heavily overcharged by upc

zenno · 25-02-2011 7:44pm #1

hello all.

I am on fibre power unlimited broadband 30mb with upc and my bill was always €42 per month since i first started with upc broadband over three years ago but now i got a bill of €129 for this month.

in the past couple of months upc broadband was cut off for long periods of time so i rang them and said i wanted compansation for been left without broadband at that time and they deducted €25 from this bill which should have put my monthly broadband bill to €17. now thats fine but how the hell can upc charge me €129 when my broadband is only €42 per month ?. if anyone from upc can check this out for me then fine' but i will not be paying that as it is an obvious error on upc's side.

if daren upc is around pm me and i will send my details.

Random · 25-02-2011 8:12pm

is it possible you might have gone over their "fair usage policy" of 250gigs. i've read in other threads here they bump you up to a higher package when you do.

zenno · 25-02-2011 8:15pm

Random wrote: »

is it possible you might have gone over their "fair usage policy" of 250gigs. i've read in other threads here they bump you up to a higher package when you do.

there is no way on planet earth that i went above 250gb in one month especially this month as i have not uploaded or downloaded much. i am going to get onto them now again and sort this rubbish out. I have been with them over three years and if they want to mess me around they will just lose another customer.

another thing' if this is a new thing with their 250gb limit then I have not been notified about the changes.

zenno · 25-02-2011 8:52pm

this so-called fair usage policy of 250gb was not in the eula of their conditions when i joined upc so it looks like they put this on recently and i was never sent a letter of their changes if this is the case.

this new fair usage policy of 250gb/month was not in the contract i went with. as far as i know it was dealt with by lowering your broadband speed if you used it heavily. i can't find the papers from when i joined upc but i will get them eventually. this bill is causing problems here and upc better sort this problem out quick and fast or i will cancel my contract with them on monday. i have had enough of their broadband cut-offs and over-charging.

shinzon · 25-02-2011 9:17pm

not doubting you and you will probably get it sorted with UPC, but just to point out there never was has been or ever will be unlimited BB, there is always fair usage on a product whether it is implied or not, whether throttling or not, UPC has just taken the stance to upgrade those people who go over there cap to there broadband extreme package which is 80 euro and not advertised anywhere on there site.

And im not attacking you or suggesting for one minute that you have but its just something to note for reference

Shin

zenno · 25-02-2011 9:37pm

shinzon wrote: »

UPC has just taken the stance to upgrade those people who go over there cap to there broadband extreme package which is 80 euro and not advertised anywhere on there site.
Shin

it not only should be advertised but a letter sent explaining their unprofessional approach to hidden charges should be.

well i will be waiting for darren or someone from upc to acknowledge my problem with upc to set this straight. either way they better look into this or lose a long term customer. I have enough problems to deal with. €42 gone to €129' what do they think they are pulling here.

I have been with upc for three years and i do remember i did go over 250gb over a year ago as download and upload is added into one and i never got a problem as the 250gb limit was not in the contract at that time' so i know they are trying to pull a fast one.

upc would you rather keep an always paying customer or would you rather lose another one. sort this out.

billyboy01 · 25-02-2011 9:57pm

zenno wrote: »

there is no way on planet earth that i went above 250gb in one month especially this month as i have not uploaded or downloaded much. i am going to get onto them now again and sort this rubbish out. I have been with them over three years and if they want to mess me around they will just lose another customer.

another thing' if this is a new thing with their 250gb limit then I have not been notified about the changes.

The same thing happened to me, so I left UPC's 30meg BB, TV and phone package, there down close to 100quid a month from me:rolleyes:. They dont seem to give a damn about keeping there old long term customers! If you are as lucky as I am, you can probably get a similar speed BB and phone package for the same or cheaper price then UPC.

