XT Prepaid Complaint

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › XT Prepaid Complaint

wreck90

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#62362 4-Jun-2010 22:14

Bought an MF626 USB 3g stick for the XT network in Jan this year.

On the telecom website....

Get 500MB for $29.95 to be used within the calendar month

Access to an online usage meter and FREE 24/7 customer support

So, this sounds good. My credit ran out, so I connected to the net using the mf626, and went to the topup page ----but, telecom don't allow you to get to the top up page if your credit has run out - why not?

So, i connect to the internet via my home network. Go to the top up page. But, they don't offer a $30 top up!!!! Ahharrrrrggghhh!!! Just $10, $20, and $40.

Oh well, guess I'll just make 2 payments , $10 and $20.

Telecom desperately need to hire a user interface expert.

nitrotech

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#338406 4-Jun-2010 22:52

wreck90: Bought an MF626 USB 3g stick for the XT network in Jan this year.

On the telecom website....

Get 500MB for $29.95 to be used within the calendar month

Access to an online usage meter and FREE 24/7 customer support

So, this sounds good. My credit ran out, so I connected to the net using the mf626, and went to the topup page ----but, telecom don't allow you to get to the top up page if your credit has run out - why not?

So, i connect to the internet via my home network. Go to the top up page. But, they don't offer a $30 top up!!!! Ahharrrrrggghhh!!! Just $10, $20, and $40.

Oh well, guess I'll just make 2 payments , $10 and $20.

Telecom desperately need to hire a user interface expert.

Yes you can get to the usage/topup page even if your credit has run out just make sure you are using the right link

http://yt.telecom.co.nz/mobile

You can check your balance and top up on that page, I haven't tried the top up link with no credit but it should work

wreck90

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#338411 4-Jun-2010 23:21

Thanks, this is good to know.

I just did the online top up - must have stuffed something up - it said my top up was successful, but, I have not been topped up.

Just phoned telecom support (manila). Explained the problem, put on hold for a few minutes, then I was cutoff .

Rang again, explained problem again, now someone from pre-paid or something has to investigate. They wanted to call me back in an hour or two, but i explained it was 11pm at night here and that would not be welcome .

I might just kiss goodbye to my cash i guess.

keewee01

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#338415 4-Jun-2010 23:43

You sound like you are giving up too quickly and too easily.

nate

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#338417 4-Jun-2010 23:45

nitrotech: Yes you can get to the usage/topup page even if your credit has run out just make sure you are using the right link

No it doesn't work if you have no credit. I raised it with NealR the other night over dinner, and it's a known issue.

I agree it's very frustating. It seems Telecom want to make it hard for us to give them money...

freitasm

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#338447 5-Jun-2010 08:42

It's a "known issue" probably because Internet connections don't work if you don't have credit. Yes, the page should be "free" but who know.

As for calling at 11pm and then giving up, give a break. You are going to sleep so not using the prepay at that time - wait till the morning and call again. Then you have plenty of time to discuss and/or wait for a callback.

Don't consider "money lost" just because of that.

nitrotech

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#338465 5-Jun-2010 10:15

nate:
nitrotech: Yes you can get to the usage/topup page even if your credit has run out just make sure you are using the right link

No it doesn't work if you have no credit. I raised it with NealR the other night over dinner, and it's a known issue.

I agree it's very frustating. It seems Telecom want to make it hard for us to give them money...

Which part doesn't work? I was at a clients place the other day (they called me in because their internet wasn't working) I dialed on checked the link I had created for them that went to yt.telecom.co.nz/mobile and I was able to log in and see that they had no credit - I didn't try the top up link though, is that the bit that isn't working?

sbiddle

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#338467 5-Jun-2010 10:24

It's also worth realising you don't need to have $30 on your account to use the $30 plan. Aligning topup values with plan values isn't a solution, it would create even more.

All of Telecom's broadband plans do not deduct the full amount on the billing cycle date. This differs significantly from Vodafone who deduct the full amount on the billing cycle date.

