Still waiting for an email with the phone number so I can chase up. It's not like I don't believe you or won't follow up. Just not convinced (yet) it's a major problem.
plambrechtsen: Still waiting for an email with the phone number so I can chase up. It's not like I don't believe you or won't follow up. Just not convinced (yet) it's a major problem.
I have PM'd the number. Thanks. I have actaully tried to testthe account tonight to check if the creditgot refunded, and now can't connect at all to the account. The ipad gives the following error, which is an error I have never seen before.
Could not activate cellular data network - pdp authentication failure.
I can see it is connected to something as it has 4 bars next to Telecom NZ 3G Also tried to access the account via www.telecom.co.nz/ytmobile via ipad and another computer and it comes up with the following error, so looks like something is down, or wrong with the account since I called.
System Unavailable
Sorry, the system is currently unavailable. Please try again later or if the problem persists, call us on *123. Back to Telecom
Went to tcom website to recheck plan and balance - "you are not authorised to view this account" yet I could access it earlier in the day. Tried the t-stick in two different laptops 6 times each and although the signal was full strength each time it would connect then immediately disconnect with the message "the connection was disconnected at the server". So something is very wrong. I have $42 credit for a service i can no longer use. After 30 mins on hold with tcom i hung up. Thieving hounds.
nodrub: Went to tcom website to recheck plan and balance - "you are not authorised to view this account" yet I could access it earlier in the day. Tried the t-stick in two different laptops 6 times each and although the signal was full strength each time it would connect then immediately disconnect with the message "the connection was disconnected at the server". So something is very wrong. I have $42 credit for a service i can no longer use. After 30 mins on hold with tcom i hung up. Thieving hounds.
Please read the post just above your post. Prepaid billing is having issues but it should be back soon.
OK. More Telecom customers here with the same problem...
Both my wife and I were early adopters and both our iPads are on this same old Telecom Tablet (iPad) data plan (Prepay $30 for 500MB for a month but you can roll over the unused data for use in subsequent months until it is used up). Perfect for intermittent users. And yes, the $15 data Extra was added to our plans without our authorisation and was set to auto-renew.
Because we are always on WiFi at home and work, and only need the Telecom Mobile Broadband Data when we go on holiday to the beach or whatever we didn't notice our balances oozing away at $15 per month since February until we saw the Geekzone post.
So when I can find out which Telecom number to call (and that is not easy since I can't dial *123 from an iPad) I shall be on the phone to get it sorted out and arrange for the misappropriated $15 per month to be refunded to our account balances.
Then that number gets a SMS alert when you go over your credit or any other notifications (with the exception of being able to recieve the password used to login to Mobile Self Service)
That's under Manage Services -> Alert Notification. I assume that hadn't been setup?
Thanks for that suggestion, it sounds like the ideal solution, and it wasn't an option back when I first setup the account, and the help desk didn't know about this as a possible solution to getting txts on an ipad. Their option was for me to buy a telecom mobile, and put the ipad sim into it to retrieve telecom txts from it. Unfortunately the alternative number option doesn't work, as after entering my number, it comes up with an error to say that it only accepts 027 numbers, so I can't enter my mobile number. I can't really understand why it only accepts 027 numbers, as other websites such as online banking will work with all mobile numbers. It would be good if it had an email option instead to duplicate those txts, to email the messages instead of txting them
davisg: OK. More Telecom customers here with the same problem...
Both my wife and I were early adopters and both our iPads are on this same old Telecom Tablet (iPad) data plan (Prepay $30 for 500MB for a month but you can roll over the unused data for use in subsequent months until it is used up). Perfect for intermittent users. And yes, the $15 data Extra was added to our plans without our authorisation and was set to auto-renew.
Because we are always on WiFi at home and work, and only need the Telecom Mobile Broadband Data when we go on holiday to the beach or whatever we didn't notice our balances oozing away at $15 per month since February until we saw the Geekzone post.
So when I can find out which Telecom number to call (and that is not easy since I can't dial *123 from an iPad) I shall be on the phone to get it sorted out and arrange for the misappropriated $15 per month to be refunded to our account balances.
Its all a bit rude really!
You story sounds identical to mine, and same exact mobile plan. Guess that now brings the number of people with the problem to 4. Have you just noticed this problem? The number is 0800 800 163. If you call now they do have staff to answer it, they do have support on 24 hours.
OK so, 1hour 34 minutes on the phone with Telecom, spoke with six different representatives. Finally spoke with Ryan a supervisor. Here it is and the news is all bad..
The original Prepaid Mobile Broadband plan has been cancelled and all remaining users "migrated" to the new $15/month plan auto-renewing. We were all notified by txt message (except those of us using Tablets or PC's who received no notification at all). "Sorry about that...."
We have the option of stopping the $15 auto renewal process (no refund of course) and can sign up to either a recurring or one-off $3 (20MB I think), $6 (60MB), $9 (100MB) or $15 (500MB, the default). There are larger plans also.
