Woman cancelling Simba contract after grandma's death can't get $741 early termination fee waived
A woman said it was "unethical" for a telco to require her to pay early termination charges for cancelling a contract due to a bereavement.
Stomper Reg asked Simba to waive the charges amounting to $740.82, but to no avail.
In October 2025, she signed up for a two-year broadband subscription in her name for her grandmother's home.
"She was critically ill, wanted to go home and not stay in the hospital," explained Reg.
"We had to hire a helper to take care of her as she was living alone. Hence, we needed the broadband service to install CCTVs around the house so that we could monitor their daily activities."
The 88-year-old woman did not have a Singpass account.
"Since we needed the service fast and a cheaper option, we went ahead with Simba with me as the registered account owner," said Reg.
"What Simba also knows is that my residential address and the service address are not the same, yet they allowed the registration to happen."
On Nov 11, about a month into the Simba contract, the Stomper's grandmother died.
Reg recounted: "On Nov 28, I reached out to the Simba customer support team requesting a free cancellation, citing bereavement as a reason. Yet, they wanted to charge me the full amount."
As she had 22 more months of her contract to go, the breakdown of her early termination charges were:
- Remaining cycles: 22 x $29.99 = $659.78
- NetLink Trust activation fee: $61.04
- Administrative fee: $20
The total was $740.82.
Reg replied to Simba: "Why would I pay the full amount for termination? If I didn't need to terminate because of a deceased family member, I wouldn't even write to you. Does Simba thrive on cheating money from the deceased?"
She also sent the telco a copy of her grandmother's death certificate.
As the grandmother's name was not the one on the contract, Simba replied: "The provided certificate of death is that of a different name. We may have a hard time getting approval to waive the termination fee for such."
Reg was taken aback by the reply.
She wrote back: "Would you not be worried if you saw my name on the death certificate and here I am emailing you?
"Obviously, the deceased was old, and we weren't able to apply for the broadband under her name at the point of application."
Simba later explained to the Stomper that as the contract was in her name and not her deceased grandmother's, the early termination fee could not be waived.
But the telco added: "However, to help mitigate the costs, we do offer the option of relocating the service to a family member or friend. This would allow you to avoid the early termination fee while continuing the service. If this is a feasible solution, we would be happy to assist with the relocation process."
Reg replied in email: "Would you like to buy over the house while it's empty? Or should I kill myself in order to get this cancelled?"
She added: "When I applied for the service, I was allowed to use my name to register despite not staying there — and for your records — you jolly know very well that I had to include my residential address during the registration process.
"Why would you allow this if you don't allow termination in cases like this?"
Simba replied it would not encourage customers to sign up on behalf of another person to avoid situations like this in future.
She asked: "How do I get my grandmother, who was already super sick and unable to make decisions on her own, to apply for the service on her own?"
But Simba's position remains unchanged.
"All because my name is not on the death certificate," said Reg.
She told Stomp on Jan 28: "Two months into the back and forth, they still insist that I have to pay the full amount, and they are not even responsive to my emails at this point of time."
In response to a Stomp query, a Simba spokesperson said the telco has been communicating with the customer.
"When she informed us of her late grandmother's passing, we expressed our sincere condolences and, in good faith, offered her the option to relocate the services to an address of her choosing so that she could continue to benefit from the contracted services," said the spokesperson.
"As she declined the alternative we proposed and insisted on cancelling the service, we regret that we must apply the associated fees that were agreed upon at the time of registration.
"We understand this is a sensitive and difficult time for her and her family."
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