Court in Karachi has forced the internet service provider to pay and this is a message that will resonate well with all frustrated broadband customers in Pakistan.
KARACHI: This particular verdict is likely to resonate very well with anyone who has lodged complaints with their Internet service providers only to receive no response. An internet firm ordered to pay damages to a customer on account of failure to solve their complaints.
The ruling was made on Friday by the Consumer Protection Court South in favor of the consumer who brought the lawsuit against the Internet company. In addition to having to pay compensation, the Internet company has to face both punishment and the task of resolving the issue with their service that caused the lawsuit to be filed.
Complaint Process
The main complainant in this case was consumer Khalique Ahmed who took recourse to the court when all possibilities were exhausted from the company. In his application, Khalique Ahmed claims that he made numerous complaints to the internet service provider concerning poor internet services and poor customer care.
Even with all these complaints, the company did nothing about it. The combination of this failure in service delivery coupled with unresponsiveness from the customer care department was the main crux of Ahmed’s case in the Consumer Protection Court South. It is clear that Ahmed’s move to bring his complaint into the court system shows that Pakistanis have now become more ready to take advantage of their rights under the law.
Verdict Consequences
The judgement gave a very clear indication about what was to be done. The internet firm ordered to pay damages to make payment of Rs50,000 in compensation should pay it directly to Ahmed.
Apart from compensating the consumer, the court has also imposed another fine amounting to Rs5,000 which will be deposited in the national exchequer by the company. This is a two-pronged approach as not only does it compensate the consumer, but it also imposes a penalty on the company which has failed in providing satisfactory service.
What makes this ruling more stringent is the fact that apart from imposing monetary penalties on the company, the court has also instructed the internet service provider to ensure that the service quality provided to the consumers is improved. This shows how the ruling is not just an isolated ruling which is aimed at compensating a particular consumer, but it is a ruling which ensures future compliance.
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Importance of the Judgement Beyond This Case
The case of the internet company ordered to pay compensation is important for much more than Khalique Ahmed’s own case. For long, there have been numerous complaints from consumers regarding problems in connectivity, delay in addressing their concerns, and inadequate customer services in the Pakistani broadband market.
If there is any case judgment from a formal court declaring a service provider legally responsible, it will be a legal precedent for other dissatisfied customers who could take inspiration while complaining through the court system of consumer protection in Pakistan. It means that the continuous ignored complaints can result in some legal action rather than being just customer service complaints.
The Bigger Picture Pakistan’s Telecommunications Sector Being Scrutinized
It is important to note that this court ruling comes at a time when there has been considerable movement in Pakistan’s overall telecommunication sector. The latest example being how Pakistan earned a total revenue of $510 million, which equaled Rs142.6 billion, from the record-setting spectrum auction of Next Generation Mobile Services.
Pakistan Telecommunications Authority Chairman Hafeez Ur Rehman disclosed the details at a media briefing along with IT & Telecommunication Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja on March 12, after the end of multi-band spectrum auction exercise. During the auction process which took place on March 10, 480 MHz worth of spectrum was sold for $507 million, which is approximately Rs142 billion for the national kitty.
The position assignment auction came up for allocating the positions of 5G spectrum bands purchased by different operators through several rounds of bidding and resulted in $3 million worth of money making the total earnings to $510 million.
An Assertive Challenge to Telecom Operators
Why this context becomes highly relevant for the case involving the internet company that was asked to pay compensation is that at the time when the decision regarding the spectrum auction was announced, there was one very specific statement that PTA Chairman Hafeez Ur Rehman made. He said that the government did its job well by successfully running the auction and it was the moment for the telecom companies to change the spectrum into good consumer services.
This challenge contradicts completely what the court decided recently. There have been huge spectrum resources allocated to the Pakistani telecommunications sector with the goal to improve the service level for consumers in the country. However, at the same time, a Karachi court was forced to interfere because of some basic service deficiencies of a certain internet company that a customer reported for quite a long time already.
The decision made in the court against the internet company that was asked to compensate for damages serves as a good example for Pakistani consumers who have been experiencing similar issues with service complaints that remained unsolved. Consumer Protection Courts were established to deal with the cases where service providers have not been fulfilling their responsibilities despite customers’ numerous complaints.
The implication of this ruling for internet service providers operating in Karachi and throughout Pakistan is clear. The repeated, documented, and ignored complaints of customers have the potential to lead to legal liability – beyond mere reputation, it means court-ordered compensation and tangible improvements in service.
Nayab Fatima is a university graduate and an emerging media professional with a strong passion for journalism, research, and independent reporting. She specializes in developing well-researched, fact-based, and analytical news stories covering a wide range of sectors, with particular expertise in technology, telecommunications, aviation, and the automobile industry.
