Page 66 - ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services – Consumer Experience and Protection

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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