Beware of Vodafone Charges for Exceeding Data Limits (1 Viewer)

[DBK]

Like a few folk on here I am using a Vodafone sim card in a MiFi to get a broadband connection.

If you are on a monthly contract be careful if you exceed your monthly data allowance otherwise you can get hit with high charges - as I have just been! The problem is firstly they allow you to go over the limit and don't do anything about it other than sending you an SMS text - which isn't a lot of use if you are using a MiFI as I was. It is possible to read SMS messages on a MiFi but the warning that one has arrived is hard to see if it is visible at all.

There are things you can do to avoid this but they won't happen unless you call Vodafone as they are not something they advertise.

The first is you can tell them to send any SMS message to another telephone number, and not the one associated with your data sim.

Then you can ask them to cap your data so you won't exceed the limit and therefore won't attract any charges.

If you do the above you should get a text to your mobile phone warning you are getting close to the limit but even if you do reach the limit you can be sure you won't attract any charges.

I've had a moan at Vodafone and had a bit taken off the bill but I won't be recommending them again without a health warning - though I suspect other providers are no better! I thought the days of high charges for using too much data (this is in the UK) were over but not so it seems.

 

[Lenny HB]

How much did you get caught for?

Slightly OT, when I made a call from France to Belgium no charge but when I called Belgium for the UK I got charged £1 +vat a min, that is with Plusnet on EE network.

 

[DBK]

How much did you get caught for?

Affordable but I am upping my complaint so might get it reduced a bit more than the 20% off they offered today.

The main point is really to warn folk to take take steps so if you are on a contract and using a MiFi the thing could be quietly racking up a bill and unless you rummage about inside the MiFi and find the SMS messages you won't know about it. Capping the data should be the default position, I assumed it was, but it isn't. Good for their profits I suppose.

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[Lenny HB]

Easy enough to see, the opening page of Huawei app gives data used.
I had a bit of a shock couldn't work out how I'd got through nearly 4 GB of data in a few days. Then if dawned on me, when setting up the MiFi and aerial I did a lot of speed checks, 10 speed checks equals nearly 1 GB of data.

 

[DBK]

Easy enough to see, the opening page of Huawei app gives data used.
I had a bit of a shock couldn't work out how I'd got through nearly 4 GB of data in a few days. Then if dawned on me, when setting up the MiFi and aerial I did a lot of speed checks, 10 speed checks equals nearly 1 GB of data.

Yes, you are right, if you log into the app but I've been using it at home from my pc as it is faster than the landline connection and hadn't used the app. Lesson learned . I'm just annoyed with myself most.

 

[icantremember]

Like a few folk on here I am using a Vodafone sim card in a MiFi to get a broadband connection.

If you are on a monthly contract be careful if you exceed your monthly data allowance otherwise you can get hit with high charges - as I have just been! The problem is firstly they allow you to go over the limit and don't do anything about it other than sending you an SMS text - which isn't a lot of use if you are using a MiFI as I was. It is possible to read SMS messages on a MiFi but the warning that one has arrived is hard to see if it is visible at all.

There are things you can do to avoid this but they won't happen unless you call Vodafone as they are not something they advertise.

The first is you can tell them to send any SMS message to another telephone number, and not the one associated with your data sim.

Then you can ask them to cap your data so you won't exceed the limit and therefore won't attract any charges.

If you do the above you should get a text to your mobile phone warning you are getting close to the limit but even if you do reach the limit you can be sure you won't attract any charges.

I've had a moan at Vodafone and had a bit taken off the bill but I won't be recommending them again without a health warning - though I suspect other providers are no better! I thought the days of high charges for using too much data (this is in the UK) were over but not so it seems.

Can you not use the My Vodafone app to keep a check on your usage?

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[DBK]

Can you not use the My Vodafone app to keep a check on your usage?

