In exploring the 622 toll-free channels, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has stressed the need for aggrieved telecom subscribers to always report their issues to the service providers before escalating it to the regulator.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta stated this in a video the Commission posted on all of its social media platforms, stressing that the regulator’s action is only needed when the operators failed to provide a favorable response to the consumer’s complaints.
“Telecom Consumers can call 622, NCC’s toll-free number only after complaining to service providers and not getting the desired response. The regulator is the subscriber’s last resort,” he said.
He explained that there are levels at which complaints are resolved. The first is for the subscriber to complain to the telecom operator via various dispute resolution mechanisms that are available; when the operator has shown a lack of responsiveness to complaints by consumers, the matter can then be reported to the NCC.
“Our duty is to know which of the telcos refused to resolve the complaint and we will take prompt action to address the situation. So we are like the consumer last resort when it comes to resolving their complaints,” he emphasized.
The Nigerian Communications Commission had created the 622 Toll-Free Line to serves as a second level of complaint about telecom consumers who had earlier complained about services to their service providers and need to escalate the issue.
According to NCC, a dissatisfied consumer should first contact the Service Provider whose service or product he/she is dissatisfied with to lodge a complaint. The Service Provider issues a ticket number to the consumer upon lodging a complaint.
In the event that the complaint is not satisfactorily resolved by the Service Provider, the Consumer can escalate the complaint to the Commission via any of the following channels;
(1) Write a letter of complaint to the Commission.
(2) Call the NCC 622 toll-free line.
(3) Fill the complaint form
It is one of the various consumer initiatives the Commission has put in place to protect telecom consumers from being short-changed by their service providers.