After repeated calls, and many many clarifications, finally here's what I gathered on the conspirations:
Lack of procedure knowledge
First and foremost, the staff who handled my contract on my first week in Japan is probably not sure of the procedures for handling contracts for foreigners. Her procedure was wrong and hence this led to an entire episode of great inconvenience to me.
Lack of product knowledge
The second guy who attended to my so-called re-registration (which ended up to just a cancellation and purchase of a new handphone and prepaid card), is not familiar with pre-paid cards. He offered me incorrect information such as: each S-mail keitai mail will cost 300yen per message regardless of size, and I had specifically asked him, what if I attach a picture, and he assured me yes, it's just 300yen per message 0.o He did not explain that I can sign up for an unlimited mail service for 300yen per month, and most importantly, my pre-paid card value will be lost after 2 months, if I do not use up my credits in 2 months. As a result, I had bought the more expensive card, which is 5000yen.
Unclear in explanations
It was only towards the end, after conversations between my colleague and the staff, that we finally understood why the whole saga has unfolded. It was not because that I did not use a credit card to register, but rather because they had allowed me to buy a phone at 0yen, and then pay higher monthly fees later. It should be me paying 20,000+yen upfront and then they will reimburse 980yen per month for 24 months.
Without being clear in why I had to cancel and re-register, only made the customer feel you have something to hide. Really. Though it didn't have much impact to them, since I was still coerced to cancel, buy a new phone, and a new prepaid card, aka, new business for them.
Giving incomplete info to customers
If you already know that, cancelling the mobile line will affect my internet line, then you should have specify that right from the start. From the call to the purchase of the prepaid plan, no one has told me about the impact on my internet line. It was only after I paid in cold hard cash, for the new phone and prepaid card, that I was informed by the male staff that my internet will be cancelled, pls come back to the shop again 2 weeks later to re-register.
Not sympathetic in their damage-control strategy
They could have been more sympathetic, like saying, we understand the inconveniences it will cost you:
- Time
- Loss of other data in your phone other than contacts
- Money (new phone, new prepaid card)
- Loss of internet (you cannot imagine how terrible I felt without internet.)
- Inconvenience of announcing change of number and keitai mail, etc.
Instead, they just coldly tell me, this is our final offer, after several conversations, on whether they can help in the internet issue, since it is afterall Softbank's mistake and not mine, why am I paying for all these inconveniences?!: Pls come again to re-register with us. Pay the 20,000+yen upfront and sign up for a White Plan, whereby 980yen will be discounted every month for 24 months. With that you can sign up for internet again.
That message really piffed me...
Anyway... Softbank, I hope you really hold your word, and reimburse my partial bills, and send me the statement of the 5000+yen bill which you have collected without sending me any paper bill. Else, it will not be the last you hear from me (literally more calls). Let's just end this agony, ok?
It's a pity why there is no CASE in Japan. Otherwise I can easily report to CASE on this saga.
