"Roaming" has become a historical mobile but silently charges for 43 months?
User: Why do you still charge for meaningless packages? Customer service: If the user does not actively cancel, it will always be charged by default
For many mobile phone users after 00, "long-distance roaming charges" is a very unfamiliar term, because as early as 2017, this charge has been cancelled.
However, a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily recently received complaints from consumers, claiming that relatives’ mobile phones have been charged for roaming packages called "Family Province".
As for why the service that has been cancelled has been charged, the explanation given by China Mobile's customer service is that "users will always charge by default if they do not cancel."
The Beijing Youth Daily reporter also found that this situation is not a case. How many "hidden charges" are silently causing consumers to "dumb and lose"?
Reader broke the news
Roaming charges cancelled
Related packages still charge
"The so-called mobile phone roaming fee has been cancelled nationwide in 2017. I only recently noticed that the relevant packages have been collecting money." A few days ago, the citizen Mr. Zhao reported to a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily that the mobile phones of his elderly people have been charged. "Family Province" package fee.
Mr. Zhao said that because the elderly in the family had worked in other places for a period of time before retirement, in order to save communication costs, Mr. Zhao handled this business for the elderly at that time.
For many mobile phone users after 00, "long-distance roaming charges" is already an unfamiliar term.
In that year, due to various reasons, mobile phone tariffs were different in different provinces.
A mobile phone number has an area, leaving this area to make a call is called "roaming", and dialing a foreign number locally is called "long distance".
Compared to local call charges, the cost of long-distance roaming can sometimes be 2 to 3 times higher.
For example, if the phone owner uses Beijing Mobile's number, then using this number to make or receive calls in Hebei will be charged a higher fee, and using this number to make a foreign call in Beijing will also be charged a higher fee.
With the increase of users, the tariffs of "long-distance roaming" are also controversial, because for mobile and other telecommunications companies, users "roaming" to areas outside the province do not incur high additional costs for the telecommunications companies to match their charging levels.
At that time, as a buffer against this opposition, China Mobile launched package activities such as "Family Province" and "Domestic Roaming Plan". These packages only need to pay 1 yuan per month, and users can enjoy calling and receiving calls from outside users. "Preferential tariffs" for telephone calls.
A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily learned that as early as August 2015, China Mobile cancelled long-distance roaming charges in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
By September 2017, the three major operators have cancelled long-distance roaming fees nationwide.
Mr. Zhao said that he had forgotten that there was this package, because the amount was not large, and the elderly in the family did not pay attention every time the fee was deducted.
However, recently when he helped the elderly sort out the mobile phone numbers they didn't use, he discovered that there is still such a package fee that has been paid. "The roaming fee is not charged. What is the significance of this package? Why doesn't China Mobile cancel it?"
Customer service response
The user does not voluntarily cancel
Will always charge
Not only Mr. Zhao, some users have also reported that the function fee of 12,593 months has been received in the second half of 2019, and even the reporter himself found a number that is still being charged for the "domestic roaming plan" package fee during the interview.
If calculated according to August 2015, this Beijing Mobile number has already been charged for the package fee generated by the cancelled business for 68 months. Even if calculated according to September 2017, this charge that should not exist has continued. It took 43 months to pay.
In addition, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily noted that Beijing Mobile’s recent SMS bill did not show details.
In the March phone bill received by the number involved on April 8, the main consumption items only listed "package and fixed fee × × yuan".
Regarding this matter, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily, as a user, consulted Beijing Mobile on April 8.
Its telephone customer service said that the "domestic roaming plan" service requires users to unsubscribe via SMS. After sending the unsubscribe SMS, it will take effect the next month and no more fees will be charged.
At the same time, the customer service said that if the user does not take the initiative to cancel the service, the fee will still be deducted even if the service has "non-existed".
Up to now, China Mobile has not issued new business rules.
As for why the canceled business still incurs package tariffs, the customer service staff said that this is a system problem and he cannot solve it and can only apply to the superior for processing.
On April 9, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily received a response from the mobile customer service.
