Ayala-owned telco Globe said it will start enforcing late payment fees for mobile and broadband postpaid customers starting Dec. 1 to “encourage on-time payment of monthly dues and ensure uninterrupted services”.
According to the company, the late payment fee is not a new fee but has been part of the Globe subscription agreement with its customers.
A late payment fee of P50 will apply to Mobile Postpaid, Platinum and Globe At Home Broadband Postpaid accounts, Globe said.
Earlier, ACT Teachers party-list representative France Castro said Globe should reconsider its decision to charge a late payment fee.
“Internet and cellular communication now is no longer a luxury but a necessity in this day and age. It is a public utility that should be primarily for the public good and not mainly for profit,” said the teacher solon.
“Kapag sila pumapalpak at madalas itong mangyari ay sorry na lang pero kapag subscriber ang mahuhuli ng konti sa bayad ay may multa agad,” she said
“It is in this light that I am asking our colleagues in the Senate to fast track their version of Committee Report 736 for the telecom companies and internet service providers to refund subscribers for service outages and disruptions,” said Castro said.
“Sana ay pakinggan ng Globe ang panawagang ito ng mga subscribers nila at para di na rin gumaya ang iba pang telcos. Kapag ito ang mangyari ay malamang na imbestigahan namin ito sa Kongreso,” she stated.
But Globe said charging a late payment fee is standard practice for services with monthly recurring bills including banks and credit card companies. Telco companies abroad also charge late payment fees, it added.
“For the longest time, Globe had deferred charging the late payment fee even though this is included in the terms and conditions of our postpaid subscription agreement,” said Darius Delgado, vice president and head of consumer mobile business of Globe.
“With today’s business environment when other sectors and even the government are charging late payment fees, an example is the LTO, we believe that the telco sector may follow suit. In our case, only postpaid customers who comprise less than 5% of our total mobile customer base will be charged.”
In case payment due dates fall on a holiday or a weekend, Globe said customers should pay their bills before the due date using same-day payment posting channels.
“Our customers don’t have to worry about the late payment fee if they pay on time. This fee is not meant to burden them but to encourage them to make prompt payments for uninterrupted connectivity services. We want to veer away from the usual practice of disconnecting services over unpaid balances,” added Delgado.
