Phnom Penh: One of Cambodia’s leading telecommunications service providers, Smart Axiata, has released a public statement in response to Thursday afternoon’s announcement by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. The MPTC found that Smart’s treatment of its lapsed customers is unlawful. The MPTC says Smart is violating the law protecting the rights and interests of mobile phone users, by selling phone numbers without their current owners’ consent.
The MPTC ordered Smart to make a public apology on its website, promising that the incidents will not happen again. Smart was also ordered to provide compensation to the original phone number owner for closing their account and giving the number to a new subscriber. The MPTC says, “The original owner has the right to get the phone number back to use. All individuals involved in the above cases will be held accountable before the law.”
Smart released its public statement late on Friday morning. It reads:
“The announcement made by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on July 22, 2021, relates to an isolated incident that occurred on May 29, 2021, involving an individual Smart subscriber’s number being transferred to a new owner without the rightful owner’s consent or agreement. Smart Axiata would like to make it clear that Smart Axiata immediately took the necessary actions to rectify the issue. On May 30, 2021, within 24 hours of receiving the complaint, the number was temporarily blocked before being reassigned to its rightful owner.
On June 8, 2021, Smart Axiata voluntarily entered into discussions with and provided full details on the case to the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) and relevant authorities in order to seek for a resolution. We have been in contact with the affected customer and have continuously attempted to provide compensation, although this was subsequently rejected. We are continuing to work with the relevant institutions to satisfactorily resolve the complaint. In this statement, Smart Axiata would like to once again offer an unreserved apology to the affected customer for the inconvenience caused. We would also like to reaffirm our commitment to providing appropriate recompense to said customer as advised in the MPTC announcement as well.
An internal analysis of the processes and procedures in place was conducted by Smart Axiata and uncovered misconduct by an employee, who has now been suspended from duty and will be subject to disciplinary action. Smart Axiata does not tolerate any behavior that contravenes our values, policies or procedures, all of which have been designed to ensure our customers receive an exemplary, trustworthy service. As a company committed to honesty, fairness and the rights of consumers, we strongly condemn the actions of this individual employee and would like to state publicly that the employee went against our high standards and ethical responsibilities. Our internal procedures have since been further strengthened and additional measures introduced to ensure incidents such as this will not be repeated in the future.
As per company policy and operating procedures, employees are not permitted to sell or transfer ownership of any active number to a new customer without the explicit consent and agreement of both the existing and new customer.
According to the official Terms and Conditions of Smart Axiata, which can be viewed at www.smart.com.kh/terms-and-conditions, every prepaid mobile number remains in the possession of the subscriber for 90 days following the validity of the last top up. Once the 90 days have passed, Smart Axiata has the right to deactivate the prepaid mobile number and sell the mobile number to a new customer. However, Smart subscribers are notified through SMS multiple times before the 90 days have elapsed that their number is subject to recycling if they do not top up. Details on top up validities and the prepaid mobile number lifecycle can be found at www.smart.com.kh/get-smart/top-up.
We would also like to ask and recommend all Smart subscribers to keep their registered SIM profile up to date at all times. SIM profiles can be updated at www.smart.com.kh/support/sim-reg or any Smart Shop nationwide.
Smart is fully dedicated and committed to our customers. We are extremely disappointed by the conduct of this individual employee in this isolated incident, and we will continue to focus on delivering the best possible service to our customers, remaining transparent in everything we do.
If you have any questions or are experiencing an issue with our service, please kindly contact our call center at 888, message our Smart Axiata Facebook page, email us at 888@smart.com.kh or visit your nearest Smart Shop.”
