SHAH ALAM - A lot of people have admitted to changing their smartphone to a more advanced model with the latest technology features once every three years.
Based on Sinar Harian's survey around Klang Valley, the main reason they do so was because their old smartphones were broken or their phone features are outdated causing them to be attracted to a more up-to-date technology with larger storage space.
In fact, most people admittted to buying smartphone using installment service to avoid the burden of paying for it all at once as the remaining money can be used for other expenses.
Private worker Mohamad Isma Fahmie Nordin Ahmad, 26, said the price of smartphone worth thousands of Ringgit nowadays made him decide to pay in installments.
"Smartphones technology are changing so quickly nowadays. If I used to use iPhone 11, now there is a more advanced iPhone 14 that is significantly different from the old model.
"The quality of photos and videos is very different. There is no problem for me to pay in installments as I readily deduct the amount from my salary," he told Sinar Harian on Wednesday.
Isma said he does not feel burdened when paying in installments as his salary was enough to make monthly payment in addition to savings.
"I took installment through an application. What's good about it was that there are no additional fees and interest rates. You only have to pay the price of the phone," he said.
Another private worker Muhammad Haziq Fikri Abu Hassan, 26, admitted to changing his smartphone every three years, partly because he was attracted to the larger storage space feature.
He said there was no problem even if buying in installments takes a long time to complete the purchase.
"Yes, I had bought a mobile phone in installments of RM344 a month. So far I have no problem paying on time.
"When we are in debt, we have to make the payment without delaying it or run away from it or you will only suffer," he said.
Meanwhile, the Dudisgroup Sdn Bhd smartphone store owner Muhammad Danial Maududi Burhanordin said his store had been providing installment payment service using credit financing companies since 2021 to make it easier for buyers to buy smartphones.
However, only customers with a minimum RM1,500 monthly salary were allowed to pay in installment.
"The documents required are salary statements and identity card which is the most basic documents.
"There are also those who earn RM1,000 a month but wanted to apply. We will help them to apply but there are some who were approved, some who were not," he said.
To date, he said more than 5,000 customers had used the installment scheme in his shop and most of them were youth aged 18 to 25 years.
However, out of the number, less than 10 per cen had failed to pay the monthly installments on the set date.
"Most of those who don't pay are 18 to 21 years old with no permanent career.
"Perhaps they want to use the latest and most branded smart phones but don't realise that their salary is still at the minimum level," he said.
Cheap installment were like attraction potion (pelaris) for smartphone sellers.
Meanwhile, easy installments at low prices with repayment period of up to 36 months are among the offers sellers provide to attract customers.
A survey on several Facebook accounts of smartphone sellers found that many of them provide installment scheme for branded mobile phones that can reach up to RM8,000.
Among the products were iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro, Huawei Nova 10 Pro and Huawei Nova 10 brands which were offered with installment payment as low as RM121 to RM234 per month.
For example, the original price of iPhone 14 Pro is RM5,799 but with monthly installment scheme, buyers can pay RM234 for 24 months to purchase the phone.
Therefore, buyers only has to pay at the price of RM5,616, which is cheaper than the original price.
The conditions to buy a smartphone in installments were that buyers must be 18 years old or older, free from blacklist and are employed for six months or more.
Application takes three days to be approved with condition of RM1,000 basic salary per month.
In addition to easy installments at low prices, buyers were also offered installments without credit cards, special interest rates and attractive free gifts.