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.
A domestically developed “suicide drone,” also known as a loitering munition, would be tested and evaluated in July, and could enter mass production next year, Taiwan’s weapons developer said on Wednesday. The yet-to-be-named drone was among nine drone models unveiled by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on Tuesday. The drone has been dubbed the “Taiwanese switchblade” by Chinese-language media, due to its similarity to the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 300, which has been used by Ukraine in counterattacks during Russia’s invasion. It has a range of more than 10km, a flight time of more than 15 minutes, and an electro-optical
GOOD INFLUENCE: Kwan said his mother tutored him at home for a few years, saying that she had to protect his ‘creativity’ as his writing had suffered Director and coproducer of the Oscar-winning absurdist comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All at Once Daniel Kwan (關家永) on Sunday dedicated the movie to his Taiwanese mother, who he said supported his creativity growing up. “She is someone who sacrificed a lot for her kids,” Kwan, 35, said backstage at the Oscars. The movie, released early last year, received a commanding 11 nominations at the Academy Awards, and won seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing. Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, with whom he also directed the 2016 fantasy film Swiss Army
HYGIENE KEY: The CDC reported two cases of enterovirus 71, which can cause serious complications, and as there have been no recent outbreaks, children are not immune Two cases of enterovirus 71 (EV71) were reported last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that it was a warning sign, as the virus has not been detected for more than a year. Parents are advised to remind their children to practice good hand hygiene, it said. Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉), director of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Center, said that 165,230 people visited a hospital for diarrhea last week, which is a high number. Most of the diarrhea case clusters were caused by norovirus infection, but there were also enterovirus cases, and weekly caseloads are slowly increasing, Guo said. Most of
A bipartisan US congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan yesterday on a two-day visit that is to include meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other senior government officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The delegation comprises Republican US representatives and Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Ken Calvert, Tom Cole, Dave Joyce and Mike Garcia, as well as Democratic US Representative Ed Case, the ministry said in a news release. Upon their arrival at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), the five representatives were welcomed by North American Affairs Department Director-General Douglas Hsu (徐佑典), it said. During their visit, they are to meet
RSS