Etisalat denies selling pre-registered SIM cards

bibing

Etisalat Nigeria has denied allegations that its agents are selling pre-registered Subscriber Identity Module cards in some parts of the Lagos metropolis.

The denial came a day after some residents complained that its agents were convincing passers-by to obtain pre-registered SIM cards at promotional rates and get free airtime.

One of the agents, simply identified as Banjo, said, “In this campaign, we have two offers. In the first one, we are giving customers a free ‘master’ SIM card, which you will register, and you will load N1,000 airtime on it.

“In addition to the ‘master’ SIM card that you will register, we will now give you 10 additional SIM cards, which you don’t need to register because they are already registered. So, you can give the 10 SIMs to your friends and relatives so that all of you can be making calls at reduced rates.

“In the second offer, you only need to load N5,000 worth of airtime on the ‘master’ SIM card and you are then given a pack of Etisalat SIM cards containing 50 SIM cards.”

However, Etisalat said in a statement on Thursday, “We would like to state categorically that Etisalat does not condone, support or engage in any activity that contravenes laid down rules.”

The company’s public relations firm, Chain Reaction, signed the statement.

According to it, Etisalat has communicated the rule against pre-registered SIMs to all its dealers and agents, and has put measures in place to ensure that pre-registered SIMs are not available on the network.

The statement added, “In addition, we have trained supervisors in charge of SIM registration, who regularly carry out checks at the points of registration, to ensure all agents follow laid down guidelines.

“Our policy is to hand over any agent found wanting to the appropriate security agency and we enforce this policy strictly. We reaffirm our total commitment to providing support to the relevant authorities to guard against the sale of pre-registered SIM cards by illegal sales promoters.”

Source: Punch