One More Payment Office For Kristal-Astro Customers
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Bandar Seri Begawan - Subscribers of Kristal-Astro have called for at least one more office to be made available to them in the Brunei-Muara District to alleviate the traffic jam and long queues caused by a rush to beat the payment deadline.

They said the scenario would be the same every end of month, as clients rush in to make their payments. They added that by opening more offices, Kristal-Astro will be doing its customers a favour, as those queuing include civil servants and businessmen.

Subscribers, who could not meet the payment by the second day of the month, would be hit with a late charge of B$5 from the cable television company, causing a commotion at the counters in Gadong every time.

Yesterday, many people were seen waiting to be served, as only three payment counters were opened; one for Kristal clients and the other two for Astro subscribers.

"I was here since 10am and by 11.30, 1 have not been served. 1 need to waste about two hours just to make the payment," complained a customer.

They said the waiting period has gone up since civil servants received their 13th month pay or bonuses on Thursday.

Areas around the Kristal-Astro office's vicinity were also inundated yesterday by vehicles of subscribers who could not find parking spaces.

They also hoped for the payment deadline to be extended by another week to give them more time.

By doing this, many daily paid workers from the public sector, as well as many subscribers from the private would be able to meet the deadline.

One of them told the Bulletin yesterday that he has to borrow cash, as he would only get paid on the first week of the month. Similarly, many subscribers in the private sector hoped the dateline could be extended, as they would only be paid after the first of the month.

"By extending the payment deadline, Kristal-Astro will have many more subscribers engaging its services," they said. Before such moves are adopted by Kristal-Astro, subscribers would have to bear the inconvenience.

They also called for alternative methods, such as through banks, post office counters or even at authorised shops. Kristal-Astro has about 26,000 subscribers nationwide who need to make payments at three offices; two around BSB and one in KB.

Credit cardholders can arrange for auto-debit facility at banks as well as paying by drafts and cashier orders with an extra charge of $5. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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