HGC total customer service fail, yet again

What is up with certain telecoms companies in Hong Kong?  Well, in certain I mean HGC / Three Hong Hong Kong in specific.

I'd previously ranted about them: HGC / 3HK "world class" customer services.  Well nothing has really changed since last time.  Wanted to cancel our landline service with HGC.  We have been trying to call HGC's "world class" customer service hotline for the past few weeks, its supposed to be a 24 service.  However it seems that either the relevant department is always "too busy" or the customer service agent who picks up the phone doesn't speak English.  In each case we are asked to provide our number so they can contact us back.  No surprises in guessing that they never call back.

Anyway, finally get through to someone.  To cancel with HGC you need to give 30 days notice and mail them back a cancellation form.  To get this form, they will mail it to you.  We are in the 21st century and are supposed to be dealing with one of the most advance communications companies in the world.  They do not or will not send documents via email or even fax and nor will they accept some forms.  To top it off, recently HGC / 3HK had a massive marketing campaign whereby they were touting the merging of the HGC and the Three brands into one integrated offering, however try going into a 3HK store in Hong Kong to deal with a cancellation, you will show how non integrated the company is.

Frankly this level of service is a complete joke, especially when its competitors, such as PCCW, are so much more flexible in their approach with customer services.  PCCW itself does have a bit of reputation for shoddy customer services, but at least you can deal with them via multiple forms of communication, including fax and email.  The root of the problem is clearly the serious lack of consumer protection laws in Hong Kong, however I doubt anything will get done about that any time soon.