UPC:P:P:P:P:D

R3laX · 25-02-2011 10:05pm

Check Your bill on their website. It would explain for what You have been charged. I think if You get switched in middle of the month, they'll charge for 2 month minus part that was already paid(that's what happened to me).

zenno · 25-02-2011 10:32pm

billyboy01 wrote: »

The same thing happened to me, so I left UPC's 30meg BB, TV and phone package, there down close to 100quid a month from me:rolleyes:. They dont seem to give a damn about keeping there old long term customers! If you are as lucky as I am, you can probably get a similar speed BB and phone package for the same or cheaper price then UPC.

UPC:P:P:P:P:D

well i live in swords co. dublin so i have a few options which is a bonus.

(CLARIFICATION IN REGARDS TO MY UPC PROBLEM) ok to clarify this to you...at first slightly over 3 years ago i got the upc 20mb d/l and i think it was 1mb upload and that was 42 euro a month' then last year upc had a deal for customers that were on the 20mb to upgrade free to the 30mb d/l and 3mb u/l speed. this is what i have now. this upgrade was free providing i go with another years contract with them. but i have been on 30mb now for the last year. the thing is that upc never called my package with them "extreme" it was just called upc ultra and as i said above they gave me the extra 10mb free for the extra years contract. it looks like some dufus accountant in there put me on the new customer base account for new extreme 30mb customers.

zenno · 03-03-2011 3:56pm

well eventually i got a response from upc about this issue. according to them they said i went over the 250gb on the 30/09/2010 and they said via e-mail that i was sent a warning letter. well i never received a warning letter at that time nor have i ever received one ever. so how can they charge me 129 euro for this months bill when this over usage charge was made on the 30/09/2010 ?. i am in the process of dealing with them now. by the way on that date 30/09/2010 that was the only time on my account records that i was supposed to have went over the 250gb. if i had received a warning letter in september 2010 then i would have took action and not went over the usage. so they send me a over usage bill 6 months later, that makes no sense at all.

billyboy01 · 03-03-2011 5:43pm

zenno wrote: »

well eventually i got a response from upc about this issue. according to them they said i went over the 250gb on the 30/09/2010 and they said via e-mail that i was sent a warning letter. well i never received a warning letter at that time nor have i ever received one ever. so how can they charge me 129 euro for this months bill when this over usage charge was made on the 30/09/2010 ?. i am in the process of dealing with them now. by the way on that date 30/09/2010 that was the only time on my account records that i was supposed to have went over the 250gb. if i had received a warning letter in september 2010 then i would have took action and not went over the usage. so they send me a over usage bill 6 months later, that makes no sense at all.

As I said earlier, the same thing happened to me and others I know! Seems to be there way of boosting their profits.:mad:

Everyone I know that this crap happened too, Voted with their cash and went elsewhere!:D

Look around you may have other BB options in your area!

dub45 · 03-03-2011 6:44pm

zenno wrote: »

well eventually i got a response from upc about this issue. according to them they said i went over the 250gb on the 30/09/2010 and they said via e-mail that i was sent a warning letter. well i never received a warning letter at that time nor have i ever received one ever. so how can they charge me 129 euro for this months bill when this over usage charge was made on the 30/09/2010 ?. i am in the process of dealing with them now. by the way on that date 30/09/2010 that was the only time on my account records that i was supposed to have went over the 250gb. if i had received a warning letter in september 2010 then i would have took action and not went over the usage. so they send me a over usage bill 6 months later, that makes no sense at all.

It really helps people to read your posts if you put in a few sentences and paragraphs.

The claim to have sent out a warning letter is very common on here - have you asked them for a copy of it?

Also be methodical with them and ask them for explanations point by point.

Have you asked them for an explanation as to why you are being charged now for allegedly going over your "limit" almost six months ago?

Have you asked them how they comply with Comreg's requirement that they should have a policy on so called unlimited products?

ComReg would like to advise consumers that any provision of a contract which sets usage thresholds, or describes what constitutes ‘fair’ or ‘acceptable’ use, should be clear and unambiguous, particularly where the service is described as being ‘unlimited’.

Usage thresholds or limits should be clearly set out, as should the manner in which they may be updated or amended.

