Tuesday, March 28, 2017
How Phone companies steal your prepay money 2 Degrees & Vodafone
We don't spend much on phones, just calls and text $20 or $30 a year. No constant Internet or data use except on home wireless.
First ripoff:
Bought a new phone for the missus, Samsung J2. Fitted her SIM card, the balance of $28 should last for most of a year, right?
Powered up and finding settings on an unfamiliar Android took a few minutes to turn off SIM data and set up house wireless password. Incoming text says 'your prepay balance is now $0.00'.
In the few minutes it took to turn off data in the settings the phone started updating something using the SIM card, on 4G it probably took 1 minute to download 56MB and 2 Degrees charge 50c per Mbyte so there was the $28 gone.
Complaints to 2 Degrees were met by the answer that 'your phone had data switched on and 50c/Mbyte is the rate'. Data probably costs them .01 cents per Gbyte.
Lesson: if you are setting up a new phone, do it with no SIM card, or immediately set Airplane mode.
Next ripoff: The missus was given an unwanted Vodafone branded phone to use text-only for a church function. It had not been on for months. I charged it, checked the balance $5 good till Sept 2017 and the plan was Prepay. The phone had had no use since October 2016.
We topped it up $20 and a couple of days later got an incoming text 'your prepay balance is now $6 and your $19 call package has been renewed.' So unknown to us, this $19 call package had been waiting in the wings for 6 months and pounced when there was a better account balance. Needless to say, a MyVodafone web account has been set up and the $19 plan cancelled. The account is now Prepay which is what they told us in the first place.
$39 gone in a couple of weeks for nothing. Well done, phone companies, ripoffs are great for the bottom line.
First ripoff:
Bought a new phone for the missus, Samsung J2. Fitted her SIM card, the balance of $28 should last for most of a year, right?
Powered up and finding settings on an unfamiliar Android took a few minutes to turn off SIM data and set up house wireless password. Incoming text says 'your prepay balance is now $0.00'.
In the few minutes it took to turn off data in the settings the phone started updating something using the SIM card, on 4G it probably took 1 minute to download 56MB and 2 Degrees charge 50c per Mbyte so there was the $28 gone.
Complaints to 2 Degrees were met by the answer that 'your phone had data switched on and 50c/Mbyte is the rate'. Data probably costs them .01 cents per Gbyte.
Lesson: if you are setting up a new phone, do it with no SIM card, or immediately set Airplane mode.
Next ripoff: The missus was given an unwanted Vodafone branded phone to use text-only for a church function. It had not been on for months. I charged it, checked the balance $5 good till Sept 2017 and the plan was Prepay. The phone had had no use since October 2016.
We topped it up $20 and a couple of days later got an incoming text 'your prepay balance is now $6 and your $19 call package has been renewed.' So unknown to us, this $19 call package had been waiting in the wings for 6 months and pounced when there was a better account balance. Needless to say, a MyVodafone web account has been set up and the $19 plan cancelled. The account is now Prepay which is what they told us in the first place.
$39 gone in a couple of weeks for nothing. Well done, phone companies, ripoffs are great for the bottom line.
