To stop harassment of telecom users by operators while collecting dues, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India asked service providers on Friday to follow a transparent policy on mode of recovery of dues from their customers.
The regulator issued guidelines to service providers prescribing code of conduct for outsourcing agencies engaged by them for collecting dues. It also asked them to set up an effective complaint handling mechanism.
The service provider has to ensure that outsourcing arrangement to an agency does not absolve them of their responsibility to fulfil their obligation to consumers and it should not affect the rights of consumers against service provider, Trai said.
All companies should se
t up a formal code of conduct for outsourced agency and its employees or agents for collection of outstanding dues from customers.
The norms were necessitated after it receiving complaints from consumers about the procedures being adopted by service providers for collection of outstanding dues, Trai said.
The service provider would have to inform users about their dues before giving case to an outsourced agency. Appropriate provisions should be made in the agreements with outsourcing agencies to ensure that individuals with criminal background are not engaged as employees of the agency.
The agents must behave politely and not threaten the user by using abusive language or any criminal means, Trai said.