In today's era of rapid information development, communication services are not only a necessity of life, but also an important yardstick to measure the level of social services. However, in reality, the communication package adjustment problem faced by consumers is like a glaring scar, lying between the user experience and the service promise of the enterprise. Especially for some specific user groups, such as the elderly, students who are particularly sensitive to communication costs, and low-income people, such "service upgrades" often catch them off guard, and even lead to an increase in actual consumption. The issues behind this are worth pondering.
It is difficult to change packages: the helplessness of limited rights and interests
Walking into a mobile business hall, I wanted to easily change to a package that better suited my needs, but I often encountered many obstacles. Mr. Liu's experience of downgrading tariffs for the elderly in his family is just a microcosm of what many consumers have encountered. In the face of a dazzling array of package options, consumers should be free to choose according to their own needs, but the reality is that many business hall staff are more inclined to recommend high-priced packages, and even change the user's original package without fully informing the user's rights and interests, resulting in the tariff "not falling but rising".
The root cause of this phenomenon lies in the fact that some communication operators and their employees ignore the real needs and rights of users in pursuit of performance and profits. They take advantage of information asymmetry to induce users to choose high-priced packages, so as to obtain higher commissions and commissions. As everyone knows, this short-sighted behavior not only damages the interests of consumers, but also invisibly weakens the brand image and social trust of operators.
Although the practice of telecom operators recommending higher tariff packages seems to be a strategy to increase revenue from a commercial point of view, from the perspective of user needs and rights, it seems to be a suspicion of buying and selling. According to the Notice on Further Regulating the Marketing of Telecommunications Tariffs issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, telecommunications operators shall fully respect the independent choice of users and shall not force or restrict users to change their tariff plans in any form. However, the reality is often that consumers are guided or even forced to accept higher tariff packages without fully understanding the terms of the contract and their rights and interests are damaged, which not only infringes on consumers' right to know and choose, but also violates the clear regulations of the regulatory authorities.
For consumers, a dual-SIM strategy for calls and one for Internet access is quite common today. Behind this demand is the desire for a reasonable tariff structure and the need for a flexible combination of data and airtime.
Tariff chaos: users are stuck in the "pit".
If the difficulty of changing packages is only an isolated phenomenon, then the tariff chaos is a common problem in the communications industry. Taking China Mobile and China Unicom as examples, the complexity of their package settings and the high cost make many users call them "too pit".
Today I went to the mobile business hall, and the 59 yuan package I originally used could only be upgraded to a package of 119 yuan or even higher when I replaced it, and these high-priced packages often contain a large number of services that users do not need, such as high traffic. For most users, such a design is undoubtedly a waste of resources and an economic burden.
I went to the Unicom business hall again, although its lowest package is called 62 yuan, but the call duration is only 100 minutes, and the traffic is even less than that, only 5GB. In today's era of information explosion, it is clear that such limited resources cannot meet the daily needs of users. In order to make up for this shortcoming, users have to purchase additional data packages or call duration, which undoubtedly increases the financial burden of users.
As a part of public services, the universality and fairness of the communications industry should be given top priority. However, some operators obviously ignore this point when designing packages and promoting services. By setting high consumption thresholds, bundling unnecessary services, and deliberately blurring tariff descriptions, consumers are "upgraded by consumption" without knowing what to do, which not only damages the interests of consumers, but also destroys the fair competition environment of the market.
When we see the actual package provided, such as a 59 yuan stall of an operator, can only be exchanged for a high package of 119 yuan, and the talk time is only 100 minutes, and the traffic is only 5G, people can't help but question, is this to meet the needs of users, or to raise the consumption threshold in disguise? What's even more puzzling is that China Unicom's minimum 62 yuan package also has a pitiful amount of traffic, which can hardly meet the basic needs of use. Such a "tricky" package setting undoubtedly increases the financial burden of users and deprives them of the right to choose freely.
The two-card phenomenon: the "smart" choice that users are forced to make
In the face of all kinds of unreasonable communication tariffs, many users have to adopt the strategy of "saving the country by curve" - having two mobile phone cards at the same time, one for calls and one for Internet access. Behind this seemingly "smart" choice, it actually reveals the helplessness and dissatisfaction of users with the current situation of communication tariffs.
The two cards not only increase the user's carrying and management costs, but also may lead to information leakage and privacy security issues. More importantly, it reflects a serious flaw in the telecommunications industry in terms of package design and tariff formulation. If operators can truly provide cost-effective, flexible and diverse package options based on user needs, why should users bother so much?
The regulatory authorities should strengthen the supervision of the telecommunications market to ensure that operators strictly abide by the provisions of the Notice on Further Regulating the Marketing of Telecommunications Tariffs, and truly give consumers the right to choose. Unreasonable package settings and service traps should be investigated and cleaned up, and severe penalties should be imposed for violations to serve as a warning and deterrent. In addition, it is also necessary to promote cost disclosure and price transparency in the communications industry, and fundamentally solve the problems of inflated package prices and unreasonable structures.
In the face of the grim situation of chaotic telecommunications tariffs, we can no longer sit idly by. As consumers, we should actively protect our legitimate rights and interests, and have the courage to say "no" to unreasonable tariff policies. At the same time, we should also report problems to the regulatory authorities through complaints, reports, etc., and promote them to strengthen supervision and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of users.
For operators, they should recognize the seriousness of the problem and take the initiative to reform and adjust. In terms of package design, they should fully consider the actual needs and payment ability of users, and provide cost-effective, flexible and diverse package options; In the formulation of tariffs, they should follow the principles of fairness, reasonableness and transparency, and avoid taking advantage of information asymmetry to damage the interests of consumers.
For consumers, it is important to enhance their awareness of rights protection. In the face of various promotions and commitments of communication operators, it is an effective way to ensure that their rights and interests are not infringed. At the same time, when encountering consumer disputes, you should have the courage to report the problem to consumer associations, industry and information technology departments and other channels to strive for legal support.
At present, the problems existing in the communication industry in terms of package change and tariff setting are not only related to the vital interests of consumers, but also related to the future of the healthy development of the industry. The strict supervision of regulatory authorities, the self-discipline of operators, and the self-protection of consumers are all indispensable. Only in this way can we jointly build a fair, transparent and healthy communication market environment, so that everyone can enjoy truly reasonable, convenient and efficient communication services.