With more mobile phone carriers and distributors promoting mobile phone warranty plans for accidental damage, the Consumers’ Foundation cautioned the public that the plans are not government-regulated and might not guarantee consumers the protection they thought they had paid for.
Promotional phrases such as: “Mobile phone insurance — if it cannot be fixed then just replace it with a new one” or “If you purchase insurance for your mobile phone, you do not have to worry if it falls in water or if it is smashed,” can mislead consumers, the foundation said.
Having visited two mobile phone carriers and three distributors to gain an understanding of their accidental damage warranty plans, the foundation said the plans are not reviewed by a particular governmental agency nor regulated by the Insurance Act (保險法), because they are sold as a “warranty.”
The warranty plans ranged from NT$98 to NT$258 per month or NT$450 to NT$4,800 per year for different mobile phones.
Wei Yi-lung (魏憶龍), a committee member of the foundation’s financial insurance committee and an attorney, said a warranty should be attached to a sold product rather than sold as an additional service, so accidental damage warranty plans should be considered insurance plans regulated by the Financial Supervisory Commission’s Insurance Bureau.
“Companies often exaggerate the benefits of the plans, but when the phones are damaged, they can act as the judge to arbitrarily determine whether the damage was intentional or accidental,” the foundation’s acting secretary-general Chang Hung-ju (張宏如) said. “We think this is unfair to consumers.”
The foundation said warranty fees remain the same while phones usually depreciate in value after one year.
Three companies do not allow termination or refund of the plan and two companies collect monthly warranty fees along with monthly phone bills, the foundation said.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS