In apparent disobedience to the order of the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal, CCPT, sitting in Abuja, Multichoice Nigeria has brazenly hiked the subscription rates for its DStv and GOtv packages.
Recall that CCPT had, on Monday, restrained Multi-Choice Nigeria Limited from increasing its subscription tariffs and cost of products and services scheduled to begin on May 1.
Reporters gathered that the new prices have taken effect, leaving millions of subscribers with no choice but to pay the increased rates.
The development has sparked outrage among customers, who feel betrayed by Multichoice’s disregard for the legal system and its customers’ interests.
The CCPT’s ruling had been hailed as a victory for consumers, who had protested the price hike citing economic hardship and the company’s failure to justify the increase, but the defiance of the court order by Multichoice raises questions about its commitment to ethical business practices and respect for the law.
Tribunal orders substituted service of interim order
Meanwhile, the CCPT, has granted an application for substituted service of the interim order, restraining Multi-Choice Nigeria Limited from its plan to increase tariffs on DStv and Gotv packages which have began.
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The three-member tribunal, presided over by Saratu Shafii, granted the applicant’s motion, following allegations that officers of the pay-TV firm in Abuja office refused to receive service of the order and other court documents.
The applicant, Festus Onifade, told NAN on Wednesday that the CCPT bailiff alleged that one of the company’s top managers at the Abuja office said the documents should be channelled through their Lagos office, which is the headquarters.
The tribunal, therefore, granted the order of substituted service pursuant to Section 48 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, FCCPA, 2018 and Part N, Order 14 Rule 11(1) of the CCPT Rule, 2021.
