Warning: Telecom XT Monthly Charges for Prepaid

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#220898 2-Jun-2009 14:46

Launching a new product on the 29th (1) knowing that data purchased at the time had a life of only 2-3 days at most, (2) designed to attract customers from competitors who would not be expecting that, and (3) possibly (based on comments here) without clear warning* = scam?

Sounds like Commerce Commission material?

* I doubt many would have paid $50 plus had they been clearly warned the data had to be used in 2-3 days or less. Equally, those taking the money must have realised that in the large majority of cases, purchasers were going to lose most of the value of the product just bought without using it.

zocster

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#220905 2-Jun-2009 14:56

Juha tweeted about this making the Computerworld heh! Good to know too, if i was going down the prepaid way for the Blackberry!

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NonprayingMantis

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#220910 2-Jun-2009 15:02

DS248: Launching a new product on the 29th (1) knowing that data purchased at the time had a life of only 2-3 days at most, (2) designed to attract customers from competitors who would not be expecting that, and (3) possibly (based on comments here) without clear warning* = scam?

Sounds like Commerce Commission material?

* I doubt many would have paid $50 plus had they been clearly warned the data had to be used in 2-3 days or less. Equally, those taking the money must have realised that in the large majority of cases, purchasers were going to lose most of the value of the product just bought without using it.

Given the launch date was only changed to this date as a result of court settlement (was going to be 13th May) , it’s more likely the result of oversight and/or billing system limitations rather than a deliberate scam.

scottjpalmer

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#220911 2-Jun-2009 15:04

Either way, going forward from now someone purchasing an "extra" in the dying days of the month are getting pretty ripped off. Sure the fine print is there but who ever reads it :-)

karenmonksnz

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#220915 2-Jun-2009 15:12

Hi,
Just responding on behalf of Telecom
We are not keen for any XT pre-pay customers to be disadvantaged, so Telecom will be crediting new XT pre-pay customers in this situation for what they have paid for any of the Extras (SMS and data) between May 29 and May 31.
And we will be putting in place a process that reflects a more pro-rata type approach for these types of situations.
Thanks for the feedback - its been useful

Cheers :)

scottjpalmer

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#220921 2-Jun-2009 15:22

Thanks Karen.

Is that credit process going to be automatic or will the affected users need to approach Telecom? How would you best like that approach made?

The pro-rata change is welcomed, it is much fairer.

NonprayingMantis

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#220927 2-Jun-2009 15:26

karenmonksnz: Hi,

Just responding on behalf of Telecom

We are not keen for any XT pre-pay customers to be disadvantaged, so Telecom will be crediting new XT pre-pay customers in this situation for what they have paid for any of the Extras (SMS and data) between May 29 and May 31.

And we will be putting in place a process that reflects a more pro-rata type approach for these types of situations.

Thanks for the feedback - its been useful

Cheers :)

Official response in less than 1 working day. Now that is fast. :D

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scottjpalmer

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#220937 2-Jun-2009 15:34

NonprayingMantis: Official response in less than 1 working day. Now that is fast. :D

Get back to work, if your desk is empty go and help out the other struggling Telecom employees who are battling the huge pile of ports, new connections, etc.

zocster

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#220938 2-Jun-2009 15:39

scottjpalmer:
NonprayingMantis: Official response in less than 1 working day. Now that is fast. :D

Get back to work, if your desk is empty go and help out the other struggling Telecom employees who are battling the huge pile of ports, new connections, etc.

Who died and made you boss?

Andy Ghozali Geekzone Member	E: andy@ghozali.ru M: +64 21 395 458 A: Andy's Business Services, 231 High St, Christchurch 8011, NZ
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MattD

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#220947 2-Jun-2009 15:48

Will the pro-rata approach only occur on the month first signing up?

If I signed up for Broadband Data only prepaid SIM on 20June, what would I be charged given considerable usage in that week (eg $37..)? Not referring to the casual plan.

Then if I do not use it for the whole month of July, and then start using it in the last week of August (22nd), what am I charged under the two scenarios:
a) the account has a credit balance from initial load of $55, or
b) it is $0 and I load $55 on it on the 22/8 ?

bonkiebonks

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#220992 2-Jun-2009 17:20

Wow, I didn't expect this to generate so much interest.

nzbnw has helped resolve this, and has applied a $60 credit for the mess up and inconvenience. Kudos to him for being so quick, and on to it.

Actually, I should clarify re the Computerworld article Juha had written on this.

It's actually $54.95 for the first May 29th, 30th, and 31st. So in Juha, I paid $1/MB up to the $54.95 cap applied for the 1GB data plan I've signed myself up on, so in any case, I wasn't going to have to pay $1000 for 1GB, as the cap was still in effect even in June, or for as long as I keep the 1GB plan on my account.

MattD

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#221011 2-Jun-2009 18:04

bonkiebonks: So in Juha, I paid $1/MB up to the $54.95 cap applied for the 1GB data plan I've signed myself up on, so in any case, I wasn't going to have to pay $1000 for 1GB, as the cap was still in effect even in June, or for as long as I keep the 1GB plan on my account.

If you signed up on the 29th May, used 56MB on the one day, would you be charged $54.95 effectively $1k per GB (it is a little different to only using 56MB over a whole month vs only having 2 days available)

arnies

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#221136 2-Jun-2009 22:57

Its always been like this on Telecom, at least on prepaid.
But they shouldn't have for the lancuh-1st june.. but they can;t give away free usage either :S

tomgeeknz

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#224962 14-Jun-2009 17:48

karenmonksnz: Hi,

Just responding on behalf of Telecom

We are not keen for any XT pre-pay customers to be disadvantaged, so Telecom will be crediting new XT pre-pay customers in this situation for what they have paid for any of the Extras (SMS and data) between May 29 and May 31.

And we will be putting in place a process that reflects a more pro-rata type approach for these types of situations.

Thanks for the feedback - its been useful

Cheers :)

I Have not seen heard or had any sign of this credit and would liketo put it out there that we should have had some communication about this.

paradoxsm

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#224972 14-Jun-2009 18:14

I like the "calender month" setup on the first of every month, so much easier to keep a track of than the addons with the red provider happening at varying times.

The pro-rata charge will be a great idea, also love the way you only pay if you use the product up to the selected option, perfect and keep it that way please! (can pay-accounts have that option too?)

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