SENATOR Grace Poe will conduct on Wednesday a probe on consumers’ complaints against “vanishing prepaid cellphone load.”
Senate Bill No. 848 or the proposed Prepaid Load Protection Act seeks to prohibit telecommunication companies from imposing an expiration period on the validity of prepaid load and from forfeiting load credits.
“Our kababayans have long complained about vanishing load credits that they have not used yet,” said Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services.
Representatives from the National Telecommunications Commission, telecommunication firms Globe and Smart, and various consumer groups have been invited to attend the public hearing.
The measure, authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, imposes penalties against telcos ranging from a fine of up to P1 million to revocation of license if they commit any of the following: Impose an expiration period on the validity of unused prepaid call and text cards; forfeit load credits stored on an active prepaid phone account via prepaid call and text card or electronic transfer; and refuse to give a refund to any prepaid subscriber whose load credits were forfeited without any valid cause.
Poe said the proposed legislation should deter telcos from unduly imposing additional burden on their subscribers.
She said the NTC should also broaden and strengthen their regulatory authority and oversight powers to protect Filipinos and improve services of telecommunication firms.