Telecom company slammed for mandatory electronic invoicing
Telecom company slammed for mandatory electronic invoicing
2026-02-04
Starting this January, Far Eastone Telecommunications, or FET began implementing electronic invoicing as the default for all users. Should a user wish to continue receiving invoices by mail, a NT$10 surcharge will be added every billing cycle. Recently, a user filed a complaint about FET’s new policy with the Consumer Protection Office, after his aging parents saw their connection cut since they were not aware of the change, and so did not pay their phone bills. Furthermore, he said the only way to opt out of electronic invoicing was through the FET app, which he said isn’t really accessible to older adults. A consumer protection officer declared FET’s new policy unreasonable. FET has issued an apology and responded that it would improve on relevant procedures.
Mr. Lin’s aging parents recently had their cellular connection severed abruptly. After checking online, he discovered that the service provider, Far Eastone Telecommunications, or FET, had stopped sending them a paper bill, and now charges an extra NT$10 every billing cycle for a hardcopy invoice that users must opt in for first. He believes it’s unreasonable.
Mr. Lin
Filed complaint
Legally speaking, this is a huge point of contention, because at the time when the contract was made between us and the telecommunications company, there wasn’t a single reciprocal declaration of concordant intent that confirmed the invoicing method to change into electronic invoicing or SMS invoicing. Conventionally speaking, telecommunications companies would encourage electronic invoicing instead of adding a surcharge, which is a form of penalty.
Mr. Lin had opened cellphone lines for his parents, who recently stopped receiving their invoices in the mail. They were not aware of the service provider’s policy change, and so they did not pay on time and had their services terminated. Mr. Lin said this has caused them immense trouble.
Mr. Lin
Filed complaint
My parents were confused why their phones couldn’t connect to WiFi at home, so they could use the Internet. I checked the FET app and found out. But elderly people won’t know about all these apps, such as the FET app, let alone use them. If they hadn’t told me about the change, making me check the app, no one would know about the change.
Wang Ya-lin
Consumer protection officer
It’s not reasonable for them to unilaterally convert all users to electronic invoicing, and on top of that, add on a NT$10 surcharge to opt out. That’s a covert way of raising prices.
FET responded that the company had sent all billable persons a text message of their new policy, but the numbers concerned in Mr. Lin’s case were not directly paying users and so they might not have gotten the text. The company also apologized for the inconvenience caused and promised to improve on relevant procedures.
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遠傳"紙本帳單加收10元"被罵爆 業者道歉:持續精進
2026-02-04
遠傳電信從今年一月起，全面數位化，需要紙本帳單的用戶，每期酌收工本費10元，有民眾不滿，當初跟電信公司簽約，並沒有這個措施，尤其長輩不會使用相關APP，他認為，不該用這種懲罰形式。遠傳表示，轉換過程都有透過簡訊通知，將持續精進作業，對造成該用戶不便，深感歉意。
民眾爸媽，手機突然被斷話，林先生上網查，才知道，原來遠傳電信從一月起，不再提供紙本帳單，需要的用戶，每期收10塊錢工本費，讓他覺得非常不合理。
[[投訴人 林先生]]
“這在法律上有很大爭議點，因為畢竟我們在簽約當時，跟電信公司之間，並沒有任何的意思表示合致，去確認說我們要將帳單的形式，變更為電子帳單或簡訊帳單，一般電信業者作法，全部都是用鼓勵的，不是用加收工本費，一種懲罰的形式。”
原來林先生辦了兩支門號給爸媽使用，爸媽最近都沒有收到紙本帳單，不知道已經過了繳費期限，才會被斷話，林先生認為突然改變，造成很大困擾。
[[投訴人 林先生]]
“家裡的父母跟我講說，為什麼他的手機都沒辦法連WiFi上網，那我一連上遠傳的APP去看，以後才發現，長輩不會去操作什麼APP，什麼遠傳的APP，怎麼會去操作那個，如果不是他們跟我講，我來去操作，也不會有人知道這個事情。”
[[消保官 王雅琳]]
“怎麼可以片面的說，你現在要用電子帳單，如果沒有用電子帳單的話，我就要跟你收10塊錢，你這不是變相漲價嗎?”
遠傳回應，都有透過簡訊通知用戶，但因為該用戶的門號非本人使用，才沒有收到，對於造成不便，表達歉意，也會持續精進相關作業。
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