Meteor stole my free texts...

BhoscaCapall

I've always been on the package where you top up €20 and get free texts to any network for 30 days.

Last week I was on the bus and seen a Meteor advert for free texts and internet (i think) for €15, so I texted the code it told me to but got a reply sayin "Thanks for opting in, you now need to top up by €30 to avail of this offer", so thought bah **** that.

A week of using my phone normally later and I start getting those alerts after each text telling me I only have like 90c credit left, which was odd as I usually get to the end of the month with at least 5-10 euro and I was sure I hadn't recieved that 'You have been availing of free texts for the last 29 days' message.

Turns out it must have taken my free texts off me when I tried to sign up for the othere deal, even though I didn't actually get the other deal because it wanted twice the advertised amount. This seems like an utter scam to me, I paid my €20 for 30 days of free texts which they have taken off me in return for nothing.

Pablo Sanchez

Yeah you updated your plan with your text. How else are they to know what tarrif you wanted to opt into, you cant be signed up to both at once.

BhoscaCapall

Pablo Sanchez wrote: »

Yeah you updated your plan with your text. How else are they to know what tarrif you wanted to opt into, you cant be signed up to both at once.

But I didn't top up €30 (which was requried, despite the ad saying €15) so the other plan wasn't active. It's not like I wanted neither and to be stuck paying for texts.

UglyBolloxFace

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

I've always been on the package where you top up €20 and get free texts to any network for 30 days.

Last week I was on the bus and seen a Meteor advert for free texts and internet (i think) for €15, so I texted the code it told me to but got a reply sayin "Thanks for opting in, you now need to top up by €30 to avail of this offer", so thought bah **** that.

A week of using my phone normally later and I start getting those alerts after each text telling me I only have like 90c credit left, which was odd as I usually get to the end of the month with at least 5-10 euro and I was sure I hadn't recieved that 'You have been availing of free texts for the last 29 days' message.

Turns out it must have taken my free texts off me when I tried to sign up for the othere deal, even though I didn't actually get the other deal because it wanted twice the advertised amount. This seems like an utter scam to me, I paid my €20 for 30 days of free texts which they have taken off me in return for nothing.

Give Meteor a call and explain the situation to them. They are really helpful with stuff like this.

Ken.

I done something similar. Basically once you apply for the new offer your opted out of the old one regardless of weather you initialise the new one or not.

BhoscaCapall

lucyfur09 wrote: »

I done something similar. Basically once you apply for the new offer your opted out of the old one regardless of weather you initialise the new one or not.

That is ridiculous. I was conned into signing up for this other package with false advertising, and I never topped up to activate it so why would I want neither?

Meteor's webtexts are also down and have been for 2 days.

I registered on their forum 4 days ago and still haven't been activated.

jordainius

Thread title is totally inaccurate. You voluntarily opted into a new price plan, obviously without checking the terms.

In fact, your original post indicates that you weren't even sure yourself what you were signing up to

a Meteor advert for free texts and internet (i think) for €15, so I texted the code

You can't blame Meteor for a total lack of research on your part.

BhoscaCapall

jordainius wrote: »

Thread title is totally inaccurate..

Thread title is tongue in cheek :rolleyes:

You voluntarily opted into a new price plan, obviously without checking the terms.

Nowhere on the advert did it say "forfeit the text bundle you have already paid for in return for nothing".

In fact, your original post indicates that you weren't even sure yourself what you were signing up to

In fact, my original post indicates that when I made the thread I wasn't 100% sure what the offer was. That doesn't mean I didn't know at the time. The poster said €15, the text I got said €30.

dudara

Get on the phone to Meteor - it's the only way to sort this out.

dudara

castie

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

Thread title is tongue in cheek :rolleyes:


Nowhere on the advert did it say "forfeit the text bundle you have already paid for in return for nothing".


In fact, my original post indicates that when I made the thread I wasn't 100% sure what the offer was. That doesn't mean I didn't know at the time. The poster said €15, the text I got said €30.

The key misunderstanding here is the free texts for x euro is not a plan.
It is a benefit/feature of a plan.
So you can be on the plan without having the benefit/feature.

You changed plans.
You then didnt avail of the benefit/feature advertised from this plan.

Common sense states you cant be on 2 plans at once.
Hence you cannot have 2 features/benefits from seperate plans active at once.
So saying that you didnt know you would lose the feature/benefit of the old plan is an error on your part as you should of.

Cant comment on the poster as I havent seen them.

BhoscaCapall

This is a complete joke.

I go on their website to change 'Offers' back to Any network texts and it says

We're sorry, there was a problem with your order. Please contact Customer Care for assistance.

So I dial 1747... and get told I don't have enough credit to call them.

foggy_lad

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

This is a complete joke.

I go on their website to change 'Offers' back to Any network texts and it says

So I dial 1747... and get told I don't have enough credit to call them.

Email them!

BhoscaCapall

foggy_lad wrote: »

Email them!

