Kwame Gyan
THE NATIONAL Communications Authority (NCA) says it has begun refunding monies to persons who were double charged for using the SIM card re-registration self-service mobile application.
The authority rolled out the SIM card re-registration self-service app on the Google Play Store to provide an alternative for telecom subscribers to complete their SIM card re-registration at a fee of GH¢5.
However, shortly after the successful launch of the app, complaints began to surface notably on social media from some users indicating they had been charged double, the stipulated amount while using the app.
Confirming the complaints, Director for Consumer and Corporate Affairs at the NCA, Kwame Gyan, provided some explanations into what possibly accounted for the double charge, citing poor internet connectivity as a possible culprit.
“From my end, what happened is that, it is not a case of double charging. It could be that in the process of registration, when someone faces data connectivity issues, they [the systems] restart. And in the process, one may pay more than once. We are looking at working on it such that it will be possible to check the status of your payment,” he noted.
“So far, we have only about 40 people who made payments. Some have had their monies refunded, others are going to get theirs soon,” he assured.
Mr. Gyan also revealed that close to ten thousand people had so far used the self-service app for the process.
“The numbers are actually encouraging. Prior to Sunday, we had just about 5,500 people who had registered using the app. Before midday Monday, we had an additional 1020 people register. As I speak, we have 10,000 people who have registered via the app,” he stressed.
On how many people had successfully downloaded the app on their mobile devices, he said: “We also have about 50,000 downloads so far,” adding that: “We realised that there are some people who are trying to register via the app but are unable to because of a mismatch between their Ghana cards and phone numbers.
He therefore advised “people to cross-check the numbers when registering, so we don’t have such difficulties.”
BY Nii Adjei Mensahfio