I finally got through (noone called me back). As we still have several months left the guy suggested finding someone to take over the contract to get us out of having to pay full penalties. So I guess that's an option.
But since we are probably not staying on (unless we can suspend it for a few months) then we get hit for 10 months. We were aware of this but didn't know it was possible to "transfer" the account to a new person.Original Post Deleted
Where are you heading to SS?
All, I had many issues where iCable was demanding that I pay for the remainder of the contract period although I was leaving the country. There was no option to have a sensible discussion with them. Obviously, I could have done a runner, but given that I may return to HK, I did not want to have any outstanding demands against my name. So I wrote to iCable INCLUDING Office of the Communications Authority (iCable's regulator). Their stance changed immediately and they called me numerous times to make a sensible offer. By signing a 24 month contract I received a discount on a monthly basis. For the period I used the discount, I repaid the difference. So if you are having issues, this is the way forward (unless you want to show them the finger and do a runner)....
This is where I ended up as well (not leaving the country, but cancelling because they stopped carrying the only channel that I actually watched); obviously if you're more than a few months into the 24 month contract then paying the full rack rate for the months you've used may be more expensive than just paying to the end of the contract at the discounted rate. But the bottom line is that you signed a contract and unless iCable is in breach then you don't really have much bargaining power. This sort of thing is part of the "price" of a mobile expat lifestyle - if you can then get it compensated by whoever is asking you to move countries again as part of the relocation deal.