ComReg expects each service provider to implement a clear, transparent and policy for dealing with customer usage above any set thresholds. The policy should set out the rules for contract termination, including penalties, the charges that shall apply for any use above the threshold/limit, and the policy regarding migration of the customer to other packages, if applicable.

Sponge Bob · 03-03-2011 6:50pm

You cannot be billed so far in arrears ( 4 or 5 months) they are obliged to bill in a 'timely' manner. Tell them to refund the lot or you will go to comreg.

zenno · 03-03-2011 7:10pm

thanks folks i really appreciate the replies and am sorry for my typing but i am just stressed out at this stage.

thanks for all that great information and i will contact them again and include said comments.

upc sent me an E-mail a while ago telling me to download a program from them that will monitor my broadband usage so i installed it but i have noticed something very strange.

when i installed this program i opened it up and it said my monthy usage so far is 0.1MB (by the way my new monthly started 2 days ago and i have not downloaded or uploaded anything) now at this stage i left my pc on it's desktop and did not even go onto the internet and i checked the usage 1 hour later and it said my usage was 21.18MB which is strange.

then i done a test and looked at my usage and it said around 30MB so i immediately clicked firefox to open my homepage and then immediately checked the usage and it went up to 33.60MB. how on earth could it take over 3MB just to open my homepage' this is very strange. i have e-mailed upc about this and just in the last 5 minutes typing this text it has gone up to 43.22MB there is something not right at all here.

i use a heavy password for my upc wireless and the password is in sanskrit so i cannot imagine anyone hacked into it. i have relayed this information to upc so i am awaiting a responce.

zenno · 03-03-2011 7:14pm

dub45 wrote: »

Have you asked them for an explanation as to why you are being charged now for allegedly going over your "limit" almost six months ago?

Have you asked them how they comply with Comreg's requirement that they should have a policy on so called unlimited products?

I have included that in my e-mail to them and am waiting for them to respond. I will be calling them by phone tomorrow as well and will ask them this as well.

TouchingVirus · 03-03-2011 7:15pm

You have background processes (ones that are not obvious to you, the user) using the internet. It could be Windows Update downloading some updates for Windows, it could be other stuff like Virus updates or it could be somebody using your connection.

I reckon it's one of the first two and not somebody using your internet. But change the password for your wireless to be sure.

The amount you've been charged is consistent with going over the 250gb/month limit. You'll be asked to contact aup@upc.ie and Mia or one of the others there will get back to you. Ask them to provide usage stats for the last 12 months.

zenno · 03-03-2011 7:27pm

TouchingVirus wrote: »

You have background processes (ones that are not obvious to you, the user) using the internet. It could be Windows Update downloading some updates for Windows, it could be other stuff like Virus updates or it could be somebody using your connection.

I reckon it's one of the first two and not somebody using your internet. But change the password for your wireless to be sure.

The amount you've been charged is consistent with going over the 250gb/month limit. You'll be asked to contact aup@upc.ie and Mia or one of the others there will get back to you. Ask them to provide usage stats for the last 12 months.

ok for the first part i have windows update turned off as i manually update it once a week myself so thats not the cause.

and secondly my antivirus which is kaspersky internet security 2011 is set for manual updates so this is not the cause either.

TouchingVirus · 03-03-2011 7:35pm

This program that you downloaded runs only on your computer, so it's only logging your usage. So it's not logging overall usage on your router. If somebody got your wireless password their activity would be on their own connection to your router and wouldn't get logged by your piece of software. So there's something on your own machine using the internet in the background. I only listed those above as examples.

It might well appear that you have been exceeding your allowance, even if doing so via background processes and not actively using 250GB/month. That's why you need to ask for the stats

zenno · 03-03-2011 7:57pm

TouchingVirus wrote: »

This program that you downloaded runs only on your computer, so it's only logging your usage. So it's not logging overall usage on your router. If somebody got your wireless password their activity would be on their own connection to your router and wouldn't get logged by your piece of software. So there's something on your own machine using the internet in the background. I only listed those above as examples.

