Editor: Between June and July 2013, I carried out a simple due diligence on the billing and customer relationship activities of Multichoice/DSTV and came to the sad conclusion that the company has been ripping Nigerians patronising it of their hard-earned money. This is apparently due to false or crude accounting by Mutichoice. It is also clear that the authorities who should know, are ignorant and do not also know what to do because there has been no oversight function.
I am one of the first generation customers of Multichoice. Last year, they changed their account numbers and gave me a new number 42657698967. I used this number for some months when suddenly the system could no longer scan. After several texts and calls, I was asked to go to the nearest DSTV dealer on December 15, 2012 who asked that my decoder was now obsolete and that I should buy a new one, which I did. I then asked to be credited with my outstanding credit on the old decoder – I had over three weeks of unused time – but they insisted that my former subscription had lapsed with the old one! My new decoder number is 4258457986.
In early May 2013, my assistant mistakenly paid a renewal subscription into my old account for a new subscription (for May 17 to June 16), as my subscription was then due to expire on May 17. It was only when I was disconnected that day that I realised that the payment was wrongly paid into the old account. It took several calls and text messages to Lagos and South Africa before I was reconnected on May 22, which made my subscription to be for the period May 22 to June 21.
On June 19, at 12.20:27 pm Multichoice 30333 sent me a text on my MTN line as follows: “Ur subscription is due 2moro. Pay b4 ur due date & enjoy 10 per cent instant discount. Renew via http://www.eazymoney.com.ng/; http://www.mypaga.com/ or http://m.quickteller.com/dstv”. Because I had renewed my monthly subscription on June 14th for the subscription that would lapse again on July 20, I ignored this June 19 text. But on July 11, i.e. nine clear days before my subscription would lapse, the mighty Multichoice disconnected me. I have again sent several text messages and made phone calls but they won’t budge. On July 13, Multichoice 30333 again sent me a text on my Airtel line that “Ur account is due 2moro. Kindly renew @ Plot 19 Libreville Str., off Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse 2 & @ banks, ATM or @ http://www.quickteller.com/. Ignore if payment is made.” Up till now I have not been reconnected.
Should we continue to accommodate this type of impunity in 21st century Nigeria? I strongly appeal to those concerned at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology as well as the Nigerian Communications Commission to investigate this sordid state of affairs and nip it in the bud at the earliest opportunity. Perhaps it would not be out of place for relevant Committees on Communications in the Senate and the House of Representatives to show oversight on this issue.
The authorities should compel Multichoice to upgrade its crude or fraudulent accounting system in these days of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Nigerian consumers benefitted when per second billing were pioneered by GLO. Competitors were forced to follow and we now talk per second, which others thought was then not possible. The government should compel Multichoice and others to introduce and charge Nigerians on a per second, per minute, per hour, per day basis for its service. The monthly charge is 720 hours, i.e. 24 hours of 30 days. Since the average Nigerian does not enjoy electricity for more than 40 per cent utility time per month (i.e. 288 hours each month), it is only logical that we should be charged for actual viewing hours in the interest of fairness. The IT technology, which drives the cellphone industry is virtually the same as that which drives Multichoice and others in that service industry.
Patrick Emerhana,
Emerhana2000@yahoo.com
