|
RECENTLY, I discovered that my Internet broadband contract had expired and we are now being charged $80 a month for a 1,500kbps service, a premium of $15/month over the original contractual rate.
A quick search of the SingTel website reveals that a 3,000kbps service is charged a mere $43.82 per month (with a one-year contract).
Upon contacting customer service, I was told that customers on contract are given a promotional rate, and upon expiry of the said contract, service will automatically continue at a 'prevailing' rate.
I then enquired as to how this prevailing rate is determined, as the disparity between what my family is being charged and what the current promotional rate for a far superior service is too great for the former to be truly 'prevailing'.
Is SingNet able to simply set an arbitrary 'prevailing' rate? Upon further questioning, I was then led to understand that this 'prevailing' rate in question is actually the rate upon commencement of the contract, rather than upon expiry.
As the telecommunications industry is an extremely competitive and fast-evolving one, it is a matter of course that the 'prevailing' rate upon commencement of the contract will be considerably higher than that upon its expiry (as the above examples have highlighted).
My concern is this - is it fair for SingNet to charge customers a so-called 'prevailing' rate - which is in fact one or two years old - when it is clearly an unfairly high amount in comparison to the actual prevailing situation? At the very least, consumers must be made aware of the situation.
Of course, customers can simply cancel the service upon contract expiry without penalty. But if for whatever reasons he fails to discontinue the service, does he not deserve to be charged a fair rate?
What makes this situation even more unsatisfactory is that SingTel is also at liberty to bill customers for additional services (such as e-mail spam filter, et cetera) which were free during the contractual period and which is chargeable thereafter. Only upon my enquiring about these extra charges on my bill did SingNet agree to cancel them.
A SingTel official assured me that whatever it is doing is 'standard practice' in the industry. If that is indeed true, it is an appalling state of affairs.
Leow Zi Xiang
|
