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ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
                                               Consumer Experience and Protection






                   Comment:

                   • In Uganda, for the contracts reviewed, one provider, MTN-Uganda, provided a helpline number
                   but did not specify whether or not it is toll-free.

                   • In Nigeria, for the contracts reviewed, the Teasy Mobile agreement provided for a customer service
                   hotline, but did not state whether it is toll-free. When in doubt, consumers are unlikely to use the
                   hotline for fear of incurring charges. On the other hand, the Stanbic Mobile Money contract did not
                   mention a customer hotline at all.
                   • While the laws do not specifically require contractual disclosures regarding complaint handling, it
                   would be beneficial to consumers if they did.




               2.4.2   Mandatory arbitration

               A small number of contracts (17 per cent) make arbitration the mandatory mode for addressing customer
               disputes. In a number of jurisdictions, this is an unfair contract term.
               Arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are increasingly becoming the preferred
               means for resolving disputes in some developing countries, as they generally take a much shorter time to
               conclude at less expense in comparison to court-centred legal redress. However, the concern is that some
               consumers cannot effectively take advantage of this option because a distant location, such as the capital city,
               is designated as the arbitration venue. In one contract that was reviewed, the arbitration venue was a city in
               another country altogether. Such provisions serve to effectively restrict consumer access to avenues that might
               otherwise provide a quick and easy method for dispute resolution. See Box 6 for examples of problematic
               arbitration clauses.


               Figure 9: Mandatory arbitration









































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