Vodafone rip off , a disgrace

rickjames16

I recently went on two holidays , April and May , two weddings that I saved to go on and managed to afford to go ! When I arrived out I received a text saying for 2.99 a day I could use my phone like at home subject to a 100 mob allowance. On my first two days I got a text sayin I was reaching this limit so not wanting a high bill I turned off my internet. On the other days I didn't get a text so presumed I was ok .On my second holiday I got no text either so once again presumed I was ok untill the last day when I got a text sayin I had reached a 50 euro limit ! I rang the minute I got home but was told it couldn't be investigated untill I got my bill , I had been receiving my Bills via text but then these stopped coming ! It wasn't untill i checked my bank statement I saw that 160 euro had been taken out of my account.
My bill should be 50 a month but I always go over the data and only then I realised that when my girl friend comes close to reaching her data (while in Ireland ) she get s a text warning her . Vodafone told me that I was set up for all of these messages but for some reason hadn't been getting them ! They also say that while I got the messages abroad there is no guarantee in getting them, so why send them at all unless they warn you of this ! They gave me no satisfaction at all and after numerous phone calls , emails etc they ve finally offered me a 20 euro "good will " offer ! I feel absolutly ripped off by them and am sad that I have a full year left on my contract ? Have I a point here ?

davo10

Check your contract, if it says these charges apply, you are not being ripped off, you are being charged what you agreed in the contract to be charged.

emo72

but in fairness he tried not to go over the limit. the warning texts were intermittent? thats not helpful. it is a nightmare when you are away wondering about data charges. best not to use them because there is always a catch.

dudara

It's not really a rip-off. They provided a service, told you how much it would cost and you used it.

I do personally think that data roaming needs to be fixedoverall, but ultimately we have to take responsibility for using a service.

davo10

emo72 wrote: »

but in fairness he tried not to go over the limit. the warning texts were intermittent? thats not helpful. it is a nightmare when you are away wondering about data charges. best not to use them because there is always a catch.

Yip pretty much, you get screwed but we all know this before we go. But again, it's what we agree to in our contracts. Most people spend time picking a phone and checking out the camera/storage/apps and very little time checking the charges. You can't be "ripped off" if you generate charges that you know about in advance but still generate, you agreed to those charges as extortionate as they may be.

rickjames16

But why firstly send me texts the first few days and make me think this will be protect me every day and secondly why have I never got a text in Ireland warning me about data usage when other customers get it ! Then the fact that my bills stopped coming as well to me signals a fault in their system ! As for reading fine print etc etc in contracts .. For me common sense would suggest if I got the texts warning me the first two days that this would continue

athtrasna

Ultimately you are responsible for your data use. Your phone should have the ability to restrict data to a certain limit, and you should turn off background data for all but your essential apps. It's an expensive lesson to learn but no rip off.

davo10

Read the contract you agreed to. If it says you are liable to charges while abroad, you were not ripped off, you were charged what you agreed to be charged. It's as simple as that.

bmm

Data roaming is not for the faint hearted ! Tip: Always turn-off data when abroad. Saves allot of hassle ! EU data roaming is becoming more transparent . 25 cent per mb from 1st July 2014 . http://www.askcomreg.ie/news/reduced_roaming_rates_from_1_july_2013.7.1082.LE.asp

rickjames16

So Vodafone can warn people some days that they have gone over their usage but not other days ...
Warn some people about exceeding usage limits in Ireland and not warn other people ! Even though a vodadone customer assistant told me I was set up for this and couldn't explain why I never got them and finally send no bill , email , paper or text and take 160 out of my account ! All these things are ligit ???

davo10

Whether they warned you are not, you incurred the charges as per your contract. Each user is responsible for usage and therefore the charges accumulated. Going abroad, turn off all location/backround apps, they constantly update and cost you money. Unfortunately it may be extortionate but you cannot claim to be ripped off as you likely agreed to the charges when you took out the contract. They are legit, buyer beware, know what you are agreeing to before you agree to it.

rickjames16

davo10 wrote: »

Whether they warned you are not, you incurred the charges as per your contract. Each user is responsible for usage and therefore the charges accumulated. Going abroad, turn off all location/backround apps, they constantly update and cost you money. Unfortunately it may be extortionate but you cannot claim to be ripped off as you likely agreed to the charges when you took out the contract. They are legit, buyer beware, know what you are agreeing to before you agree to it.

And why warn some days and not others , some customer s and not others ?

davo10

Are the charges what you agreed to in the contract?

rickjames16

davo10 wrote: »

Whether they warned you are not, you incurred the charges as per your contract. Each user is responsible for usage and therefore the charges accumulated. Going abroad, turn off all location/backround apps, they constantly update and cost you money. Unfortunately it may be extortionate but you cannot claim to be ripped off as you likely agreed to the charges when you took out the contract. They are legit, buyer beware, know what you are agreeing to before you agree to it.

And why warn some days and not others , some customer s and not others ?

rickjames16

rickjames16 wrote: »

And why warn some days and not others , some customer s and not others ?

Ok I suspect you ll think what a fool I am but when do you get the contract and do you get a physical copy of it ?

davo10

rickjames16 wrote: »

And why warn some days and not others , some customer s and not others ?

It doesn't matter, you signed a contract agreeing to the charges. You can ask for an itemised bill, they will all be there, if you were overcharged then you have a case but if you were charged as per your contract, you were not ripped off, you agreed to the charges.

emo72

davo10 wrote: »

It doesn't matter, you signed a contract agreeing to the charges. You can ask for an itemised bill, they will all be there, if you were overcharged then you have a case but if you were charged as per your contract, you were not ripped off, you agreed to the charges.

i have never ever seen anyone read a legal document whe they sign a contract for a phone. you rely on the person selling it to tell you all you need to be aware of. roaming charges are nasty and should be stopped.

seriously hands up anyone that reads the entire contract?

davo10

emo72 wrote: »

i have never ever seen anyone read a legal document whe they sign a contract for a phone. you rely on the person selling it to tell you all you need to be aware of. roaming charges are nasty and should be stopped.

seriously hands up anyone that reads the entire contract?

