Mobile phone users slam poor service

Mobile phone users slam poor service

JAKARTA (JP): Service providers for the popular mobile phone
were the third most complained about sector this year, ranking
behind housing and banking, according to the Indonesian Consumers
Foundation (YLKI).

The foundation's deputy chairman, Agus Pambagio, said the 60
letters received between January and November this year primarily
complained about the lousy service provided by mobile phone
operators, such as overvalued bills, phone numbers disconnected
without warning and poor customer service.

"Operators, therefore, should improve their service to
customers as they promise in their promotions," Agus said during
a dialog between cellular mobile phone operators and about 200
customers at Kompas' Bentara Budaya building on Jl. Palmerah
Selatan in Central Jakarta.

Based on complaints received by the foundation and local media
organizations, it seems that there is an imbalance between the
operators' marketing and promotion and their services, he told
the meeting, which was jointly organized by Kompas and some of
the country's mobile phone operators such as PT Komselindo, PT
Telkomsel, PT Ratelindo, PT Satelindo and PT Excelcomindo.

During the meeting, a Satelindo customer, Rasid, said that the
company had sent him a bill for a full month's subscription fee
when his phone had only been active for a week.

Tuti Asmara, a Telkomsel customer, said her mobile phone had
been blocked in November but the company still wanted payment for
this month's bill.

Apologies were all the executives of the companies could offer
in response.

Telkomsel's director of engineering Garuda Sugardo, for
example, said that his company regretted the unexpected mistake
in Tuti's bill.

In response to Rasid's complain, the head of Satelindo's
customer service division, Tommy Singgih, said the problem
occurred due to the company's new billing system which is meant
to ensure customers provide the correct addresses.

A Ratelindo customer, Tuti, complained that her service
provider still issued the bill even though she had canceled her
registration.

Ratelindo's customer service executive M. Ichsan Ingratubun
told Tuti to ignore the bill. He said it was not important
because the company usually sends bills to anyone who registers
as a customer, even if they later cancel it.

According to YLKI data, there are now 1.2 million mobile phone
users in the country. (ind)