The problem is I wasn't accessing the MiFi through my mobile phone - I was using my homemade wifi booster to link from the shed where my "office" is to the MiFi in the van. The problem is now sorted in the sense I've got Vodafone to cap my data usage so it can't be exceeded again. But it is annoying they let me go over and run up a bill of about £100 before they cut me off - which is when I noticed there was a problem.

I know why I've used so much data - cloud storage has been backing up all the photos and videos I took on my last trip - plus about 4GB of video taken at a neighbour's private music festival over the weekend. This video alone is nearly a Gb and it is only a few minutes long. I took one of nearly 20 minutes long!

Anyone, you lot can use up some of your data now watching the Bog Dogs singing in a Devon garden.

 

[iandsm]

Similarly on a Vodafone monthly phone contract it’s prefty easy to set the data cap to avoid going over, although of course you do get a warning text when approaching the limit

 

[clanjones]

I have just had a warning from Vodafone as Garmin Express chewed up the best part of 9 gig of data when I was trying up reload the maps on our Edge 1000. I was not happy considering it failed! Still data resets in 2 days.

The Garmin was nearly chucked of a mountain today as it kept on freezing leading to a very frustrating ride but I am going a bit off piste. Apologies!

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[Lenny HB]

Anyone, you lot can use up some of your data now watching the Bog Dogs singing in a Devon garden.

Sounded like a nice bit of Gipsey jazz until he started singing & the yokals could do with some dancing lessons.

 

[TheBig1]

vodafone, not a company to trust. my daughter, been with them years gets a call about upgrading her handset with all you can eat data for a very good price. a couple of months in and her bank account figures seemed out. on checking vodafone were charging £30 more per month than agreed. even got text messages from them confirming the deal. but vodafone customer services wont have it and have frozen her account till she pays up in full. apparently the sales team dont have access to that offer and she must of faked the texts somehow
so if india phone offering a deal too good to be true, it is

 

[Lenny HB]

so if india phone offering a deal too good to be true,

Just need to get arsey with them, had a problem with I think it was T mobile (that was my daughters phone but in my name) I got stroppy with the Indians after over ½ hour on the phone and asked to speak to an English person in England. It worked put me through to an English women sorted in 5 min with an additional £50 over what I asked for refunded.

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[iandsm]

vodafone, not a company to trust. my daughter, been with them years gets a call about upgrading her handset with all you can eat data for a very good price. a couple of months in and her bank account figures seemed out. on checking vodafone were charging £30 more per month than agreed. even got text messages from them confirming the deal. but vodafone customer services wont have it and have frozen her account till she pays up in full. apparently the sales team dont have access to that offer and she must of faked the texts somehow
so if india phone offering a deal too good to be true, it is

I dont think you should take that. For them to suggest she faked text messages they are going out on a lim, its a serious allegation which I think needs a robust response. How about an official complaint to Vodafone, this seems like a serious case of miss selling by an employee. Or an employee from a third party company who just sells Vodafone packages like Phones for you, Carfonewarehouse etc.

This is from OFCOM's website

Complain to Ofcom
For help with your individual issue, follow these steps.

Contact your provider's customer services department and explain your problem.

If this doesn't resolve the issue, make a formal complaint to the company. You should find details of how to do this on the back of your bill, on their website or ask their customer services.

If your provider is unable to resolve your complaint, ask for a deadlock letter. This enables you to take your complaint to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme.

ADRs act as an independent middleman and will examine the case from both sides and reach a decision they think fair. If eight weeks have passed since you first formally complained you can contact the ADR directly.

There are two ADR schemes – Ombudsman Services: Communications, and the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS). All service providers must belong to one of the schemes.

Your provider will tell you which scheme it is a member of, or you can use our ADR checker.

Vodafone, are a decent company, the have dome much to overcome the bad reputation they had a while back and I am sure this is all the fault of a rouge employee.

If customer services cannot or will not help you will need to contact supervisors at a higher level or write to their head office Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2FN.

