Dyonisii.com Globe Telecom's Auto Load System for the third time
I was at the office and needed a reload for my mobile phone as its credits are fast depleting. Of course! There is a convenient way. Use my BPI Express Pay Cash Card and my Globe Handyphone!

Type RLD BPIPAY 250.

Send to 2388.

Globe replies with U r paying P250.00 to Globe. Tran#000094855 Pls send this back to 2389 w/ the last 3 digits at the back of ur card typed at the end of this msg.

Type the last three digits at the end of the message from the card.

Send to 2389.

Globe replies on 09:06:40 13-06-2002 with Sorry, our system is unable to process your transaction at the moment. Please try again later.

And then Your Globe Tran#000094855 has been approved. Thank you for using BPI Express Pay.

It would have been easier to retry, but my account has already been debited.

Upon inquiries from both Globe Telecom and Bank of the Philippine Island, I have come to conclude that the following may have happened:

Message Send To Reply Comments
RLD BPIPAY 250 2388 Globe accepts the request and starts the autoload process.
U r paying P250.00 to Globe. Tran#000094855 Pls send this back to 2389 w/ the last 3 digits at the back of ur card typed at the end of this msg. This is a standard reply which means that Globe has accepted the request and is asking for the confirmation code found at the back of the card.
U r paying P250.00 to Globe. Tran#000094855 Pls send this back to 2389 w/ the last 3 digits at the back of ur card typed at the end of this msg.XXX 2389 This is the expected reply from the user, where XXX are the actual numbers found at the back of the card. This is done so that BPI may be able to verify the correctness of the transaction. BPI is then expected to return with results to be positive (true) if there is sufficient amount and if it has debited the amount from the account. If any of the two is proven false, the system will inform the user (customer/subscriber) that the transaction cannot be completed.
Sorry, our system is unable to process your transaction at the moment. Please try again later. This is a standard reply of Globe if the transaction cannot be completed based on the following criteria: There was a false reply from BPI and the system cannot complete the reloading process based on other factors.
Your Globe Tran#000094855 has been approved. Thank you for using BPI Express Pay. This is a standard reply of Globe to indicate the result based on the BPI inquiry.
Globe Telecom's Auto Load System has completed its process.

[While Bank of the Philippine Islands is part of the whole transaction, I believe that it has done it's part properly in the communication process. It has confirmed identity through secure means, has debited the appropriate amount based on the transaction requested, and have replied as expected.]

As any software programmer would know, there is a flaw in the process. But it's something I don't want to discuss at the moment. My main point is that, my account has been debited but Globe wasn't able to complete it's part of the transaction.

This incident may have been forgivable if it happened the first time to me. But the fact is, it has happened already on January 30, 2002, somewhere again in between and now, and then on 06 June 2002.

This is the third time I had a problem with the Auto Load System.

What becomes supposed to be a convenient way of reloading my prepaid mobile phone becomes a nightmare because of these problems and having to deal with some of Globe's customer service representatives who doesn't even know what is the problem and how to solve it.

Perhaps Globe Telecom should check their vision, mission, and values statements found at their website which state:

  • "...THE COMPANY OF CHOICE BECAUSE, IN WHAT WE PROVIDE, WE ARE THE BEST";
  • "We will act as responsible citizens in the communities in which we operate";
  • "a steadfast pledge to provide only the best to the customer"; and
  • "a faithful adherence to the highest ethical standards."
Hopefully, I pray, that this will be the last incident to happen, and that Globe will do something about their add-on services. Hopefully, too, this does not happen to others who may not have the chance to comprehend the communication process of two machines, and to those who may just keep themselves in silence because they may not know what to do.
24 Jun 2002

It has been 11 days since I had the problem stated above. Globe Telecom has not yet solved my problem, and that is return me my money or reload my account.

But there is a new development.

My supervisor, who is also a Globe Handyphone user, has just bought a call card (as he is a prepaid user like me) from an officemate. But fate might have it that the first four digits of the Call Card PIN of the newly bought call card was scratched leaving the card unusable.

Logic would put it that he gets in touch with Globe's 24-Hour Call-In Service, which he did.

He narrated the problem and the Call-In Service representative took his name and my company's name.

What the Call-In Service representative suggested is that my supervisor would visit the nearest Globe Business Center.

It would have been possible if my supervisor was not busy. But knowing that he is already a prepaid user means, he is so busy that going to a Globe Business Center to pay a lined mobile phone, is not just possible.

We all know that buying a prepaid call card somewhere is a lot easier and more convenient (if one is available) than getting into a queue and waiting for hours so that one can pay his telephone bills. This, my supervisor, had to explain to the person who took his call.

