Grandma dies, but woman can't get S$741 Simba broadband plan early termination fee waived

A woman in Singapore registered for a two-year broadband subscription with Simba under her name for her grandmother's home.

When her grandmother passed away just a month after the subscription began, she requested for a cancellation of the contract due to a bereavement and a waiver of the early termination charges.

However, the telco reportedly refused, as the plan was registered under the woman's name, according to Stomp.

The charges, which include NetLink Trust activation fee, administrative fee and fees for the remaining cycles, amounted to S$740.82.

Grandmother was ill

The woman told Stomp that she had signed up for the plan in October 2025 in her name as her 88-year-old grandmother did not have a Singpass account and was too ill to make decisions on her own.

They needed the broadband service to install CCTVs around the house as her grandmother was critically ill and living alone with a helper.

"Since we needed the service fast and a cheaper option, we went ahead with Simba with me as the registered account owner," the woman said.

She added that the telco was aware that her residential address and the service address were not the same at the time of registration.

No waiver of cancellation fees

About a month into the Simba contract on Nov. 11, the woman's grandmother passed away.

On Nov. 28, she reached out to the Simba customer support team to request a free cancellation, citing bereavement as the reason.

However, she was told she would be charged the full amount.

She then replied: "Why would I pay the full amount for termination? If I didn't need to terminate because of a deceased family member, I wouldn't even write to you. Does Simba thrive on cheating money from the deceased?"

She also sent them a copy of her grandmother's death certificate, but was told her grandmother's name was not the one on the contract.

The woman was apparently taken aback by the reply.

She wrote back: "Would you not be worried if you saw my name on the death certificate and here I am emailing you?

"Obviously, the deceased was old, and we weren't able to apply for the broadband under her name at the point of application."

Option to relocate

While it was unable to waive the cancellation fees, the telco offered the option of relocating the service to a family member or friend.

But the woman did not take up the offer, instead replying: "Would you like to buy over the house while it's empty? Or should I kill myself in order to get this cancelled?"

She questioned why the telco had allowed her to register and apply for the plan if they knew that she was not the one staying at the service location.

Simba replied it would not encourage customers to sign up on behalf of another person to avoid situations like this in future.

Two months after requesting for the cancellation and the exchange of communications, the telco's position remained unchanged, the woman shared.

Simba communicating with customer

A Simba spokesperson told Stomp that they have been communicating with the customer:

"When she informed us of her late grandmother's passing, we expressed our sincere condolences and, in good faith, offered her the option to relocate the services to an address of her choosing so that she could continue to benefit from the contracted services.

As she declined the alternative we proposed and insisted on cancelling the service, we regret that we must apply the associated fees that were agreed upon at the time of registration.

We understand this is a sensitive and difficult time for her and her family."

Top photos from Google Photos