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s.joseph
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#366492 11-Aug-2010 21:43
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jpollock: Before you guys get too rabid, a couple of points to keep in mind.

SMS is a less reliable delivery method than email (which is saying something), and billing reconciliation can be a long way from real time.


when i get a text it doesnt got into my spam folder



Mooseboy
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  #366494 11-Aug-2010 21:45
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miguelwrang: Not defending her but take into account that until iOS 4, you couldn't easily switch off data roaming on an iphone. I think a lot of you are overestimating the amount of knowledge people have about technology.

A trait shared by most IT professionals :P

jpollock
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#366501 11-Aug-2010 21:59
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s.joseph:
jpollock: Before you guys get too rabid, a couple of points to keep in mind.

SMS is a less reliable delivery method than email (which is saying something), and billing reconciliation can be a long way from real time.


when i get a text it doesnt got into my spam folder


Ah, but the phone company has plenty of spam filters on SMS messages already. :)  Some of them can be pretty broad.  Seems they don't like delivering messages for free or something.






eugeneykc
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  #366507 11-Aug-2010 22:03
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miguelwrang: Not defending her but take into account that until iOS 4, you couldn't easily switch off data roaming on an iphone. I think a lot of you are overestimating the amount of knowledge people have about technology.


FYI

Data Roaming can be turned off since iPhone OS 1.x.  I believe data roaming was off by default.  There is also a message below the tick box "Turn data roaming off when abroad to avoid substantial roaming charges when using email, web browsing, and other data services."

 

grant_k
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  #366510 11-Aug-2010 22:10
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jpollock: Ah, but the phone company has plenty of spam filters on SMS messages already. :)  Some of them can be pretty broad.  Seems they don't like delivering messages for free or something.

Last year we went on a trip around the world, visiting 10 different countries.  Once the plane had landed, I switched on my phone and without fail, there was an SMS from Vodafone UK (who provided my SIM card) advising... "WELCOME to wherever, charges are blah blah blah..."

Not once did this message fail to appear, in fact sometimes I received 2 messages.  So I find it hard to believe that she never saw any message.

Having said that, I do agree that the credit limits for global roaming need to be no more than say $200 - $500 by default.  People should be able to request a higher limit, but it should not be available unless they deliberately request it.  Otherwise it is just too easy to rack up huge charges much sooner than you expect.





corksta

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  #366511 11-Aug-2010 22:10
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miguelwrang: I think a lot of you are overestimating the amount of knowledge people have about technology.


Possibly, but a big chunk of it is her defiance and complete lack of any accountability for her own actions. According to her this whole thing is entirely Vodafone's fault. We seem to live in a society now where everything that goes wrong is always someone else's fault and the person at the centre of it all is always blameless.




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alasta
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  #366512 11-Aug-2010 22:10
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eugeneykc:
miguelwrang: Not defending her but take into account that until iOS 4, you couldn't easily switch off data roaming on an iphone. I think a lot of you are overestimating the amount of knowledge people have about technology.


FYI

Data Roaming can be turned off since iPhone OS 1.x. ?I believe data roaming was off by default. ?There is also a message below the tick box "Turn data roaming off when abroad to avoid substantial roaming charges when using email, web browsing, and other data services."

?


That is correct. My 3GS most certainly disabled data by default when I have travelled to Australia both prior to and after upgrading to iOS 4.0.

 
 
 
 

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s.joseph
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  #366515 11-Aug-2010 22:16
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yeah data roaming is turned off by default and if you read under the on toggle switch it clearly says:

"Turn data roaming off when abroad to avoid substantial roaming charges when using email, web browsing, and other data services."

miguelwrang
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  #366516 11-Aug-2010 22:17
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alasta:
eugeneykc:
miguelwrang: Not defending her but take into account that until iOS 4, you couldn't easily switch off data roaming on an iphone. I think a lot of you are overestimating the amount of knowledge people have about technology.


FYI

Data Roaming can be turned off since iPhone OS 1.x. ?I believe data roaming was off by default. ?There is also a message below the tick box "Turn data roaming off when abroad to avoid substantial roaming charges when using email, web browsing, and other data services."

?


That is correct. My 3GS most certainly disabled data by default when I have travelled to Australia both prior to and after upgrading to iOS 4.0.
\

Ok I must have gotten that confused with cellular data in general. Thanks for the correction. I remember having to jailbreak my original iphone to turn off data to avoid any data charges.

nakedmolerat
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  #366519 11-Aug-2010 22:22
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Mooseboy: I'm not impartial as I know Nicole personally, but the fact that you are even able to rack up $6000 in data charges seems ridiculous in this day and age.


why did she not get in touch with vodafone as soon as she knew that she has been charged more than $3000? why she has to keep using the phone / data?

s.joseph: I hope she is made to pay the 6 k in the end. Clearly she knew what she was doing when she was looking up the data prices for roaming and even after she got the warning for 3000 she should have turned off cell data completely. I'm surprise Vodafone are offering to pay half the bill as a good will gesture and that still isn't good enough for her. 


+1

 

BTW, she said that there were fine print for data charges on the website.

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/roaming/data-roaming.jsp Is this really a fine print?

 

richms
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  #366526 11-Aug-2010 22:28
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If its not in 24 pt then its fineprint to some people.

I have not seen fineprint in any NZ advertising, its against so many requirements of the ASA here that its not worth the risk.




Richard rich.ms

BlakJak
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  #366530 11-Aug-2010 22:32
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Fact: Roaming is expensive.
Fact: This is not a secret, the rates are texted to folks when they travel, and are available online
Fact: CSR should've probably made it explicitly clear as part of their duty to being open and upfront on costs.
Fact: It's not unreasonable to _ask_ what the rates are if you're not told.

Given all these facts, Customer was an idiot not to ask what the rates were going to be, i.e. to go out blindly and assume that her gut feeling on how much more expensive it'd be, would be right.

However, CSR(s) should've been clear on it. Responsibility lies with the customer, but Vodafone contributed.

Fact: Roaming rates are nowhere near those requried for 'cost recovery'. They're a rort and the rates _are_ unfair on consumers, esp now that smart-devices are becoming so common.

So the mission is to convince the Telcos to FIX IT re the cost of roaming data.
They should also be able to impose a money-spent limit of say $200-300 before customer receives notification via phone/txt of their bill blowout. They do this for domestic billing but not for roaming?  The bill should not have hit $6K to start with.




No signature to see here, move along...

reven
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  #366533 11-Aug-2010 22:40
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yeah i dont like VF, but im on their side on this one.

a 23 year old (with an iphone) who has no clue what a megabyte is, really?

i also liked the part where they just quickly mentioned skype and moved on like it was nothing.

eXDee
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  #366534 11-Aug-2010 22:44
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I'm not actually surprised at her total ignorance, iPhones have basically become a fashion statement, as have other apple products. Unfortunately some people really are this ignorant.

But no, ignorance is not an excuse that you weren't smart enough to RTFM, especially when they make it very clear. Its not a telcos reponsibilty to teach each customer individually what data units are in real world usage, they should find that out themselves or at least ask in relation to their own usage.

It would be nice to write an open letter to Campbell Live in reply to this report.

miguelwrang
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  #366535 11-Aug-2010 22:45
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What I don't understand is why doesn't vodafone use their multinational networks to make roaming cheaper and advertise that as a advantage over XT or 2 degrees. Surely they would have an easier time making this work than XT.

Or are they making a lot more money by charging exorbitant roaming rates?

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