WILLEMSTAD – MFK Member of Parliament Rigoletto Thode has asked Digicel Curaçao to reconsider its XCG 21 late-payment fee for customers who pay their telephone and internet bills after the 27th of the month, arguing that the current policy can unfairly affect workers who do not receive their salaries until the end of the month.
In a letter dated October 1 and addressed to Digicel Curaçao's management, Thode acknowledged that the telecommunications company has the right to establish payment deadlines and that customers have a responsibility to pay their bills on time.
However, the parliamentarian said the payment deadline does not always correspond with the reality of salary payments in Curaçao.
According to Thode, many employees, particularly those working in the private sector, receive their salaries at the end of the month or around the first day of the following month. As a result, some customers may not yet have received their salary when Digicel's payment deadline passes on the 27th.
When those customers pay several days later after receiving their salaries, they can face an additional XCG 21 charge.
Thode argues that the situation does not necessarily involve customers who are unwilling to meet their financial obligations, but rather people who have to wait until their salaries are deposited before they have sufficient funds to pay.
For households already facing monthly expenses for groceries, water, electricity, telephone and internet services, rent or mortgage payments and other necessities, Thode said an additional XCG 21 can create another financial burden.
The MFK parliamentarian is therefore asking Digicel to consider introducing greater flexibility into its late-payment policy.
One possibility proposed in the letter is a grace period of several days after the 27th before the XCG 21 late fee is imposed. Another option would be allowing customers to adjust their payment due dates to better correspond with the dates on which they receive their salaries.
Thode stressed that his proposal is not intended to eliminate customers' responsibility to pay their bills on time.
Instead, he said the objective is to find a balance between Digicel's legitimate interest in receiving payments when they are due and the financial circumstances of its customers.
"A more flexible policy in this regard could prevent a person who is willing to pay, but simply has to wait for their salary, from unnecessarily facing additional costs," Thode argued in his letter.
He asked Digicel to evaluate whether a system could be introduced that better reflects the payment realities of its Curaçao customers.
Copies of the letter were also sent to the Ministry of Traffic, Transport and Urban Planning (VVRP), consumer organization Fundashon pa Konsumidó and the Regulatory Authority of Curaçao.
Thode is awaiting a response from Digicel on whether the company is willing to reconsider or modify its current late-fee policy.