Letter of the Day | OUR committed to assisting customers

THE EDITOR, Madam:

We write in response to the letter of FLOW customer Mr Clifford Gabbidon, published in The Gleaner of Saturday, December 14, 2019.

First, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) wishes to unreservedly apologise to Mr Gabbidon, who reported that despite several attempts, he did not get to speak to a member of our Consumer Affairs Unit (CAU) on Thursday, December 12, 2019.

The OUR is committed to providing assistance to consumers in having issues with utility providers addressed in accordance with applicable legal rules, the utilities policies and procedures, and their terms and conditions.

In particular, we serve as an avenue of appeal, and as such, consumers are asked to afford utility providers the opportunity to resolve their complaints by exhausting the utilities providers’ complaints-handling procedure. We also encourage customers to make complaints in writing, so that they will be provided with a written response, which will become a source document in the event of an appeal against the utility’s decision.

The CAU actively engages with utility customers through calls, visits, and emails during its opening hours 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays. Between January and November 2019, the unit fielded 3,814 contacts from utility customers and through our action, over $2.4 million was secured for utility customers over the period. In instances where members of the unit are unavailable, there is a system in place where the contact details for consumers are recorded and calls are returned promptly.

In Mr Gabbidon’s case, there appeared to have been a breakdown of the existing system and, again, we apologise for his unsatisfactory experience. We are currently conducting an internal review of what went wrong in order to prevent a recurrence.

READ CONTRACT CAREFULLY

In regard to Mr Gabbidon’s query, “With the poor service that FLOW is offering, why should consumers be locked in a two-year contract?”, the OUR advises that it does not prescribe the terms and conditions of service for FLOW. The company determines the terms and conditions that are attached to its product or service offerings, and, therefore, it is incumbent on the customer to read this carefully and decide whether he/she will accept them before entering into a contract.

We invite Mr Gabbidon to make contact with us again and allow us the opportunity to assist him with his concerns regarding this and any other utility service issue related to our mandate that he may have.

Mr Gabbidon mentioned that his application was in relation to FLOW’s Internet and cable package. Please note that cable television service is regulated by the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica (BCJ) and as such, the OUR is not in a position to address any cable-related issues.

We suggest that he contact the BCJ if he requires advice regarding cable television service.

NAOMI WATKINS

Coordinator,

Consumer Affairs Unit

Office of Utilities Regulation