Prices just keep soaring....
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First, there was public transportation price increases. Then GST quickly followed.
This was followed by the controversial ministerial pay adjustments.
The next big player to raise fees is NETS. The compounded increase coupled with food and groceries price increases in line with the coming GST hike are taking a significant toll on the working class population.
And now....Starhub has decided to up its subscription fee...
Admittedly, being a want rather than a necessity, the impact will be minimal, since people can cancel subscription altogether and stick to channel 5 etc. Still, the 'price hike disease' looks set to infect other organizations keen to cover their losses and up their own wages, all to bring them in line with the 'new rich'.
Will phone companies be next to increase the price of their subscription plans? Along with SP and utilities? Our 1st world standards are definitely at first world costs... -
erm what's ever new
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Last morning, I spent S$96.80 for a week's grocery.
This morning, I spent S$65 for a week's food.
That's not counting the essentials, rice, salt, soya sauce, oil that is already bought and in use.
\
And this is for two adults and two kids. In case you are thinking of a biig family.
In the past, this amount could get me a week and a half's worth of food and grocery. -
increase the GST credits!!!
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wad can we do..
we can only L L leh -
Hello, you sure prices are increasing or not? You must be imagining things; like the other few hundred thousand Singaporeans.
Our dear Minister of Trade has already proven that price has not increase and will not increased. He tour the whole of Jurong St24 market okay.
Surely our multi-million dollar, one-of-a-kind, super-duper clever minister must be right... all of us are just imagining things. Price won't increase one lah. -
Originally posted by anonymouscoward:Hello, you sure prices are increasing or not? You must be imagining things; like the other few hundred thousand Singaporeans.
Our dear Minister of Trade has already proven that price has not increase and will not increased. He tour the whole of Jurong St24 market okay.
Surely our multi-million dollar, one-of-a-kind, super-duper clever minister must be right... all of us are just imagining things. Price won't increase one lah.
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why is there no rule tt all companies must increase staff pay?
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world class in increasing price.Originally posted by BillyBong:First, there was public transportation price increases. Then GST quickly followed.
This was followed by the controversial ministerial pay adjustments.
The next big player to raise fees is NETS. The compounded increase coupled with food and groceries price increases in line with the coming GST hike are taking a significant toll on the working class population.
And now....Starhub has decided to up its subscription fee...
Admittedly, being a want rather than a necessity, the impact will be minimal, since people can cancel subscription altogether and stick to channel 5 etc. Still, the 'price hike disease' looks set to infect other organizations keen to cover their losses and up their own wages, all to bring them in line with the 'new rich'.
Will phone companies be next to increase the price of their subscription plans? Along with SP and utilities? Our 1st world standards are definitely at first world costs...
sigh, i subscribe to the sports channel to watch liga, not epl which is the main reason for the hike. -
i dont know why no one complains that since, those SCV, internet and handphone plans are under contract, subscribers are not to cancel the contract, but are subjected to changing terms and prices?
i thought contract means nothing is to change? -
just his way of appeasing the angry people of Singapore and this is a very silly insincere way of doing so. He is paid high pay all these increases don't affect him thus just talk crap.Originally posted by anonymouscoward:Hello, you sure prices are increasing or not? You must be imagining things; like the other few hundred thousand Singaporeans.
Our dear Minister of Trade has already proven that price has not increase and will not increased. He tour the whole of Jurong St24 market okay.
Surely our multi-million dollar, one-of-a-kind, super-duper clever minister must be right... all of us are just imagining things. Price won't increase one lah.
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What do you call this : meiji milk 1L used to be S$3.95, then an immediate jump to S$4.15?Originally posted by anonymouscoward:Hello, you sure prices are increasing or not? You must be imagining things; like the other few hundred thousand Singaporeans.
Our dear Minister of Trade has already proven that price has not increase and will not increased. He tour the whole of Jurong St24 market okay.
Surely our multi-million dollar, one-of-a-kind, super-duper clever minister must be right... all of us are just imagining things. Price won't increase one lah. -
Originally posted by 105090:
dun you know? that there is a clause usually in contracts where they say.. prices are subject to change??
i dont know why no one complains that since, those SCV, internet and handphone plans are under [b]contract, subscribers are not to cancel the contract, but are subjected to changing terms and prices?
i thought contract means nothing is to change?[/b]
yea, a contract is a contract.. but you should really look for the additional clause.. -
i think we must learn to speak up. and protest.
Padang anyone?
and while we are at it grab a parang -
one day there will be seperatist form just like the rise of the LTTE
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Originally posted by 105090:
becuase normally theres a cluase that says they can change the terms however and whenever they feel like it.
i dont know why no one complains that since, those SCV, internet and handphone plans are under [b]contract, subscribers are not to cancel the contract, but are subjected to changing terms and prices?
i thought contract means nothing is to change?[/b]
as i understand it, it applies for most deals with banks, software companies etc -
he's being sarcas la...Originally posted by Xiaozzhen:What do you call this : meiji milk 1L used to be S$3.95, then an immediate jump to S$4.15? -
Here's what happened yesterday to me.
2% GST 18% Phantom GST -
With the rate adjustments, a minimum monthly subscription for the basic group package plus sports adds up to $49.
This is a total BS from SCV.
It is the first time since 1995 that StarHub has increased its basic pay-TV subscription fees.
