On Tuesday, the Competition and Consumer Protection (CCPC) Tribunal in Abuja rejected a lawsuit that contested Multichoice’s most recent increase in subscription prices for its goods and services.
A petitionwas submitted by Festus Onifade, an attorney, and the Coalition of Nigerian
Consumers protesting the increase in Multichoice’s product pricing in Nigeria.
Additionally,they urged that the pay TV company be forced to follow other nations’ lead and implement a “pay-as-you-view” TV subscription model.
At the tribunal, the petitioners filed a joint lawsuit against the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and MultiChoice, a South African company that runs DSTV and GOTV in Nigeria.
The FCCPC, the regulatory body, does not have the authority to control the pricing of products and services, according to a three-member panel of the tribunal led by Thomas Okosun that rendered its decision in the case on Tuesday.
The panel unanimously decided that the president has the authority to control the cost of goods and services.
It concluded that “the price rise is legitimate,” noting that “the ability to control or fix the pricing of products and services rests with the president, not with the.”
Only the president has the authority to control or set pricing of products and services under specific conditions, which are not present in this case, the court said.
The applicants failed to demonstrate how the tariff increase caused them to experience “psychological distress, hardship, or a breach of their human rights,” the tribunal continued.
The tribunal concluded that Mr. Onifade and the Coalition of Nigerian Consumers had failed to establish that MultiChoice had abused its position of market dominance in the pay television industry.
The plaintiffs failed to show how the price increase caused “psychological distress, hardship, or a breach of their human rights,” according to the tribunal chairman who read the ruling.
Additionally, Mr. Okosun pointed out that MultiChoice is not responsible for the FCCPC’s failure to uphold its legal obligation to decide on complaints from wronged customers.
The panel also turned down Mr. Onifade’s request that MultiChoice be ordered to switch to a pay-per-view method of invoicing for all of its goods and services.
The plaintiffs’ demand for N10 million in damages was also rejected.
Despite rejecting the lawsuit, the panel ordered FCCPC to look into the plaintiffs’ assertions that a “pay-as-you-view” subscription model is in use in South Africa, as PREMIUM TIMES previously reported.
According to the ruling, the consumer protection commission took the proper steps to look into the issues brought up in the claimants’ lawsuit.
Additionally, the panel commanded MultiChoice’s management to present an audited financial report for 2021 to it on September 8.
In order to “allow the tribunal to establish the proper penalty to inflict on MultiChoice for being in contempt of the orders of this honourable tribunal passed in March,” the panel decided that this was necessary.
On March 30, the tribunal issued an ex-parte ruling requiring the parties to the suit to maintain the status quo while the entirety of the case is being decided. However, MultiChoice defied the injunction by continuing to raise the cost of its goods and services.
Gozie Onumonu, the director of regulatory relations of Multichoice, was present throughout the hearings on Tuesday.
The claimant filed action after Multichoice announced earlier in the year that it would increase its membership prices starting on April 1.
In court documents, Mr. Onifade sought the tribunal to impose an injunction preventing Multichoice from raising TV service subscription prices on April 1 while the application on notice filed on March 30 is heard and decided.
The tribunal approved the ex-parte motion, agreeing with Mr. Onifade, and instructed the parties to maintain the “status quo antebellum.”
While the lawsuit was ongoing, Multichoice undertook an upward review of its subscriptions, which was against the injunction.
The recent price rise published by the company, Multichoice, is sure to annoy its clients. The higher prices were revealed for its products in Nigeria.
The company announced that beginning on April 1, users would pay extra for all of its bouquets and that the price of its premium DSTV bundle will be N21,000, not N18,400.
Compact will now cost N9,000 instead of N7,900, while Compact Plus, which previously cost N12,400, would now cost N14,250.
Multichoice had maintained that it was in violation of the ruling since the tariff increase mechanism had already been set up and put into operation before the interim order was issued.
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