GSM OPERATORS URGED TO REMOVE VALIDITY EXPIRY ON DATA, CREDITS

In the latest of his regular audio on the burning issues of the day, business tycoon and politician Pa Njie Girigara has come out strongly against the practice of  validity expiry dates on data and credits purchased from GSM operators in The Gambia.
According to Girigara, this practice is not only illegal but also unfair to consumers.
“There should be no validity time for data or credit, because whatever you pay for it’s yours, and the person you bought it from has no rights to take it from you because you paid for it. Legally speaking, even if the consumer takes them to court, he or she will win,” Njie warned the GSM operators.
He likened the practice to a shopkeeper telling customers that they must finish using a product they bought within a certain timeframe or return it. “It is just like when you buy coffee from a shop and the shopkeeper tells you if the coffee is not finished in four days, return it,” Njie said.
Taking cue from his experience working in one of the biggest telecommunication companies in Senegal, Njie said there too, consumers are fighting against expiry dates on data and credits.
He noted that some countries have already stopped the practice.
According to Njie, GSM companies’ argument that validity expiry period on data or credit help them free up space on their servers, is not reasonable. “This is not the consumer’s problem, but rather the service provider’s responsibility to ensure they have enough space to store the data. What you can’t keep, don’t sell it. So we will fight the legal matter that is there,” he observed.

Source: The Standard