Wednesday, March 07, 2007 Cellphone dealers raise howl over recon units By Carlo P. Mallo
THE proliferation of cellphone theft, "reconditioned" phones, and imitation phones has caused worry to the major cellphone dealers.
In a dialogue with National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)-Southern Mindanao chief Josue de Villa-Go, the cellphone dealers expressed their concern over the impact of the proliferation of these phones.
The dealers volunteered to cooperate closely with NTC in order to assure the public that their merchandise are original and are not stolen.
According to Go, the NTC has put up a One Stop Public Assistance Center (OSPAC) at their regional office.
The OSPAC has been in implementation since 2002, Go revealed.
Go also admitted that they have been receiving a lot of complaints on cellphones in general but have been incapable in resolving them.
He revealed that it would take over 15 days in order for a stolen phone to be blocked.
He also said there are some mobile phone technicians that are capable of "unblocking" blocked phones.
According to one cellphone dealer, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, there are stores in the city that sell stolen phones. Some of which, according to the dealer, are even blacklisted at the NTC.
Selling of stolen phones and any other product is a direct violation of the anti-fencing law and is considered as a criminal offense.
It can be noticed that in certain areas in the city, there are stores merchandising imitation phones. These phones are patterned after the original phones but of sub-standard quality, most of which are alleged to have been smuggled into the city.
Major cellphone dealers in the city have banded themselves to form an association that they have yet to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
