Circular No. 05/2011/TT-BTTTT on handling complaints of service users in the information and communication sector

CIRCULAR

Regulations on handling complaints of service users in the field of information and communication

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Pursuant to the Press Law dated December 28, 1989; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Press Law in 1999;

Pursuant to the Publishing Law dated December 3, 2004; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Publishing Law in 2008;

Pursuant to the Law on Information Technology dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Telecommunications Law dated December 4, 2009;

Pursuant to the Law on Posts dated June 17, 2010;

Based on the Consumer Protection Law dated November 17, 2010;

BASED ON THE GOVERNMENT DECREE NO. 187/2007/NĐ-CP OF DECEMBER 25, 2007 ON THE FUNCTIONS, TASKS, POWERS, AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS;

The Ministry of Information and Communications hereby stipulates regulations on handling complaints of service users in the field of information and communication as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the complaint procedures, complaint resolution for service users against service providers in the field of information and communication (including postal services; telecommunications and internet; information technology and electronics; press; publishing; radio and television), and guidelines for resolving disputes for state management agencies.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to:

1. Organizations and individuals using services in the field of information and communication (hereinafter referred to as service users).

2. Enterprises and agents providing services in the field of information and communication (hereinafter referred to as service providers).

3. State management agencies in the field of information and communication (hereinafter referred to as state management agencies).

Article 3. Rights and obligations of service users

1. To lodge complaints about errors directly related to services provided by service providers in the field of information and communication.

2. To have the right to withdraw a complaint at any stage of the complaint resolution process. The withdrawal of a complaint must be made in writing.

3. In cases where the service user is a minor, a person with mental illness, or suffers from other illnesses that prevent them from recognizing and controlling their own behavior, their legal representative shall lodge the complaint; if the complainant is ill, elderly, physically weak, or for other objective reasons cannot lodge a complaint themselves, they may authorize their parents, spouse, siblings, adult children, or another person to lodge the complaint.

4. To request state management agencies to guide dispute resolution when the service provider does not resolve the complaint within the time limit specified in Article 11 of this Circular or disagrees with the outcome of the complaint resolution by the service provider.

5. To have the right to submit a petition to the competent authority to resolve disputes in accordance with the Consumer Protection Law 2010.

6. When exercising the right to lodge a complaint, the complainant has the obligation to provide relevant documents, evidence, and grounds for the complaint and must bear responsibility for the content of the complaint, documents, evidence, and grounds provided according to the provisions of the law.

Article 4. Obligations of service providers

1. To establish and publicly display the complaint resolution procedure for service users at service provision points.

2. To accept, consider, and resolve all complaints of service users regarding services provided by themselves within the time limit specified in Article 11 of this Circular.

3. To retain complete files and all relevant information about the complained services to serve complaint resolution work and guidance for dispute resolution.

Article 5. Responsibilities for guiding the resolution of disputes of state management agencies

1. Provincial Departments of Information and Communications shall be responsible for guiding the resolution of disputes between service users and service providers within their respective local jurisdictions.

2. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall be responsible for guiding the resolution of disputes between service users and service providers in cases involving complex issues that affect multiple sectors and fields.

Chapter II

COMPLAINTS AND COMPLAINT HANDLING

Article 6. Principles for Resolving Complaints

1. The resolution of complaints must be carried out according to the principle of timely completion within the prescribed period, in accordance with the law, and ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of service users.

2. Encouragement is given to service users and service providers to resolve complaints through negotiation and mutual agreement.

Article 7. Forms of Complaints

Service users may lodge complaints directly at the premises of the service provider or indirectly via telephone; complaints may also be made in writing or by email regarding matters related to services already provided.

Article 8. Conditions for Complaints to be Resolved

1. The complainant must belong to the category specified in Clause 1 of Article 2 of this Circular.

2. The complaint must be lodged within the time limit for complaints as stipulated in Article 9 of this Circular.

Article 9. Time Limit for Complaints

1. The time limit for complaints concerning postal services:

a) Six (06) months from the end date of the total transit time for mail for complaints about lost mail or delayed delivery compared to the published total transit time; if the enterprise does not publish the total transit time, the time limit starts from the date the mail was accepted;

b) One (01) month from the date the mail is delivered to the recipient for complaints about damage to the mail, postage rates, and other matters directly related to the mail.

2. The time limit for complaints concerning telecommunications and internet services; information technology and electronics; press; publishing; broadcasting and television:

a) Regarding postage rates, one (01) month from the date of receipt of the first billing notice or payment invoice or from the date of service payment;

b) Regarding service quality standards and other violations, three (03) months from the date of service use or occurrence of the violation.

Article 10. Acceptance of Complaints

1. Upon receiving a complaint from a service user, the service provider must issue a complaint acceptance receipt. The complaint acceptance receipt can be in the form of a written document or an email and must clearly indicate the content of the complaint and the request for resolution.

