8-year old girl was charged almost 50,000 baht in phone bill

[webfact]

8-year old girl was charged almost 50,000 baht in phone bill



RATCHABURI: -- Parents of an eight-year old girl in Ratchaburi were shocked after they were shown a phone bill amounting to almost 50,000 baht from her daughter’s smartphone for August, including 49,200 baht for one single day.

The parents of the girl, Mr Atthachai Wutthapant and Mrs Banthita Sirikong, lodged a complaint with the Damrongtham centre in Tambon Don Krabuang, Ban Pong district, on Tuesday seeking for help. The couple earlier lodged a complaint with Chom Bung district police.

Mrs Banthita, a textile worker, said she bought a smartphone for her daughter slo she could get in touch with her while she was away from home. She however said she subscribed to the 299 baht/month phone use promotion and capped the phone usage at 1,000 baht/month.

After two months, she said she had never received a notification of phone charge from the service provider until, one day, the service was terminated. Her husband, Mr Atthachai, then went to an outlet of the service provider to pay the phone charges so that service could be resumed.

However, Mr Atthachai was rendered speechless when he found out that the phone bill went up to almost 50,000 baht, with 49,200 baht phone charge for August 22.

It was discovered that the girl phoned in to a reality programme, Academy Fantasia, on August 22.

Thakorn Tanthasit, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission, said that True Coporation, the service provider, had agreed to waive the phone charges above the 1,000 baht cap.

That means Mr Atthachai had to pay the service provider 1,000 baht phone charges in order to have the service resumed.

Because of this case, Thakorn said he had instructed service providers to keep the phone usage records of all users and must not exceed the capped amount and to inform the users of their monthly phone usage.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/8-year-old-girl-was-charged-almost-50000-baht-in-phone-bill


-- Thai PBS 2015-10-07

[zaphod reborn]

Because of this case, Thakorn said he had instructed service providers to keep the phone usage records of all users and must not exceed the capped amount and to inform the users of their monthly phone usage.

The stubbornness and stupidity of Thai corporate bureaucracies never ceases to amaze me. These behemoths like True, AIS, and all the banks are totally ill-equipped to deal with anything that does not fit within their little box.

Here, a customer billing dispute, which is completely obvious, has to be resolved by the NBTC. Moreover, the NBTC has to tell a telecom to abide by the terms of its customer agreement. When these bureaucracies start getting slapped with class action judgments at the end of this year, maybe they will finally wake up and take a look at how they deal with their customers and revise their practices and procedures accordingly.

Edited October 7, 2015 by zaphod reborn

[Nicolas32]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

[MESmith]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

[lovelomsak]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

so true

[ldiablo]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

[MESmith]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

Glad I don't live in your village!

My kids hike, mountain bike, white water kayak. Get a life!!!

Edited October 7, 2015 by MESmith

[marioc]

8 years old kids shouldn't own a cell.

[lupin]

Guessing that is what she decided to do with the free time aforded to her by a ridiculous school finishing time

[ldiablo]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

Glad I don't live in your village!

My kids hike, mountain bike, white water kayak. Get a life!!!

Your 8 year old hikes, mountain bikes and white water kayaks, you're kids are quite the superheroes.

[MESmith]

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

Glad I don't live in your village!

My kids hike, mountain bike, white water kayak. Get a life!!!

Your 8 year old hikes, mountain bikes and white water kayaks, you're kids are quite the superheroes.

Youngest is under 8 :-)

[ldiablo]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

Glad I don't live in your village!

My kids hike, mountain bike, white water kayak. Get a life!!!

Your 8 year old hikes, mountain bikes and white water kayaks, you're kids are quite the superheroes.

You must also live in some superheroes palace where you don't have extreme temperatures and it never storms.

[ldiablo]

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

Glad I don't live in your village!

My kids hike, mountain bike, white water kayak. Get a life!!!

Your 8 year old hikes, mountain bikes and white water kayaks, you're kids are quite the superheroes.

Youngest is under 8 :-)

Then in that case you are quite the super dad. Good on you.

[Just1Voice]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that you are the one who has had the "sheltered life". When I was a kid, there were no smart phones, iPads or computers. We played baseball and basket ball with our friends for hours when the temperature was in the 80's & 90's (Fahrenheit), and it didn't kill us. We played football in the rain, mud, or with 2 foot of snow on the ground. And guess what? We all survived. Not only that, but we all had one hell of a lot of fun! I realized the world has changed dramatically over the past 50+ years, and I accept that. But I'll take my "childhood days" over the crap that passes for childhood now any day of the week.

