Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Competition Development Committee has issued a directive requiring mobile operator Beeline to revise its procedure for charging subscription fees.

According to statistics, telecommunications accounted for 8.2% of all complaints received by the Committee in 2024. In the first four months of the current year, that share has already risen to 8.9%.

A significant portion of these complaints concerned Beeline’s practices, including rising tariffs, automatic activation of paid services, billing errors, and unsatisfactory service quality.

Consumers report that when there are insufficient funds in their account to cover the monthly subscription fee, Beeline automatically activates a daily tariff without their consent. Even after the daily fee is deducted, users often find themselves without internet access or experience restrictions on data usage.

An investigation revealed that several popular tariff plans — including Yana, Hammasi ZO‘R, Multi Kuch, and around ten others — operate under non-transparent conditions:

If there are not enough funds for the monthly subscription, a daily fee of 2,000 soums is automatically deducted, and users have no option to opt out. If the balance is insufficient even for the daily charge, the number is blocked, the balance goes negative, and no data access is provided. These charges continue on a daily basis until enough funds accumulate to activate the monthly plan, at which point a new billing cycle is initiated.

This practice also applies to some new tariffs available only to recently connected users. In these cases, automatic daily deductions are triggered when funds are lacking, again without the option for voluntary activation or cancellation by the subscriber.

In effect, consumers are denied the right to manually enable or disable the daily tariff or choose an alternative — a direct violation of their legal rights.

As a result, subscriber balances may turn negative. When that happens, even if a daily tariff is charged, no data is provided — meaning users are essentially being billed for services they do not receive. The lack of an opt-out mechanism restricts consumer choice and undermines their rights.

In light of these violations, the Competition Development Committee has issued an official order to UNITEL LLC (operator of the Beeline brand), which includes the following requirements:

– Cancel automatic daily deductions when there are insufficient funds to cover the monthly tariff;
– Give subscribers the ability to activate or deactivate the daily tariff themselves, for example via a USSD code;
– End the practice of charging “on credit” and ensure timely, transparent communication of any changes in service conditions.

Unitel LLC has stated that all adjustments to its tariff plans are carried out strictly in accordance with the current legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Rules for the Provision of Telecommunication Services.

The company has provided the Committee for the Development of Competition and Consumer Protection with all the necessary clarifications and is currently awaiting an official response. Until the authorized body presents its position, Unitel does not plan to comment further on the matter in the public domain.

The company also emphasized its status as one of the largest private taxpayers in the country. Since 2006, Unitel has invested over US$1.4 billion into the development of Uzbekistan’s telecommunications infrastructure. Operating under the Beeline brand, the company has paid approximately US$2 billion in taxes over the years.