Stop a Paid Mobile Service You Never Agreed To: PTA's 2025 Consent Rule in Pakistan
PTA's 2025 amendment bars any mobile service starting without your explicit consent. See what counts, how to dispute a charge and when PTA takes your complaint.
Short answer: Under PTA's Telecom Consumers Protection (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, a mobile operator may not switch on any service, free or paid, without your explicit and informed consent. A message that says "do nothing and it activates" no longer counts. If it happens, complain to the operator first, then to PTA with proof.
You tap a banner while watching a video. Two days later Rs 5 a day leaves your balance for a "service" you cannot name. Every operator has had complaints like this for years. In December 2025 PTA wrote a direct rule against it into the consumer regulations.
We read the amendment in the Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, of 31 December 2025, which PTA publishes on its regulations page. The text below follows that notification. It is a scanned file, so we read it page by page.
No service can start without your explicit and informed consent
The amended regulation 4 says no service shall be activated or subscribed without the consumer's explicit and informed consent. That covers free, promotional and paid services. The charges and terms must be clearly shown, and you must have agreed before the service starts.
Two parts of the rule matter most. First, the operator has to disclose the terms, including charges, before you agree. Second, an SMS, USSD or electronic message cannot ask you to reply within a set time and then treat your silence as a yes. That old trick is now named and ruled out.
| Situation | Does it count as consent? |
|---|---|
| You press a clear "Yes, subscribe" after seeing the charges | Yes |
| An SMS says "reply NO within 24 hours or it activates" | No, silence cannot be consent |
| You tapped a web banner and nothing else happened | Not on its own, see the next section |
| A free trial that turns into a paid service | Only if the charges were disclosed and you agreed first |
Web ads and value added services need a verifiable yes
A value added service is an extra the operator sells on your SIM, such as a game club, a news alert or a caller tune. The amendment says one offered through a web advertisement shall not be activated unless you give verifiable consent through the operator's app, SMS or USSD.
USSD means the short codes you dial, such as *123#. The point is simple: a click on a banner is not enough. The operator must be able to show a record that you confirmed the service in one of those three channels.
The definition of advertising was widened in the same amendment. It now includes caller tunes, SMS broadcasts, in-app banner notifications, internet advertising and social media. The "commercial practice" definition also covers people who act for an operator, even if they hold no licence. So a third party that pushes a service for the operator is inside the rule.
You can leave any scheme or promotion without extra charge
The amended regulation 8-B requires an easy opt-out. You must be able to withdraw from any commercial practice or promotional scheme at any time, without extra charges. The operator must also tell you how to opt out at the moment you subscribe.
The same amendment says operators may offer benefits linked to telecom services, such as free extra minutes or data or a lower rate. It lists lotteries as excluded. So a "win a prize if you subscribe" offer sits outside what the regulation allows as an incentive.
To stop a service you already have, use the operator's own codes. We keep the current codes for Jazz, Zong, Ufone and Telenor.
You must get a message when a service or package changes
Regulation 10 now says that when a package, roaming service or value added service is activated or changed, the operator must immediately tell you by SMS or another electronic message. The message must show the tariff, charges, taxes and the main terms.
This works as a built-in alarm. If a service was switched on without you, there should be a message with its charge. No message is itself a fact you can use in a complaint. Search your SMS inbox for the date the deductions began, and also look at any short-code sender names.
How to dispute an unwanted charge, step by step
Call the operator's helpline, ask for the service to be stopped and for a complaint number. The operator must register the complaint and fix it within three working days. If it does not, file the complaint with PTA, with proof and the operator's reference number.
- Note the exact date and amount of the first deduction from your balance or bill.
- Search your SMS inbox for any message about that service. Screenshot what you find, or the empty search result if there is none.
- Dial the operator's code to stop the service, then call its helpline. The 2025 text requires a 24/7 consumer care number.
- Ask for a complaint number and the time limit. Write both down.
- If three working days pass with no fix, file on the PTA complaint system with the operator's reference number.
PTA takes a complaint only with evidence and an operator reference
The amended regulation 12 says complaints are first filed with the operator. PTA entertains one only when the operator failed to register it, did not act in reasonable time, or gave an incomplete reply. Regulation 11 adds that PTA wants substantial supporting evidence.
Under regulation 15, a complaint to PTA goes through its app or website. You create an account, verify your mobile number with an OTP, pick the operator, give the operator's complaint reference, choose the nature of the complaint and attach evidence. PTA then sends you a complaint number by SMS. We explain the app screens in PTA's complaint app changes, and the wider route in how to complain about a telecom operator.
| Time limit in the amended rules | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 3 working days | Operator registers and redresses your complaint |
| 15 days | Notice before suspension or disconnection of a service |
| 4 hours | Restoration after you fix the cause of a suspension |
| 1 year | How long operators must keep complaint records |
What the amendment does not tell us
The text we read sets duties on operators and a complaint route. It does not set a refund formula, a fine amount or a date by which an operator must have refunded you. Do not promise yourself a specific refund. Ask for one, and let PTA decide.
The notification says it comes into force from the date of the gazette. We could not see on the PTA site how each operator has changed its sign-up screens. A service that started after 31 December 2025 clearly falls under the new text. For an older one, say so in the complaint and let PTA decide.
Common questions
Can an operator activate a free trial without asking me?
No. The amended regulation 4 covers free, promotional and paid services alike, and requires explicit, informed consent before activation.
Is "reply STOP or it starts" valid consent?
No. The regulation rules out messages that treat a lack of response as consent or that activate a service automatically when you do not reply.
Who do I complain to first?
The operator. PTA's amended regulation 12 says the complaint is first filed with the operator, and PTA takes it up if the operator did not register it, did not act, or gave an incomplete answer.
How long does the operator have to resolve it?
Three working days from registering the complaint under amended regulation 14. The operator must give you a unique complaint number and a time frame.
Does PTA's helpline help with this?
PTA lists its helpline as 0800-55055 on its website. We have not tested it for this type of complaint, so use the complaint system if you want a record.
Can I get my money back?
You can ask for it in the complaint. The text we read does not set a refund amount, so the result depends on the evidence and what PTA decides.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on Sunday 11 October 2026. We read the Telecom Consumers Protection (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, published in the Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, of 31 December 2025, from the regulations page of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. We also checked PTA's complaints page for the helpline. The file is a scan, so a figure may differ from the printed original by a digit. Please confirm any figure on PTA's page before you quote it to an operator.
About the author
Technology Journalist & Multimedia Producer
Ahmad Ali is a technology journalist and multimedia producer at Pakistan Era, joining the team in October 2026. He covers consumer technology and digital life for Pakistani readers, combining research with hands-on product testing.