To make the long story short, the 24-Hour Call-In service was not able to help, even if my supervisor had to talk to some supervisor at the Call-In Center.

What is most unfortunate is that, the 24-Hour Call-In Service Representative failed to ask for the numbers that were still exposed on the face of the call card. There are of course four sets of numbers found in the Globe call card. These are the Call Card Number, the Call Card PIN, the Card serial number, and the EAN-13 barcode.

Let's check these numbers out. The serial number, of course, run in sequence, incremented by one for each card. Much like how many cards are there already.

And then there is the Call Card Number. This is a 10-digit number. If you look closely, the first nine digits run in sequence with the other cards as well. The last digit, being a check digit, would determine if the Call Card Number is entered wrongly during a reload attempt.

The next one is the Call Card Pin. Many would think that this is a random number, and I would like to believe that this is true as well. But because of the incident, I am thinking that the Call Card PIN may also be based on the computation of certain numbers from the Call Card Number.

And of course, the EAN-13 bar code used for inventory.

But going back to the problem being discussed, the Call-In Service Representative could have asked for the visible numbers on the face of the call card so she can verify if the card is authentic.

I would like to believe that there is a database where the fields may be the Call Card serial numbers, The Call Card Number, Call Card PIN, and the amount it may have in case of a reload, and maybe with the EAN-13 bar code.

Four missing numbers from a set of 38 numbers (ten for the Call Card Number, six from the Call Card PIN, 13 from the bar code, and nine from the serial number) may already be too unique. What I am trying to say is, it would take more than 1 x 10^10 guesses for an average person to get just the right combination of the Call Card Number and the Call Card PIN in relation to the serial number of the card. Do you know what I mean?

Three hundred pesos is not too much these days. No one in his right mind would hustle a call card for that amount, much more give his name and the company he works with. Maybe if it is for food for an orphan, it would be possible.

In the end, I just got a smile on my face. And I've proven myself right. You can always call on the 24-Hour Call-In Service of Globe Telecom for help if you got a problem. Just don't expect them to give you right answers, solutions to your problems, and fast. (But I have to admit that they sometimes do, just not all the time.) It's either they give you a run around, tell you to go to a Globe Business Center, and you end up with such a tired set of legs from walking (if you got no car like me), and still you don't get your problems solved.

That's already PhP750.00 (PhP250.00 for me and PhP300.00 for my supervisor) for nothing. Maybe if the same problem amounts to some two million other subscribers, that would be a huge amount of money...for nothing!
25 October 2002

First of all, I would like to thank Ms Irene Fernando of Globe Telecom for giving me assistance as regards the problem I had with the reloading service more than four months ago.

Today, I had a call from the investigating committee and Globe Telecom has offered me goodwill credits (pending the resolution of my problem) because they said, my problem has dragged on for quite a long time.
28 October 2002

However, I was also informed that with the goodwill credits that I have received, the case of my problem is deemed closed. I was shocked and suprised. And this is because Globe Telecom seemed to rather want to put a band-aid over a problem instead of looking into the main problem in the first place. Of course, I informed my mobile company, that should they have told me that the goodwill credit would be used in exchange for what I had tried to reload more than four months ago, I would have had told them, "no, thank you" and opted for the resolution of the case.

I also got a call from BPI and they explained what might have been the problem, even to the extent of apologizing, which I would not accept because it was not BPI's problem in the first place.

Communications with both Globe Telecom and BPI indicate that the problem was the former's, saying that they had a problem with their computer. Any wise man would say then, that if there's a problem with their computer or what-have-you, then it should be replaced.

Anyways, all is well that ends well, because BPI has also indicated that they are giving me back my PhP250 worth of credits to my BPI Express Pay Cash Card, which I would be happy to use again after more than four months.
28 October 2002

I have learned that a colleague had a problem with Globe Telecom's E-Loading system (much published/advertized in the dailies these days) and that the sequence of numbers that he got from a 7-eleven outlet in Rosario, Pasig, was invalid even when it has not been used yet.

The sad part is that, again, my colleague has been given a run-around and he has to go to a Globe Business Center which did not help anyways after being advised by Globe's customer service representatives to do so.

As of now, I give the Globe's customer service representatives a thumbs down...and a double one at that for failing to come up with a solution the fastest way possible. Maybe what the Globe guys can do is try and see how their colleagues with Smart Communications provide service in dealing with problems. They call when they say they would, and with a solution or a feedback at that! But the number of subscribers from both networks already speak a volume of it.