It might well appear that you have been exceeding your allowance, even if doing so via background processes and not actively using 250GB/month. That's why you need to ask for the stats

thanks TouchingVirus yes i see. i will wait for the stats and take it from there.

<AUP@upc.ie> said thank you for the mail. please be advised that we are the high usage desk here for upc. we only keep records of high usage on customers accounts. Apologies i am unable to help further but as i mentioned we only track the high usage. regards mia. [end]

well it seems to me that they cannot give me the stats for the last 12 months only the stats below.

AUP@UPC.IE fibre power broadband 30MB.

total 267.83 total 319.83 {action 1 warning letter 30/09/2010} {action auto upgrade to extreme 31/01/2011} like i said i never got a warning letter or anything of the kind.

my stat for february 11th 2011 upload 101.69 download 94.015146 total 195.7 {action auto upgrade to extreme 31/01/2011}

if i had have received the letter then obviously this would never have happened so i will call them and request a copy of the letter they supposedly sent out to me which i never received.

i checked again now on my usage and it was on 60MB and immediately clicked onto youtube homepage and it went to 69MB so just by clicking onto youtube homepage with no video running it used 9MB to open youtube. now that is crazy by any standards.

dub45 · 03-03-2011 8:55pm

It is absolutely disgraceful that a customer has no way of measuring their upload/downloads. UPC can literally accuse the customer of downloading/uploading any quantity they like and the customer has no comeback.

Imagine any other utility company charging a customer on the basis of "you used what we say you used" they would be laughed out of it.

Has any one ever asked UPC what system they use to monitor customer usage and if such a system has been independently certified as being fit for use?

Given customers increasing use of the web and the tendency of companies to charge for such use at lower levels than before, the proper measurement of data should be an issue for Comreg and they should be ensuring that proper systems are available to the customer to measure bandwidth used.

dub45 · 03-03-2011 8:59pm

zenno wrote: »

thanks TouchingVirus yes i see. i will wait for the stats and take it from there.

.............................
if i had have received the letter then obviously this would never have happened so i will call them and request a copy of the letter they supposedly sent out to me which i never received.

............................

It has been reported on here before that they will claim that An Post have confirmed delivery of the letter. This of course is firstly a lie and a very serious slur against An Post. An post will of course confirm delivery of a registered letter but the letters sent out by UPC are not registered.

An Post cannot confirm delivery of any non registered letter.

So if they try that on you tell them were to get off!

zenno · 03-03-2011 9:02pm

dub45 wrote: »

It has been reported on here before that they will claim that An Post have confirmed delivery of the letter. This of course is firstly a lie and a very serious slur against An Post. An post will of course confirm delivery of a registered letter but the letters sent out by UPC are not registered.

An Post cannot confirm delivery of any non registered letter.

So if they try that on you tell them were to get off!

interesting and a very good point. I will definately keep that in mind when i talk to them.

L'prof · 03-03-2011 9:14pm

zenno wrote: »

i checked again now on my usage and it was on 60MB and immediately clicked onto youtube homepage and it went to 69MB so just by clicking onto youtube homepage with no video running it used 9MB to open youtube. now that is crazy by any standards.

9MB is crazy for a webpage? I'm not so sure it is when it's youtube you're talking about and besides 9 MB is a tiny proportion of the 250GB fair usage. I'm not sure why you're getting worked up about it. You'd have to refresh that page 1.5 times a minute for the entire month to exceed your limit that way. If all you (of course somebody else could be using it!) were doing is browsing, you wouldn't be going over your limit.

I found an interesting site that analyses web pages and it says that YouTube is 14285 bytes which works out at 14MB.

zenno · 03-03-2011 9:39pm

L'prof wrote: »

9MB is crazy for a webpage? I'm not so sure it is when it's youtube you're talking about and besides 9 MB is a tiny proportion of the 250GB fair usage. I'm not sure why you're getting worked up about it. You'd have to refresh that page 1.5 times a minute for the entire month to exceed your limit that way. If all you (of course somebody else could be using it!) were doing is browsing, you wouldn't be going over your limit.