I have emailed them, and it told me it will take 1-2 days for a reply. That's yet another 2 days without my phone. Considering my forum account was meant to be activated in "one working day" a week ago, I won't hold my breath.

I can't actually believe that a phone network would charge its own customers to speak with their Customer Service (I can only assume this term is used ironically) team, let alone considering the fact the reason I have to speak to them is because their website is not working, and the reason I don't even have 15c to call them is because of their false advertising.

bpb101

call them

BhoscaCapall

bpb101 wrote: »

call them

lmlr

As far as I know, when you text to opt into that plan you removed yourself from the plan you were originally on and although you didn't top up, you were still tied to the new plan.

When you change plans, you cannot re-change for 30 days (this is probably because you are supposed to top up when you change originally so they are allowing time for credit to be used). This may explain difficulty you are having reversing your change on the site.

Meteor did not steal from you, if you had read the T&C you would have seen that you would need to top up after changing plan. Any credit you had would have remained on your account.

BhoscaCapall

I've now been waiting nearly 2 weeks for my Meteor forum account to be activated, over 2 days for my email to responded to and 2 days for my "tweet" to be replied to. I don't think there will be any question of me transferring networks after this :rolleyes:

coolbeans

Ah for the love of jupiter buy a fiver's worth of credit and call them. Everyone knows, well, should know that email is an imperfect medium of communication when an issue is defined by some degree of complexity. As for tweeting, don't be silly. And, fwiw, you didn't read the small print. You can't have it every way.

kensutz

Ah the old "I opted into a plan but didn't know it would cancel my current plan" scenario.


Having worked for Meteor it was a total pain in the head dealing with customers who did exactly what you did. You opted in to a new price plan and it cancelled your old free texts and it also told you that you needed to top up by €30 to activate your new one. It won't allow you to change back because you can't change it within 30 days of a plan change. You're at fault for it and will be lucky if the lads will revert back your price plan. Also you won't be entitled to any refund as it is all your fault.

BhoscaCapall

coolbeans wrote: »

Ah for the love of jupiter buy a fiver's worth of credit and call them.

It's more the principal of a phone network company charging their own customers to phone them on their own line.

Everyone knows, well, should know that email is an imperfect medium of communication when an issue is defined by some degree of complexity. As for tweeting, don't be silly.

1. They offer the facility to email them on their website, with an assurance that a reply will be sent within 1-2 days.

2. They offer the facility to Tweet them for help, which I've done. They've replied sporadically, asking me short questions and then never replying to the answers.

I don't see how it is "silly" to contact a company using the methods they have suggested.

And, fwiw, you didn't read the small print. You can't have it every way.

It was an advert on a bus. There wasn't any small print.

And I'm not asking for it 'every way', the issue here is I've got nothing my way. I've lost my free texts, I've lost my credit. I now want to just top up €20 and have my free texts for the month but I'm being told that my only option is to top up €30.

kensutz wrote: »

Having worked for Meteor it was a total pain in the head dealing with customers who did exactly what you did. You opted in to a new price plan and it cancelled your old free texts and it also told you that you needed to top up by €30 to activate your new one.

Can you not understand that it would be a better system if the old package wasn't deactivated until the new one was activated? Seeing as it is highly unlikely that any customer wishes to be stuck in limbo between the two.

You're at fault for it and will be lucky if the lads will revert back your price plan. Also you won't be entitled to any refund as it is all your fault.

At this stage I'm not really interested in a refund, I just want the code so I can retain my number but not have the misfortune of dealing with your former employers ever again

Techno_Toaster

Except your not stuck between the 2. You have the offer for €30 that you signed up to and you can gaurente there was small print. Meteor didn't steal anything YOU chose a new plan. So you are at fault. Only option is to wait 30 days and then sign up to the old plan again

slimjimmc

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

It was an advert on a bus. There wasn't any small print.

Are you absolutely 100% sure? Adverts such as these are usually handled by professional advertising agencies, therefore I find it unbelievable that the poster didn't have some print advising you that terms and conditions apply. It doesn't have to detail the T&Cs on the poster, just warn you they exist so you can inform yourself.
Did you text the code straight away after seeing the poster (spur of the moment decision)?

BhoscaCapall

slimjimmc wrote: »

Are you absolutely 100% sure? Adverts such as these are usually handled by professional advertising agencies, therefore I find it unbelievable that the poster didn't have some print advising you that terms and conditions apply. It doesn't have to detail the T&Cs on the poster, just warn you they exist so you can inform yourself.
Did you text the code straight away after seeing the poster (spur of the moment decision)?

The more pertinent issue is that the 'big print' said €15 when it was in fact €30.

Anyway, I've just received a text out of the blue saying "You have opted in to Metero Any network texts, please top up €20". Strange way to go about it all... think I'll change networks anyway, maybe O2 have the decency to respond to their customers.

slimjimmc

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

The more pertinent issue is that the 'big print' said €15 when it was in fact €30.

