Woman collecting SIM card for her sick 84-year-old mum told by telco staff to get medical report as proof
Her mum has cancer.
A woman was infuriated that when she tried to a collect a SIM card from Simba Telecom for her sick 84-year-old mother, she was told to get a medical report to prove her mum's illness.
The telco has since apologised.
Stomper Rosaland said her mother was diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2024.
"She was in ill health and did not use her phone much during this time," explained the Stomper.
When she got better this year and started to use her phone, they discovered her SIM card was faulty and needed to be replaced.
"She gave me her IC and authorisation letter and I went to the Kaki Bukit Simba office to get a new SIM card for her," recounted the Stomper.
"When the counter staff heard I was collecting the SIM card on behalf of my aged mother, they insisted she had to come down in person to collect the SIM card. An authorisation letter and her IC would not be enough.
"I mentioned my mother was ill, and was not able to come and collect the SIM card personally. However, the staff arrogantly said: 'Then ask the doctor to write a medical report to show us proof!'
"They claimed this was an IMDA (Infocomm Media Development Authority) rule and company policy."
"When I explained she still needs to go for hospital check-ups and wasn't in the best of health to go to their office personally, they again stressed that they needed a 'hospital report' as proof."
The Stomper couldn't believe it.
She told Stomp: "Since when is a medical report needed to collect a replacement SIM card? She's not even trying to apply for a new line! She's an existing customer.
"Obviously, Simba had no issue collecting her monthly fees despite her not using her phone or their services for the past year. She's been paying all this while and when she tries to get a replacement SIM so that she can start using what she's been paying for, she gets treated to such indignity?
"I have no doubt many of the elderly are in ill health or have mobility problems, and they authorise their children to help them get a SIM card. Do all of them submit medical reports from doctors and hospitals? Hospital medical records cost over $200 at Singapre General Hospital."
In response to a Stomp query, a Simba spokesman explained that KYC (Know Your Customer) procedures are extremely stringent for SIM replacement cases.
He cited a recent case where StarHub was investigated by IMDA for failing to verify the identity of users requesting to port their Giga e-SIMs to another phone.
"Our staff was therefore ensuring the SIM-security of our subscriber," said the spokesman.
"There are also IMDA protocols regarding SIM replacements which we were following. When our staff requested for medical records of the subscriber, they were doing so in order to raise an exception handling ticket to aid the customer. We do not think that they had meant to come across as unsympathetic or arrogant.
"In any case, we have relayed our apologies to the subscriber's daughter, and have resolved the matter at hand."
The Stomper said: "After I wrote to Simba, I wrote a letter to Simba CEO and IMDA. Simba has since gotten in touch and apologised for the inconvenience caused, but insisted that it is IMDA policy, although they could have handled the matter more appropriately.
"They said they will reflect and see if current policies need be more flexible to reflect on each situation on a case-by-case basis."
