Are mobile phone users with two phone numbers in one single SIM card truly getting the best of both worlds?
The Consumer Council has received, in the first six months of this year since the inception of this innovative "1 Card 2 Numbers" service (one Hong Kong and one China numbers), a total of 20 complaints from the public.
The bulk of these complaints concerned disputes over charges (a baffling myriad of ways of charging depending on, for instance, the operators, which way the call was made, where the call was received, and which of the two numbers was called).
A few complaints were directed against delay in services which were not activated promptly at the time promised (for example, 24 hours instead of 3 hours).
Despite these complaints, the service offers distinct advantages to frequent travellers between Hong Kong and the Mainland:
- When the user is in the Mainland, he or she can receive calls from Hong Kong made on the Hong Kong mobile number. This means paying less than roaming charges.
- When in Hong Kong, some service providers would allow the user to receive calls from the Mainland through the Mainland mobile number. Thus, his or her Mainland callers need not pay IDD charges.
- It's convenient requiring no SIM card change.
Consumers are advised that the key to taking advantage of these benefits is to understand the various services and charges thoroughly.
Services varied from operator to operator, for example, receiving calls in Hong Kong dialled on your Mainland mobile number from the Mainland is not applicable for some services.
Charges varied for the different ways of communication, for example, receiving calls in the Mainland dialled on your Hong Kong or the Mainland mobile number, calling IDD from Hong Kong to the Mainland, or vice versa.
Further, select the suitable registered city for the SIM card, for example, Shenzhen（深圳）, Dongguan（東莞）and Guangzhou（廣州）. Or you may be charged extra if you use the service outside the SIM card registered city.
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