02 internet bill 800 euro for 2 months

NullZer0

To even get the bill that high you would have to be running bittorrent constantly I'd say!

Theta

Bugnut wrote: »

Obviously this issue only causes concern for those who do not have the appropriate level of intillectual capacity to understand a contract.

We Irish are so friendly !

A child understands the basic workings of a contract! You do something wrong you get the bold step (in this case a hefty fine).

If you think that the general populace does not have the intellectual capacity to realise this then I worry for the fate of humanity. But ill be grand cause I got my T's & C's down homeslice!

theg81der

Have you read my earlier post and I think someone else said the same? I understood the contract I entered into and I did not break the terms and conditions - O2 charged me for data I did not use.

I have 2 years previous bills with 3 and o2 to show that my data usage never changed, then recession hit and amazingly o2 start charging me for extra data when I was actually there less those months because I was redecorating my house and didn`t have time to watch my usual programmes.

They did this 2 months in a row. I rang and rang customer service who said they`d refer it to the technical team repeatedly and they never rang back so I discontinued my contract. They are trying to get more money off me and they can swing for it.

jor el

Bugnut wrote: »

Nice Insult there MODERATOR - keep those standards up ! - maybe people with reading difficulties would find it encouraging to hear your biased view

etho_ is not a moderator of this forum. Something you obviously failed to understand.

Bugnut wrote: »

More rudeness - nice !

Bringing this thread off topic with unrelated information, while trying to make it seem related, is rude to everyone on the thread. I asked a serious question, to which I never got a response.

Bugnut wrote: »

Fair reflection of a serious issue.

Not really, and completely unrelated to the topic of this thread. Roaming charges and over use charges are not the same thing.

Bugnut wrote: »

Obviously this issue only causes concern for those who do not have the appropriate level of intillectual capacity to understand a contract.

You don't even need to read the terms of the contract to see, in plain and easy to understand English (it's in O2's FAQ) that they charge 2c per MB over the 10GB allowance. Anyone that fails to understand this, or fails to even bother to find out if there are limits and penalties, shouldn't be signing a contract in the first place.

Theta

jor el wrote: »

You don't even need to read the terms of the contract to see, in plain and easy to understand English (it's in O2's FAQ) that they charge 2c per MB over the 10GB allowance. Anyone that fails to understand this, or fails to even bother to find out if there are limits and penalties, shouldn't be signing a contract in the first place.

This has been pointed out by you me and several others but they seem to refuse to realise that this is the case!

Bugnut

I think that insinuating that if people can't read or do not possess the intilectual capacity required then they should not be able to take out a contract, is a rude and discriminatory comment.

Obvoiusly you should always read the small print, however it is easy to get caught out on this point.

Calling someone stupid, or comparing them to a child is in itself rather a childish way to try and win an arguement, and should be left in the playground.

Although I must bear in mind that some of you may be posting from your parent funded 3G price plan phone, so you have no need to worry about costs.

Theta

Bugnut wrote: »

I think that insinuating that if people can't read or do not possess the intilectual capacity required then they should not be able to take out a contract, is a rude and discriminatory comment.

Obvoiusly you should always read the small print, however it is easy to get caught out on this point.

Calling someone stupid, or comparing them to a child is in itself rather a childish way to try and win an arguement, and should be left in the playground.

Although I must bear in mind that some of you may be posting from your parent funded 3G price plan phone, so you have no need to worry about costs.

What comments have you been reading?

jor el

Bugnut wrote: »

Calling someone stupid, or comparing them to a child is in itself rather a childish way to try and win an arguement, and should be left in the playground.

Sound advice, if it weren't for this next sentance,

Bugnut wrote: »

Although I must bear in mind that some of you may be posting from your parent funded 3G price plan phone, so you have no need to worry about costs.

where you go and do the exact thing you say others should not do.

Bugnut wrote: »

Obvoiusly you should always read the small print, however it is easy to get caught out on this point.

