Angolan customers can now complain or sue their mobile operators for sending unwanted, commercial and standardized messages, mainly from third parties.
According to the consultant in regulation and organizational development, Miguel Ângelo Vieira, in an interview with the Angolan weekly Economic value, standardized messages are a business segment of mobile operators, which has nothing to do with mobile phone users.
"Operators do not even question whether customers intend to receive these types of messages, but they profit from it.“, said the consultant, also stating that recipients of standardized messages are unable to eliminate or respond to senders, who generally send content of a commercial nature, constituting unwanted and forced advertising consumption, while billing operators.
BUT: Angola has more than 17 million mobile phone subscribers
As for whether the matter can be taken to court or whether the National Institute for Consumer Defense (INADEC) can act in these situations, Miguel Ângelo Vieira replies that “the issue is that INADEC is not functional", emphasizing that, "from the point of view of legal instruments, Angola is on the right path“, and the impasse is from the institutional point of view.
"Unfortunately, until today, the director general of INADEC is in an accumulation of functions, as president of ANIESA. It shouldn't happen, it doesn't make sense“, informed the official, adding that INADEC should stop being a public institute, to become an independent administrative entity. 🇧🇷It would change nature. It would have a different institutional framework”.
In short, Miguel Ângelo Vieira reinforces that standardized messages sent by telephone operators, without the consent of customers, violate consumer rights, which opens the way for lawsuits.
Will this really work to denounce operators for sending unnecessary messages to their customers ?? and in fact it has been uncomfortable all hours priii priii, it creates discomfort. Unitel has to take note of this, because it is the operator that sends sms