Viettel Telecom accused of secretly "picking the pockets" of subscribers

Viettel subscribers are very confused and upset by the information that this network arbitrarily pre-installed the Anybook reading service on their phones without notifying customers.

Message returned from Viettel switchboard when customer sends message to cancel service. Source: baophapluat.vn

What makes them most upset is that this service charges 9,000 VND/month, but of course users are not aware of it. The existence of Anybook, a service with a strange name to most Viettel subscribers, was only known after some users reported receiving a text message from Viettel's switchboard with the content: "You have successfully canceled the DEFAULT package of the Anybook service. To register for the service, compose: DK send to 2828 (9,000 VND/month). For instructions on how to use the service, compose HD send to 2828..." when texting to cancel the service with the syntax HUY send to 2828.

The question is whether the network operator is secretly stealing subscribers, because users do not register to use this service or install the service on their devices. The amount of 9,000 VND/month/person may not be large, but if multiplied by Viettel's current largest number of subscribers in the market, it is not small.

To appease public opinion, Viettel Telecom quickly issued a statement on the network's official website, stating that in May 2014, they launched the Anybook service for a group of customers without charging any fees. With Anybook, subscribers will be provided with books, stories, magazines, documents... via mobile phones.

Viettel Telecom explained that, due to the technical characteristics of the service, customers who want to save and read this content will need to have an account on the system, so the service defaults the customer group that enjoys the promotion to be Anybook subscribers (using the 0 VND package). At the same time, Viettel also defaults on the system all customers who have not registered for the Anybook service as 0 VND package subscribers.

"In both cases mentioned above, before August 21, when customers texted Huy to the number 2828, the system responded with a message informing them that they had successfully canceled the Anybook service," Viettel said. The network explained that the content of the returned message could be dangerous because Viettel automatically activated the service and deducted the fee, so it... changed the content to "You have not registered for the Anybook service. To register for the service, text: DK to 2828 (9,000 VND/month). To receive instructions on the service, text: HD to 2828....".

The incident occurred just a few weeks ago when the inspection team of the Telecommunications Department (Ministry of Information and Communications) and the Competition Management Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) conducted an inspection of the provision of content services via mobile messages at four enterprises: Viettel, VinaPhone, MobiFone and Vietnamobile. The inspection results showed that while VinaPhone and MobiFone have adjusted their flash message services to meet almost all regulations set forth by the Ministry of Information and Communications, Viettel and Vietnamobile are still standing still.

Specifically, except for the only point that has been corrected, which is giving customers the right to activate the service (Previously, users of these two networks would automatically activate the service as soon as they inserted the SIM, and flash messages would be sent without giving them the right to refuse or continue using it. Now, the company has fixed this point), all other requirements of the management agency have not been met, such as users not having the right to refuse to use the service, the fee notification is unclear, some places state the unit is dong, some places state the unit is thousand. That is why the team cannot check whether the fee deduction is correct or not.

After the inspection, Viettel pledged to completely handle the violations before October 20. However, it seems that the Anybook incident is another case showing the lack of clarity in Viettel's provision of content services via text messages. Regarding this issue, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Le Nam Thang once emphasized that businesses need to strictly comply with the Ministry's regulations: clearly stating the name of the service, the content provided and especially the price in the messages sent to subscribers, instead of being vague like "the price has been listed on the website" as before. At the same time, users need to be informed about the existence of the service, as well as have the right to choose to agree to use or refuse the service clearly.

According to vietnamnet