What do you think of the Mui Wo, Peng Chau ferry merger proposal? I understand New World First Ferry is looking to merge the Mui Wo and Peng Chau ferry routes so the Mui Wo ferries would, in future, stop in Peng Chau. I find it hard to believe they would propose this, given the increase in the population of South Lantau and the fact ferries are regularly full when leaving Mui Wo. I have lived in Mui Wo for many years, during the days when all ferries stopped at Peng Chau. Surely First Ferry does not wish to take us back 15 years to big slow ferries and one-hour journeys. If that were the case, the ferry company would presumably also revert the fares back to a price befitting the service. They increased fares with the fast ferries, so surely fares should be decreased with slower ferries and poorer service. I also believe that they are contemplating discontinuing the 3am ferry, which goes to Peng Chau and Mui Wo. Surely cutting one ferry trip is hardly going to make a huge increase in profit. I am sure there are other adjustments that could be made to the timetable if it would make that much difference. Perhaps New World First Ferry should bear in mind that if a ferry journey is going to take longer than the road route to Hong Kong, then many people from Pui O, Tong Fuk, etc. may opt to travel via Tung Chung. How much money would they be losing then? Samantha Bell, Mui Wo Would you enjoy piped music at MTR stations? Much as I appreciate your other correspondents' views against such an idea, I would most certainly welcome it. Remember that music is life and when you're travelling on a crowded train, light music would help relieve the stress of the journey, whether it is long or short. I do not think it would cost the MTR Corporation that much to provide such a service. It is the best possible way of entertaining distressed commuters. Peter Wei, Kwun Tong Have you had trouble with pay-TV or telecoms companies? I can confirm Tai Kwun-kit's picture (Talkback, July 6) of poor service from television and telecoms operators in Hong Kong. In fact, it is not just poor; the procedures and delays imposed on customers appear to be deliberate obstruction. Last year, I found it impossible to get a useful answer from the i-Cable 'hotline' so, on August 5, I wrote to i-Cable to inform them I was cancelling the service, effective from the end of the billing period, August 27. They responded that, as I must give one month's notice, I would have to pay another month. They were unable to provide an explanation for why they needed the time and refused to produce a copy of the agreement I originally signed, which they claimed specified the one-month notice period. I took the view that they were incapable of providing the service so I returned their equipment on time and informed my credit card company to refuse further payments to i-Cable. Surprisingly, my credit card company said they were unable to revoke the authorisation. I informed them that I was revoking authorisation and cancelled the card. They later apologised for the misunderstanding. I am pleased to report that I cancelled i-Cable on my schedule, without further charge, but the process was intimidating and time-consuming. I suspect that most busy people would simply cough up another month's fee, for no service. We need more accountability from our telecoms and TV service providers. Perhaps the telecoms watchdog, Ofta, and the Consumer Council can comment on the issues? Allan Dyer, Wong Chuk Hang On other matters... With reference to Neal Horwitz' letter (Talkback, June 27), I would like to address his concern on the Octopus-EPS add-value service. As we announced in March, we have commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct an independent review to assist us in identifying the root cause of failed Octopus-EPS add-value transactions, and in making recommendations on actions to rectify the issues. The review is expected to take a few months. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to Mr Horwitz and other EPS add-value customers. Meanwhile, we would like to suggest he consider using our Automatic Add Value Service (AAVS), a more convenient and efficient means to add value to the Octopus card currently enjoyed by more than 770,000 cardholders. An Octopus card with AAVS function can be automatically reloaded. The reloaded amount will be deducted from the designated credit card account of his choice, with every AAVS transaction shown clearly in the monthly statement. There are 22 banks offering this service and details can be found on the Octopus website at www.octopus.com.hk . We greatly appreciate Mr Horwitz's continued support in using our service. Catherine Fu, manager, public relations, Octopus Cards
