The purpose of this document is to assist those that are considering filing a complaint with the Communications Authority ("CA") concerning a competition issue relating to broadcasting services. By answering the questions set out below, you will be providing us with the information required to commence the investigation. An inadequate submission may result in a decision by the CA not to commence investigation.
The CA, in investigating a complaint case, will normally put the complaint, usually in its original form, to the party (parties) complained of. If your submission contains confidential information, you should identify and place them in a separate annex clearly marked "confidential information", and provide a separate non-confidential version which can be copied to the target of the complaint.
Once you have formulated your complaint, you can send it to the Communications Authority ("CA") using the following address -
Communications Authority
29/F, Wu Chung House,
213 Queen's Road East,
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Telephone : 2961 6333
Fax : 2803 5110
Email : webmaster@ofca.gov.hk
Who is complaining - contact point.
Please provide us with your full name, job title, address, telephone, fax number and e-mail address. We will be using these to keep in touch with you whilst investigating the complaint.Whom are you complaining about?
Please provide details of the licensee that you are complaining about. If you know of individuals involved in the case that might be of assistance, please supply details of their names.Are you prepared to be identified and disclosed as the complainant?
Please tell us if there are any reasons why you should not be identified as the complainant to the subject of your complaint. We prefer, where possible, to identify the complainant. However, we understand that there may be cases where doing so may not be appropriate. If there are valid reasons why you are asking not to be identified, we will consider whether it is possible to investigate the complaint without disclosing your identity. Where that is not possible, we will let you know and we will discuss with you the implications of your request.Who is the customer / third party?
Where the complaint involves a third party, for example, your customer or the customer of the licensee complained about, please supply details of this party.Are you prepared for us to contact the customer/ third party?
Please tell us if you are happy for us to contact this customer/ third party and whether we can disclose your identity as our source of information. Our aim is to avoid contacting third parties save where it is crucial for our investigation or where we need to clarify information or to verify facts.Can we disclose the name of the customer/ third party to the licensee that the complaint is being made against?
Please let us know whether we can disclose to the company, which is the subject of the complaint, the identity of this customer/ third party. Please keep in mind that this information may be crucial to narrow the investigation or even to commence one as the subject of the complaint will need to know the nature of the allegations.Contact point with customer / third party.
Please supply us with the full name, job title, address, telephone and fax number of the contact point of the customer/third party. We will only use this if it is important that we have direct contact with the customer.Is the customer aware that the complaint has been filed?
Please let us know if the customer is aware of the fact that this complaint has been filed.Set out the facts on which the complaint is based in as much detail as possible.
Please explain in as much detail as is necessary the factual basis of your complaint giving all relevant information, referring to appropriate material and giving details of any individuals involved in the case.Provide copies of supporting documents e.g. contracts, tenders, correspondence etc.
Most disputes involve either a contract entered into previously or failed attempts to resolve problems. In most cases there will have been some correspondence or documents that have been exchanged between the parties. Any such material must be included with your letter. It helps us establish the relevant fact far more quickly and we can target our investigation more effectively.What is the legal basis of your complaint?
Please identify what in your view is the basis of the complaint, i.e. which provision of the Broadcasting Ordinance you believe to have been breached. Although the investigation will not necessarily be limited to those areas that you raise, and, where appropriate, the CA will consider all relevant legal instruments, it helps us focus our initial analysis if we have your views on the relevant instrument.How urgent is it - give reasons e.g. contract not signed yet, tendering process in hand, contract concluded etc.
Like all other organisations with finite resources, we are faced with the task of deciding which case should be given priority. In some cases, the urgency may not be obvious to us. It is for this reason that it is crucial that you set out in your complaint to us whether this is an urgent case or a routine one. Those that will normally be given priority are those cases that can (i) have an immediate effect on a transaction; (ii) affect the provision of service; or (iii) cause irreparable damage to the complainant or the relevant customers if not dealt with quickly.Consider and, if possible answer questions relating to the definition of the relevant market. In any case please try to answer the questions concerning the effects on your business/competition.
Questions relating to market definitionALL complainants should also send supporting evidence, such as contracts, correspondence etc. These should be marked confidential if necessary.