The customer service said that the solution to this matter is still to require the customer to cancel the business by himself, and at the same time to compensate the customer for the 100 yuan call charge. The call charge cannot be "withdrawn". If the network is transferred or the number is cancelled, the call charge will not be refunded to the user.
In addition, when a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily asked whether the cancelled business could be notified to customers in a more obvious way such as making a phone call, the customer service said that every time it receives related complaints and suggestions, the mobile customer service will truthfully report it to the company's superiors.
But so far, the mobile customer service has not received any notice to change the existing service model for the cancelled business.
Reporter found
Such "discontinued but charged business"
There are multiple
A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily found a "China Mobile Customer Network Access Service Agreement" on the official website of Beijing Mobile, which clearly stated: "In case of a unified adjustment of tariff standards by government authorities, this agreement shall be based on the tariff standards adjusted by the government authorities. It will be implemented at the specified time.” Apparently, China Mobile did not cancel the package fees incurred in accordance with the agreement for items that have been stipulated by the government to be free of charge.
The reporter of Beiqing Daily noticed in repeated communication with mobile customer service staff that the customer service staff revealed that this "stopped business", which has been charged without voluntarily canceling, is not only a "long-distance roaming fee".
A reporter from Beiqing Daily also found some packages whose tariffs are obviously not equal to the current charging levels in a survey of some mobile users, such as a data charge of 5 yuan and 40M during free time (23:00 to 7:00 the next day).
At present, on the Beijing Mobile Mini Program, the price of 1G traffic + one-day membership purchase price for a certain video is 0.99 yuan.
Mobile customer service said that the 5 yuan 40M package has indeed been cancelled, but as a Shenzhouxing card, a mandatory package is required. The current minimum package fee is "8 yuan package", which includes 30 minutes and 10M data.
In addition, on the Black Cat complaint platform, there are more than 100,000 complaints against China Mobile, many of which are complaints about packages and membership fees in the bill without their knowledge.
In some posts, some netizens said that some campus LAN services that can only be used in elementary schools only discovered that they were still charging after the children had reached the second year of junior high.
Regardless of whether the user has opened up with the knowledge, or the service has been cancelled or the tariff has changed, as long as the user does not actively request cancellation, the fee will always be charged by default.
This can't help but remind people of the fact that in 2018, China Mobile was exposed to the user's unknowingly being opened with a monthly fee of 10 yuan for the "Car Friends Assistant" service.
At that time, when the media asked him to issue a recording of starting the business, the mobile side did not produce it for a long time.
The official microblog of the People’s Daily also criticized the matter: “Hidden deductions are no more than paying out of the user’s pocket. After being exposed, they refuse to admit it. After repeated pretense, large companies are playing tricks.”
This group of articles / reporter Zhang Xin
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Lawyer: Users can protect their rights through complaints
In this regard, lawyer Fang Yuzhou, a senior partner of Beijing Yingke Law Firm, said in an interview with a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily that this operation of China Mobile is an infringement of consumer rights.
In response to users who have been charged for "long-distance roaming" package fees, lawyer Fang Yuzhou stated that in accordance with the "Opinions of the State Council on Implementing the Division of Labor of Key Work Departments in the Government Work Report", telecom operators should cancel domestic long-distance mobile phones within 2017 And roaming fees.
In other words, after 2017, telecommunications operators are prohibited from charging mobile phone domestic long-distance and roaming charges.
Although China Mobile announced on its official website to cancel domestic long-distance and roaming charges for mobile phones, in the process of providing services, it aggravated consumer obligations by "consumer discovery and cancellation", and changed some consumers to charge this part of the fee, which is obviously infringing The rights of consumers.
Consumers who have been charged for this part of the fee after 2017 can, in accordance with Article 11 of the "Consumer Rights Protection Law", "Consumers who have suffered personal or property damage due to purchasing, using goods or receiving services shall have the right to obtain compensation in accordance with the law. "Ask for rights.
Lawyer Fang suggested that because the amount involved in long-distance roaming charges for mobile phones is usually not large, the cost of protecting rights through litigation is relatively high. Therefore, it is recommended that consumers whose rights have been infringed can follow the provisions of Article 39 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law. The prescribed method of "complaining to the relevant administrative department" is used to safeguard rights.