What point, exactly? If you're saying it's easy to get caught out if you don't read the terms, then yes, it obviously is. But, as has been pointed out so many times now, it isn't even small print. It's not difficult to find, it's right in front of you. There is no excuse for not knowing this, other than pure laziness or apathy. If you don't care to find out, then you pay the price.

It's interesting that of the 350,000 mobile broadband users in this country, that there's only a handful (I count 5 at this stage) of users on this site saying they got billed for over-use.

Cabaal

Bugnut wrote: »

I think that insinuating that if people can't read or do not possess the intilectual capacity required then they should not be able to take out a contract, is a rude and discriminatory comment.

How is it?
If your not adult enough to take responsiability for your own actions which incurred the charges then you shouldn't be agreeing to the Terms & Conditions in the first place.

If you got a loan from a bank and failed to read the T&C's and you broke them do you also think this is ok?

Although I must bear in mind that some of you may be posting from your parent funded 3G price plan phone, so you have no need to worry about costs.

Thats a rather big assumption,
Many more people here also own their own homes and understand from experience how contracts work and act like adults

If your over 18 and of sound mind then if you agree to a service and its associated Terms & Conditions then you are legally bound by them. If you don't like the T&C's then don't get the service...nice and simple.

wyrn

I agree with everything Cabaal et al are saying about reading the T&C's and being responsible. If you are over 18, then are eligible to sign contracts and therefore it's your responsibility to understand the legally binding contract including the small print.

However I do think companies ought to have tighter control on their services that they loan out on credit. ESB and An Bord Gais do by having a deposit. IMO it's good business sense. If someone runs over their limit then fine them heftly, however if they run over it by a significant % and run the risk of not being able to pay it back on time then have some safe guards in place. (I know they don't have to but for a piece of mind surely it's worth it. Some of a bill is better than none or small amounts in drips and drabs.)

In the case of the OP it's €10 p/m on the student package. Now to go from €20 for 2 months to €800 they must have had some serious data usage. If I were O2 I would have in place method of contacting (text, e-mail, phone call) if someone went over €100+ just to make them aware and to ensure that they can pay the bill.

Slightly off topic - [As a country we (not me thankfully, not being holier than thou but more like being too young) lost the run of ourselves especially with credit cards and bank loans. If a little more thought had gone into it with some safeguards we could avoid some of these issues. ]

To summarise my point is read and understand T&C's. I wasn't sure about my data usage (the fancy web page wasn't there and the small print was small) so I rang my mobile provider and made it clear in my head and wrote it down on my contract in big red writing. At the end of the day it's up to us to use our heads.

Petter

Well, it's not just 02. Vodafone has the same 2c/MB and 3 has 49c/MB. They mention the rules on their website and you can check your usage from o2.ie anytime, so it's it's easy to avoid after the first surprise bill.

Anyway, the only reason they charge 10 times more after the limit is the easy profit. I think O2 business plan is to get few hundred euros extra from every customer and it seems to working quite nicely as there is no competition. In other European countries you can have similar 3G service, a bit cheaper price and there is no usage limit.

Is there some special reason why mobile broadband bandwidth is 10 more expensive in Ireland that elsewhere in Europe?

Cabaal

Petter wrote: »

Is there some special reason why mobile broadband bandwidth is 10 more expensive in Ireland that elsewhere in Europe?

Sure about that?
http://www.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband

If we take £30 plan per month with 15GB cap, 18 month contract
10p per 1MB outside of cap - http://www.three.co.uk/_standalone/Link_Document?content_aid=1214305748126


http://shop.o2.co.uk/promo/o2mobilebroadband/tab/18_months
Take the £15 plan with 5GB cap, 18 month contract
Usage above specific monthly tariff data allowance is charged at 2.4p per MB

Not just Ireland, the UK has some pretty strict telecoms regulation via OFCOM compared to Ireland and Comreg yet Three UK is actually more expensive if you go over the cap when compared to Three Ireland

In short, the grass is not always greener

While I'm sure there are cheaper options in the likes of say Germany you have to remember they are different markets as well

Petter

Actually I just checked couple of Nordic countries, which should be quite similar to Ireland. Small markets, even lower population density and generally the same salary/price levels so from technically it should be possible to have same services in same price in Ireland.