So we could do this, requiring a lot of manual interaction (buy bigger data blocks when on holiday etc) with the Telecom Prepay system and it would cost us about the same as before the plan was "upgraded", or go to Vodafone Broadband Mini and spend $10 per month ($20 if you don't have an eligible Vodafone mobile plan) for the same 500MB that Telecom is currently charging $15 for....
Guess what we are going to do as soon as our Telecom credit is used up....
davisg: OK so, 1hour 34 minutes on the phone with Telecom, spoke with six different representatives. Finally spoke with Ryan a supervisor. Here it is and the news is all bad..
The original Prepaid Mobile Broadband plan has been cancelled and all remaining users "migrated" to the new $15/month plan auto-renewing. We were all notified by txt message (except those of us using Tablets or PC's who received no notification at all). "Sorry about that...."
We have the option of stopping the $15 auto renewal process (no refund of course) and can sign up to either a recurring or one-off $3 (20MB I think), $6 (60MB), $9 (100MB) or $15 (500MB, the default). There are larger plans also.
So we could do this, requiring a lot of manual interaction (buy bigger data blocks when on holiday etc) with the Telecom Prepay system and it would cost us about the same as before the plan was "upgraded", or go to Vodafone Broadband Mini and spend $10 per month ($20 if you don't have an eligible Vodafone mobile plan) for the same 500MB that Telecom is currently charging $15 for....
Guess what we are going to do as soon as our Telecom credit is used up....
But if you have an ipad then you can install the app and add a datablock in no time flat (takes about 20 seconds to do) plus topup ann in one place. I find it interesting that everyone especially the folks with a large smart device that it's really hard to add one off data blocks. My recommendation is to have no plan. And leave mobile data turned off and topup and add a plan as and when needed. That's how I do it at home with my portable 3g router.
Its not hard, just damn annoying to have to do manual topups. It is 5 or 6 pages (depending on what sized pack you want) down the menu in the Your Telecom app on the iPad before you can actually purchase the data. Then if you choose a pack that is too small for this month (unexpected trip away or something) you have to hover like a hawk watching the balance until it is used up and then purchase another pack to stop defaulting to the casual rate. No txt reminders or anything like that.
The original plan was just so much simpler and user-friendly. This isn't. It is really just a more complicated way of spending the same amount of money.
And remember, not everybody who owns and used an iPad or Tablet is a Geek.
davisg: OK so, 1hour 34 minutes on the phone with Telecom, spoke with six different representatives. Finally spoke with Ryan a supervisor. Here it is and the news is all bad..
The original Prepaid Mobile Broadband plan has been cancelled and all remaining users "migrated" to the new $15/month plan auto-renewing. We were all notified by txt message (except those of us using Tablets or PC's who received no notification at all). "Sorry about that...."
We have the option of stopping the $15 auto renewal process (no refund of course) and can sign up to either a recurring or one-off $3 (20MB I think), $6 (60MB), $9 (100MB) or $15 (500MB, the default). There are larger plans also.
So we could do this, requiring a lot of manual interaction (buy bigger data blocks when on holiday etc) with the Telecom Prepay system and it would cost us about the same as before the plan was "upgraded", or go to Vodafone Broadband Mini and spend $10 per month ($20 if you don't have an eligible Vodafone mobile plan) for the same 500MB that Telecom is currently charging $15 for....
Guess what we are going to do as soon as our Telecom credit is used up....
That is very frustrating, especially as they are aware of the problem.
As this plan was marketed towards ipad users, sending a TXT is not notification, as they will know that many customers on that plan will not be able to receive TXTs. What you were told does line up with what I was initially told too by telecom support. This being that all customers on that old 500MB auto renewing plan were switched to the $15 per month data plan, and it was setup to autorenew each month. So it looks like it was intentional, rather than an error. Seems like some staff know about it and others don't which is a concern.
I believe you are entitled to a refund of at least what they deducted from your account, due to this problem, as you never signed up to or agreed to have that $15 data add on added to your account. Probably can't do much to get the one and a half hours of your life back though trying to work out what happened. I only lost an hour of mine.
When I spoke to the telecom manager about it he agreed that it shouldn't have been setup as reoccurring, and they sounded a bit sheepish about it, almost as though they had been caught out, as it obviously isn't a good look that they added a reoccurring plan without the customers permission.They did ask me what I wanted telecom to do for me about it, and he did apologise about it, as he agreed that they should never have set it up to renew each month, especially without any notification. So I asked for the amount to be refunded back, which is the minimum I would expect.
PLus there is nothing on their website about retiring this plan. That would be the minimum notification expected in this day and age. Other Telecom retired plans are still supported, just not this one. Skulduggery!
davisg: PLus there is nothing on their website about retiring this plan. That would be the minimum notification expected in this day and age. Other Telecom retired plans are still supported, just not this one. Skulduggery!
Got to say I agree. I mean telecom are supposed to be a communications company, but there has been zero communications from telecom on these changes. An email or letter on the retirement of the plan was the minimum needed, and an explanation as to why they signed up people to a 15 dollar per month recurring add on without authorisation.
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