Im going home for 3 months and my Taiwan mobile contract is just a year over on a two year contract.
I got the LG G5 phone for $5000 a year ago and if I didn’t take a contract I believe it was going for $15,000nt or more cash and then you still would need a phone plan.
I signed up.on the $1399 a month plan which includes unlimited 4g data which I used as my home internet and unlimited calls to Taiwan mobile sunscribers.
Since I’m going to be away I asked if they could suspend my line for 3 months them resume it and tack on 3 months to my contract, they said no way.
So options are pay 1400 * 3 … $4200 for nothing, or the cancellation fee is $7400 but then I’m out of the contract free and clear and I can pick up a Taiwan star cheap unlimited 4g when I’m back for $500 a month or so.
1400*12 months remaining $ 16800
Or 7400 cancel fee + , 500*9 4500 with Taiwan star when I return 12000 total for the year.
Seems im better off cancelling?
what does the Magic 8 Ball say?
Personally, I would just pay the fee for 3 months. I hear Taiwan Star doesn’t have the greatest service, but that’s just word around the blogosphere.
If you cancel your contract with them, you also lose your number? In which you may have to do that FB update everyone dreads, “Hey guys, got a new phone, send me your numbers or add me…”
If you cancel, you also cut ties with them and may lose some privileges as a long time customer. I got 300-400NT off from my previous phone as a 6-7 year customer. Yes, it’s not a lot, but still, better than nothing.
You can also go the route of asking different branches. To my understanding, it sometimes depends on the person helping you behind the desk. Sometimes, it’s just too ma fan to process something other than a contract resigning and they’ll just give you the “we can’t do that” or “just pay this fee”.
Before making the decision, visit a few different branches and see what they say. If you’re in Taipei, I know that the Vieshow branch has good customer service.
Lastly, consider taking your issue to another cell provider, to gain your contract, they could possibly pull some strings and get you want you want.
1 Like
Piling on to your advice, @ranlee. That’s what I’d do - suck it up for three months.
Also, if I’m not mistaken, OP has a deposit on the contract. I recently switched from Chungwa Telecom to FarEastTone after eight years with CT - six years beyond the contract - and they owed me $3,000NT.
I would: (A) go into the “big” or “main” branch of the carrier and refuse to leave until they found me an English speaker; or (B) bring a native Mandarin speaker with me. I first tried to do it by myself, didn’t get my results, and went with option B. It was a-fuckin’-mazing what the kid was able to wrangle for me, in addition to keeping my old number.
Overall, I just wouldn’t want to deal with coming back to Taiwan and not having a phone right out of the box. That’s a pain in the ass.
Oh, and if you bail on the contract, kiss that number goodbye.
Thanks for the advice , I called the customer service line directly and she asked the manager who said no. I called 3 times and got the same answer repeatedly so I figure they are correct. I’ll probably end up keeping it, just sucks that $4500 is down the toilet for no use.
You’ll still be using the phone even without the Taiwan SIM right? You can put other SIMs in it while you’re away in another country or even using it on wi-fi is still getting the benefit of the phone even while paying for it over time on the contract.
The contract includes paying for the hardware actual phone itself which you are still using while away. So not all lost.
Have you considered going to a competitor cell provider with your issue? Granted you have time to before your trip.
yup just checked. Taiwan star has a $389 deal for a year contract which is pretty good, but speed is capped at 21mbs. They have a guarantor requirement that is always a pain to argue with them about. Taiwan mobile has unlimited data for $699 a month but then i need to resign a 30 month contract again.
Maybe overall Tstar will be a better deal over the long term, even though their signal is not as good.
I have a second FET line for $50 a month, yes that cheap, but the girl in the store told me today that they have deals that are not available to foreigners that only locals can get that she wasnt at liberty to discuss.