Complaint: STARHUB

I was seriously fuming .

So much that I was trembling.

*breathes in and out.. *huff* puff*

Mind you, I am going to bring this matter up to the media if Starhub isn't going to resolve this.

The story went like this:

I received my usual monthly bill from Starhub yesterday, and horror of all horrors - My bill, which is supposed to be $38 per month under Student Plan aka PowerValue 100... Ended up a $50+. (I can't freaking believe they called it a student promotion when the amount I was asked to pay up seems to be higher than some normal plans)

I know MY amount isn't considered that much as compared to many out there who are using more expensive plans - But hey, I am talking about HONESTY here, which Starhub obviously lacks. As big as a company they may seem, it's definitely more than it meets the eye.

Apparently, I was charged for Outgoing calls that amounted up to nearly $10 with a talktime of 158 minutes 47 seconds.

I was dumbfounded.

I am someone who does not use Outgoing calls except for purposes such as calling home that would usually last not more than a few seconds per call.

(It would be usual stuff like informing my parents that I will not be home for dinner, etc)

Infuriated, I went through my phone call logs ONE by ONE and counted the minutes I've previously used.

I discovered that I had only used 23 minutes of talktime within the stated period - which is WITHIN the 100 free outgoing minutes that I was given monthly. In other words, this would mean that no charges should be imposed if I do not use more than the 100 minutes limit. However, the bill stated that I have used up more than that-  hence I have to pay for the excess charges.

WHERE and HOW the heck did the 158 minutes 47 seconds come from?!

Magic ah?!

So of course I went to call them up the next day.... 

AND GUESS WHAT?!

More anger ensues!!

*trembles again*

I swore I almost had a heart attack after I hung up the phone call.

Well...I had just wanted to check with them with regards to the excess minutes, and the Starhub personnel told me that I have TO PAY THEM A SUM OF $30 before they can proceed to generate my call logs for me from their system so I could check.

WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!?!?!

WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!?!?!WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!?!?!WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!?!?!

• Firstly, WHY should I pay you when it's my OWN call logs that I am asking for? It's not like I am requesting for somebody else's call logs right?!... Isn't it a huge joke when you are asking me to pay to know what should be rightfully mine?

• Secondly, I was overcharged an amount of nearly $10. What kind of logic is that to make me pay $30 to find out?

• Thirdly... Isn't finding out the reason of why I was overcharged supposed to be part of what Customer Service is about? WHY SHOULD I PAY TO FIND OUT THE REASON WHY I WAS OVERCHARGED?

It's really ridiculous. 

To make matters worse, the Starhub personnel didn't seem to be helpful at all.

I kept insisting that I have counted from my side and its apparent that I didn't use up to such a huge limit - and SHE (yes, it's a SHE) kept telling me to pay up that $30 so I can check from their side.

Appalled, I asked if there are any alternative methods that could be helpful.. And again, she repeated the same thing about that freaking $30.

Hello Starhub, WHY ARE YOU SO MONEY-MINDED?!

Do you even care for your customers - especially a loyal one like me who have been with you for uncountable years??! Is that how you treat your customers - by asking them to pay for something they are supposed to have the rights to?

No wonder Starhub is earning money - They must have been using unscrupulous methods to overcharge their customers, hoping that they wouldn't check their bills thoroughly.

I know there are many of you out there who are paying through Giro - in which entitles Starhub to automatically deduct the amount from your account every month.

And this contributes to our negligence of checking our phone bills because we thought we could trust them.

THOUGHT.

(But ALAS - You can never be too sure.)

It's because of the fact that many of us do not check our bills and calculate them thoroughly that contributes to their advantage! 

I don't think the way they deal with our phone bills are transparent enough as well - Imagine they can "anyhow" come up with a digit and you won't know the accuracy - unless when it suddenly hits you that something is not right.
(Hello, we are not fools!)

VERY SHADY, RIGHT?!

I have enough of you, Starhub.

This is not the first time that you are charging my family more than you should - and you will only return us the money when we found out ourselves after approaching you.

What other reasons do I have to continue having you as my operator?

NONE.

Throughout the years.. ...

1) You don't give loyalty customer discounts, nor do you inform me whenever my contract is nearing the end.

2) Your customer service sucks big time. 

3) You only value NEW customers and leave your existing customers to rot. Do you seriously think I will only depend on you as my sole service provider? 

It's because of horrible experiences that I have made up my mind NOT to ever sign anything with Starhub again. 

Once bitten, twice shy.

My entry serves as a warning to those out there... Sign with Starhub at your own risk.

P/S: I'll be heading down to Starhub tomorrow morning and have a face-to-face confrontation. I am NOT going to fall prey to your shady tactics anymore!!