2. In cases where a complaint is not accepted, the service provider must notify the complainant in writing within no more than five (05) working days from the date of receipt of the complaint, stating the reasons for refusing to accept the complaint.

Article 11. Time Limit for Resolving Complaints

1. The time limit for resolving complaints concerning postal services:

a) Not exceeding two (02) months from the date of receipt of the complaint for domestic postal services;

b) Not exceeding three (03) months from the date of receipt of the complaint for international postal services.

2. The time limit for resolving complaints concerning telecommunications and internet services; information technology and electronics; press; publishing; broadcasting and television is not more than twenty (20) working days from the date of receipt of the complaint.

Article 12. Handling Complaints

1. The service provider shall handle complaints from service users according to the procedures established and publicly announced as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular.

2. The service provider shall be responsible for notifying the complainant in writing about the results of the complaint resolution.

3. In cases where the complaint is resolved immediately upon the service user's direct complaint and mutual agreement is reached, the service provider does not need to issue a complaint receipt, but must prepare a record of the resolution and file it in the case file.

Chapter III

GUIDANCE ON RESOLVING DISPUTES BY THE STATE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES

Article 13. Guidance on Resolving Disputes between Service Users and Service Providers

If the complaint has been resolved by the service provider but the complainant disagrees with the result or if the service provider fails to resolve the complaint within the time limit specified in Article 11 of this Circular, the service user will be guided by the state management authority in the field of information and communications to resolve disputes when:

1. The complaint matter has not yet been guided for dispute resolution by the competent state management agency as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular.

2. The complaint matter has not been resolved according to the provisions of the Consumer Protection Law 2010.

Article 14. Application for Guidance on Resolving Disputes

1. The application for guidance on resolving disputes must be submitted in writing by the complainant to the competent state management authority as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular.

2. The application for guidance on resolving disputes must clearly and fully include the following contents:

a) Date of submission of the application;

b) Name, address, and telephone number (if available) of the person requesting guidance on resolving disputes;

c) Name and address of the service provider;

d) Clearly describe the complaint matter, the process of resolution by the service provider, and the requirements for resolution.

Article 15. Time Limit for Submitting Applications for Guidance on Resolving Disputes

The time limit for submitting applications for guidance on resolving disputes is fifteen (15) working days from the date the complainant receives the result of the complaint resolution from the service provider or from the expiration date of the complaint resolution period specified in Article 11 of this Circular, if the service provider fails to resolve the complaint as required.

Article 16. Acceptance of Applications for Guidance on Resolving Disputes

1. Where the complaint matter meets the conditions stipulated in Articles 13, 14, and 15 of this Circular, the competent state management authority shall be responsible for examining and accepting applications for guidance on resolving disputes, issuing a receipt for the application, and guiding the resolution of disputes between the complainant and the service provider.

2. Where the complaint matter does not meet one of the conditions stipulated in Articles 13, 14, and 15 of this Circular, the state management authority receiving the application shall be responsible for guiding the applicant to follow the prescribed procedures and formalities.

Article 17. Preparation for Guidance on Resolving Disputes

The authority receiving applications for guidance on resolving disputes shall undertake the following:

1. Requesting the service user and the service provider to provide complete documentation for complaint resolution (for complaints that have already been resolved by the service provider).

2. Requesting the complained service provider to provide information related to the complaint matter.

3. Examining and verifying the complaint contents, organizing guidance for resolving disputes between the complainant and the complained service provider.

Article 18. Organization of Dispute Resolution Guidance

1. The guidance for dispute resolution shall be conducted at the premises of the dispute resolution guidance authority with the presence of the service user or their legally authorized representative; and the legally authorized representative of the complained service provider. The process of dispute resolution guidance must be recorded in a protocol signed by the representatives of the dispute resolution guidance authority and the disputing parties.

2. In cases where the service user and the service provider fail to reach an agreement, both parties have the right to request the competent authority to resolve disputes in accordance with the Consumer Rights Protection Law 2010.

Article 19. Time Limit for Dispute Resolution Guidance

The time limit for dispute resolution guidance is twenty (20) working days from the date the state management agency receives the application for dispute resolution guidance.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 20. Implementation

1. The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Information and Communications shall assist the Minister of Information and Communications in guiding the resolution of disputes between service users and service providers within the scope defined in Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular.

2. Provincial Departments of Information and Communications shall be responsible for guiding the resolution of disputes between service users and service providers within the scope defined in Clause 1, Article 5 of this Circular.

3. Heads of relevant units under the Ministry of Information and Communications shall cooperate with the Inspectorate of the Ministry during the process of dispute resolution guidance.

4. During the implementation of this Circular, if there are any difficulties, they should be reported promptly to the Ministry of Information and Communications for clarification, amendment, and supplementation.

Article 21. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2011, replacing Decision No. 05/2007/QD-BBCVT dated April 5, 2007, issued by the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications on regulations regarding complaint resolution and dispute resolution guidance between service users and service providers in postal, courier, telecommunications, and Internet services.