Mixed feelings (gemfyre) wrote in bad_service,
Mixed feelings
gemfyre
bad_service

This is actually the first major issue I've had with 3 mobile.

Unfortunately, as I didn't expect so much trouble I haven't taken names. I know better now. I do know I was told names a few times, but most of the people I spoke to were in Indian call centres and I could not understand their names with the heavy accent.

This needs a finishing paragraph. I intend to send this letter to 3 complains and the Telecommunications Ombudsman. At the moment I'm having trouble paying my rent, I don't need a $100+ phone bill for charges that I believed I was getting for free. Can anyone help me with the last paragraph and the general wording. Thanks.


On 26/5/2011 I received an e-mail with my 3 bill and an offer to upgrade my handset. I needed a new handset so I called a few days later and ordered a Nokia C7 phone.
I indicated I was happy to stay on the $29 cap, as my mobile phone usage is minimal and I have never come near the cap. I was given the impression that this cap included free Facebook, Twitter and Myspace. I also agreed to get the handset insurance and requested information about the insurance and the plan to be e-mailed to me and was told that would happen within a few days. I never received an e-mail.

4 days later (during the cooling off period – I had still not received the information I had been told I would receive via e-mail) I rang again to cancel the handset insurance. I was informed on this call that the cancellation may not go through (I was not told WHY), and if it did appear on my bill, to call again and confirm the cancellation.

My phone arrived the day after and I was happy with my purchase.

2 days after my phone arrived, it switched off and would not switch back on (apparently a known issue with Nokia C7s). I took the handset to my local 3 store (Innaloo, Perth, Australia) and was given a replacement handset. While I was at the store I enquired as to exactly what the $29 cap included. It was here I found out that it also included 200mb of other traffic that was not Facebook/Twitter/Myspace. Keeping this in mind I downloaded a few small applications.

Being an avid Facebook and Twitter user I used these services often via the social networking widget on my Nokia C7 phone. I do not use Myspace.

Not long after I had issues with the handset charging properly. I took it to the service centre and was issued with a new charger - I have not had any issues with the handset since.

On 27/6/2011 I received my e-bill and noted that I was still being charged for the handset insurance. I called to confirm that I wanted it cancelled and was told that the amount would be cancelled before the bill was debited from my account.

On the evening of 15/7/2011 I noticed that the full amount of the bill had been debited from my account. Seeing as it was now after hours, I had to wait until Monday morning to call.

I called on Monday 18/7/2011 to explain once again that I wanted the insurance CANCELLED, and initially called during the cooling off period. I was transferred to insurance. The informed me that it had been cancelled and transferred me to billing to credit the charge back to my account. At this point I was shunted back and forth between billing and insurance a few times - insurance told me the handset insurance had been cancelled and it was billing's job to remove the charge - billing said, as it was insurance charge I needed to speak to insurance.

The last gentleman I spoke to in insurance took me through the bill in detail to explain what all the charges were. On top of the expected $29 cap, I had been charged 8 cents for non-cap traffic and $8.99 for handset insurance, as well as $9.95 handset delivery fee, which I had been informed of and expected.

This gentleman also informed me that I had $120.21 in traffic charges racked up for the next bill already. This understandably alarmed me and explained that I only used the free social networking apart from minimal other usage and he said he though that billing probably just had not removed the charges like they should do. He transferred me back to billing to sort this out.

Billing then informed me that I was on the OLD $29 cap, which did not include traffic for social networking sites. The gentleman at billing explained that the cap was not upgraded unless requested as the call charge was 10c more per minute. I explained that I would not have agreed to the plan if I had known I would be charged for social networking. There was no way I could afford that kind of bill as I am on a very tight budget.

I also enquired why I hadn't been charged for all the traffic on my first bill (I was only charged 8 cents, which seems to be a charge for using the web while roaming - my reception seems to often slip into roaming, even at my own home which is 6km north of the city and usually has regular reception.) I was told that that was an error and that I would be charged for all of that on my next bill as well! I was becoming increasingly alarmed and frustrated at this point. I was of the understanding that I had free social networking and 200mb extra traffic per month. As I had never been sent any information about the specifics of my plan, I was not able to get these details and had to wait until now to be informed of the mistake. I was also told that the only place to find information about the caps was on the 3 website. I have since been the website and am having and awful time finding specific details on the caps. This is not good for people who want to know exactly what they are getting from the beginning - if I was able to do this, none of these current problems would have occurred - I would have known right away that I was on the wrong plan and had it corrected straight away (I would also have not used internet services until this was fixed, as I did not want to be charged for traffic).

The gentleman in billing was very informative and helpful. He put me on the correct plan right away, explained that he could backdate it to the date of my phone call (18/7/2011) instead of the date of my next bill (24/7/2011). He also said I would be able to sort out a payment plan for the excess charges. Seeing as that was all he could do in billing, and I was frankly exhausted by that point, I thanked him and hung up.

Somewhere along the line I have been misled into thinking that my cap included free social networking and 200mb of data per month. As I was not given the information I initially requested (and was told I would receive by e-mail) I did not know of the error until now.

I do not believe I should have to pay these excess charges as I was under the belief that this usage was included with my cap, and if I had known it was not - I would not have used those services. I will also have to wait until the next bill arrives to confirm that the insurance has finally been cancelled and the charge for it credited back to my account.

I have attached a copy of my most recent bill (with no charges for traffic and the charge for the insurance which I had called twice to be cancelled)…

ETA :
I have been a loyal 3 Mobile customer since 2004 and this is the first problem I have encountered with your service. I would like for me to be charged for the previous 2 months as per the plan I believed I was getting – the $29 cap with free Facebook/Twitter/Myspace and 200mb of traffic per month.
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