UAE's Etisalat to stop service after 15-day bill delay

Etisalat, one of the largest telecommunication service providers in the region, will stop service to defaulting customers after a 15-day delay in payment of their bill, a UAE newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The services affected cover mobile phones, landlines and the internet and the grace period for payment starts from the first day of the bill’s date, the Dubai-based Arabic language daily 'Emarat Al Youm' said, quoting an Etisalat statement.

“Users failing to pay the bill after 15 days of issuance will have their services suspended temporarily. The service will be restored only after the bill is paid,” Etisalat said in the statement sent to the paper.

It said a bill is sent to subscribers a month after the service is provided and that they have 15 days to pay or face service suspension.

The paper said Etisalat was responding to complaints by subscribers that the 15-day grace period is not enough.