With the $29.95 plan you pay 10c per MB up to 300MB and then receive the next 200MB free. If you are on this plan and use 100MB one month you will only have $10 deducted from your balance.

Remember you can also use the 0800 number to top up as well, but entering your credit card number can be a bit of a pain this way. I just wish Telecom could introduce a SMS based service for topup vouchers, everybody I know on Vodafone uses this for topups as it's so much quicker.

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crazed

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#338470 5-Jun-2010 10:38

A mate said if you have a XT mobile phone, just take the T-Stick card put it in the phone and topup as normal then once you have topped up put it back into the T-stick. I haven't tried this personally but cant see why it wouldnt work

CraZeD,
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sbiddle

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#338474 5-Jun-2010 10:52

crazed: A mate said if you have a XT mobile phone, just take the T-Stick card put it in the phone and topup as normal then once you have topped up put it back into the T-stick. I haven't tried this personally but cant see why it wouldnt work

There is no need to even do this. You can dial 0800 32 32 32 from any phone and do the same thing - enter your mobile number and then either the topup voucher code or credit card number.

nate

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#338502 5-Jun-2010 12:58

nitrotech: Which part doesn't work? I was at a clients place the other day (they called me in because their internet wasn't working) I dialed on checked the link I had created for them that went to yt.telecom.co.nz/mobile and I was able to log in and see that they had no credit - I didn't try the top up link though, is that the bit that isn't working?

Earlier this year, before I knew of this issue, I spent over an hour trying to figure out how to topup my T-stick that had no credit. Since I wasn't a Telecom customer before this, I had no idea what the 0800 numbers were.

Their phone system should have an option, that when you purchase a voucher, you can opt for it to automatically apply to the number you've selected, instead of having to call back to apply it.

codyc1515

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#338577 5-Jun-2010 17:59

nate:
nitrotech: Yes you can get to the usage/topup page even if your credit has run out just make sure you are using the right link

No it doesn't work if you have no credit. I raised it with NealR the other night over dinner, and it's a known issue.

I agree it's very frustating. It seems Telecom want to make it hard for us to give them money...

Correct, however, if you use the proxy mentioned on this site somewhere, you will find that it does in fact work.

Name: TelecomContent
APN: wap.telecom.co.nz
Data bearer: Packet Data
Network type: IPv4
IP Address: automatic
DNS: automatic
Homepage: http://myhomepage
Use Proxy: Yes
Proxy IP: 210.55.11.73
Proxy Port: 80
Proxy Secure Port: 8080

nate

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#338593 5-Jun-2010 18:49

codyc1515:Correct, however, if you use the proxy mentioned on this site somewhere, you will find that it does in fact work.

Thanks for this, I've saved it on my laptop for next time I completely run out of credit.

raab

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#338631 5-Jun-2010 21:01

When you top up online you still need to
dial *333 or the 0800 and enter in the voucher # don't you? At least I had to. That's probably why your topup didn't work

wreck90

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#338801 6-Jun-2010 15:31

I found out my mistake.

In the mobile top up webpage, I copy/pasted the mobile phone number 027xxxxxx into the phone number field . But, I didn't notice a drop down box where you are supposed to enter the mobile prefix (defaults as 021) .

So, my number went through on the webpage as 021 027xxxxxx .

I called them again today, and they think the top up should have been rejected but they are not sure - so, now they told me to wait and see if the charges appear on my credit card. Probably I will not find out this until tuesday.

I wonder, why the telecom back office staff, cannot see the credit card numbers entered through the web interface, and the associated top up results.... but, apparently they cannot. It would have been easiest for me to give them my CC number , but , they say they are not authorised - maybe telecom does not trust their staff?

wreck90

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#339374 8-Jun-2010 14:19

Finally, the charges appeared on my credit card - phoned them again, they say they can see the credit card payments and credited me.

I don't know why they just didn't do this on Friday when this happened. Why should it matter if the charges have appeared on my credit card? They were able to see on their end what had happened.

They are also looking into why their online system accepted an invalid number.

Back in business....