Customer Writes Airtel, Demands ₦5m Damages for Illegal Deductions

Source: Nigeria Communications Week

Mr. Niyi Bada, a subscriber on Airtel network, has written the management of the telecoms company demanding a ₦5 million compensation for alleged illegal and constant deductions from airtime recharge on his telephone.

In the letter written through his solicitors, Niyi Bada & Co, dated January 22, 2018 and addressed to the Managing Director Airtel Nigeria and copied the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the solicitor claimed that its client’s mobile line has been inundated with ‘numerous text messages’ in the last two years.

The letter reads: “We are solicitors to Mr. Niyi Bada hereinafter referred to as our client on whose behalf and instruction we write this letter in respect of the above subject matter.

“Our Client informed us that in the last two years his line that he bought in 2003 and which he has put to use ever since has been inundated with numerous text messages informing him about his subscription to numerous services some of which are Video Magic weekly; Mini Start Service; VID Service; Fashion weekly; 2 VID Service; 10 VID Service; VOD; 828; 1 Subscription Service; Goool Club; N – Xpress Fashion Service; Smart now; Hollywood Club and Music Club.”

The law firm said his client has made several visits to “your service centre along Oba Akran, Ikeja to complain and to deny ever subscribing to such services and requested that all the subscription be removed and never to be renewed but each time such unsolicited subscriptions were removed, they usually return after a few days with a vengeance and more subscriptions.”

“It would appear that your company has a policy to fleece subscribers of their hard-earned money hence the decision to always restore the unsolicited subscriptions even when there were formal and persistent complaints to take them off.”

The solicitors said the above subscriptions were neither requested nor solicited by its client but were surreptitiously and fraudulently imposed on him by your company with the clear intention of stealing his hard-earned money.

“Our client has never subscribed to any other service provided by your company as he is only interest in making phone calls and sending text messages on his line which your greedy action of deducting money from his airtime recharge for your dubious subscription has now made onerous and expensive.

“We hereby demand on behalf of our client that you make a refund of ₦5 million to our Client for all the illegal deductions from his airtime recharge on before the 31st of January 2018 failing which we shall be left with no other option than to seek legal redress before a competent court for your clear illegal actions.”