The National Telecommunications Commission revoked the certificate of registration of Got Deals Mobile Inc., a mobile content provider for Globe Telecom Inc., following an investigation into a complaint lodged by a netizen on alleged theft of prepaid load.
The NTC said in a recent decision it asked Globe Telecom to implement a strict opt-in system in order to protect consumers from unauthorized load deduction.
It said the decision should serve as a warning to all value-added service providers to faithfully comply with the provisions of the commission’s rules and regulations in the conduct of their business, as it was imbued with public interest which the state had the duty to protect.
Other public telecommunication entities are also enjoined to strictly implement a stringent opt-in and verification system so that unauthorized load deductions will be averted, the NTC said.
VAS providers offer services outside the standard calls and SMS such as ringtones, wallpaper and infotext, among others.
NTC’s revocation order was triggered by a complaint filed by Feanne Hontinveros Mauricio, whose social media post on “load theft” caught the attention of netizens, who had similarly experienced unauthorized deduction from their pre-paid load credit.
Pre-paid subscribers complained that their load credits disappeared allegedly because of their supposed “subscription” to certain services of the VAS provider even without their knowledge or authorization.
The NTC investigated the case to pinpoint the source and cause of disappearing cellphone loads.
The NTC summoned both Got Deals Mobile and Globe Telecom last month for the investigation.