Cheaper, faster option for consumers to settle telco disputes

From next month, consumers and small businesses unable to settle disputes with their telcos will be able to do so without going to court.

Called the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Scheme, this option is designed to address long-drawn disputes between customers and telecommunication and media service providers.

Prolonged and complex cases can span more than three to four months.

Consumers and small businesses also may not have the means to resolve disputes with much larger companies, as they may have less bargaining power and the telcos may not accede to requests.

The scheme's launch next month was announced by Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo yesterday.

Speaking on the debate on her ministry's budget, Mrs Teo said that when a case is brought to ADR, it will be mandatory for service providers to participate in the resolution process.

Developed by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Singapore Mediation Centre, ADR can settle disputes in at most 21/2 months.

It was initially expected to be launched around end-2018. IMDA said the implementation details took some time to be worked out, due to the multiple parties and complexities involved.

The authority said that, on average, it received around 2,500 telco-related complaints a year from 2017 to last year.

Last year, IMDA received the most complaints on billing matters and operators' quality of service, including customer service.

Under ADR, service providers bear 50 per cent to 90 per cent of the fees for the dispute resolution.

Consumers pay the remaining amount, which ranges from as low as $10 to $375. This is lower or comparable to other options.

If the dispute had gone to court instead, the legal fees could be higher, as lawyers can charge hundreds of dollars on an hourly basis.

ADR covers disputes and issues such as those related to billing, contracts and unsolicited charges like fees for excess data.

The services that can be looked into by ADR include mobile services, fibre broadband services and pay-TV services.

Services that are less frequently used or not licensed by IMDA are not covered by ADR, such as app store purchases and streaming services like Spotify and Netflix.

The scheme does not cover issues related to regulatory policies, legal actions and commercial decisions by a service provider, such as how it prices mobile plans.

If cases have already been handled or closed by ADR before, they cannot be submitted for ADR again.

For disagreements to be eligible for ADR, the dispute value should be $10,000 or less, and the dispute must have happened in the past one year.

Once a case is submitted for ADR, the service provider is given a 14-day period to try and resolve the dispute with the consumer.

If that does not work out, the parties go into mediation. If that fails, a determination process kicks in.

After the 14-day notice period, a consumer can request direct determination and skip mediation.

The Singapore Mediation Centre appoints the relevant facilitator or referee for the processes. The decision made under determination is binding on both telcos and consumers or small businesses.

A consumer who rejects the ADR decision can still turn to the courts or the Small Claims Tribunals.