Prepaid Datapacks & Itemization

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Prepaid Datapacks & Itemization

nigelj

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#80142 27-Mar-2011 16:02

Okay, I've recently had some issues w/ my phone (as mentioned in other forums) and now I'm stuck in a pre-paid confused mess.

Essentially:

14/3: Phone was sent away to Telegistics for repair, XT Number downgraded to old CDMA phone that I had upgraded from. Data pack supposedly removed.
25/3: Phone returned, number put back onto XT (was reactivated by the time I left the shop). Sales rep was to put the Data pack back on
26/3: Phone taken back to Telecom as still faulty - had also developed a data related fault (will describe below), even after suggesting rep didn't look into my SIM to see if Data Pack was properly reactivated, 'fault' was placed as an addition to the Telegistics ticket. Picked up loan phone that is pretty useless for Data, but there was no mention of deactivating data.
27/3: Rung pre-paid helpdesk to make sure data was deactivated, who made the following statements:

The 6/12/18 dollar packs aren't billed up front and only billed on usage until they reach that point (my understanding is only the $30+ Mobile Broadband packs act like this)

It's not possible to get any sort of billing itemization to make sure requests have been actioned correctly/billed correctly if on pre-paid, unless it's related to a court case

That the reactivated data pack on the 25th (Fri) wasn't done properly, didn't show up in one system, but did in the other.

Essentially that there was nothing she could do

The mobile data fault I had occur, was as follows: Phone would show the H/3G data icon next to signal level, but attempts to use it on the Saturday resulted in No Data Connection error messages when trying to access Google Maps/Web Browser/T World/other data related activities. On the Friday, I was able to access T World/Your Telecom but no other Data usage. I think item 3 from my conversation today is the cause, but I have no idea, My experience w/ Telecom shows that if you are ever in the situation where one system says one thing, and another says something else, you are really in the poo.

Point 1, seems to conflict w/ what the Telecom site implies at http://www.telecom.co.nz/mobile/yourmobile/plansandpricing#extras and Item #65 (the non-bolded one) in the XT FAQ in this forum.
Point 2 is the most frustrating, how do I prove that $6 hasn't been charged against my phone on the 25th when the data was half-reactivated. Accessing the mobile Your Telecom via a Datastick is inconclusive and also shows inconsistent data on if the Data is reactivated or not, and even if the Datapack was even deactivated in the first place.

Conclusion: I'm really confused, and could do with some help with what is fact and fiction and what I should do next to get this all sorted out.

Behodar

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#452459 27-Mar-2011 17:00

If you're on prepaid then the data packs are usage-based. If you use no data then you won't be charged.

nigelj

856 posts

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#452469 27-Mar-2011 17:24

Behodar: If you're on prepaid then the data packs are usage-based. If you use no data then you won't be charged.

Hmmm yeah, I _FINALLY_ found a reference to that been the case w/ the Data Extras, it's not even in the T&C, so the $6/month statement meant $6 up front each month (like how they'd bill for their Best-Mates type extra).

The other points are still valid though, is the rest of what I've been told 'bull' or not, and how on earth can I prove that they've done what they've said they've done?

Edit: For what it's worth, the relevant link is http://telecom.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1732 it'd have been nice if T/Com had linked it from the Data Extras page of their site.

munchkin

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#452532 27-Mar-2011 19:51

nigelj: The 6/12/18 dollar packs aren't billed up front and only billed on usage until they reach that point (my understanding is only the $30+ Mobile Broadband packs act like this)

All Telecom Prepaid items, even back on CDMA, have always been billed this way, including 'My Favourites'; You pay for x units of [minutes, megabytes, texts] at the standard rate, until the 'cap' is reached, at which point, you get the rest of the included amount for 'free'.

nigelj: It's not possible to get any sort of billing itemization to make sure requests have been actioned correctly/billed correctly if on pre-paid, unless it's related to a court case

It's not possible to get a printout to see where your money has gone, but the prepaid help-desk can tell you (verbally) where credit has been used, for which service. Any Telecom CSR will be able to tell you if/when a service was added or removed for a particular number, too.

nigelj: That the reactivated data pack on the 25th (Fri) wasn't done properly, didn't show up in one system, but did in the other.

