Data bundle gone or overcharged in Kenya: how do I complain to my operator and the CA?

If a data bundle runs out too early or a deduction looks wrong, the first complaint goes to the mobile operator; the regulator's procedure says a complaint must be put in writing and lodged within six months of the incident. If the operator's own process, including its internal escalation, does not settle it, the customer can take the case to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) with proof of that first complaint. The regulator acknowledges an escalated complaint within three days and gives a substantive response within 10, according to its complaint procedure page.

Data services are the largest category: the CA said on 9 November 2026 that they made up 29.2 per cent of the 479 complaints escalated to it between July and September 2026, and that 44 of the 140 data complaints were about billing and charging.

The CA's procedure, in six steps:

1. Go to the operator first, in writing. Consumers must report the problem to their service provider before coming to the regulator. The complaint has to be written and lodged within six months from the date of the incident. When it is made, the operator should say what action it will take and how long the investigation and resolution will take, later tell the customer the outcome, and offer an escalation route if the customer is not satisfied.

2. Put the details in. A complaint should carry the customer's name and contact information, a description of the problem, the relevant dates and times, any reference numbers such as invoice or account numbers, and copies of supporting documents such as receipts or emails.

3. Keep the evidence. To follow up a complaint, the CA requires evidence of the first communication with the operator.

4. Exhaust the operator's escalation route. The CA's three-day and 10-day clock applies where the consumer has already gone through the operator's escalation process.

5. Escalate to the CA. The channels on the regulator's page are:

   • the online complaints form at www.ca.go.ke;
   • email: [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected];
   • phone: the CA pilot number 0703-042000, the Chukuahatua lines 07374-45555, 07144-44555 and 020-445555;
   • in person: CA Centre, Waiyaki Way (headquarters, Nairobi); Western Regional Office, 1st Floor, KVDA Plaza, Eldoret; Nyanza Regional Office, 2nd Floor, Lake Basin Mall, Kisumu; Coast Regional Office, 3rd Floor, NSSF Building, Mombasa; Central Regional Office, Ground Floor, Advocates Plaza, Nyeri;
   • post: the Director General, Communications Authority of Kenya, P.O. Box 14448–00800, Nairobi.

6. After filing. Filing is free, and the complainant gets a reference number to track the case. The CA acknowledges within three days and responds substantively within 10; resolving a complaint can take between one and 30 days, and complex cases may take longer. Complaints can be filed anonymously, though that may limit the CA's ability to investigate, and a complaint can be withdrawn at any time. The CA does not handle matters that are in court or have been dispensed with by the courts. A complainant unhappy with the result can ask the CA to review it, or seek redress from the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) or the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal (CAMAT), or go to court.

The regulator resolved 422 of the 479 complaints it received in the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, a rate of 88.1 per cent, with the remaining 57 under regulatory follow-up. All had come to it because operators had not resolved them to the customer's satisfaction. After data services came digital financial services and mobile money at 11.9 per cent, voice services at 10.6 per cent, cybercrime and criminal use of ICT infrastructure at 10.2 per cent, and fraud and scams at 9.8 per cent.

The 44 data billing cases covered bundles depleted prematurely, disputed deductions, disconnection before a bundle expired and service not restored after payment. The CA resolved 37 of them (84.1 per cent) through refunds, credit adjustments, service restoration and reconnection. Another 23 complaints concerned customer premises equipment, including faulty modems, poorly performing routers and incompatible devices.

The CA said on 3 November 2026 that a team led by Director General David Mugonyi had set out its position on metered internet billing before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation, chaired by John Kiarie, which is considering the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2025. The regulator backed the Bill's aim of protecting consumers from inaccurate billing and opaque charges but said mandatory consumption-based billing could have unintended consequences for internet affordability, digital inclusion and consumer choice, and that the Bill's objectives should be achieved through strengthened regulations and licensing conditions.

Its proposals include mandatory usage alerts from internet service providers at 50 per cent, 80 per cent and 100 per cent of consumption thresholds, free real-time usage dashboards, monthly expenditure caps and consumer-selected spending limits, independent certification and periodic audits of metering systems, and suspending disputed charges pending investigation. These are proposals, not rules in force; the CA said they would feed into the ongoing review of the Kenya Information and Communications (Consumer Protection) Regulations, 2026.