Colombia. In order to improve the user's relationship with their service operator, the Commission for the Regulation of Communications, CRC, made an update of the Protection Regime in which clear and simple rules are established that guarantee the effective exercise of the rights of users. This update meets the particularities and needs of the market for telephony, internet and closed television services in Colombia.
The new regime focuses on ensuring the provision of detailed information on plans, billing conditions and means of consumption control, in order to optimize customer service channels and guide the user on the service they require according to their needs, before hiring it.
The adjustments are the result of a study of the consumer behavior of ICT services in Colombia, developed by the CRC, endorsed by academia and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which allowed to know the perception, difficulties and needs that users present in the provision of communications services, as well as in its relationship with operators.
Some new features:
- Convergence of telephony, internet and television services: The new regime recognises the particularities of each of these services.
- Simplification of contract for fixed services: As of January 1, 2019, the implementation of the new format for fixed services contract comes into force in which the "fine print" is eliminated and the conditions of service are specified in a single sheet.
- Gratuity of procedures: The operator can not charge when the user presents PQR (requests, complaints, claims or resources), goes to the means of attention or advances any procedure for the exercise of their rights.
- Special protection is provided to micro and small enterprises: this Regime applies to MSMEs as long as they have not agreed on solutions tailored to the client.
- Reduction of the time of unavailability of the service to access the compensation: When the service is unavailable for 2.5 hours, the user is entitled to compensation in the case of telephone and internet services.
- Reconnection value: The value to be paid for the suspension of the service for non-payment, may only be associated with the operating costs of the reconnection. In the case of a package of services, the operator can only charge a reconnection value for each type of connection used in the provision of the services (e.g. fibre, satellite, coaxial cable).
- Inclusion of a "histogram" in the bill: In the case of telephone bills (fixed and mobile) and mobile internet, graphs will be included that allow the user to evidence and compare their consumption of the last 6 months.
- Rate comparator: Users will be able to compare the plans and rates offered by the operator on its website.
- Community television: Inclusion of main rights, obligations and information for community television service partners.
- Telephone attention: The attention through the telephone lines will be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, only for PQR related to report of theft or loss of mobile terminal equipment, failures in the service and activations.
- User satisfaction indicator: Users will be able to rate the attention received from the operator. The result of the satisfaction indicator for each means of customer service will be published by the CRC.
- Elimination of the SMS to 85432 with the word "complaint" as a means of attention.
Users and operators "Comunicados como Es"
With the updating of the Regime, the CRC designed the strategy "Communiqués as It Is" that aims to inform, train and empower users of communications services to effectively exercise their rights and duties.
For this, the Commission had several channels, especially the web portal www.comunicadoscomoes.gov.co, to facilitate the consultation and knowledge of the principles and rules to be taken into account by the user when contracting communications services, which allows both these and the operators to be "communicated as it is".
To guarantee learning, the CRC, in partnership with the UNITEC University Corporation, had a free virtual course in which all interested parties can learn everything related to the new RPU through practical cases.
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