Letter from a Reader: Mixed-up My SIM

Image courtesy of www.englishbaby.com

Dear FP,

As an avid reader of your blog, I have found your site as a considerable way to get our voices heard as consumers. I am going to forward this as well to the attention of NTC, but I believe that flagging this to your site first will substantially draw the attention my case deserves.

My horrible experience started when I signed up for a new line under my existing account last Jan 2nd in one of the malls in Pasig. The expectation was set for 24 to 48 hours to have it activated. Last Jan. 4, when 48 hours elapsed, I decided to have my brother follow this matter on my behalf by calling the telecom's hotline. He was advised that a ticket was logged to record this delayed concern and feedback will be given soon.

Two days later, there was still no return call. My brother followed up again. Soon after, he sought my help to call back if needed after the committed callback deadline of 3pm, as the line is under my name. We waited until 3:45pm, and by then I took over.

To make the long story short, I was denied several times of speaking to a supervisor or manager in their call center (outsourced to a local BPO firm) up until I was adamant in having my request expedited. The agent and the supervisor advised me to contact the branch where I filed my request as my need was beyond the call center's capabilities. However, the supervisor assured me that my request was already being addressed.

After a few minutes, the mobile number that was already existing and the one I was personally using to call them went out of service all of a sudden. Having worked for a Singaporean telco myself in the past, I suspected that an error in SIM mapping might have been the cause. So I tried and checked the inactive SIM that was meant for the activation of the new line, and I was right. My mobile number was transferred to this other SIM.

Things would have been more manageable on my part if only I wasn't using an iPhone 4S that requires a micro sim instead of the regular sized one. Due to their error, I had no way of using this newly activated SIM on my unit.

With this development, I was already blowing off my fuse and on the way to the nearest center to file a complaint, the supervisor suddenly called. She had a cheery tone and perhaps was horrified to learn of how things got seriously messed up. I asked for the number of the branch to get in touch with the same manager that I spoke with when I signed up for this new line.

While driving to the branch, I was able to reach the manager. In the midst of our heavy discussion, she informed me she was in the hospital. I made it clear that I have no intention of stressing her out further, so I requested to speak to her branch assistant. A few more minutes later, I got a call from a woman who got me more irritated because it seemed she had no sense of the gravity of my concern. I was losing business because my mobile cannot be contacted due to their error.

I hope this brings attention to how poorly this telecom service is treating its customers. No wonder people are switching to the other telecom.

Yours truly,

P.G.