The Consumers’ Foundation lashed out at telecom service providers yesterday for penalizing mobile Internet subscribers who terminate their contracts early because of poor or ineffective service.
The foundation said that it received, on average, one complaint every nine days last year about disputes over mobile Internet services. Most of the problems involved slow or nonfunctional Internet connections, hidden charges and disputes over billing.
The foundation recently conducted a review of the mobile Internet service contracts offered by several telecom companies.
FIVE COMPANIES
It found that five operators, including Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone, require customers to pay a penalty if they choose to prematurely terminate their contract because of difficulty connecting to the Internet arising from technical problems on the operator’s side, foundation vice chairperson Joann Su (蘇錦霞) said.
Su said this was comparable to “restaurants charging customers for dishes that were ordered but the restaurant was unable to prepare.”
Data released by the National Communications Commission as of the end of last year showed that 18 million people used their mobile devices, such as cellphones or 3G wireless cards, to connect to the Internet. This means an estimated 67.5 percent of all cellphone users could potentially be affected by these unfair telecom practices.
CHEAP COSTS MORE
The foundation used the cheapest mobile Internet plan of NT$200 a month offered by Chunghwa Telecom as an example. It estimated that if 5 percent of all mobile Internet customers (900,000 people) had trouble with their Internet connection but were forced to follow through on the two-year contract to avoid penalties, the company would make NT$4.3 billion (US$134 million) without providing Internet services to these subscribers.
“Telecom companies should offer compensation or refunds if customers purchase 3G wireless cards or Internet service plans but cannot use them, as it is the companies that were unable to deliver the goods or services that were promised in the contract,” foundation chairman Hsieh Tien-jen (謝天仁) said.
Su said the foundation even received a report saying that after a customer died, the telecom service provider demanded that the person who inherited his assets also inherit the service plan, or pay a penalty for terminating the contract.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS