(Economic Times of India via NewsEdge) Telecom subscribers will soon get an ombudsman to settle their grievances and disputes.
The government has given in principle approval to set up an ombudsman, said communications and IT minister Dayanidhi Maran.
Call dropping and wrong billing are the two main problems that customers now face.
Recently, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Nirpendra Misra had suggested that telecom operators set up an ombudsman.
The TRAI Act empowers the regulator to make recommendations on laying down the standards of quality of service to be provided by the service providers and conduct the periodical surveys of telecom services, so as to protect the interest of the consumers.
However, it is not empowered to look into the grievances of individual customers. It cannot take any action against an operator that does not meet quality of service standards.
Currently, there is no specialized body where consumers can go with their complaints.
This makes operators powerful as they disconnect phones and threaten to withdraw the numbers given to users. Consequently, most users try to avoid any confrontation with the operators.
Maran also set up a three member committee with a view to expediting the process to clear applications for long distance services. The committee would review the pending applications and clarify any queries from the applicants.
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