Globe Telecom Inc. said Friday charging late payment fee is “standard practice” in other sectors in the Philippines and abroad.
The telecom unit of the Ayala Group said that charging a late payment fee is standard practice for services with monthly recurring bills including banks and credit card companies.
Globe said earlier it would implement a late payment fee of P50 for mobile postpaid, broadband postpaid and Platinum subscribers if they pay after the monthly due date.
Globe spokesperson Yolanda Crisanto said its customer is given at least 27 days after the bill cut-off period to settle it without late payment fee.
“Given that most services including banks, fintech, credit cards, bill payment services, utilities like power and water are all charging late payment fee for a long time, it is only now that telco customers are being asked to pay late payment fees,” she said.
The company also said that late payment fee is not a new fee, but has been part of the Globe subscription agreement with customers.
Globe said it would start enforcing late payment fees stipulated in the subscription agreement for mobile and broadband postpaid customers starting Dec. 1, 2023 to encourage on-time payment of monthly dues and ensure uninterrupted services.
Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares opposed Globe’s plan to penalize its postpaid subscribers for late payments, saying many subscribers came to him complaining about the penalty.
“I think that Globe should be considerate to their subscribers and scrap this fee. It should also improve its service, instead of thinking about profit first,” Colmenares said.
“Why is it that when there are disruptions in Globe’s signal or services, for days and times, there is no reduction in the monthly fee of the subscribers, but now they are asking automatic P50 for late payment? They have not even given the refund to consumers when they overcharged their texting fees years back,” Colmernares said.
