My Case vs Globe at the NTC (Part 2)

4^th Hearing

Even though Globe filed a Motion For Extension Of Time To File Answer (due date of May 24, 2016), they still didn’t file an answer to my complaint. Instead, they send another representative (this time an attorney) to have an amicable settlement.

So after 5 months since I met Globe’s 1^st representative , I’m back on square one – I’m explaining my complaint again, to Globe’s new representative. I have no idea why they changed their representative.

So I explained that I’m complaining because Globe apparently fooled me in renewing my contract without revealing that they will change my Unlimited Internet into Limited Internet (7 GB/day). I explained that I’m not against their Fair Use Policy (FUP), which is allowed by the NTC, provided they inform their customers. What I’m complaining is, Globe didn’t inform me about changing my account into 7 GB/day (from Unlimited).

Globe also informed me that they can’t revert back my current 7 GB/day package back to my former Unlimited Package, which I can’t verify because I don’t know someone working on the system of Globe. So she asked me what could be my demand for an amicable settlement. The next scenario is like “tawaran” portion of a game show:

Globe: we offer you 2 months of compensation (my monthly bill at P1,300/month times 2)

Me: I want compensation from the time that Globe fooled me into renewing my contract without divulging the full details of changing my package (which was 2 years ago).

Globe: We can’t do that. We could offer 6 months of compensation since you used the service anyway

Me: Yes, I used the service but it doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t inform me about changing my plan into the FUP. How about we start from the time I complaint about this? (1 year ago)

Globe: I have to ask our management about this. Since I’m only allowed to offer 6 months of compensation

So our 5^th Hearing (hopefully the last) is set for July 2016. Globe is also asking the NTC lawyer that I remove my blog posts about this hearing, which the NTC lawyer didn’t ask me to do. Thus, I’m posting Part 2 of this hearing to inform the public how long and tedious this process is.

I guess it’s a strategy of Globe to wear-out the complainant to accept their offer for an amicable settlement. I guess I have to research and ask other Globe subscribers on what to expect if an amicable settlement is not reach. I guess it will be similar to my experience with the NLRC wherein I hire a lawyer and my ex-employee hires their own lawyer and we engage ourselves in an even tedious legal battle.

If you’re a Globe subscriber who reaches that part after the amicable settlement, please share your experience so that I could decide if I should accept their offer or go on with the legal battle. No Globe employee troll please.

P.S.

Globe and the NTC lawyer was a no-show on our 3^rd Hearing last month by the way.

Technorati Tags: Globe Telecom,NTC,Complaint,Slow Internet,Capping

My Case vs Globe at the NTC (Part 1)

I have a current case filed against my Internet Service Provider (ISP) Globelines (a division of Globe) at the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). It’s regarding Internet Capping that Globelines imposed on my subscription without my knowledge.

The warning I got when I exceeded my daily cap, which Globe imposed on my account without informing me or providing the full disclosure.

Our Final Hearing is scheduled on May 26, 2016 but here’s the story so far. I became a Globelines subscriber in 2010 before Globe implemented their Fair Usage Policy (FUP) to new subscribers in 2011. My account is Unlimited Internet back then and is considered a Grandfathered account.

Sometime in 2014, Globe Loyalty called me and offered promos to my current subscription of P1,300 per month. The Globe representative never disclosed that they retire my Grandfathered account and I’ll be under the FUP, which is 7GB per month.

I only discovered in 2015 that my Internet subscription is now capped. I downloaded the Star Craft II game which I purchased from Blizzard and it took 3 days for me to download the game which was around 40 GB.

Since my Internet is now capped, if I exceed the daily quota of 7 GB a day, my Internet speed which normally is around 2.5-2.9 mbps on Speedtest.net will be reduced to 0.80 mbps or lower. It would normally be useless for me because I won’t be able to stream even a YouTube video with 0.80 mbps speed without buffering.

That’s when I called Globe and I was advised of my new account and the FUP. That’s when I filed a complaint at the NTC website. This was in September 2015. After a series of emails back and forth from Globe and NTC, the First Hearing was scheduled January 2016.

Globe started their Internet capping for accounts that were installed from November 11, 2011 up to March 11, 2015. This is my current capping now. Globe started a new Internet capping after March 2015 which is now on a monthly basis (like 50 GB/month). I was a subscriber of Globe since 2010 which technically predates their capping policy.

A representative of Globe attended the First Hearing and I demanded for proof that the disclosure about the FUP was discussed to me (via recording) when they offered to renew my contract (as a Loyalty Offer). Based on the NTC memorandum, ISPs can implement the FUP only if they fully notified their subscribers. I wasn’t.

