<Anchor> It
is a friendly economic time to inform you of real information in your life. Today (18th), we will be with reporter Kim Hye-min. I think it will be very helpful to those who listened to this today. There is a way to get a discount on communication fees, but many people don't know?
<Reporter>
You can get a discount of 25% of the communication fee, and it is said that 12 million people out of the total people paying all of this as it is.
Excluding children who do not have mobile phones, 1 in 4 people do not receive the discount.
This benefit, called the'optional contract discount', started in 2014 to give you a rate discount corresponding to the telecom subsidy.
And from 2017, the discount rate has risen to 25%. Even though it has been in force for such a long time, there are many people who do not know the system well, or forgot to sign up.
My parents didn't know this, but they signed up only after a few years, but like this, there are many cases where the elderly don't know this information. It's a good idea for your children to take a look to see if their parents can benefit.
<Anchor>
I don't think I didn't know well either. I think I should take a look, but then please explain who this is for and what are the conditions for signing up.
<Reporter>
First of all, you can sign up for an optional contract from the time you purchase your mobile phone, which will give you a 25% discount on your mobile phone bill every month.
However, in this case, you can choose one of the two because you can also receive the benefit of the public subsidy, which gives you a discount on the mobile phone price at once.
You can do the better of the two. This is because the store asks you to choose it every time. So you can do it without difficulty.
The problem is in other cases, you have to apply because you can get a 25% discount even when you open a self-contained or used phone.
And those who have received the disclosure subsidies or optional contracts mentioned above usually change their mobile phones after the contract period is over.
However, if you continue to use this, you will need to re-enroll in the optional agreement to receive this benefit. This is a bit cumbersome.
<anchor> That's
right. But usually, I have a two-year contract, so many people use cell phones, smartphones. However, it seems that there are a lot of people who use it for a little over two years, but I think those elderly people can also benefit from it. Then I was over 2 years old. I've been using my cellphone for a while, smartphone. So how can I check if I am eligible to sign up?
<Reporter>
First, there is a simple way to check. When you press *#06# on the keypad of the mobile phone, the identification information number appears.
Search for'Smart Choice' on the portal, enter it, and select'Search terminal for discounted rates'. I have the identification information number I got earlier. When you insert this, you will be immediately informed whether you are eligible for the discount.
If it says that it is a terminal that can be discounted, you can call your mobile operator and tell them to sign up. It's really simple.
I went in yesterday, too, but as the government promoted this from yesterday, it seems that users suddenly flocked to it. Sometimes I can't confirm it.
It's good to have time to spare. You can also call your carrier and ask. There is a small tip when signing up for an optional contract discount, because there is a contract term.
So if you cancel before the contract period, you will have to spit out a portion of the discounted amount. However, no matter how you set the period, the discount rate is always the same at 25%. So, it would be advantageous to sign up for a one-year contract with the shortest term.
<Anchor>
Check it all out, and if I'm really a member, I think it would be nice to receive benefits. But I have one question. Shouldn't you let me sign up for this automatically? Is it really annoying like this?
<Reporter>
That's right. There are many complaints like this. I was also curious, so I asked a person in the telecommunications industry once.
When I asked if it was technically difficult, he said, "No, it's possible to automatically renew or sign up."
But the problem is, I mentioned earlier that if you automatically sign up for an optional contract and then cancel it before the contract period, you will have to pay a refund.
This is because consumers can protest, saying, "I didn't know if I was signed up."
However, there seems to be no reason for consumers to complain about this, as they seldom take more refunds than the amount received.
The government and the telecommunications industry have suggested that they will reinforce the notification by sending text messages more often before the contract expires, but it would be a more fundamental solution to have a countermeasure to automatically sign up like this.
Lastly, the elderly 65 years old, youth under the age of 18, disabled people and military personnel can use the cheaper rate plan than the regular rate plan.
Vulnerable groups such as basic living recipients and people of national merit are also eligible for a reduction in fees, so if you fall under these conditions, please contact your telecommunications company to check.