Be Careful of Cheap Smartphone Price Plans

The number of people entering into contracts for comparatively cheap smartphone price plans is increasing. In the midst of this, there have been many cases of trouble arising from a lack of understanding about usage and support, such as “I didn’t know that I needed to use a special app to make phone calls and ended up with a high bill”, or “I want the company to explain how it works, but there aren’t any physical stores so I have to rely on communication via the phone or internet, which makes it difficult to understand”.

比較的安価な料金体系でサービスを提供している、いわゆる「格安スマホ」の契約数は増加傾向にあります。そのような状況の中「通話時に専用のアプリを使う必要があると知らず、通話をしていたら高額な請求を受けた」「使い方を教えてほしいが、実店舗がなく電話やインターネットでの対応なので分かりにくい」など、利用方法やサポートが消費者の認識と異なりトラブルになっている相談が増えています。

Companies offer these smartphone price plans at a low-cost, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that consumers will have access to the same services that traditional smartphone companies offer. Standard, free services such as filtering services and the lending of replacement phones during repairs are not offered through these cheap smartphone price plans, and these services sometimes come at an additional cost.

格安スマホ会社のサービスは利用料金が安価である一方、従来の携帯電話会社と同じサービスが利用できるとは限りません。従来の携帯電話会社では無料で提供されているフィルタリングサービスや、修理時の代替機貸し出しサービスなどがなく、有料オプションの場合もあります。

Be sure to read the contract well, including the portions about support and enquiry methods, and be aware of the differences between standard smartphone companies when entering into the contract.

サポート内容や問い合わせ方法など契約内容をよく確認し、今までの携帯電話との違いを理解した上で契約しましょう。