UK has the same companies than Ireland, so they just rip off both countries

jor el

Petter wrote: »

Anyway, the only reason they charge 10 times more after the limit is the easy profit.

It's not an easy profit. As I pointed out earlier, data prices are 150 less expensive than voice. Even at 10 times the bundled price, it's still 15 times cheaper than voice. Not an easy profit by any stretch of the imagination.

Petter wrote: »

I think O2 business plan is to get few hundred euros extra from every customer and it seems to working quite nicely as there is no competition.

That's simply not true. The mobile broadband market in Ireland is worth about €7m a month. Do you really think that any operator's business plan is to take a couple of hundred Euro more, one time only, from a hand full of customers? That's just ridiculous. There are also 4 competing 3G operators in Ireland. Check your facts first please.

Petter wrote: »

Is there some special reason why mobile broadband bandwidth is 10 more expensive in Ireland that elsewhere in Europe?

The price for the mobile plan is largely similar in Ireland to other European countries, not 10 times more expensive. What provider in Europe gives you 10GB a month for €2?

Nody

Petter wrote: »

Actually I just checked couple of Nordic countries, which should be quite similar to Ireland. Small markets, even lower population density and generally the same salary/price levels so from technically it should be possible to have same services in same price in Ireland.

You are aware that ALL Swedish operators are looking at implementing both caps AND increase prices because the networks can't coop with the ever increasing traffic, right?

Petter

It's quite simple. There is no magical barrier at 10GB, which makes the bandwidth 10 times more expensive. If company can make profit with 2e/GB price for the first 10GB, they should be able to sell more with the same price. It's no small amount of money, if even few % of the customers get extra bill of 100-1000e. Yhis will easily double the profit they make with mobile broadband.

Also AFAIK voice is prioritized over data, so broadband users won't affect the calls in any way. They can still make their business with calls and just the extra bandwidth is used for data.

I actually haven't heard about the Swedish plans. Do you link for this? Anyway, there are no such plans in Finland. For example Sonera still has 24 month contract for 16.90e/month, no cap and free modem. I presume they are still making profit with this price. Considering Finland is 5 times larger than Ireland with just a bit higher population, is there some specific reason why Ireland can't offer the same?

Nody

Petter wrote: »

It's quite simple. There is no magical barrier at 10GB, which makes the bandwidth 10 times more expensive. If company can make profit with 2e/GB price for the first 10GB, they should be able to sell more with the same price. It's no small amount of money, if even few % of the customers get extra bill of 100-1000e. Yhis will easily double the profit they make with mobile broadband.

Loss leader which is why it is capped.

I actually haven't heard about the Swedish plans. Do you link for this? Anyway, there are no such plans in Finland. For example Sonera still has 24 month contract for 16.90e/month, no cap and free modem. I presume they are still making profit with this price. Considering Finland is 5 times larger than Ireland with just a bit higher population, is there some specific reason why Ireland can't offer the same?

Sorry but TeliaSonera's mobile director was the one who specifically said that they WOULD go away from it because it was not working as a model.

Yes, the existing contract still exists today but in a one to two year period it is unlikely simply because mobile data costs more then voice data and as more and more users go for it and use the full monthly allowance the networks can't coop with it.

Theta

They have also succesfully trialed LTE in Finland so im sure there is a time frame for rollout of that and im positive they will have caps on LTE traffic. With those speeds they would have to or else abuse of the system would be rampant!

Petter

I have no problems with caps on broadband usage, but the 10x price increase is a problem. I would bet that if there will be cap on usage in Finland/Sweden, price for extra bandwidth will be much more reasonable.

Loss leader? Operators aren't using broadband deals to promote any other products as there are really no extra services for mobile broadband. Only way they could be losing money on normal deal, is that they making profit from people who go over cap. Quite possible.