Recently, I seem to have been very lucky to be the recipient of extraordinarily high billing statements from my cellular network service provider and land line service provider.
I’ll start with my business’ landline billing statement. Last December, I upgraded our landline account to include a DSL service. According to the customer service representative, my landline account will be billed an additional Php 1,400.00 for the DSL service. It’s a promo price offered to SME’s. The same price was indicated in the application form. Prior to that, we also availed of their additional wireless landline account for a mere Php 250.00 additional monthly expense on top of the same land line account. Our landline account is Php 1,200.00 per month.
1,200.00 + 250.00 + 1,400.00 = 2,650.00 per month
It is simple mathematics, Right? Wrong, at least according to my landline provider. Apparently, our provider mistakenly, as admitted by them, billed us twice for the same landline account. I raised this issue last December. The CSR advised that we pay the wrongfully assessed amount pending investigation, to be conducted by them. I was assured that the overpayment will be set off in our succeeding billing statements---that is if the result of their investigation is favorable to us. I disagreed for obvious reasons.
Instead, I insisted that they state in my complaint that I will pay the correct monthly dues but I will not pay the overbilled amount. After a couple of days, I was updated by the CSR that our complaint was filed and that I can pay the correct amount and that they will just correct our billing statement for the next month. That didn’t happen. Come January, our bill is now even higher. Not only did the provider included overcharge from December as an unpaid billing but it also charged us twice again for the same landline account. Worse, we were informed that the investigation is still pending. So now, unless we pay the overbilled amount, it’s just a matter of time before we receive a notice of disconnection. It’s that or I don’t pay and just open a new account with a competing provider. I prefer the latter. Our current provider can sue me in court if they want. Maghabulan na lang kami sa korte.
As for my cellular network provider, my friends have been complaining of outrageously high bills these past few months. Upon inquiring, the company claims it’s because they left their “data roaming” turned on. One friend was charged Php 30,000.00 for one month. When she filed her complaint, the same explanation was given to her---that she left her data roaming turned on. She disputed this knowing full well that she was aware of this feature and that she turned it off. Eventually, the company explained that her billing was a result of a computer error. The company reduced the bill to Php 3,600.00.
I, myself, have been victimized by these outrageously high monthly bills. Knowing that my cellular data roaming is turned off and that I don’t text or make calls to warrant such an amount, Php 8,000.00 is simply ridiculous. I figured it’s a convenient excuse to say that the customer left his data roaming on. Less vigilant customers will be surely be victimized by this.
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