The 2^nd Hearing was yesterday and Globe was a No Show. The NTC lawyer who facilitated the hearing scheduled the 3^rd and Final Hearing on May 26, 2016. With or without Globe’s representative, the NTC lawyer promised to deliver a verdict on that day.

If you have a similar complaint or scenario about your current wired Internet subscription, please share it in the comments below. Let’s not allow the Telcos to implement their agenda on us simply because they monopolized our Internet Service. Globe already started with a 7 GB/day quota on me, and as of today, they already further reduced it to 50 GB/month for new subscribers.

Our Internet usage these days demands more speed and GB due to Online Streaming (like iFlix, Netflix and HOOQ) and video conferencing (like Skype). Our Internet Service Providers should upgrade their system and facilities or allow more ISPs in the Philippines (like Telstra). Our current Internet speed is the slowest in Asia and very expensive. If we don’t complain now, we’ll suffer more in the years to come.

I am not against the Fair Usage Policy as long as it’s disclosed properly to the subscribers and as long as they deliver the speed they advertise and service is reliable.

Globe’s infographics on the Fair Usage Policy (FUP).Our Internet activities these days are no longer limited to updating FB status, posting Tweets or sending out emails. We’re now in an age where TV meets the Internet. We demand higher speed at an affordable price.

Technorati Tags: Internet Capping,Globe Telecom,Internet,#SlowInternetPH

20 Ways You Can Be The Best Friend Ever

I believe in the saying, “a friend to everybody is a friend to nobody”. So I tend to keep my circle of friends small but exclusive. To those who manage to be included in my small circle of best friends, here’s 20 ways I show them how I appreciate their friendship and how I can be the best friend ever to them. You could also try these things to show them how you can be the best friend ever:

1. Attend your friends’ celebrations – like the birthday of their offspring. Distance is not an excuse. Work schedule is also not an excuse. I’m sure that within that 24 hours you have in a day, you can still squeeze in an hour or two just to show your friends how you appreciate their friendship.
2. Accompany friends to parties – like bar hopping or checking out a new restaurant. Since they’re the ones who invited you, it’s probably a free treat. They just want your time so why not give it to them.
3. Be the ninong (godfather) to your friend’s offspring – it’s the ultimate acknowledgment of your friendship to them. It’s a serious business being the godfather (reminds me of Harry Potter and Sirius Black).
4. Be the photographer at their special occasion – everyone likes a good picture. You can then print your best shots, give it to your friend and earn their gratitude. Baptismal, weddings and first birthdays are just some of those special events that your presence is appreciated.
5. Accompany them in their photo-walks – it’s a great way to chat with your buddies. At the end of the day, you’ll have several pictures of a place (or occasion) that you both attended and will bring back memories in the future.
6. Invite them to your club’s photography meeting – and they may join you. Joining a photography club is a great way of improving your skills and gaining friends. If a friend of yours is a newbie in photography, why not ask him to join you in your club?
7. Go out of town with them – it’s a great bonding moment. I’ve heard a saying that travelling together is the ultimate way of knowing your friend since travelling is a difficult thing to do. Reminds me of those instances in “The Amazing Race” where in partners really developed their relationships (or ended it).
8. Attend a fiesta with them – after all, it’s more fun in the Philippines! The merry month of May is the ultimate month to attend fiestas – lots of it. What better way to attend a fiesta than to tag along a good friend of yours.
9. Visit churches with them – and not just during the Visita Iglesia. It’s a great way to appreciate the church architecture in the country and to deepen our knowledge about a town’s rich history.
10. Email them once in a while – or better yet, send them a snail mail (a card or so). Although SMS is readily-available, it’s still fun to email a friend and tell them the things that you’re doing lately. Oh by the way, I have an email pal named Honza and we’ll celebrate our 5^th Year Friendship Anniversary soon.
11. Text them – or use Vibr and WeChat to keep in touch. In this age of instant messaging and free SMS, there is no excuse in not getting in touch.
12. Add them to your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Foursquare accounts – they’ll love it. It’s also a great way of knowing what are the things that your friends are doing on a day-to-day basis.
13. Play Ragnarok Online with them – it’s a combination of chatting and playing. In fact, playing pRO is a great way to see friends you’ve met online who’s loyal to the game.
14. Attend photography events with them – such as the Digital Photography Philippines (DPP), Canon PhotoMarathon and Pinoy Photography (PiPho). These events are considered as social events as well.
15. Join their advocates – like the Million People March. It gives a great feeling that you’re being part of something that will bring change to the country in a good way. After all, it’s a moral obligation as a citizen of this country to do something for the better.
16. Sign-up to their Change.org petitions – it will only take a few clicks.
17. Greet them on their birthdays – on Facebook and via SMS. There’s absolutely no excuse in forgetting someone’s birthday (unless you’re in the boondocks for months).
18. Watch Nuffnang movie premiers with them – that’s what the Plus One Ticket is for.
19. Attend events at SM Megamall like the TOYCON – it’s for all the kids in us.
20. Call them up when their upset. A real friend calls. I’m a Globe subscriber and With GoUnli20, it’s now easy to call without a need for a prefix and it’s just P20 for unli calls, 15mb of mobile surfing, and 20 texts to all networks! Kaya if you need a friend, don’t call me, I’ll call you!

