Early Termination Fee Is Extortion
October 3, 2007 · Filed Under All Entries, Socio Political
We already know how poor consumer protection is in the Philippines but let me just express my disappointment with a service policy that is clearly a bull****, but I am hearing no government action to address it yet. It is conveniently called ETF or Early Termination Fee which is usually used by telecommunication companies (TELCOs).
Contrary to other countries where companies offer a 30-day money back guarantee, some companies in the Philippines have a 12-month tie-in period which charges unsatisfied customers for early termination. So if you decided to subscribe today and after installation realized how poor their service is, you need to suffer 12 more months or pay the ETF to relieve you from your misery. I call that extortion.
I do not want to be one sided nor be an idealist on this issue. We know how cunning Filipinos can become and that probably lead companies to implement such policy. However, times have changed. A lot of service providers have benefit greatly from it to the expense of us consumers. It is no longer the TELCOs who needs protection, the public now needs to be protected.
Not only does they deliver unreliable products but VERY POOR customer support as well.
Char of Warm Blankie says:
You know there is no hope for this company if the customer service agent tells you to just e-mail your complaint to their helpdesk email address. What part of WALA NGA KAMING INTERNET CONNECTION ((translated: we do not have an internet connection)) don’t you understand?
I know that the government is not ignorant of this problem since a lot have been written about it in the internet and some have even filed formal complaints. I do hope that after eliminating the credit card surcharges, the next thing they’ll look in to is the abolition of the ETF.
For the meantime, my advise is that be sure to research about the product/service you are planning to subscribe to. It is better to ask your neighbors who already acquired such service rather than researching over the internet. A good provider in Area A is not an assurance that it can also provide good service in Area B. Do not be a willing hostage.
Have you ever experienced such extortion? Did you pay the ETF?
jon on Wed, 3rd Oct 2007 11:53 AM
Ronnie. the ETF on my plan is $250 USD and it binds you to a two year contract. Nothing they can do about it either.
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bluepanjeet on Wed, 3rd Oct 2007 8:18 PM
i had that experience with digitel because after two weeks of installation, my internet went off. I asked for their service yet after 5 days wala pa rin. sabi nila wait ko daw yung technicians nila na nasa other province that was the time milenyo struck. timano I have to wait for two months bago uli magresume internet ko. siraulo diba? so i termninated my contract tapos isinupalpal sa akin yung ETF na yan pero di ako pumayag sabi ko i will do everythingto pull them down even if it takes the inquirer to publish their names. I barraged the customer service with my complaints at nakarating sa head office jan sa manila. saka lang nila tinerminate yung contract ko anbd they even reimbursed all the payments that I gave them. kung di mo uunahan at sisindakin mga yan, naku lolokohin ka lang. napakagagaling mag sales talk nung una pero after makuha ka na nila pababayaan ka na.
DIGITEL SUCKS BIG TIME!
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zerovoltage on Wed, 3rd Oct 2007 11:28 PM
I’ve never experienced this. I thought of business reasons why there are such fees, but in the end bad service is bad service! If they have the gall to charge you even with the worst (or no) service, it’s just not right.
Tama si bluepanjeet. Sometimes patigasan na lang.
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iRonnie on Wed, 3rd Oct 2007 11:52 PM
JON,
but i know that most companies usually offer a 30-day money back guarantee and a very good customer support that will really go out of their way to address your technical problems. see char’s experience above? it really do happens!
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iRonnie on Wed, 3rd Oct 2007 11:54 PM
BLUE,
precisely bro! ang galing galing nilang maghikayat ng new subscribers at talaga todo follow up syo pero once na nakabitan ka na at magkaproblema ka, sus paluhaan bago ma-address problem mo.
galing mo ha! good for you.
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iRonnie on Wed, 3rd Oct 2007 11:56 PM
ZERO,
i do hope na hindi mo maranasan. well business reasons na kung business reasons pero if they are not able to deliver the service you signed up with them and decides to terminate your contract, ang kapal naman ng mukha nila para singilin ka pa ng ETF.
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Weekend Roundup #5 » Blogging News & Reviews // JaypeeOnline on Sat, 6th Oct 2007 11:01 AM
[...] My friend iRonnie is disappointment with local telcos in the Philippines and calls early termination fees as extortion. [...]