The purpose of this document is to assist those that are considering filing a complaint with OFTA concerning a competition issue. By answering the questions set out below, you will be providing us with the MINIMUM amount of information that we require so as to commence our investigation. Failure to supply them may delay the investigation, as we will need to contact you again to obtain the information that might be missing.
The more relevant information you are in a position to supply us the better. All information is treated as confidential but the Telecommunications Authority may, from time to time, consider necessary to disclose such information to others so that he may perform his duties (including investigating the complaint).
Although normally you will be asked before any such disclosure takes place for your views, there may be cases where this is not possible. Therefore, it would be of assistance if your letter did set out clearly what, if any, information you consider commercially confidential.
Once you have formulated your complaint, you can file it with the relevant officer that appears under the section "how to contact us". The names given there should be your first point of contact. They will look into your complaint and will be in touch with you to either seek clarification, keep you up dated on its development and in due time of its outcome. The same officer will also be happy to discuss with you any questions that you may have either in formulating your complaint or after that is filed.
Our aim is to help you to help us.
| 1. |
Who is complaining - contact point.
Please provide us with your full name, job title, address, telephone, fax number and e-mail address. We will be using these to keep in touch with you whilst investigating the complaint.
|
|
| 2. |
Whom are you complaining about?
Please provide details of the licensee/entity that you are complaining about. If you know of individuals involved in the case that might be of assistance, please supply details of their names.
|
|
| 3. |
Are you happy to be identified as the complainant?
Please tell us if there are any reasons why you should not be identified as the complainant to the subject of your complaint. We prefer, where possible, to identify the complainant. However, we understand that there may be cases where doing so may not be appropriate. If there are valid reasons why you are asking not to be identified, we will consider whether it is possible to investigate the complaint without disclosing your identity. Where that is not possible, we will let you know and we will discuss with you the implications of your request.
|
|
| 4. |
Are you happy for your identity to be disclosed in the Competition Bulletin?
The purpose of our bulletin is to give a full and fair picture of the issues that not only OFTA, but also the industry as a whole, is facing. Our starting point is that we should be open and we would therefore prefer to publish the names of all the parties involved in a case. However, if there are valid reasons why you should not be identified, we will consider them and, if appropriate, we will not disclose your identity. Needless to say, where the identity of the complainant is not disclosed during the investigation to the target of the complaint, that confidentiality will also continue in relation to the publication of the bulletin. |
|
| 5. |
Are there any reasons why this case should not be included in our Bulletin?
In exceptional cases, it may not be appropriate to include a case in the bulletin in that its disclosure outside the circle of those closely involved may have a detrimental effect on the complainant or the firm complained about. In those cases where the disclosure of the case could have such an effect, the TA will consider not publicising it or modifying the entry in such a way so as to avoid such problems. In such cases please provide us with an explanation of your reasons if you think that this applies to your cases.
|
|
| 6. |
Who is the customer/ third party?
Where the complaint involves a third party, who is your customer or the customer of the company complained about, please supply details of this party.
|
|
| 7. |
Are you happy for us to contact the customer/ third party?
Please tell us if you are happy for us to contact this customer/ third party and whether we can disclose your identity as the source of our information. Our aim is to avoid contacting third parties save where it is crucial for our investigation or where we need to clarify information or to verify facts.
|
|
| 8. |
Can we disclose the name of the customer / third party to the company that the complaint is being made against?
Please let us know whether we can disclose to the company, which is the subject of the complaint, the identity of this customer/ third party. Please keep in mind that this information may be crucial to narrow the investigation or even to commence one as the subject of the complaint will need to know what is being alleged against it.
|
|
| 9. |
Contact point with customer / third party.
Please supply us with the full name, job title, address, telephone and fax number of the contact point of the customer/ third party. We will only use this if it is important that we have direct contact with the customer.
|
|
| 10. |
Is the customer aware that the complaint has been made?
Please let us know if the customer is aware of the fact that this complaint has been launched.
|
|
| 11. |
Set out the facts on which the complaint is based in as much detail as possible.
Please explain in as much detail as is necessary the factual basis of your complaint giving all relevant information, referring to appropriate material and giving details of any individuals involved in the case.
|
|
| 12. |
Provide copies of supporting documents * e.g. contracts, tenders, correspondence etc.
Most disputes involve either a contract that had been entered into in the past or where attempts have been made to resolve a problem but failed. In most cases there is some correspondence or documents that have been exchanged between the parties. Any such material must be included with your letter. It helps us establish the relevant fact far more quickly and we can target our investigation more effectively.
|
|
| 13. |
What is the legal basis of your complaint?
It is of assistance if you were to identify what in your view is the basis of the complaint, e.g., whether there is a breach of a licence condition, of the Telecommunication Ordinance or of a Code of Practice. Although the investigation will not necessarily be limited to those areas that you raise, and, where appropriate, the Telecommunications Authority will consider all relevant legal instruments, it helps us focus our initial analysis if we have your views of what you consider to be the relevant instrument.
|
|
| 14. |
How urgent is it - give reasons e.g. contract not signed yet, tendering process in hand, contract concluded.
Like all other organisations with finite resources, we are faced with the task of deciding which case should be given priority. In some cases, the urgency may not be obvious to us. It is for this reason that it is crucial that you set out in your complaint to us whether this is an urgent case or a routine one. Those that will normally be given priority are those cases that can have an immediate effect on a transaction, affect the provision of service or delay in dealing with the matter can cause irreparable damage to the complainant or the relevant customers. This is not an exclusive list. It is simply an indication of the type of information that we need to help us assess the urgency attached to the complaint.
|
