By MoneyBees
Compare two mobile or broadband plans on their total cost over the same months, and see whether paying an early termination charge to switch pays off, with IMDA's rules on those charges.
Add up what each plan costs over the same number of months: the monthly fee for the contract, one-time fees, minus rebates you would use, and the fee after the contract ends. A S$35 plan on 24 months with S$100 off costs S$740 over 24 months; a S$40 plan with no contract costs S$960.
Often, but only if you stay the full term. Compare the total over 24 months, and check the monthly fee after the contract ends, which can be higher than the promotional price.
IMDA's Advisory Guidelines on Contract Period and Early Termination Charges cap contract periods at 24 months for consumer service agreements.
IMDA's Telecom and Media Competition Code says the charge must be reasonably proportionate to the discount you received and how long you used the service. IMDA's guidelines say it should fall at least month by month, leave out costs the provider avoids, and never exceed the monthly fees left on the contract.
Compare staying to the end with leaving now: the charge and any set-up fees plus the new plan's fees for the same months. If the new fee is S$35 a month lower, a S$150 charge pays back in about 4.3 months.
No. Under IMDA's Code a provider must not change the terms or price of a fixed-term mobile, fixed line, broadband or bundled contract to a consumer's disadvantage during its term.
Tell your provider before the bill is due and you need not pay the reasonably disputed amount while it is reviewed. You have one year from the bill date to contest it, and the provider must reply in writing within 30 days.
IMDA's Alternative Dispute Resolution Scheme, run by the Singapore Mediation Centre, handles disputes of up to S$10,000 from the past year after you give the provider 14 days' notice. Mediation costs consumers S$10. CASE and the Small Claims Tribunal are other routes.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).