TM waives RM1,400 charges imposed on Penampang student
Published on: Thursday, August 24, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
The Penampang student made multiple reports about the unfair charges at this TM Point office.
TELEKOM Malaysia (TM) Bhd has waived more than RM1,400 in charges imposed on a Penampang student for a Unifi service which he never subscribed for and alerted a debt-collection agency to stop harassing him about the sum.
For some time, the 24-year-old has been receiving messages – via short messaging system (SMS) – from the collection staff, demanding that he clear his account as soon as possible.
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He was even verbally informed that he risked incurring a RM6,000 penalty, if he failed to pay off the outstanding amount.
The student was unhappy about all the unnecessary stress and anxiety caused to him because of the escalating intimidation. He related his displeasure in a letter to Hotline.
The contractor who installed the Unifi in his house set up a modem like this which he and his family are still using.
A copy of the police report he lodged about these goings-on was included with this correspondence. These documents were forwarded to TM.
A TM spokesman said a preliminary check of its system turned up the youth’s details.
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“We found two accounts tagged to the same residential address: one in his name, the other in his parent’s name,” he said.
He said service-related activity was only detected with the latter account.
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“We have since had the inactive account terminated. An internal matter was to blame for what happened to the student.”
The spokesman said the management would be taking steps to prevent this problem from recurring.
“Our credit management team has been in communication with the collection agency.
“The company has been instructed to have the youth’s name removed from its list of defaulters and to stop any further action initiated against him with immediate effect.
“We have asked the agents not to contact him about this matter – be it by email, SMS or even verbally – anymore.”
ADREAN of Penampang said two TM contractors came to his home in Kg Novunsu about four years ago, canvassing signatures for potential Unifi applicants.
“I was the only one around during the visit from the first contractor,” he said.
“The individual told me that I could sign on my parents’ behalf since they had gone out so I did so.”
The second individual met his mother at the front door a few days later.
Unaware that Adrean had already put down his signature for the family, she signed a second application form.
The second contractor, subsequently, installed the Unifi which his household now uses.
“Not long afterwards, the TM contractor, who took my signature, came back to perform the same installation.
“My parents informed him that this work had been carried out earlier and that we had no need for two Unifi services at our home but he refused to take heed.”
Adrean said this individual insisted on leaving behind a modem.
The device was never used, or installed and was eventually returned as the family had received it – in its box – to TM, according to him.
“I thought that the matter had ended there but, several months afterwards, I began receiving messages over my handphone informing me that I owed the company RM1,414.85 in charges.
“I was made to understand that I defaulted in paying my Unifi account, even though no such service had been installed or was being used under my name.”
He said the SMS was first of numerous messages he had received over the intervening period.
As a student, who did not have a source of monthly income of his own, Ardean said he could ill afford this Internet facility.
“I have explained all this in person so many times at the TM Point office in Sadong Jaya to no avail.
At one stage, he said, a TM technician came to his family’s house.
“He confirmed that the second modem might have been left behind as part of some underhanded bid by the contractor to increase the commission from TM.”
Ardean was assured that the management would be apprised of this tactic and that the contractor in question would likely be blacklisted.
“This promise hasn’t amounted to anything as I continue to receive messages on my handphone about the outstanding charges. I am fed up with this harassment and want TM to resolve this problem once and for all.
“Four years is more than ample time to have cleared up this mess.”
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