Total number of complaints lodged by telecom subscribers have come down to 17,425 complaints per month from 47,454 complaints per month a year ago
New Delhi: The average number of complaints against telemarketing calls has declined to 17,425 per month now from an average 47,454 monthly complaints a year ago since the regulations on curbing unsolicited commercial calls (UCC) came into effect, reports PTI.
"Prior to the coming into force of the regulations from 27 September 2011, on an average 47,454 complaints were received per month (averaged over the period March 2010 to March 2011)," Minister of State for Communications and IT Milind Deora said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
The total number of complaints lodged by telecom subscribers with their service providers from 27 September 2011 to 25 July 2012 were only 1.74 lakh (17,425 complaints per month), he added.
Deora said as per the said framework, customers can register with National Customer Preference Register (NCPR) for not receiving UCC.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also issued a number of amendments to these regulations and directions to address implementation issues and to make the regulatory framework effective and stringent, he added.
"However, it is seen that a number of telemarketers have violated the regulatory framework for controlling UCC. From the complaints received by service providers, it is seen that the majority of complaints of UCC are those in which calls or SMS have been sent by telecom subscriber who is not registered as a telemarketer with TRAI," Deora said.
Deora added that while 1.5 lakh notices have been sent to subscribers who have not registered as a telemarketer but were doing the telemarketing activities, 1.4 lakh telephone numbers (telecom resources) of such subscribers have been disconnected.
He said Rs1.08 crore has been deducted from the security deposit of registered telemarketers in 195 cases and 13 telemarketers have been black listed.
Deora said the restriction of 200 SMS per day per SIM was struck down by Delhi High Court.
"After quashing the limit of 200 SMS per day per SIM by Delhi High Court, 1.5 lakh complaints have been lodged from 1 August 2012 to 30 October 2012 by consumers with their service providers (49,088 complaints per month)," he said.
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