Compared with other countries, the package falls within a middle range. For example, Thailand's TrueVisions charges S$67 monthly, and Malaysia's Astro charges S$24 for similar packages.
In Thailand, besides getting all sport channels, the S$67 package also includes HBO, Cinemax, StarMovie, and all other "premium channels". -
Replies from disgrunted subscribers:
Hit StarHub where it hurts most - cancel your cable TV subscriptions
DURING the 1960s, when a black woman, Rosa Parks, was arrested for taking a seat reserved for whites in a bus, many blacks led by civil rights leader Martin Luther King started a trade boycott against not only the bus operators in Birmingham, Alabama, but also all the city's merchants for their segregation policies.
Blacks carpooled or walked to work. They refused to buy from white stores and merchants. Their action brought the city to its knees and paved the way for the Equal Rights movement in the US.
StarHub subscribers can do the same by cancelling their cable TV subscriptions once the terms of their contracts are up. Don't wait for the subscription fees to go up before you take action.
StarHub has said that it has no choice for the hikes. We consumers do.
Send the management of StarHub a message: 'If you want to hurt our pockets, we can do likewise to you.'
Perhaps then, the EPL programmes can look for ways to cut back, like not having so many highly-paid soccer experts each week.
Why should we pay for StarHub's bid especially when most of the money eventually goes to soccer players, not the clubs which are forced to pay inflated wages?
Every extra dollar we pay goes to 'feed' some English player who is paid $40,000 to $120,000 a week.
Even the spectators in Europe have not seen lower-priced tickets at the turnstiles despite the hefty fees earned by the clubs through TV rights.
A vote not to watch soccer on StarHub is a vote against greed at the players', club, football association and corporate levels.
It's as simple as that. Use the money and donate it to a charitable cause instead.
As for news, go to the Internet and catch the video clips from CNN and BBC online.
Leow Aik Jiang
and more:
StarHub's planned fee hike shows that it does not value customer loyalty
I REFER to the article, 'Cable TV fees to go up; biggest hike for sports channels' (ST, June 12).
As expected, StarHub is raising subscription fees, claiming that it had no choice but to do so.
How can this be when, on May 10, it announced a net profit of $70 million and was able to declare an interim dividend of 3.5 cents per share.
In February, it declared a full-year operating revenue of $1.8 billion and net profit of $360.2 million. Does it mean that every time the company declares a net profit, it needs to raise prices?
Its behaviour mirrors that of public transport operators ComfortDelgro and SMRT, both of whom proceeded with fee hikes previously despite what are, in my opinion, healthy profits.
I disagree with the view by StarHub's Mr Thomas Ee that it is not a monopoly in Singapore when, in fact, there is no other competitor for cable TV content.
How can it not be a monopoly when it is the only channel that screens live English Premier League matches and Formula One races?
I also find the method of raising fees very high-handed. StarHub imposes a penalty to prevent those on contract from terminating it. These folks have 'no choice' but to bear with the fee increase.
What is exactly the role of the Competition Commission of Singapore? Isn't it to regulate and investigate such price increases to promote fair competition? In this case, I would be surprised if it is considered fair practice.
I am upset with StarHub which, in my opinion, does not value customer loyalty. I am even more upset that nothing seems to have been done to curb such unfair practices.
Jason Chiam Chiah Sern
ST Forum -
Ya, pineapples in mkt up from $1.50 to $1.80/ $2, the fertilisers for my plants from $3 to $3.20, green tea soft drinks $1.80 to $1.90, popiah $1.20 to $1.50, my dentist from $40 to $51...many more before GST next mth.
Latest- NETS, SCV, postal charges.
The $100 I get not enough to cover all these increases. -
Hey! Don u know, according to MICA, your views on these issues distort the truth?! They are polemics dressed up as analysis, blaming the Government for all that you are unhappy with. You offer no alternatives or solutions. Your piece is calculated to encourage cynicism and despondency, which can only make things worse, not better, for those you profess to sympathise with.
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Yes, we complain but offer no solution...solution to what? High-handed and deliberate price increases? What is the aim of price hikes if not to raise profits, even when annual earnings of companies have shown a healthy growth + profit margin?
With monopoly in tow, starhub convenient raises the price on subscription. If that's the case, than our closed-door TV market needs more competition than ever to compete. Clearly there is an obvious lack of competition within government regulated agencies in full control of our media options - pathetic mediacorp or pricy starhub cable.
Maybe the public should cancel subscriptions after expiry and let starhub have a taste of consumer power.
Then again, i'm one of those 'solution-less' ranters.
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You are so behind times. Didn't the government just make the companies pay us more CPF? We are going to be rich Ah-peks and Ah-mas in another few decades time, you know! Be grateful to our super intelligent and extraordinary government!Originally posted by FireIce:why is there no rule tt all companies must increase staff pay? -
Sigh, we all have to resign ourselves to the fact that prices will rise...worldwide, prices also rise....its something we all have to live with....
I guess its how we make the best of life....problem is that in Sillypore....prices go up all the time and it adds to the stress we already face...thank God I'm getting out of here....just leaving assets that will accrue and earn profit like condo rental....
We all have to find ways to make more money to keep up with rising prices...that's my advice...
I advise all to seriously consider living elsewhere....this place will come to no good....whether it be living in HK, China, Malaysia, NZ, Aust or North America....it sure beats facing all the crap here.