WHY A SMART PHONE WAS NOT A SMART MOVE
July 19th 2010 00:00
Uh, did I say buy? I didn’t, did I? And I would like to emphasize that. I was not really sold with the idea of buying a very expensive phone simply because it was touted to be a “smart phone”.
But then, I thought the story would be different if a smart phone was just given to me. As in, I didn’t buy it.
You see, I’ve been a long time holder of a postpaid account with this supposedly reputable service provider in the Philippines. They have already given me a K800i Sony Ericsson before – with the simple condition that I continue my subscription with them for another two years. I did. No hitch. I didn’t have any problem with it.
When that contract was over, they came back to me and offered me a monthly rebate of US$33.00 on my bill. In both instances, I didn’t have to do anything but continue my existing subscription with them. No additional charges. It’s some kind of loyalty reward, same condition, two year contract.
It was nice. They offer that to clients of good standing.
Then, I thought I needed a new phone. You know, I went into forex trading and there was this ad that says I can use certain kinds of smart phones to trade while on the go.
Being able to check your open positions while traveling is not a bad idea.
A call to my service provider showed that I was, in fact, already qualified to have an Iphone for free. Same conditions - another two year contract- except this time they made me choose on how they will charge me for web browsing. The (3) choices: 1. Time browsing, 2. A monthly fee (flat rate) that will be added on top of my subscription plan, 3. A scheme where they count the kilobytes I downloaded and charge me according to that.
I chose number 1 (time browsing) since I was already using it for years without any problem and 30 minutes of browsing only costs US$0.22. Well, that was how it was with my old 3G phones where I used to tether my laptop to access the net.
So, what’s not so smart about the whole thing?
Well, you see… I have a Wifi connection at home and we have a Wifi connection in the office and since I know what Time Browsing meant, I made sure that whenever and wherever I can get free access to the net using a wifi I use that to access the web. Saves me money.
But it seems that my service provider has associated the word smart phones with DUMB people who breaths, eats and lives net browsing because on the 15th day after they have delivered my Iphone, they sent me a bill for a 15 day’s worth of uninterrupted internet browsing. Like I didn’t do anything else but browse the web in those 15 days - without even sleeping!
Now, that was stupid. So, I refused to pay. I ranted, complained on recorded phone conversations, etc. and asked them proof that I in fact used 15 days worth of uninterrupted web browsing time, but all I got were messages that I should pay my bill lest they’ll send my case to court and I may even end up paying for litigation.
Ha! Years and years of rewards and good record as a good standing client, ruined by a smart phone. Oh, but the phone knew nothing about it. It wasn’t that smart. It can’t think on its own. So, it’s either the people in charge in billing & collection or everyone in my service provider’s office gone bonkers.
Well, I signed the darn contract for two more years so I guess I’ll have to go back to being a good paying client. But that smart phone? It was not a smart move for me and neither for my provider. Immediately after that bill came, I stopped using the phone for internet usage. I engaged the services of another provider specifically for internet access.
My two year contract with them costs me around US$2,000.00 an amount I used to pay gladly over the years. But they will not even indulge me with some explanation on how I incurred those 15 days of uninterrupted internet browsing. Instead they insisted that I pay their US$131.00 and threatened to sue if I didn’t.
Well, they may think they have put one over me, but I’ll make sure it was my last contract with them.
Say, how’s your service provider?
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