Etisalat slammed by telecoms regulator

The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has told phone operator Etisalat to stop sending SMS and email alerts to customers about Dhs25 late-payment fees.

In a tweet on Thursday the regulator demanded that the company “stop sending these messages”, after Etisalat sent messages and emails to some customers saying that it would charge the late fee if their bill was not paid in full before the due date.

The TRA’s social media account stated: “The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority on Wednesday November 29, as soon as it learnt about Etisalat’s announcement on “late payment” fees, sent instructions to the telecommunications company to stop sending such messages.”

It added that “Etisalat needs to submit documents that authorised the operator” to apply the fee, and was awaiting “their response to take necessary procedures”.