WILLEMSTAD - One of the Chippie holders on Curaçao, Maria van Os, is filing a summary proceeding against UTS with the support of nearly 100 Chippie holders. Her demand is to let the new general terms and conditions lapse because in her opinion these terms and conditions are unreasonable, unfair, and needlessly onerous. The preliminary summary proceedings are due on November 10 at 9 am.
On September 1, 2020, UTS changed its terms and conditions for Chippie Prepaid in the sense that the current calling period has been drastically reduced. In the old terms and conditions a term of 60 days for all uploaded amounts would apply, in the new terms and conditions the consumer can only call 15 days with an upload of Naf 5, with an upload of Naf 10 only 30 days, etc. With this, UTS increases sales by 200 to 300%.
Maria van Os: “UTS is now forcing Chippie holders to keep buying call credit over and over again within a very short period of time, otherwise you will no longer be able to call, even if you have more than enough credit on your SIM card. I have examples of Chippie holders who have more than Naf 100 balance, but are still forced to upload Naf 5 every 15 days. The bottom line is that you have bought call credit that you cannot use and that you are forced to buy call credit that you do not need at all at that time. ”
All Chippie holders received a text message from UTS on 31 July with a link to the new general terms and conditions. Maria van Os contacted UTS in vain and then engaged the Fundashon pa Konsumidó (Consumer Foundation). The Fundashon had sent a letter to UTS but stated that it would not take any further action against UTS. Maria van Os then placed a call on Facebook, to which a large number of Chippie owners registered. Mrs. N. Doekhie wanted to do the summary proceedings for free, because she too saw the serious financial consequences for a large part of the population.