The internet is a very essential part of today’s life. From being a luxury before, it's now considered as a necessity, especially after the infamous virus hit as a plague. But for a slow internet connection, what is your solution? And, would you believe that there's an automatic refund for bad internet services being pushed in the Senate?
Before we go that far, let's first discuss the necessity – the Internet.
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The Internet has gone a long way, and during this time of the pandemic, it's been the bloodline of many people; especially those who are working from home since they earn money remotely and they're kept safe while at home.
But, our country is not alien to slow and sluggish internet connection. As a matter of fact, what's considered normal in the country is already slow and unresponsive in some neighboring countries.
So, if you have internet problems during times that you’re working, how do you cope with it? Do you just let it be and you adjust to it? Or are you continuously reporting it?
What Bad Internet Can Do
Having bad service would most likely affect your salary and performance (if you use it for work). Otherwise, it's not the best experience when you have a bad connection.
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When this happens, the only thing that you’ll hear from internet providers would be “sorry for the inconvenience," and such.
So, that’s why Senator Lito Lapid proposed an automatic refund for bad services you're getting from our Internet service providers (ISPs).
The internet that the providers we have here in the Philippines has improved a lot over the course of time, but there's still one problem that many people encounter still, and that’s the reliability of the speed and uptime that their getting.
“Turtle Net”, “No Connection”,” Red LOS” – you most probably heard at least one of the three but they all come into one category; and that is an internet connection problem or a disruption of service.
Generally speaking, it usually takes about a few hours to a few days before it gets fixed. If you're unfortunate enough, then it'll take you weeks before you get your internet back up and running normally again.
Automatic Refund for Bad Internet Connection
Because of the usual norms and answers we get from the internet providers when we experience internet problems, Senator Lito Lapid recently filed the Senate Bill 2092 or the proposed Refund for Internet and Telecommunications Service Outages and Disruptions Act.
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As per the Senator, in a world where almost everyone relies on the Internet, not getting good service is enough reason for a company to be criticized.
For an Internet-dependent, data-driven world where almost all aspects of our daily life rely on being 'online' and 'connected,' service outages, disruptions and interruptions cause discomfort, lost opportunities, or worse, lost profits and income."
This particular act requires telecommunication companies and internet providers like Globe, PLDT, SKY, and Converge, to provide automatic refund for bad services or service interruption.
How Would It Work?
As per the bill, it can be done by proactively prorating the monthly bills reflecting the aggregated period when the customer’s internet was down or wasn't working.
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In addition to that, Senator Lapid also said that the idea behind the bill is simple and easy-to-undestand – no services, no pay.
he principle behind this measure is quite simple - that there is no unjust enrichment on the part of big businesses to the prejudice of consumers."
Details About the Bill
The bill proposes a threshold of a collective 24 hours or more within a month for service disruption.
It basically means that if for example, your internet is down for 12 hours today and 12 hours last week (sums up to 24 hours), you should be entitled to a credit of 1 day once you get your internet bill.
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However, if your internet was down or wasn't working for about 3 days or 72 hours in the last month, you should get a 3-day refund.
Also noted in the bill is that:
ISPs and public telecommunications entities concerned shall not require the customer to take any action in order to receive a refund credit or bill adjustment."
This makes it easier for customers since they don’t need to call in to process a dispute and saves both time and money.
What do you think about the proposed bill of consumers getting an automatic refund for bad internet services? It’s nice to see that an initiative was done to at least compensate people who are getting bad services from providers!
Source/s: ABS-CBN News
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