BuzzNet Tags: 20 Ways You Can Be The Best Friend Ever,Globe,Nuffnang Philippines

If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift?

Every second of volunteering, every peso, every drop of perspiration counts.
But no matter how much we give, there is always this feeling that it does not seem enough.
There is a dream to give something bigger and to make a difference.

• From the Nuffnang Philippines website

It’s a New Year and it’s wonderful to start the year 2014 with a lot of good vibes and positive attitude. It’s a good thing that Nuffnang Philippines and Globe pop-up the question “If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift?”

I’m a bit tied-up with work lately and I can’t possibly visit all those places that need volunteers. As much as I wanted to contribute my energy and physical presence to these events, I’m home-bound. So the only thing I can give to the Philippines (without leaving my workstation) is my talent for photography and postcard-making.

Photography and postcard-making has always been vital in promoting the Philippines to other countries. We send postcards to our foreign pals to show them how beautiful the country is in spite of the several calamities that hit us in 2013. We use postcards to invite them to visit the country. This is our way to contribute to the tourism effort of the government. We use postcards to send our love and national identity to the world.

With so many beautiful places that I’ve visited in the country, I can create wonderful postcards of these places. In fact, I’ve already given some of these postcards to my foreign friends. This would be a great way to promote the Philippines as a tourist destination and to help our countrymen involved in the tourism industry.

Similar to the efforts made by the Department of Tourism (DoT) a few years back, when they launched the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign, I could transform the pictures taken using my DSLR into postcards! Look at some of the postcards I’ve made for my foreign friends.

Since I’m also online all the time and is active on Facebook and Twitter, I could also promote the country and Globe’s Project Wonderful 2014 by sending tweets with the hashtag #GLOBEProjectWonderful2014. Everyone is gifted, and everyone has something to offer for the country. Let’s do our share in contributing to the welfare of the entire Philippines.

You can also be part of this campaign. Simply leave your answer to the question “If there is one thing you can give to the Philippines, what is that gift?”on the comments section of this blog.

Help create a wonderful Philippines. If you’d like to volunteer or make a donation, visit www.projectwonderful.ph

Technorati Tags: Postcard Perfect Philippines,Globe,Nuffnang Philippines

Real UnliCHAT Experience with Globe’s GoUnli30

Hi guys! I installed Viber the other day on my BlackBerry smartphone and realized how much I could save money by using messaging apps like this to send messages to my friends.

Prior to that, I’ve discovered WeChat and now I’m installing Line and WhatsApp. I have Globelines here at home and I’m connected via Wi-Fi on my BB unit. No problem whenever I’m home. The only thing that I need to worry about is when I’m on the road.

This is where the newest promo of Globe comes in. Introducing, the Globe GoUNLI30!

How does Globe GoUNLI30 give me the REAL UNLI chat experience?

For P30, I can enjoy the following features of Globe GoUNLI30 wherever I am. No Wi-Fi needed.

• With GoUNLI30, subscribers get unlimited texts to all networks, unlimited calls to Globe/TM, and unlimited chat with the best messaging apps like Viber, Kakao Talk, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, Line and the Telco's very own messaging app GMessage without the need for Wi-Fi or additional data charges. Available for only P30 valid for 1 day, GoUNLI30 gives you no excuse to stay out of the loop and connect with more than 1 billion users around the world regardless of mobile network or location.
• Go all-out unlimited with GoUNLI30 and UNLICHAT25 now. Register by dialing *143# and then choosing GoSAKTO on your Globe mobile phone or texting GOUNLI30 or UNLICHAT25 to 8888

Now, I can use Viber, WeChat, Line, or WhatsApp even if I’m not at home or in the mall. I am truly connected to all my friends. Thanks Globe!

Technorati Tags: Globe GoUnli30,UnliCHAT,Nuffnang Philippines