Good luck. I am sure your issue will get resolved.

 

[Richard n Ann]

this seems like a serious case of miss selling by an employee. Or an employee from a third party company

My thoughts too, it happened to a friend of mine years ago.

 

[Encantador]

All calls to suppliers, EE, Virgin etc I record. Partly so I dont have to write everything down but mainly to have a record of what was agreed.

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[TheBig1]

i will pass the advice on, but she was fighting this for months and now has a sim from another supplier. they havent chased her about the new phone YET

 

[ianthebuilder]

A good few years ago I took my ( then) other half and her daughter to Cyprus, a lovely holiday,, tamara( daughter) was told not to take her phone, she was 15,,,

Two weeks after we came back, I got home from work and Lesley was sitting in the kitchen looking as white as a ghost,, clutching a couple of pieces of A4 paper,,,

What on earths the matter I said,,,,,

We’ve ( note the we’ve) had a phone bill from Vodafone, about Tamara’s phone,,,,

Yes, go on,,, I said,,,,,

Well Ian,,, you know we said to Tamara to leave her phone here while we were away!!!

Yes, go on,,, I said,,,,,

Well she didn’t!!!!

Ok,,,,,, how much,,,,,,,

£960,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,


Called Vodafone, got a lump reduced, and then I sold Tamara into an Eastern European slave ring, for the balance!!

I often wonder how she’s doing now!!!

 

[Silver-Fox]

BT are as bad but you can cap usage.
I got caught watching moto go practice this weekend.

All I can say is £5 doesn’t go very far at 10p a mb

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[jezport]

One of the reasons its EE for me. Wouldnt use Vodafone as they wont cap data.
Plus you wont get caught out roaming with EE as it has a good system.

 

[DBK]

One of the reasons its EE for me. Wouldnt use Vodafone as they wont cap data.
Plus you wont get caught out roaming with EE as it has a good system.

Vodafone will cap data but you have to ask them, it's what I've now done and why I started this thread - to let folk know and suggest they consider doing it.

 

[TCG]

vodafone, not a company to trust. my daughter, been with them years gets a call about upgrading her handset with all you can eat data for a very good price. a couple of months in and her bank account figures seemed out. on checking vodafone were charging £30 more per month than agreed. even got text messages from them confirming the deal. but vodafone customer services wont have it and have frozen her account till she pays up in full. apparently the sales team dont have access to that offer and she must of faked the texts somehow
so if india phone offering a deal too good to be true, it is

Contact Nick Jeffery the CEO of Vodaphone nick.jeffery@vodafone.com we had an issue with our sure signal, vodaphone we leading us up and down the garden path. one email to Nick and it was sorted

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[Addie]

Useful thread, 50GB is oodles of data - but it can still get used up unexpectedly!

If you're abroad the most they can charge you would be £39.33 (€50), but in the UK there probably is no cap. They really should divert you to a page to let you know you've run out of contracted data and offer you the opportunity to add more as they do for PAYG customers (so it can be done!) - but that would be too easy I suspect.

Huawei devices have the facility to set a data 'cap' which is a useful feature but one I'm often too lazy to use. Think I'll go and make sure it's set up properly now!

 

[iandsm]

One of the reasons its EE for me. Wouldnt use Vodafone as they wont cap data.
Plus you wont get caught out roaming with EE as it has a good system.

On the contrary you can very easily set your own data cap with Vodafone but of course as you don’t use them you wouldn’t know that. The data cap will avoid getting Caught out on roaming which incidentally is not throttled and you can use all of you allowance.

 

[DigglyDog]

I got a shock bill from Vodafone after a recent trip to British Columbia - we were in the Vancouver region, Roam like Home, no problem.
Issues was the phone kept picking up US signals being so close to the border - NOT Roam like Home = Massive bill.
Eventually convinced them that I hadn't been to the States at all and got a small reduction, but I've changed provider now, and arranged for a local PAYG phone for when I go back

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