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UAE: Residents have to pay reconnection fee for paying telecom bills late

Dubai - Payment of bills on time is very important to maintain a good credit score.

Published: Tue 15 Jun 2021, 2:03 AM

  • By
  • Waheed Abbas

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UAE residents now face not just suspension of their telecom services for delayed bill payments but they'll also have to pay a reconnection fee if the service is suspended.

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In addition, a delay in payment of telephone or internet bills will result in a drop in the customer's credit score, which will have a direct impact on obtaining personal financial services from banks in the UAE.

Etisalat, the UAE's largest telecom operator, generates postpaid bills on the first of each month. The due date to pay the bill is the 15th of every month.

“If the payment is delayed beyond the due date it may result in services being suspended. A charge of Dh26.25 (inclusive of VAT) may be applied for reconnection of services,” Etisalat said in a statement to Khaleej Times.

“Payment of bills by the due date is very important to maintain a good credit score with Al Etihad credit bureau.”

Etisalat said customers are encouraged to register their credit card for auto pay with Etisalat for hassle-free payments of their bills every month.

The UAE’s second largest telecom operator du said there is no disconnection penalty when the customer reactivates his line but he only needs to pay his outstanding bill as long as this is within the 100-day cycle.

“Our team reaches out to customers through various channels to remind them to clear their outstanding bills. In case of non-payment, outgoing calls are barred and broadband services are suspended after 21 days, mobile-hybrid plans are suspended after 26 days, mobile and landline services are suspended after 40 days and all services are deactivated after 100 days,” du said in a statement to Khaleej Times.

“Throughout the process, our team strives to enable a simplified user experience and consistent communication to drive transparency and deliver a seamless customer experience,” said the statement.

Etisalat and du are the largest entities in the UAE to provide outstanding bills and payment history on a regular basis on individuals and companies in the UAE to Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB). With the addition of both Etisalat and du’s data, AECB’s customer information database stands at nine million individuals and 600,000 companies.

In addition, credit score also becomes highly important when UAE residents opt for personal, auto or home loans as banks charge interest rates based on the credit score of the individual or the company. Better credit score results in lower interest rates and vice-versa.

Currently, AECB collects credit information from banks, finance companies, telecom operators, water and electricity companies and courts which feed into the generation of credit reports as well as forming the basis for predictive and analytics products such as the credit score and other unique indicators.

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com



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