China Mobile, the country's largest telecom operator, has been accused of unfair treatment of a Shanghai customer whose lucky mobile phone number ending with 888 was confiscated in a manner which a lawyer said Monday infringed on the consumer's rights.

Chang Lin, a Shanghai resident, told the Global Times Monday that her husband's China Mobile phone number was taken back by the telecom firm recently without any advance notice.

Chang said that the Shanghai branch of China Mobile refused to return the number to her husband, surnamed Xu, on November 26, when Xu went there to pay three months' worth of overdue fees after returning from a business trip overseas.

The telecom operator offered to return the number to Xu only if he added 14,000 yuan ($2,243) of phone credit to his account and promised to spend at least 400 yuan a month, citing the company's "internal regulations," Chang said, adding that her husband refused the offer.

A China Mobile staff member claimed that Xu's number, which the owner had used for 12 years, is an "important national resource," Chang said.

Eight is a lucky number in China, and mobile phone numbers including several eights are priced much higher in the market than those without.

China Mobile's practice is disrespectful to its subscribers and violates consumers' right to know, because the firm did not explain the company's regulations for the compulsory 14,000 yuan deposit and 400 yuan monthly expense, You Yunting, a lawyer at Shanghai-based DeBund Law Offices, told the Global Times Monday.

You suggested Xu file a complaint to the local communications administration to protect his interests.

China Mobile did not reply to the Global Times' request for comment by press time.

A China Mobile customer service hotline employee told the Global Times that the company sends a text message notice to its subscribers when their phone credits run below 10 yuan, and if subscribers have fees overdue by more than three months, the company will take back the number without further notice.

Although China Mobile had the right to take back Xu's number according to the usual agreement signed between telecom operators and subscribers in China, China Mobile as well as other telecom operators should improve their services to be more user-friendly, and notify users about decisions related to the users' interests, Zhao Zhanling, an IT legal expert, told the Global Times Monday.

Xu lost his lucky number for owing the telecom giant 9.6 yuan in total, including 7 yuan overdue and 2.6 yuan suspension fees, according to Chang.

"I feel it is quite unfair, because he only owed them 7 yuan, not a big sum. And the key is that China Mobile did not notify him about defaulting fees, or about its decision to take back his number," Chang said.

"They could have contacted him through his other phone number, which is also subscribed to China Mobile," she said.