As part of its initiatives to educate consumers about their rights and responsibilities, the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) is organizing an outreach event on Saturday, December 9, 2017 at Aspire Park, next to the Sugar & Spice Cafe from 2 pm to 9 pm.
The is an opportunity for CRA to connect with telecom consumers and raise awareness. CRA’s team will be on hand to provide useful tips to help visitors better understand their rights and responsibilities and to educate consumers on other topics related to roaming, spam SMS messages and scam calls. Visitors will also be able to lodge telecom complaints against service providers onsite and learn more about CRA’s complaints resolution process.
The CRA stand will also include a special section to connect with consumers who follow the CRA social media accounts to get their feedback about the e-awareness campaigns and to identify the topics they want to know more about.
"CRA ensure to balance the rights of consumers with the obligations of telecoms service providers. Consumers need to be aware of their rights and responsibilities in order to make informed decisions. I would like to invite all telecom consumers to join us at the event to know more about their rights and responsibilities," said Amel Salem Al-Hanawi, CRA’s Consumer Affairs Manager
One of CRA’s consumer protection initiatives is ‘Arsel’ app. The app has user-friendly interface and an extensive range of useful features that gives users the ability to check if there are any network coverage issues reported in their area. Additionally the app has speed test functionality that allows users to check internet speed (Mobile/Wi-Fi) and report this directly to the CRA.
The app also allows users to lodge complaints against the service providers using accurate location based information, follow up on their complaints, send relevant documents and receive updates. CRA follow a certain resolution process for telecom complaints; consumers with a complaint are free to approach the CRA if a complaint lodged directly to their service provider remains unresolved for 30 calendar days, or if they are dissatisfied with the resolution offered.
Complaints are then assessed by the CRA against a set of criteria to determine if a complaint is valid or not. CRA receives and investigates complaints by working with both the consumers and service providers to find a fair and mutually acceptable resolution.
Consumers can contact the CRA in a variety of ways: the 24/7 hotline number is 103, email CRA at consumervoice@cra.gov.qa, using “Arsel” mobile application, by tweeting directly to @CRAqatar, CRA’s online complaint form or by visiting the CRA’s headquarters at Al Nasr Tower B.