"CONSUMER RIGHTS PROTECTION" NGO APPEALS TO ARMENTEL TO CANCEL 67 MILLION DRAM DEBT ILLEGALLY ATTRIBUTED TO 520 SUBSCRIBERS
Noyan Tapan
Jun 07 2007
YEREVAN, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Debts for international calls attributed
to 520 subscribers, who filed complaints to ArmenTel company in the
period of May 1, 2006 to May 23, 2007, should be cancelled. Abgar
Yeghoyan, chairman of "Consumers Rights Protection" NGO, made this
demand at the June 6 press conference.
According to him, ArmenTel cancelled the debts of subscribers –
victims of Internet fraud in th period of up to May 5, 2006, whereas
now the company cancels only 65% of such debts. In his opinion, 400
victims who have paid their debts fully or partly "should be refunded
65% of the paid sum as fixed-line phone communication prepayment for
making international calls."
A. Yeghoyan said that the problem should receive a technical solution
in order to avoid such things in the future. The NGO chairman proposed
using the automatic blocking of international call access in case of
accumulation of some amount of debt on the subscriber’s account. In his
words, ArmenTel does not keep the public informed. "It is impossible
to protect the consumer from such danger by placing announcements in
the press several times," he said, adding that the service provider
must issue brief information about all possible dangers and the ways
to avoid these dangers.
The total amount of debts of 520 subscribers, who have applied to
ArmenTel, makes 67 million drams.