This isn't really an issue that anyone can solve straight away, and is normally only noticed when someone finds something isn't working quite right. The issue lies in the fact that several systems control the functions of a mobile network, but it isn't hard to fix.

nigelj: Essentially that there was nothing she could do

What did you want her to do?

As other people have pointed out, if you didn't use the data, you wouldn't have been charged for it. Another issue lies in removing and then adding the data pack again, this resets the usage information to zero (and thus any billing information).

Additionally, the information contained within the FAQ needs to revised, point 65 is incorrect, as is point 64.

What phone do you have? Is it a Motorola Flipout?

nigelj

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#452549 27-Mar-2011 20:32

munchkin:
nigelj: That the reactivated data pack on the 25th (Fri) wasn't done properly, didn't show up in one system, but did in the other.

This isn't really an issue that anyone can solve straight away, and is normally only noticed when someone finds something isn't working quite right. The issue lies in the fact that several systems control the functions of a mobile network, but it isn't hard to fix.

The Telecom Store rep, when I reported it to him, did not even check, even though this was a NEW issue I was bringing up as part of the Telegistics fault, and may have contributed to a second issue (out of 4 issues).

munchkin:
nigelj: Essentially that there was nothing she could do
What did you want her to do?

I wanted her to remove the Datapack again, so when I got my phone back in working condition I'd have the full month to try and use the 50MB. All she seemed to think of, was place a data-block on the number, which w/ previous experience of blocks been put on Mobiles (I've had a real horror-story with this in the past that I won't go into) was not the right solution, simply removing the pack, as the loan phone isn't really capable of any data functions.

munchkin: As other people have pointed out, if you didn't use the data, you wouldn't have been charged for it. Another issue lies in removing and then adding the data pack again, this resets the usage information to zero (and thus any billing information).

Right, but the main point, is that it's pointless having a datapack renew while the phone is in for repair, which it would have the first time it was in for repair, and having used no data (due to not been able to for no fault of my own) this time round, it means I will have less time to use the data pack (which I think is wrong).

munchkin: Additionally, the information contained within the FAQ needs to revised, point 65 is incorrect, as is point 64.

What phone do you have? Is it a Motorola Flipout?

I think not just the Geekzone FAQ, but also the Telecom site needs to be clearer on the matter, it's not in the T&C's and it's certainly not how it was explained to me when I switched to XT.

It's a i5503T, and if it's faulty when I get it back this time, I'm going for a refund and going to buy an iPhone and just be done w/ it.

munchkin

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#452551 27-Mar-2011 20:37

It looks as if there's been a bit of miscommunication here, mostly around the data pack/block. You're right that how prepaid billing works isn't something that has been mentioned to customers in the past, while the way they work hasn't changed (in the sense it has always been this way), I can tell you with complete honesty that the approach to this is changing in the stores.

The only thing I can think of in regards to the data issue not being checked by the salesperson when you sent the phone away again, is because the two faults (whatever the original fault may have been) are both unrelated, the data issue is fixable, see your PM inbox. :-)

nigelj

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#452570 27-Mar-2011 21:45

munchkin: It looks as if there's been a bit of miscommunication here, mostly around the data pack/block. You're right that how prepaid billing works isn't something that has been mentioned to customers in the past, while the way they work hasn't changed (in the sense it has always been this way), I can tell you with complete honesty that the approach to this is changing in the stores.

The only thing I can think of in regards to the data issue not being checked by the salesperson when you sent the phone away again, is because the two faults (whatever the original fault may have been) are both unrelated, the data issue is fixable, see your PM inbox. :-)

Now that is interesting (I also saw your PM - I'll reply to the issue that you brought up there in a reply), the itemization issue is just really irritating, I know it's possible to get some level of itemization via Your Telecom, but it's nothing like the itemization that a postpaid customer (used to - I don't know about now) via the standard Your Telecom site could get, and it certainly isn't verbose about exactly how much was debited (for instance: "1 TXT" doesn't really tell me if it was a free TXT, standard rate text, or what).

