Singtel refund letters mistaken for scam
Telco says it issued letters as part of moving accounts to new billing system
Singtel is trying to return money to some of its subscribers - but some of them think it is a scam.
A post made by Facebook user Clarence Tan about a "phishing mail that looks exactly like Singtel's [billing] letter" went viral on Tuesday.
The letter he received showed an "outstanding amount" of $8.35-. The "-" symbol denotes the amount as credit.
It also showed previous billing periods, labelled as "no bill due to no value".
Confused as he is not a Singtel customer, Mr Tan said in his post that he called the telco's hotline.
"They (Singtel's customer support officer) told me that they had been receiving countless calls about this and was told that it was a phishing mail and had been ongoing for quite some time," he wrote.
The post garnered close to 4,000 shares and over 200 comments. Other users chipped in, with several saying they had received similar letters.
This prompted Singtel to clarify in a post on its Facebook page that the letters were indeed issued by the telco.
"We are currently in the process of moving all customer accounts to a new billing system and these bills are determined to be the final bills of terminated accounts," the post added.
It also apologised for the customer care officer who had passed on incorrect information to Mr Tan.
The New Paper understands that some of the amounts listed refer to money owed to the user, and that refunds can be issued.
Another user, Mr Tan Yue Kiat, 28, told The New Paper his mother received a letter yesterday for an outstanding amount of $5.61-.
The market analyst, who is based in Paris, told TNP he recognised the account number on the bill from when he signed up for a 3G dongle over a decade ago.
"I knew there was money left in the account but I never bothered to get a refund," he said.
Some users are still not convinced, though.
A Facebook user who only wanted to be known as Ms Peh, told TNP she received a similar letter last week and threw it away, thinking it was a scam.
"The addressee was wrong. It wasn't addressed to anyone in the house.
"It's suspicious because, for no reason, Singtel is returning me money," the 25-year-old said.
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