Miss Wilhelmina

I’m trying to keep track of all the expenses going out of my pocket, and well, this is something I absolutely did not expect. Since I signed up for the 512 plan for PLDT, I was kinda expecting to pay the same amount that they have on the ad since they didn’t put anything that said “changes can be made wthout prior notice”. Look at this ad and of course, I asked a live person about the plan before signing up.

I’ve been asking about the plan for quite a few times already. I asked those reps at SM City Cebu and here’s how our conversations usually went.

Me: Hi, what do I have to do to sign up for the 1299 plan?

Rep: You just have to fill out an application form, submit a valid ID and you have to show us a photocopy of any financial document that says that you can pay for the service.

Me: So like, the latest payslip would do?

Rep: Yes, ma’am.

Me: So how much would the first bill or installation cost me if I availed of this package?

Rep: The first month is for free, and then you can pay for the modem in six payments as indicated on the ad.

Me: So the phone service is already part of the package and that’s all that I need to pay for, 1299?

Rep: Yes, ma’am.

And I got my first bill, finally. Take a look.

Wow, 2,373.15. Check out the breakdown.

1. Cost of Equipment                     381.33
2. DSL Bundled Service Data        1,778.40
3. City Electrician Inspection Fee        0.01
4. EVAT                                           213.41

Total            2,373.15

I just got a phone call by the way from the company asking me to pay on time and I said I need to ask somebody regarding the billing statement. He told me that if I had any questions, that I just need to go to the main office and ask there, since they can’t pull up anything and that they were just told to call customers to pay their bills on time.

*Deep sigh*

They better have a really good explanation when I get there.