Not sure about other countries mobile phone law or how they operate, but for Singapore, the flow is pretty unique as i have checked with my Malaysian friends and they do not seems to have such offers.
In Singapore, consumers have a choice of signing for just a new mobile line without contract or with contract.
Without contract
End user pays
- registration fee for applying of new mobile line
- pay full price for mobile phone if he has the intention to purchase 1
- Able to terminate the mobile line anytime he wishes
With Contract
End user pays
- partial price for mobile phone, the higher the monthly subscription, the cheaper the phone is.
(For me, i purchased an Omnia i900 at 299 or 399 (cant remember the price), when i signed for a 2 year contract, when the market pricing for i900 at that time was 1099)
- usually the registration fee is waived.
- locked in for a 2 year contract, should he terminates the line prematurely, a termination fee is imposed.
That is the case for the man in the article below. I believed that he could have been desperately short on cash and was tempted to sign on mobile lines in return for cash.
How this thing works? An agent will convince the buyer to sign up for a contracted line, thus the agent will be able to get the phone at a cheap price. The agent will sell the phone and pay a partial of the profit to the buyer in return for signing up a contract and earn quick bucks.
To be more specific, take my i900 as an example.
I sign a 2 year contract and get i900 for $399, which $399 was paid by the agent. He sold off at $1099. which he earns $700!! and passes $500 to me, and himself earning pure $200 net profit. While i am straddled with a 2 year contract which i have to pay off monthly.
However, he should have been aware that Singapore mobile line subscription usually comes at a cost for early termination.
Maybe he was aware of such mobile line subscription termination costs, yet was he naive to sign first before getting the money?
Or Maybe he was too clever, he got the cash from the buyer. And report the case to the police?
No one knows~
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That is the case for the man in the article below. I believed that he could have been desperately short on cash and was tempted to sign on mobile lines in return for cash.
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