If you own the phone and paid for it outright then why would you commit to a 24 month contract?
Buy the phone outright and get a 12 month sim only contract. You'll save a hell of a lot that way.
How are you being screwed by being held to a contract you voluntarily signed?Original Post Deleted
Agreed, consumer protection is non-existent in Hong Kong, but I don't think i could just walk away from a contract in Australia, The UK, the US or anywhere with developed consumer protection laws, or am I missing something?
Many contracts can simply have the clause saying that the contract can be cancelled if the service is not available where the consumer moves to. Fixed line ISPs should have this - but many do not at the consumer end of the deal.Original Post Deleted
Simple to say, this would apply to the consumer using a wireless contract also.
That clause would allow consumers who are leaving town to get away without paying the contract in full - perhaps with a cancellation charge which recovers installation / admin fees.
However, the problem is - you have to compensate for that phone you bought.
Have not seen any unlocking contracts which allow you to unlock your phone once you move, if the phone is not paid for. At the very least HK phone are not locked.
What's wrong with paying for the remaining months for the 1st year? OP signed the contract knowing the terms in advance.
To the OP, if you are not stable in HK then get a prepaid card. You made a choice and you're probably on here asking how to get our of your apartment lease. There is a discount associated with longer term agreements and OP wants both the discounted rate and benefits without the commitment. It really isn't fair.
I have a phone contract and my work provides a phone. So essentially I'm paying for something I don't need. But it's life, I left it on autopay.
Is there a way I can not pay my income taxes because I changed jobs? Or moved abroad. Where does it stop?
Man up.
Unless things have changed in the last few years in the UK, the mobile operators there work the same way.Original Post Deleted
I had 8 months left of my mobile contract before I moved to the UK, I had to pay back the 8 months of charges for early cancellation.
I left last year and had to pay the balance of the phone and 1 month service charge. Had about a year left on the contract. UK a few years back had mobile operators split contracts into device and service portions so customers know what they owe for the phone vs. the service.