Last January (TMID reported it on 11 January), Maltacom, with the usual pomp, announced that a scheme had been introduced whereby those who pay their bill on time and avoid using cash or cheques to make the payment would be rewarded with a discount on their bill, which would be deducted from the next available bill. It seemed a good incentive, especially after the price increase in phone services.
On 14 February – a month after this press release and during the advertising campaign in the media inviting us to pay on time, with the “to be paid by date” pointed out on a bill, I received my Maltacom bill. I paid this bill before the specified date, using the Web4Me! service, hence qualifying for the three per cent discount on the bill and a 50c discount for using the internet service.
Earlier this month I received the April Maltacom bill. Since both in the media and on Maltacom’s webpage FAQ section one can read that the discounts for early payment would be shown on the next bill, I checked my April bill for the discount I had earned on the February bill. To my surprise, however, there was no early payment discount.
Hence, before paying this bill, I decided to check with Maltacom on how this scheme works and when I will get the discount. I sent the same email three times to the Billing Enquires section (of which two have been read for sure) and once to the Customer Care (!) section... and neither of these two sections had the decency to answer my query after four emails.
The only option left was to get to Customer Care via the phone... and when I asked the lady who answered the call about the scheme her answer was simply: “But that scheme starts from April!”. When I asked her why they had announced it so early, her reply was once again: “Yes, but it starts from April!”.
So much for all the hype! And what was the reason for the press release in January for something which was due to start in April and, moreover, when there would still be another bill to go issued between the press release and the date which Maltacom are now claiming to be the starting date of this scheme?
It would be interesting if someone who was late in paying lets us know whether he was fined the Lm1 from the last bill! I know that its my duty to pay on time, but it is also Maltacom’s duty to keep their promises.
Who knows? Maybe now after we pay this bill and wait for a discount on the next one, we will be told that they meant the bill with the April calls and not the bill received in April. You can never be sure, since they do not include these details on their webpage and press releases.
Yet again this an example of how things work in this country of ours... it pays not to pay on time! As with the VAT penalty amnesty given by the government, where it seemed as if it is something to celebrate that 6,500 businessmen will have penalties of Lm5.1 million waived if they pay by the end of June what they should have paid months ago – the grand sum of Lm20 million!
This is VAT money which they had collected from us and which was never their property... as if we, poor Joe Public, have given these businessman an interest-free loan of Lm20 million... and the government is now giving them another Lm5.1 million discount on what they should have paid as penalties at a time when we are being told to make a sacrifice!
James Sultana
Bahrija