P3.27-M 'bill shock' was a 'system error' – Globe Telecom

Globe Telecom Inc. said Wednesday the "bill shock" involving roaming charges of about P3.27 million that a customer complained about in social media was a "system error" and has been corrected.

 

On Dec. 8, a certain Elmer de Guzman of Bulacan posted on his Facebook account a photo of his Globe bill under the name "Planet Holidays Travel and Tours" amounting to P3,272,623.38 million.

 

De Guzman said he availed himself of Globe's Bridge DataRoam Unlimited Internet for $55 (five days) for his trip to Dubai from Nov. 9 to 13 but the telco still charged him the regular roaming rate.

 

The post went viral with 1,146 likes and 2,595 shares on his Facebook account as of posting time.

 

In an e-mailed statement, Globe said it has reversed the P3.3 million charges "to reflect the correct amount in the subscriber’s billing statement."

 

Yoly C. Crisanto, head of corporate communications, said De Guzman called Globe's hotline Sunday but posted a photo of the bill on the same day.

 

"We investigated immediately after we found out about it on Monday... it was a system error... and we reversed the charges on Tuesday," she told GMA News Online in a phone interview Wednesday.

 

"When he asked for a copy of the billing statement, we even gave him a certified copy of the new billing statement. So what does he want and what did he get out of posting it on a social networking site?" she added.

 

Globe confirmed de Guzman enrolled in the Bridge DataRoam Unlimited promo, allowing the subscriber not to pay the regular rate of P2.51 per 10 kilobytes of data.

 

The firm said its record showed the the subscriber data usage was at 11,139,210 kilobyte which would amount to more than P3 million inclusive of surcharges and value added tax. 

 

However, Globe admitted that its system "did not apply the correct zero rate for promos on the data usage which inadvertently caused the bill shock."

 

"While this is an isolated case, we are taking a proactive step to investigate if there are similar instances in areas other than the UAE where the BDU Roaming promo is being offered," it added. – VS/ELR, GMA News