Vodafone ISP vs Live agghhhh

vector

I've made the classic mistake... I got the new Bells and whistles phone and used the "internet" on my phone which is on vodafone billpay...

In my head I thought it was 99c per day, unless you went over some limit, so I avoided streaming anything and was just browsing the webs (boards mostly!) , ... However I'm now looking at my bill and see that actually my phone was set to use Vodafone ISP...

The bill is over EUR 250! of which about 190 is for "Vodafone ISP". I haven't talked to them yet, but browsing other forums it looks like they can reduce it by 50% if you have a good story or 75% if you threaten to phone liveline or got to a solicitor.

Yes I did use the data, and in a way its my fault, but lads... their per kb price is a rip off, for example 1.4MB cost me EUR 30! (thats megabytes, as in the size of a floppy disk)

what should I do???

Random

I would contact Vodafone, explain the situation, look for sympathy and see if there's anything they can do.

Otherwise cough up the cash and learn from your mistakes would be my thoughts.

Davy

This pisses me off that this happens so much. Each operator should be notifying the customers when abnormal activity like this happens. Its €50 while roaming iirc, so why isn't it in place on home network.

Ok a lot is to be said for users that never check or get an idea of pricing before hand, but the network should be doing more than they do. o2's spend alerts should be across all networks automatically, and only disabled on request.

Pete4779

TBH you are way better off getting the broadband HSDPA deal for €25/month so you don't need to really bother with data charges; better still, you can upgrade the broadband to Vodafone Europe and you get data 5GB HSDPA a month in a load of EU countries while roaming.

Avoid the daily charges for data, better to get a package (like phone calls minutes).

CivilEx

OP, sign up for a data addon, explain your case and there's a good chance they will waive the majority of the charges.

It is madness though that you could be charged so much without any type of warning from them, or at the very least charged what prepay customers would pay

gunnerfitzy

vector wrote: »

I've made the classic mistake... I got the new Bells and whistles phone and used the "internet" on my phone which is on vodafone billpay...

In my head I thought it was 99c per day, unless you went over some limit, so I avoided streaming anything and was just browsing the webs (boards mostly!) , ... However I'm now looking at my bill and see that actually my phone was set to use Vodafone ISP...

The bill is over EUR 250! of which about 190 is for "Vodafone ISP". I haven't talked to them yet, but browsing other forums it looks like they can reduce it by 50% if you have a good story or 75% if you threaten to phone liveline or got to a solicitor.

Yes I did use the data, and in a way its my fault, but lads... their per kb price is a rip off, for example 1.4MB cost me EUR 30! (thats megabytes, as in the size of a floppy disk)

what should I do???

Was the data use in Ireland or while roaming? Because use in Ireland should be charged at €0.02/Kb up to 512Kb and €0.001/Kb there after.

flodis79

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

Was the data use in Ireland or while roaming? Because use in Ireland should be charged at €0.02/Kb up to 512Kb and €0.001/Kb there after.

eh? Where did you get these numbers from? Isp apn is 19c per mb, on a pay as you go basis.

Sam Vimes

That's only on PAYG flodis. On bill it's 2c per kb with a 10c connection charge

flodis79

Sam Vimes wrote: »

That's only on PAYG flodis. On bill it's 2c per kb with a 10c connection charge

10c connection, and then 2c per kb for the ISP APN? So it is €20 per mb on billpay but €.19 on prepay? seems very strange to me ?

strecker

I use a voda prepay sim in an unlocked iphone, and yesterday I made the classic mistake: using itunes half-asleep via iphone I clicked buy album instead of buy track.
By the time I noticed, I was 50 mb over the daily 50 mb-allowance. 50mb at 2c/kb whoa....do the maths! But I checked with them today: they capped deduction at 50some Euro and reset my allowance back to normal.
Still: when you use .isp access point, the phone will disconnect when you reach 0.00 credit. Why can't they 'warn' you or disconnect when you use the live!-a.p.??? or at least 'just' charge the .isp-rate once you excede your 50mb??? 2c/kb versuse 99cent for 50mb is one outraheous fine!!!
Imagine xtravision charged a late fine of, ooh, the film's retail price per hour you're late!!!

