KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) said it was informed by Digicel yesterday that the recent charge of a prepaid maintenance fee (PMF) to customers whose monthly spend falls below $50 has been “indefinitely halted”.

This action follows the OUR’s intervention in response to Digicel’s implementation of the PMF onJune 22. In a letter to the company, the OUR asked that it provide evidence that customers had been given sufficient advance notice; the exact amount to be charged and the basis for such a charge.

In its initial response to the OUR, Digicel indicated that it had issued a “public notice on June 22, 2017 to its customers via the Digicel website,” where it also updated its terms and conditions of service.

However, in response to the OUR’s correspondence, the company subsequently acknowledged that the implementation of the PMF may not have been “customer centric” and that it had not in fact provided sufficient notice of the change to its customers.

As a result, Digicel has decided to withdraw the fee at this time. It also said any decision to resume charging the PMF, will be preceded by proper notification to customers and the OUR.

The company also gave assurances that all affected customers who were charged this fee since June 22, have already received rebates of the amounts charged.

Given this development, the OUR said it has suspended, for now, its enquiry into this matter.