The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) is reporting that telecoms giants Flow and Digicel have confirmed that there will be “no usage charge” for the period of interruption since Beryl, for customers whose service is unrestored.

The OUR made the disclosure citing customer complaints about the continued receipt of bills without service.

However, all customers who have had service before Hurricane Beryl on July 3 and after, should pay the charges on their bills.      

Flow is informing customers without service since Beryl that:

• Their bills should not reflect any usage charges for the period of interruption.
• The rental charges billed to customers’ accounts despite the service interruption are a function of Flow’s billing system and will be reversed once service is restored.
• Customers will not lose their number if they do not pay the rental charges applied during the period of service interruption.

Flow has also said that fixed-service customers who had service interruptions for more than 72 hours because of the hurricane, will benefit from a one-time rebate. This one-time rebate will be automatically applied to customers’ bills immediately after service restoration.

Digicel has confirmed that:

• Bills for customers that were out of service should not reflect any usage charges for the period of interruption since Beryl.
• For postpaid mobile and Digicel Plus customers, rebates will be applied to account holders who lost service, based on the number of days lost.  

The OUR said it is urging customers of the telecommunications providers to be vigilant to ensure that the companies are meeting their commitment and to bring observed deviations to its attention.

The OUR is also advising customers who face issues with their bills to:

• First, complain to their telecommunications providers, ensuring that you provide all relevant details such as the current and previous bill.
• Also, where a complaint is made via the Call Centre, ensure you get a reference number.