Hedious bill from Singtel

last SG · 2008-01-23T10:50:16+00:00

You need to call them immediately after realizing that you've lost your phone. This is pure common sense alright. If i were singtel, yes, if i were....read...

stickysoggy SG

Hi all,

I am at my wits end here. So I'm turning to the general public and I hope anybody with a good opinion or two can tell me about them.

I lost my hp (possibly pickpocketed) on Dec 22nd at Vivocity, I tried repeated to call my hp on the day I lost it. At first I wanted to report lost right away bcos whoever had my phone had off the phone, but later it was switch on again. Holding on that ray of hope, I kept calling and sending msgs and eventually called in to disconnect my phone around midnight (although Singtel claimed I called at 150am).

Anyway, I later received a bill of $500 for calls made overseas to Thailand, Vietnam, Sweden on Dec 22nd itself. I went to the police and they told me to go to Singtel and I went to Singtel and they told me to go to the police. Basically both parties were rather blase about it.

Of course, mine would have not been the first case in history.

However, I was shocked that neither the police nor Singtel even had the slightest interest in investigating into the matter despite the numerous overseas numbers reflected on the bill. I was even more appalled to be informed by both the police and Singtel that they do not have the technology.

Whether or not technology is really available in our country, it is just unbelievable that basically the reaction I have received is that I'll just have to bite the bullet.

I have written a letter of appeal to Singtel, but they are unwilling to waive the charges, only those from 150am onwards, which really amounts to little.

So I am asking if there is anyone out there who has any suggestions on what else I can do. I am not exactly wealthy.

I have tried calling the numbers on my bill, the individual appears to be thai. I have been unable to communicate with the owners of these numbers because they only speak thai/other languages. (Thai being the majority)

Please, if you have any idea at all, please email me at Email removed by Moderator.

I sincerely ask for your help.

Eileen

Ferguson SG

get a THAI speaking person to communicate with the other party

allentyb_v2.01 SG

Why you never cancel the line, immediately? There is nothing much you can do, except keep calling them and tell them, you are not the one who make those call lor

eagle SG

if u r not paying by GIRO, just don’t pay anything and change service provider lor

poon cho tang SG

i cancelled the line the minute i lost the hp last time

monoslayer SG

wait for lawyer letter. Laughing

trendz SG

Firstly, you're responsible for your own possessions. Thus, any unauthorized local & overseas calls made by that dishonest a*shole cannot be held responsible by the telco. If so, wouldn't the telco have to bear all the costs of tons of people who had lost their phones and succumbed to bearing the cost of those unauthorized calls made by the thief?

For example: if you had lost your phone at 11pm. You reported at 1am. From 11pm - 1am, during that 2h period, cost of any calls made will be charged on your account. And I can assure you once you had reported to them, your line will be immediately disconnected. That will render your SIM card useless.

Everyone knows that reporting to the police is rather a waste of time. Look at the number of loss phone cases. They have better things to do. And by doing so, the chance of gettin' your phone back is say, 10%?

I had lost a few phones before. And I called my telco to report straight away to disconnect the line. 'Cause I know that holding onto that glimmer of hope of gettin' my cellphone back is rather futile.

Anyway, I could empathise with your situation but I would strongly suggest to you to stop whining. Cool

eagle SG

Laughing

Anyway trendz is right. Even if disconnected, when you get back your phone, you can always connect it back...

Master -_- SG

when u lost ur phone, the onus is on you to disconnect the line immediately..instead, you depended on "a ray of hope" which unfortunately extinguished before you can reach that ray.

You cant do much to refute Singtel's persistence should they decide to pursue this matter. At the very most, u can call back the number which the one who got your hanphone kept calling. Maybe that can reveal the identity and hopefully, you can at least file a civil suit for Misappropriation of Property

extrinsic SG

If you really at wits end, call up the newspaper. (sin ming, lian he)
then tell them abt this, if this gets to public news, ST "might" waive off out of goodwill.
read the word "might" though.

<Precious> SG

When you discovered the loss of your mobile phone, the onus is on you to immediately contact SingTel so that your line could most probably be terminated to prevent any unauthorised use. Any charges incurred after your report to SingTel would then not be your liability.

However, it seems that you had failed to report the loss immediately. Hence, denying the charges incurred will be downright difficult...........

The charges incurred may be heavy but you still cannot escape legal liability for the payment...... You can propose an installment payment scheme to SingTel at best. Wink

de_middle SG

ur call to singtel is recorded & they'll waive all charges if line was not suspended after the call by CS.

anything before that call, there is nothing u can do but PAY UP Laughing

Saint` SG

the time u called to singtel shld be correct from them .. call centres have recordings of it in the system.. there is no way u can win over by claiming u called at midnight…

ndmmxiaomayi SG

Bull crap that Singtel or Police doesn't have the technology to trace. However, I believe it's the privacy issues that stopped them. Without a proper court letter, nobody is able to trace a call or going through call logs.

Your only way - pay the bills or call up and Singtel and explain your situation. You've gotta prove that you didn't make any calls from 1.50am onwards.

According to you,

I kept calling and sending msgs

If you still have the logs (if phone is set to keep outgoing calls and sent messages), kindly provide the proof to Singtel. If unable to do so, there's not much that Singtel is able to do, nor the Police, unless you want to make this a legal case.

That way, the Police could obtain a court order and ask Singtel for the relevant logs. Not much chance that they will be able to trace who did that, but the call logs will reveal what time the calls are made and to where.

Considering the legal costs involved, you should discuss with your family or anyone familiar with the laws. Get their opinions.

Shotgun SG

Make a police formal police report of your lost handphone, and provide them your IMEI number.

Privacy laws do not stand when it is a criminal investigation. The phone (IMEI no. ) obviously belongs to Eileen is Eileen's privacy. Not the person in possession of it.

Its up to the police whether they want to track the phone. Cellphones can be tracked. Its whether those A-holes at Singtel are too lazy to do so or not.

ndmmxiaomayi SG

Trouble is, whether she knows her IMEI number. How many here actually knows their IMEI number?

I think telecommunications side got some laws to abide by. They can't suka suka take out the logs, although they have access to it. I remember some employee was actually sentenced to jail or fined because he/she broke that rule. That's a few years ago. Not sure if any has changed yet.

Xephone_xenon SG

I don't think singtel should be held responsible actually.
And at the same time, its not their responsibility to help you track down the culprit too.
You should have canceled the line the moment you lost the phone. Its your responsibility.

mortified SG

singtel suck. change to starhub.

LatecomerX SG

Aiya, just sui bian send one court order can liao. They will pass you the logs with two hands de. Learn from Odex. Twisted Evil

maurizio13 SG

Laughing