No protection from mobile bill shock

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http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/no-protection-mobile-bill-shock-20140711

I was on a short trip in Malaysia with my two-year-old when, without my knowledge, he turned on my mobile data services while playing a game on the phone.

I realised this only after 15 minutes. When I received my bill from StarHub more than a month later, I was shocked to find myself charged about $500 for data roaming usage.

The bulk of the usage took place over two minutes, when my e-mail messages were downloaded automatically.

Why are data roaming charges so expensive? With smartphones so common and easy to use, how are customers protected from unauthorised data usage? And why can't data roaming be deactivated permanently, just like voice services when a user opts out of international roaming services?

Users are now downloading data in the order of gigabytes. Why then are data roaming providers charging about $20 per megabyte?

If a credit card has been fraudulently used, the credit card companies waive the charges while investigations are under way. However, mobile subscribers get virtually no protection from unauthorised data roaming usage that can be so easily activated by a two-year-old.

A simple way to protect users is to let them opt for local roaming only, disabling data roaming permanently.

I urge the relevant authorities to investigate and respond to my queries, which I am sure are also on the minds of many subscribers.

Adrian Koh Soo Jin