Telekom Malaysia, Dont treat me like an Idiot 2

15.09.2009 : I got lazy trying to think about writing another about this issue, so I’ll just up date this post. Further to my complaint to TM, they have responded very positively & is being very patient with my complaints. Fair enough, they have refunded part of the over payment that I made minus some administrative charges (I think). So case closed. I’m not going to try to figure out how did they calculate the amount that they refunded back to me. The very fact that they refund (some) amount, is a good enough indication that they take my complaint seriously. So good job TM. Fair play.

Lesson from this experience : Sometimes, you just got to complain fight a little louder harder to get back what rightfully belongs to you.

Further to the email received from the Customer Service of Telekom Malaysia (TM), I decided to write a seriously long complain letter to TM. Here’s my response to TM’s  email.

Dear TM Customer Service Officer [Edited to remove name],

I refer to you email dated 25/05/2009. Thank you for your prompt response. I appreciate it.

For your information, I have requested you officers at TM Point, Kepong Branch to IMMEDIATELY terminate the Streamyx Internet service (Streamyx) account on the same day I lodge the complain. It should be terminated by now. However to my surprise, I have received another bill (dated 04/06/2009) charging me for the month of June 2009 without any indication whatsoever of a final bill.

I’m expecting TM to waive the bill for the month of May onwards but instead, I received another bill. That really makes me very unhappy with Telekom Malaysia (TM). Please rectify this error. I have informed in my complaint to your officer that I’m not going to make any more payments to TM for non-delivery of service. Either your officer did not take me seriously enough or your system is too slow to capture my request.

In addition to the above, during my complain, your officers at TM Point has clarified to me that I will not be able to access Streamyx without a fixed telephone line (fixed line). According to your email below, my fixed line has been terminated on 15/01/2009. This means that I do not have any Streamyx access effective from that date. Please confirm that.

Once confirming the above, please take note of the followings :

1. In December 2008, I tried to close both the fixed line & Streamys account as I am leaving Malaysia on a long term basis to work overseas. As my Streamyx account is less than 1 year, I am advised by your officer TM Point to maintain a basic Streamyx account for a fee of RM20 per month to avoid any penalties.

2. Under the assurance that I will still be able to use Streamyx without a fixed phone line, I accepted the advise of your officer & only terminate the fixed line. I take your officers advise simply because I will be back to Malaysia occationally & may need to use Streamyx. RM20 is a small price to pay for long term internet connection.

3. I have gone overseas immediately after the termination & did not use Streamyx untill I return in May 2009. I have also paid the long outstanding Streamyx charges just to find out later that there is NO access !

4. A call to your call centre for assistance confirms that I would not be able to access Streamyx without a fixed line ! I’m very shocked to hear this considering that I have been assured that I will still have access to Streamyx !

5. Your Officer at TM Point has (whether intentionally or un-intentionally) misrepresented to me that I will still have access to Streamyx. Had I have been properly informed that NO FIXED LINE = NO STREAMYX, I would have not taken the advise & inccur this additional charges. That would have saved my time writing this letter & your time reading it!

In addition to the above misrepresentation by you colleague in TM Point, you mentioned in you email below that TM will continue to charge me RM20 per month for Streamyx subscription even though my fixed line has been terminated. I totally disagree. In fact, TM should be refunding me all the fees that I paid from 15/01/2009 onwards.

In your email above, your justification that I still have an ‘active’ Streamyx account & therefore still need to continue to pay the subscription charges do not hold water. Please be mindful that I do not have a fixed line & therefore have no Streamyx access. In short, TM DID NOT provide me with any service. TM is just keeping an account with my name without service. We need to be clear about this.

As a consumer, I should not be paying for a service that is not available for me to use. Merely having an account with TM without any access does not justify your charges. I believe in the time you write me the email, you are aware that I have no fixed line connection & actually have no connection to Streamyx no matter how. In fact, your email has expressly implied that you are aware of it.

I am sure that you will agree with my arguments above. Please take note that when I attempt terminate both account, I have informed your Officer that I’m willing to pay the penalties (if any) for terminating my Streamyx contract early as I understand that I need to keep a 1 year contact for getting the moden free. In this case, I’m justified in asking for waiver of all the fees charged to me & my payments refunded. I have taken a positive step to offer compensation to TM for terminating the contract early & yet, you have countered my offer with another offer for a service which in this case was not delivered to me at all.

Meanwhile, I would like to emphasise that you are yet to refund me my deposit of RM75 for the fixed line. As I understand, the RM75 deposit is for fixed line & no deposit is required from Streamyx service. To date, I have not receive anything from your office. Not a single cheque nor notification. What happend to my deposit? The refund is already 6 months overdue. Please take action to refund me my deposit. I have terminated my fixed line account & submitted a termination form thru your TM Point branch.

I hope that you’ll be able to take all necessary action to resolve my complaints above. I appreaciate a swift action from TM. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you want more details.

So do you think I have a reason good enough to complain? It does not matter anyways. I have already sent it to TM. Point is that I’m not happy with the misrepresentation received.

On the other hand, I surprised myself with my ability to write this letter given that the enviroment that I work in where we have to be very careful with our words. I suppose that given the freedom to express myself, my abilities shine through.

I’ll update later on how TM responded to this email of mine.  Btw, comments are welcomed.  (^_^)