And related: why won't itunes allow a download of a 10.1mb app straight to phone, but a 200mb album is ok via gprs!! huh??

Sam Vimes

flodis79 wrote: »

10c connection, and then 2c per kb for the ISP APN? So it is €20 per mb on billpay but €.19 on prepay? seems very strange to me ?

Tis very strange but here it is:
http://www.vodafone.ie/planscosts/paymonthly/other/?ts=1250069775175

Data services
Standard default data rate for postpaid voice customers using data without a data bundle.

Pricing is on a per-KB basis rather than on a per-minute basis. That means you'll be charged on the amount of information (data) you send and/or receive not on how long your call lasts.
Data usage (inc VAT)	Cost
Up to 512 KB	€0.02 per KB
Beyond 512 KB	€0.001 per KB*

    * If you're not signed up for a data bundle when you use your phone to access data via a non Vodafone Live APN you'll pay our standard default data rates for 3G and GPRS data services. This means you’ll pay on a per kilobyte basis rather than on a per minute basis – or for the amount of information you receive rather than the time you spend online.
    [b]* There is a minimum charge of 10KB per GPRS/3G connection.[/b]
    * The above does not include Mobile Connect or Mobile Broadband Modem pricing.
    * Pricing includes VAT

It's actually 10kb (20c), not 10c

xanthor

When i got my N95 (Donkey's years ago now) it was set to use ISP.Vodafone.ie,
and i didn't know any better for the first two week. Kicked up a ruckus, and they let it slide.

Xithus

You could call customer care and tell them you went into a shop and requested the 1Gb ISP bundle and you were under the impression this had been added. They'll put it down to an error by the agent and hopefully recalcuate your bill. Id be aware your your billing day (14th to the 14th) (28th to the 28th) etc and tell them you were told it would kick in on that day.

LoGiE

The same thing happened to me. I signed up for 500mb of data a month with my new 5800 and thought I was covered.... I wasn't. Lucky for me, I rang them and they refunded me in full. They then removed the ISP feature from my number and I deleted the setting from my phone.

It's crazy that they leave this setting on phones while chargining that much and I'm sure there customer care agents are sick of taking these calls. At the very least Vodafone live should be set as default not the other way round!!

What makes more sense to your average Joe when he wants to connect to the internet with his new browser enabled phone? Vodafone ISP or Vodafone Live? Hmmm doesn't ISP stand for Internet service provider? That must be it!!

I know Vodafone likes to screw its bill pay customers for every cent but seriously....

OuterBombie

Holy Moly,

I was searching the forum for info on roaming costs and came across this thread.

Having just updated to a Nokia 5800 with vodafone I received a text some weeks back that internet usage was free from the day so I browsed some websites and setup some bookmarks.

But after looking at this thread I just went and checked the phone: MISP.vodafone.com (on no), and then checked my bill only to discover a 20 euro charge for my 10 minutes of browsing. God dammit.

Thank you once again to the boards community.

ashleey

I also had the very same issue. Voda refunded the cost. I changed my add on to the isp one and now at home there is no problem. You must remember to change everything to use the live apn if you roam. Also not everything will work on live such as agps and you might need to change ports to send mail. It's a nightmare and all providers at home and abroad are following this model to keep mobile broadband users separate from mobile internet users ie those using their phone. Not surprisingly they get a windfall everytime someone is confused. It's probably because the eu has intervened in voice and sms. Maybe in a few years they will attack this. They have a good record

linryan

If you call vf and tell them you thought you were using the live apn instead of isp they will refund the full amount.

OuterBombie

Thanks,

Just rang VF there and they refunded straight away. Could have been worse!