[MESmith]

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

Glad I don't live in your village!

My kids hike, mountain bike, white water kayak. Get a life!!!

Your 8 year old hikes, mountain bikes and white water kayaks, you're kids are quite the superheroes.

You must also live in some superheroes palace where you don't have extreme temperatures and it never storms.

Chiang Mai. We don't head out when there's a storm, or in the heat of the day. We don't live in a sterile gated community, either. we're adventurous ;-)

My Thai wife was a little blinkered when we met, but she's come round

Edited October 7, 2015 by MESmith

[ldiablo]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that you are the one who has had the "sheltered life". When I was a kid, there were no smart phones, iPads or computers. We played baseball and basket ball with our friends for hours when the temperature was in the 80's & 90's (Fahrenheit), and it didn't kill us. We played football in the rain, mud, or with 2 foot of snow on the ground. And guess what? We all survived. Not only that, but we all had one hell of a lot of fun! I realized the world has changed dramatically over the past 50+ years, and I accept that. But I'll take my "childhood days" over the crap that passes for childhood now any day of the week.

I agree with you 100% about back in the day. I'm from Canada so I know what its like to be out in temperatures of 40c or -40c. And yes I wouldn't change that either when i was a kid. I also remember when you could go to bed without locking the doors.

But the fact of the matter is, we live in a very different world now, a very different world.

[NongKhaiKid]

Because of this case, Thakorn said he had instructed service providers to keep the phone usage records of all users and must not exceed the capped amount and to inform the users of their monthly phone usage.

The stubbornness and stupidity of Thai corporate bureaucracies never ceases to amaze me. These behemoths like True, AIS, and all the banks are totally ill-equipped to deal with anything that does not fit within their little box.

Here, a customer billing dispute, which is completely obvious, has to be resolved by the NBTC. Moreover, the NBTC has to tell a telecom to abide by the terms of its customer agreement. When these bureaucracies start getting slapped with class action judgments at the end of this year, maybe they will finally wake up and take a look at how they deal with their customers and revise their practices and procedures accordingly.

How right you are about corporate stubbornness etc.

Years ago TRUE Visions sent me a free SIM card which needed to be activated at one of their offices.

I went to my local office but was told the SIM couldn't be activated until I produced my work permit. They couldn't or wouldn't accept / understand that being retired I didn't have or need such a permit but as they say ' some fell on stony ground '.

[ratcatcher]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

so true

Yes, so very TRUE or for that matter so AIS or so DTAC.

Edited October 7, 2015 by ratcatcher

[steven100]

8 years old kids shouldn't own a cell.

disagree ..... what if she is in trouble or someone attempts to abduct her ? if she has no mobile she has nothing ..

[ratcatcher]

8 years old kids shouldn't own a cell.

disagree ..... what if she is in trouble or someone attempts to abduct her ? if she has no mobile she has nothing ..

How about responsible parents or guardians looking after 8 year olds.

I am sure any potential abductor is not going to give his victim time to dial up and chat with mommy.

[MESmith]

8 years old kids shouldn't own a cell.

disagree ..... what if she is in trouble or someone attempts to abduct her ? if she has no mobile she has nothing ..

What good would a phone do if someone wants to abduct her? You need to microchip them for that ;-) We might be an adventurous family, but my kids don't leave our very large garden alone. always supervised, either at school or with adults. They play in the garden alone, dogs take care of snakes.

Edited October 7, 2015 by MESmith

[MESmith]

8 years old kids shouldn't own a cell.

disagree ..... what if she is in trouble or someone attempts to abduct her ? if she has no mobile she has nothing ..

How about responsible parents or guardians looking after 8 year olds.

I am sure any potential abductor is not going to give his victim time to dial up and chat with mommy.

Might want to discuss ransom, unless that isn't their motive

[kaorop]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

You do know kids have lunch time at school and guess what?

They go outside and play, running around etc, in the high heat of all things.

Strange isn't it?...........................................your thinking I mean.

[Sam Jones]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that you are the one who has had the "sheltered life". When I was a kid, there were no smart phones, iPads or computers. We played baseball and basket ball with our friends for hours when the temperature was in the 80's & 90's (Fahrenheit), and it didn't kill us. We played football in the rain, mud, or with 2 foot of snow on the ground. And guess what? We all survived. Not only that, but we all had one hell of a lot of fun! I realized the world has changed dramatically over the past 50+ years, and I accept that. But I'll take my "childhood days" over the crap that passes for childhood now any day of the week.