I found an interesting site that analyses web pages and it says that YouTube is 14285 bytes which works out at 14MB.

this is not the point. the point is that it should not take 9MB just to open a webpage. i am the only one on the pc as i have unplugged all other pc's as of yesterday until this issue i have is sorted out.

if any of you that use upc want to try this for yourselves the name of this program is SHaPlus bandwidth meter 1.3.1 sent to me from upc.

the amount of websites you would open and use in 1 month and each website adds 9MB to your usage then in my opinion it is bad. my usage for today is 92MB and all i have done is use gmail and boards.ie. i have not used anything else. there is something strange about all this i know that much. the main issue i am dealing with here in my thread is more important but i just added this info in as well as it is strange that it takes 9MB just to open a webpage and is added to usage it is very large imo.

so this would be a big issue for people on the lower upc speed.

L'prof · 03-03-2011 9:51pm

zenno wrote: »

this is not the point. the point is that it should not take 9MB just to open a webpage. i am the only one on the pc as i have unplugged all other pc's as of yesterday until this issue i have is sorted out.

if any of you that use upc want to try this for yourselves the name of this program is SHaPlus bandwidth meter-setup from upc.

the amount of websites you would open and use in 1 month and each website adds 9MB to your usage then in my opinion it is bad. my usage for today is 92MB and all i have done is use gmail and boards.ie. i have not used anything else. there is something strange about all this i know that much.

Unless you're watching videos, YouTube alone wouldn't be 9MB.

zenno · 03-03-2011 10:06pm

L'prof wrote: »

Unless you're watching videos, YouTube alone wouldn't be 9MB.

well all i can tell you is the truth and this is what is happening. it is taking 9MB just to open the youtube homepage on upc. it is taking 4MB just to open gmail. so i am not an expert in net communications but i am absolutely positive this is the case. and just to see was it just my pc i used my sisters laptop with that program and it is verified and true that this is the case.

L'prof · 03-03-2011 10:08pm

zenno wrote: »

well all i can tell you is the truth and this is what is happening. it is taking 9MB just to open the youtube homepage on upc. it is taking 4MB just to open gmail. so i am not an expert in net communications but i am absolutely positive this is the case. and just to see was it just my pc i used my sisters laptop with that program and it is verified and true that this is the case.

What about google?

zenno · 03-03-2011 10:16pm

L'prof wrote: »

What about google?

google seems to fluctuate from 1MB to open the google homepage in firefox to 2MB on the second try. i restarted the laptop and done a test on youtube homepage again and it used 3MB this time to open the homepage.

must be a bug in the program or it just fluctuates up and down. i just think it is odd.but it is been added to usage either way.

L'prof · 03-03-2011 10:19pm

zenno wrote: »

google seems to fluctuate from 1MB to open the google homepage in firefox to 2MB on the second try. i restarted the laptop and done a test on youtube homepage again and it used 3MB this time to open the homepage.

must be a bug in the program or it just fluctuates up and down. i just think it is odd.

I'll log into linux later and check it properly. I'm sure there are plenty of other bandwidth monitors you could try.

zenno · 03-03-2011 10:26pm

L'prof wrote: »

I'll log into linux later and check it properly. I'm sure there are plenty of other bandwidth monitors you could try.

i agree but upc sent me this one to use. i might try a different one to be sure. but they seemed to recommend this one as they sent it.

SHaPlus bandwidth meter 1.3.1

zenno · 03-03-2011 10:35pm

dub45 wrote: »

the proper measurement of data should be an issue for Comreg and they should be ensuring that proper systems are available to the customer to measure bandwidth used.

I might just write comreg a registered letter regarding this.

I also see on upc billing website that no information on usage exists but everything else is available except this main usage information, I wonder why. I think it's time to get the pen and paper out.

heavily overcharged by upc

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