In order to enjoy this offer, I had to take up a 24-month MaxOnline contract. In the event of any premature termination, a penalty of $1,000 will be imposed. I thought this was fair as the offer was attractive and I subsequently signed up for it.

Unfortunately, after six months, the hard drive of the console broke down. As it was still under warranty, I assumed that I could make an exchange.

On June 16, I brought it to the Xbox Repair Service Centre at Funan Digital Mall.

On inspection of the console, the customer service officer told me that the seal had been tampered with and therefore the warranty was voided as a result. In order to inspect the seal, she had to slide out an attachment from the body of the console. She also told me that there were customers who had modified or attempted to modify the console.

I am not a tech-savvy person and would not have known how to do this, that is, slide the attachment out of the console to look for the seal or that the console can be modified.

My grievance is that since this is a known fact to them, why was this not explained or made clear to customers when they first received the console?

They should have made it clear upfront and explained to customers at the point of receiving the console the existence of a tamper seal and its location.

They should also show to the customer that the seal at the point they receive it has not been tampered with and get the customer to acknowledge it. The customer should also be told in no uncertain terms that any tampering of the seal will render the warranty void. None of these was done. I am just wondering how many customers actually open up to check the seal when they receive it or whether they know of this in the first place.

To compound the pain, I am now stuck with a 24-month MaxOnline contract. Should I terminate this, I will be penalised with a termination charge of $1,000. It's a no-win situation.

Would StarHub care to explain?

Sarahlynn Wee Bee Bee (Mdm)