I played outside all day too when I was a boy but then again I didnt live where thai drivers act like they are Mario Andretti even tho they cant pass a simple driving test ...

If thai children were playing on the roads where we live there would at least 1 killed every day - they just dont care do they ... ?

[NCC1701A]

I rode skateboards made of 2x4's and steel wheels down very dangerous hills when I was a kid.

rode bikes at high speed at 8 years old.

i threw eggs at houses and cars. started fires.

got into fights. got beat up all the time. played in dirt lots. caught lizards. caught fish and cleaned them.

walked home in the blazing heat and pouring rain.

no seat belts, air bags, safety bumpers, helmets, knee pads.

got stung by bees, bit by dogs, bit by fleas and ticks, stung by jellyfish. very badly sunburned. got poison oak.

made blow torches out of cans of hairspray. made pipe bombs. set off m80's, tnt's.

I caught a huge rattlesnake with my bare hands when I was fourteen.

nobody knew where i was or what i was doing. because i told my parents BS stories all the time.

all i knew was i had to be home by the time the street lights came on.

Edited October 7, 2015 by NCC1701A

[taony]

Seems to me the parents were responsible enough. Our parents would have given us all mobiles if available back then so they could be in touch with us at all times. These parents put a cap, or so they thought they did. The phone company was at fault for letting the charges exceed the agreed on cap. In the end, at least they did the right thing and only the 1,000 was paid.

[Saendaeng]

Because of this case, Thakorn said he had instructed service providers to keep the phone usage records of all users and must not exceed the capped amount and to inform the users of their monthly phone usage.

The stubbornness and stupidity of Thai corporate bureaucracies never ceases to amaze me. These behemoths like True, AIS, and all the banks are totally ill-equipped to deal with anything that does not fit within their little box.

Here, a customer billing dispute, which is completely obvious, has to be resolved by the NBTC. Moreover, the NBTC has to tell a telecom to abide by the terms of its customer agreement. When these bureaucracies start getting slapped with class action judgments at the end of this year, maybe they will finally wake up and take a look at how they deal with their customers and revise their practices and procedures accordingly.

We can all agree that 1 vote for 492 thb is over the limit and clearly stealing from people.

Thailand do not have any laws working except for speaking bad about Thailand.

Children should have a phone when only 8 years old?

We are living in a new age and what we did 25 years ago is not today.

I belive they csn have a phone and be active same time. It is just to teach them.

My daughter already uses Ipad i School.

I was against it in beginning. We are in 2015. And hen i was young it was big if you had an commodore 64 ?

We also need to look forward.

Having a phone does not mean that we can't be active.

[bobmac10]

Kids should be given pay as you go phones ..

Kids should be outside, playing games......

You've obviously lived a sheltered life.

Would you send your kids outside in Thailand with it either extremely hot or constantly raining, not to mention the crazy drivers and the possible kidnappers.

You don't see a kid outside playing in my village until around 5:3pm when the temperature starts to drop.

My how times have changed.

Farang thinks it's normal for Thai kids to be inside all day?

The previous generations' children never thought about the weather, they spent all day (no schools) working helping parents at the farm or playing with friends outside in the open air.

Besides, most Thai houses are hot inside anyway.

[realenglish1]

Yes but you can expect it because it is TRUE CORP that stand for TRUE STUPIDITY

[chrisinth]

I rode skateboards made of 2x4's and steel wheels down very dangerous hills when I was a kid.

rode bikes at high speed at 8 years old.

i threw eggs at houses and cars. started fires.

got into fights. got beat up all the time. played in dirt lots. caught lizards. caught fish and cleaned them.

walked home in the blazing heat and pouring rain.

no seat belts, air bags, safety bumpers, helmets, knee pads.

got stung by bees, bit by dogs, bit by fleas and ticks, stung by jellyfish. very badly sunburned. got poison oak.

made blow torches out of cans of hairspray. made pipe bombs. set off m80's, tnt's.

I caught a huge rattlesnake with my bare hands when I was fourteen.

nobody knew where i was or what i was doing. because i told my parents BS stories all the time.

all i knew was i had to be home by the time the street lights came on.

If i was sober at the age of 14 I would have loved to try that rattlesnake thing as well......................