Adecua: Nearly 70% of Consumer Gripes in 2006 Related to Telephony Services

A total of 67.3% of the 23,465 complaints received by Buenos Aires consumer protection association Adecua in 2006 were related to telephony and internet services, Adecua's VP Osvaldo Riopedre told BNamericas.

The association received 6,592 complaints about the poor quality of mobile services, representing 28.1% of total complaints, while there were 5,220 grievances about fixed line services representing 22.2% of the total, Riopedre said.

"Many people said they had acquired a [mobile] line which did not work. There are some operators selling lines knowing they are not in service," he said.

There were also complaints that mobile operators were changing contractual terms after contracts had been signed.

With regard to fixed lines, "operators often do not repair faults with fixed lines within the 72-hour period they promise. Sometimes they take 15 or 20 days to fix the line," he said.

The association also received 4,024 complaints related to internet services providers, representing 17% of the total.

The executive said that most grievances had to do with difficulties clients experienced when trying to cancel the service or regarding slower internet speeds than initially promised."

Posted to the site on 22nd February 2007