From time to time, salespersons of telecommunications service providers may visit homes of potential customers without being invited to promote their services, i.e. the so-called “unsolicited home visits”. Some of the consumers may feel uneasy in handling such unsolicited home visits and may at times be pressed to agree to use certain telecommunications service and to sign their names on contracts, without clearly understanding or knowing the details of the services and the contract terms.

Under the Industry Code of Practice for Telecommunications Service Contracts ("Industry Code"), consumers will be better protected with a cooling-off period and/or alternative measures that provide additional protection to customers. In summary,

  1. A cooling-off period is applicable if the concerned contracts are concluded during unsolicited visits to a customer's home.
  2. The cooling-off period for the unsolicited contracts shall be NOT less than seven days, during which the customer may cancel the contract without incurring any payment liability or any other obligation whatsoever.
  3. Nevertheless, cooling-off period for unsolicited contracts applies where a customer is required to be registered as a customer for enjoyment of the service (but excluding circumstances such as where the customer is required to be registered with the service provider solely for the purpose of compliance with the Telecommunications (Registration of SIM Cards) Regulation (Cap. 106AI) upon purchase of a pre-paid SIM card for mobile services, where the customer purchases a pre-paid calling card, or where the service provider provides a free Wi-Fi service to the customer) and does not apply to –
    1. a service which is subsequently subscribed in addition to the main service under the same existing contract; or
    2. extension, renewal or replacement of an existing contract unless the transaction is concluded during an unsolicited home visit.
  4. Consumers should also be aware that cooling-off period for unsolicited contracts may be terminated under certain specific conditions –
    1. once the service has been provided;
    2. once the service provider commences the physical provisioning of the service;
    3. once the network terminating unit, customer premise equipment or user device or any promotional gift has been collected by or delivered to the customer;
    4. three days before the scheduled completion date of the number porting as agreed by the customer; or
    5. after a quality control confirmation call in respect of the contract concerned has been made.
  5. Consumers should be mindful that the applicability of cooling-off period is not without restrictions. Consumers should therefore always exercise care when considering any service contracts and should carefully read all the details of the contract before they sign any contracts.
  6. Service providers are encouraged to implement a better cooling-off period arrangement or other alternative measures that provide additional protection to the customers, e.g. the service provider is encouraged to (i) provide a cooling-off period which is more than seven days from the date the customer enters into the contract and for contracts concluded over other sales channels besides the unsolicited visits, and (ii) provide service trials to customers without obliging them to commit to entering into a contract upon completion of such trials.

You should ask the service providers how their service contracts may include the above measures. You should also make reference to the Industry Code, wherever necessary, so as to understand better the enhanced protection you can enjoy. Please refer to paragraph 5 of the Industry Code.

Remark

The Industry Code is a voluntary scheme of the industry and has been implemented by all major fixed and mobile network operators since July 2011. Consumers should note that the latest version of the Industry Code which has taken effect since 1 October 2023 only applies to (a) all new telecommunications service contracts, and other specified contracts, that are entered into, renewed, extended or replaced on or after 1 October 2023; and (b) personal or residential users. Moreover, some of the protections offered by the Industry Code do not apply under certain conditions. Consumers should seek clarifications from service providers when in doubt, or where necessary, refer to the relevant parts of the Industry Code.

Please visit this page for the full text of the Industry Code and the list of service providers who have adopted it.

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