material loss for Satelindo as
the vouchers are printed by a another company.

"It's their (the printer's) responsibility to reprint the
vouchers," Dino said, while declining to name the company that
printed the vouchers or the number of vouchers it will take off
the market.

He said the investigation would take at least a week, and in
the meantime customers could replace their invalid vouchers with
new ones at all Satelindo branches.(tnt)