Ignorance is not a defence in the eyes of the law. I don't mean that in the derogatory sense, but in the sense of not knowing something you should. When you sign any binding agreement, you confirm that you are aware of the facts contained in that agreement and that you agree to them.

I agree, most don't read them but you are signing your signature saying you agree to the terms contained within. It's up to you whether you actually read before you sign, but if you don't, you have to take responcilbility for the implications.

In this case, if OP signed a contract agreeing to these charges, then that is it, he should have read it.

rickjames16

Common sense would lead anyone to believe when they get the texts the first two days that this is the way the next few would work ..

davo10

rickjames16 wrote: »

Common sense would lead anyone to believe when they get the texts the first two days that this is the way the next few would work ..

Contract? It's all there, common sense would lead anyone to read it before signing. I know you want to blame the phone provider for not saving you from yourself but seriously, if you agreed to the charges when purchasing the phone, that's pretty much all that matters.

emo72

what really kills me here is you have that lovely smartphone, it can do anything. now here you are in a foreign city and you have to cripple the thing by turning off the roaming. the one time when internet becomes vital to you and you cant use it because deep down you know theres something really sneaky in those ts and cs that you didnt read.

if you are with a provider and they do something thats totally legal, but you feel its unfair, well just switch providers when your contract is up.

the roaming charges were such an unbelievable rip off that the eu intervened and started to curtail their astronomical charges.

there is some discrepencies in the ops case. the warning texts only coming through some days. thats certainly not fair. may be above board but still.

davo10

emo72 wrote: »

what really kills me here is you have that lovely smartphone, it can do anything. now here you are in a foreign city and you have to cripple the thing by turning off the roaming. the one time when internet becomes vital to you and you cant use it because deep down you know theres something really sneaky in those ts and cs that you didnt read.

if you are with a provider and they do something thats totally legal, but you feel its unfair, well just switch providers when your contract is up.

the roaming charges were such an unbelievable rip off that the eu intervened and started to curtail their astronomical charges.

there is some discrepencies in the ops case. the warning texts only coming through some days. thats certainly not fair. may be above board but still.

Yip, we all get screwed on roaming charges, but we go into it with our eyes open when we sign that sheet in the shop. Doesn't make it right but it doesn't make the phone provider wrong. It's a simple case of "buyer beware", you can't be "ripped off" if you agree in advance to the charge.

rickjames16

That 2.99 deal wasn't there when I signed the contract .. So I arrive in another country get that text telling me about it ! Then 12 hours later it get a text sayin I was approaching my limit so I turned it off .. The following day the same ! Should I have brought and consulted my contract at that point Dave ?

emo72

rickjames16 wrote: »

I recently went on two holidays , April and May , two weddings that I saved to go on and managed to afford to go ! When I arrived out I received a text saying for 2.99 a day I could use my phone like at home subject to a 100 mob allowance. On my first two days I got a text sayin I was reaching this limit so not wanting a high bill I turned off my internet. On the other days I didn't get a text so presumed I was ok

what about tempting him with this offer and sending him 2 texts warning him approaching limit. but then no more warnings?? feck that. thats almost like entrapment.

rickjames, you have my sympathy here, that seems massively unfair.
but as davo will surely remind you. vodafone done nothing wrong and its your own fault. i would press the issue with them though. best of luck.

UserNo1

the whole thing sounds dodgy alright


they strung you along until the bill went high enough but not to high

afraid you have to pay

yerone

emo72 wrote: »

i have never ever seen anyone read a legal document whe they sign a contract for a phone. you rely on the person selling it to tell you all you need to be aware of. roaming charges are nasty and should be stopped.

seriously hands up anyone that reads the entire contract?

Really? Terms and conditions for individual plans are several pages long, do you think the 20 minutes a sales person has spent taking with you has covered every single one of these conditions? The terms and conditions are part of a legally binding contract and you sign to say that you have agreed to each and every one of these. If you do not understand certain points you should ask questions before signing anything to clear this up. If you straight up just don't bother to read the t's&c's that's absolutely fine but you cannot claim to not have been informed of these things when the information is readily available to you and you sign to say you agree to these. Ignorance is no excuse.

TheChizler

If you're on Android might be no harm downloading a usage-watching app for future use.

foggy_lad

They sent you warnings and this is part of the service which you signed up to and is part of the contract. they then failed to provide these texts warning of reaching data limits so they are in effect responsible for your usage above the allowed limit by not warning you as they did previously with you and do with other customers. They can't treat you differently to other customers so you can't be penalised for not getting a text that most other customers get.

Dave147

Ignore all the yes men in this thread anyway, Vodafone will never refund call charges but they have been known to refund data charges when enough pressure is put on them.

There is a very likely possibility that when you signed up for this service you weren't made aware that you have to be on their "live APN". They are claiming that you should automatically be on it, but it seems more people aren't on it than there are. If this is the case, it means you completely wasted your time signing up to their roaming package as they are just charging you for all your data regardless.

I am writing to ComReg and ASAI about how they are advertising this and am expecting a positive response, especially after another complaint was upheld.

http://www.asai.ie/complaint_view.asp?CID=1143&BID=57

rickjames16

I'll google what a live apn is , but they told me my account was set up for all these messages , they could see I wasn't getting them but couldn't explain why ?

cormie

Here's similar: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057198894

Look at post #30 for the outcome.