Anyway, I've just received a text out of the blue saying "You have opted in to Metero Any network texts, please top up €20". Strange way to go about it all... think I'll change networks anyway, maybe O2 have the decency to respond to their customers.

But the most pertinent issue remains that you signed up to an offer you saw on a poster without reading the T&Cs.

BhoscaCapall

You seem to be under the impression that T&Cs are gospel. They aren't. You can't advertise something as €15 per month then have small print that says "lol actually it's 30!".

Anyway, they've also given me €20 credit so I guess I'll stick around a while longer

Still odd that they didn't respond to me at all. Both the priceplan and credit texts were the usual ones you get ("Thank you for topping up..." etc).

Bloody Nipples

This happened me too. It was the free texts and and internet for 30 days and at the time it was if you top up for 20 euro (or at least that's what I recall).
When I went to top up again, I topped up by 20 euro and a week later found myself with no credit.
So I figured my free texts hadn't activated and topped up a 3rd time and waited to see if I'd get a text telling me my free texts were good to go. After a few hours of nothing happening I rang meteor and explained the situation to Customer Care, they explained for the free texts and internet you had to top up by 30 quid a month. Now this wasn't what I remembered from the text they had sent which was the whole reason I signed up in the first place so I asked could they switch me back to just the free texts to all networks plan.
They did this no problem, activated my free texts for the month AND credited 10 euro to my account. I was perfectly happy with the way they resolved it.

slimjimmc

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

You seem to be under the impression that T&Cs are gospel. They aren't. You can't advertise something as €15 per month then have small print that says "lol actually it's 30!".

Anyway, they've also given me €20 credit so I guess I'll stick around a while longer

Still odd that they didn't respond to me at all. Both the priceplan and credit texts were the usual ones you get ("Thank you for topping up..." etc).

Ah but if they're legal they are, especially if either side decided to enforce them. You can advertise something as €15 per month then have small print that says "subject to terms and conditions". Whether you meet those conditions is another matter and unless you've read the T&Cs you'd only be making assumptions as to what exactly the offer entails.

I agree the response was poor indeed but at least they've looked after you in the end.

muboop1

Why the hell didnt you just call then? You messed up, and wanted a rapid response, yet used a slow means of communication! A simple call would have solved your problem. People like you do ky head in

BhoscaCapall

slimjimmc wrote: »

Ah but if they're legal they are, especially if either side decided to enforce them. You can advertise something as €15 per month then have small print that says "subject to terms and conditions". Whether you meet those conditions is another matter and unless you've read the T&Cs you'd only be making assumptions as to what exactly the offer entails.

I agree the response was poor indeed but at least they've looked after you in the end.

That isn't how it works though. There are laws and trading regulations they must adhere to, and no amount of T&Cs change that. If I get you to sign something and at the bottom it says I can rape you, that doesn't mean I can then rape you.

Possible the most extreme analogy ever offered, but you get the point.

muboop1 wrote: »

Why the hell didnt you just call then? You messed up, and wanted a rapid response, yet used a slow means of communication! A simple call would have solved your problem. People like you do ky head in

Speaking of slow, you seem to have spectacularly misunderstood the situation.

Why didn't I just call them? Because I didn't have any credit... because of this issue. The fact that a mobilephone network charge their own customers to phone customer service is an issue in itself.

The "slow means of communication" I used assured me I would receive a reply in 1-2 days, which I didn't (email). Their Twitter service says they will respond to you during working hours, which they did but then stopped replying. Their forum service assured me my account would be activated in 1-2 days, it took a week.

If you cannot grasp what the issues in question here are then perhaps you should refrain from offering your input.

kensutz

Bloody Nipples wrote: »

This happened me too. It was the free texts and and internet for 30 days and at the time it was if you top up for 20 euro (or at least that's what I recall).
When I went to top up again, I topped up by 20 euro and a week later found myself with no credit.
So I figured my free texts hadn't activated and topped up a 3rd time and waited to see if I'd get a text telling me my free texts were good to go. After a few hours of nothing happening I rang meteor and explained the situation to Customer Care, they explained for the free texts and internet you had to top up by 30 quid a month. Now this wasn't what I remembered from the text they had sent which was the whole reason I signed up in the first place so I asked could they switch me back to just the free texts to all networks plan.
They did this no problem, activated my free texts for the month AND credited 10 euro to my account. I was perfectly happy with the way they resolved it.

That €20 promotion ran until the 1st October which was stated in ads and also on the website. Topping up by €20 after that would have activated no promotion because the one you signed into was gone up to €30 and the system that they use doesn't automatically place you on a tariff to suit the amount you topped up by.

The whole month of October was full of people who called in to whinge that they were missing credit and 95% of them was purely for that reason. Never took any notice to the ads to see it was for a limited time.

BhoscaCapall

kensutz wrote: »

The whole month of October was full of people who called in to whinge that they were missing credit and 95% of them was purely for that reason. Never took any notice to the ads to see it was for a limited time.

Why are Meteor's ads still in buses in late November for a deal that expired at the end of September?