Complaints are fruitless and fees will not be refunded. Why is it so difficult to dismantle broadband in a remote location?

　　Difficulties in dismantling remote broadband: Why are convenience measures so difficult to implement?

　　Author: Wu Liting

　　Published in the 1134th issue of "China News Weekly" magazine on April 1, 2024

　　On January 24, 2024, Ms. Xu breathed a sigh of relief after dialing the 15th customer service number and confirming that her inter-provincial broadband billing had stopped.

　　She recalled to China News Weekly that the game with China Mobile lasted for a month. In August last year, Ms. Xu used her Shandong mobile phone number to register for broadband in Chongqing and paid for the package monthly. When it was time to cancel the broadband service at the end of the year, Shandong and Chongqing were "kicking the ball" and no one accepted it. In desperation, she had to complain repeatedly, and finally successfully handled it under the agency of a friend.

　　"If you fail to cancel before the beginning of the month, the automatically deducted one-month Internet fee cannot be refunded." She said, "When I first applied, I only had to make a phone call and someone would come to install it. I didn't expect it to be so difficult when I canceled."

　　On the Black Cat complaint platform, “difficulty in dismantling remote broadband” is not an isolated case. Some users were told that due to insufficient manpower in the business hall, there was a long queue during the approval process, and they visited the business hall several times to no avail. Some users finally returned the equipment that needed to be disassembled and returned it to the business hall, but the problem was still not resolved and is still being billed.

　　In addition, the distribution of offline designated business halls has also been questioned by netizens, "All business halls in the entire county can be equipped with broadband, but only one hall can be canceled. Aren't these deliberately making things more difficult for consumers? ?”

On the Black Cat complaint platform, screenshots of consumers’ complaints about the difficulty of dismantling inter-provincial broadband

　　What is the difficulty in dismantling remote broadband?

　　Trans-provincial broadband processing has always been a business that users have strongly voiced.

　　Starting from 2021, China Unicom has launched the "National Family Family" remote broadband inter-provincial application, covering almost all cities across the country. In May 2022, China Mobile also announced the launch of the "inter-provincial broadband" service, which focuses on "one card without changing numbers, and broadband is available in all provinces." At the beginning of 2023, China Telecom will also begin to deploy cross-provincial broadband services in some provinces and cities. So far, all inter-provincial broadband services of the three major operators have been launched.

　　While interconnection and convenience are beneficial to the people, the problem of inter-provincial broadband being "easy to install and difficult to dismantle" has been criticized by consumers.

　　In order to understand the off-site broadband disassembly process, "China News Weekly" verified the situation with China Mobile. A customer service staff responded that the broadband unsubscription process usually includes filling out an unsubscription application, recycling equipment, signing a termination agreement, etc. As far as remote broadband disassembly is concerned, individual users need to apply to the place where the number belongs first, and then the broadband is dismantled by the location. Users must bring their valid ID card and optical modem device to the designated offline business hall to apply. If the equipment is lost, additional compensation fees will be paid.

　　From this point of view, the processing involves linkage between the two places. Once the processing authority is limited and the customer service business is unfamiliar, the communication costs will be superimposed. Industry insiders pointed out, "Broadband account cancellation and dismantling involve preferential plans. The business marketing plans of different places are different, and the business functions are also different, so there will be problems in the step of plan association. If the place of application cannot access the plan of the remote number, a leaflet is required. Go to the place where the number belongs and deal with it.”

　　In addition, the time for broadband disassembly is also particular. A China Mobile broadband business specialist revealed to China News Weekly that according to operator regulations, annual package users who cancel their broadband in advance due to special reasons must pay liquidated damages based on the monthly rent multiplied by the unfulfilled months; monthly packages also require Submit the application before the next service cycle is deducted.

　　This means that in addition to being subject to geographical restrictions, remote broadband disassembly will also cause unnecessary economic losses to users if delays occur during the acceptance process. In addition, the marketing system of the telecommunications industry is huge and complex, and it also hides complex legal issues.

　　Why is it so controversial?

　　It is not easy for consumers to clearly disassemble the phone.

　　In Ms. Xu's view, the complicated procedures are only one aspect. The operators' unequal services and unfair regulations are what really make her feel aggrieved.

　　"China News Weekly" interviewed many users and found that there was no written agreement on the broadband disassembly process and billing details before handling. "The information in the entire consumption process was not transparent enough. I was not fully informed of the actual business situation and felt that it was being concealed." Ms. Xu reflected.

　　In response to this, the above-mentioned China Mobile Broadband Management Specialist responded, "Generally, we will handle the matter after users ask clearly. When canceling, just call customer service according to needs."

　　In fact, there is a gap in the market position comparison between consumers and operators in the telecommunications industry. Even written telecommunications service contracts are unilaterally formulated by telecommunications operators and are not negotiable. They are contracts that consumers can only passively accept. . There are many clauses that protect the interests of operators and are unfair.

　　Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, said in an interview with China News Weekly that operators stipulate that disassembly is not allowed at the beginning of the month, obstacles are set up to terminate the contract, and "disassembly is not refundable" etc. This behavior obviously limits the rights of consumers, increases their responsibilities, and exempts them from their own responsibilities. According to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code and the Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, such standard clauses in telecommunications service contracts are invalid.

　　In addition, failure to explain the off-site broadband application process in advance and the existence of hidden disassembly fees also harm the rights and interests of consumers. According to the "Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", consumers have the full right to know information that is of important interest to consumers, and operators have the responsibility to proactively, comprehensively, accurately and truthfully inform them.

　　"In these situations, I advocate encouraging consumers to protect their rights, but in fact everyone is not very motivated, or there are not many ways." Chen Yinjiang said. This is because the subject amount of telecommunications service disputes is usually small. Some people vividly compare the results and process of rights protection for Chinese consumers to "in order to recover a chicken, a cow must be killed." This has also caused more people to turn their attention to the legal system and corporate social responsibility behind the protection of consumer rights and interests in the telecommunications field.

　　How to optimize the broadband disassembly process?

　　The telecommunications industry is extremely technical, complex and professional. As far as remote broadband disassembly is concerned, the optimization of the entire process involves many parties.

　　From the perspective of telecommunications regulatory legislation, the current relevant legislation is mostly departmental regulations and normative legal documents, which are weak in system and focus on national telecommunications security and related business applications, involving provisions on the protection of consumer rights and interests in the telecommunications field. The development speed of the industry is lagging behind.

　　Chen Yinjiang said that the provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law on the protection of consumer rights in the telecommunications field are relatively general and not clear and specific enough. In fact, many countries with developed telecommunications markets in the world have separated "telecom consumers" from general consumers and specifically protected them based on industry characteristics. There are also places where special non-profit organizations have been established, such as Australia's Telecommunications Users' Complaints Committee (TIO). Such intermediaries bring consumers and operators closer, effectively reduce the number of companies being sued, and promote the development of telecommunications. To improve service quality, these practices are worth learning from.

　　Chen Yinjiang said that users can take the initiative to adopt some strategies. For example, you can learn about the relevant policies and regulations from the operator in advance, including the specific procedures and requirements for off-site dismantling, to avoid unnecessary trouble during the handling process. Under the real challenge of "slowing user growth", operators still need to further optimize services, assume social responsibilities, maintain high quality and sustainable development of business. He suggested that operators provide clear guidance on the unsubscription application page and provide multiple contact methods to unblock consultation and complaint channels; improve the professionalism of the customer service team and efficiently solve user problems; in addition, more transparent information disclosure and more A complete refund mechanism and a more reciprocal user agreement also need to be further developed.

　　"China News Weekly" Issue 12, 2024

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