It's really the data issue that has bugged me the most, and the itemization came up as a side point, because when I looked at my prepaid balance it just did not look correct.

With your second paragraph, in my opinion the salesperson should have checked as it was a bullet point he put in the Telegistics service ticket as a fault for them to check. Of course, as the primary fault still existed, it's a little bit understandable that he didn't check.

Interesting subpoint, I just realised that they _HAD_ to remove the data pack for the first repair, as they were switching my phone to a CDMA service that obviously doesn't have the data packs (d'oh me!). However I'm still adament that they should have offered to ensure it was disabled when sending the phone away and this time replacing it with a loan phone (a decision that I made, in the intention to make all the transactions quicker for everybody), considering the loan phone is like it's come out of 1999, and only has WAP data functions (which I'd never use!).

akia

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#453357 30-Mar-2011 08:21

In terms of itemisation of your account. You can see what's being charged on Your Telecom or you can contact 123 to ask. This has always been how prepaid works.

In terms of data prepaid connections it has been explained a few times on Geekzone and in other areas. I know it's a bit confusing and we're trying to ensure that this gets updated on websites.

With regards to your data issues did you check telecom.co.nz to see if there were any faults outstanding? What phone are we referring to? (I can't seem to find it in the post).

I would also be interested to know what other 'issue' Munchkin had PM'd you. If we don't know about it we can't fix things so would be keen to see what it is and what we can do.

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munchkin

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#453402 30-Mar-2011 09:55

I'm pretty sure it's been reported, but I'll send you an email this afternoon akia :-)

nigelj

856 posts

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#453548 30-Mar-2011 18:06

akia: In terms of itemisation of your account. You can see what's being charged on Your Telecom or you can contact 123 to ask. This has always been how prepaid works.

In terms of data prepaid connections it has been explained a few times on Geekzone and in other areas. I know it's a bit confusing and we're trying to ensure that this gets updated on websites.

With regards to your data issues did you check telecom.co.nz to see if there were any faults outstanding? What phone are we referring to? (I can't seem to find it in the post).

I would also be interested to know what other 'issue' Munchkin had PM'd you. If we don't know about it we can't fix things so would be keen to see what it is and what we can do.

Akia: as far as Your Telecom goes, the itemisation is okay, but doesn't really show the deductions, for example I had a text that YT claims I sent to myself (I think this might have been a YT Password request - although I've noticed that it seems Facebook texts get accounted for the same way? (not 100% sure now because I disabled them)) and has "1 TXT", it's very (in my opinion) unspecific on a lot of levels. As far as call 123, that's what I originally did to ask about the data issues, and when I was told that it was neigh on impossible to do.

To be honest, Geekzone isn't my first point of reference, but that aside: There is nothing that I could easy find in the Prepaid T&C for how extras are charged/advertised & most of the links regarding extras start talking about post-paid. Coupled w/ "Per Month" I think it's a fair guess without additional context to have the same belief that I did. Also, I like how the Telecom Invoice when I purchased my SIM states the plan: "Billing: Pro-rata Charge & Month In Advance" which doesn't really suggest one way or another.

Data issues - I didn't check telecom.co.nz because: a) I was already taking the phone back for repair as the main fault had reoccurred 2) I wasn't aware that I couldn't even access Your Telecom/T!World on the second day until I was on the way to the shop (I could access T!World/YT on the first day when I tried, but nothing else, which I tied to activation not complete - which tied up with what *333 said) but munchkin said that it ties in with what he's been told regarding CDMA/XT retransfers.

As I thought I said earlier, it's one of the Samsung i5503T's.

(On the note of Website updates/vague contradictions etc: Your Telecom says Prepaid credit expires 6 monthly still, but the website says annually)