HTC Desire Vodafone 500mb Fair Usage Policy

nm83

They're at least singing from the same hymn sheet now. Received the following today after my query:

"

Dear <removed>,

Thank you for your patience whilst I have been getting a response for you.

<Removed - regarding another query>.

In terms of Vodafone's Mobile Internet usage policy. [FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]In June we'll be introducing a free text service to tell our contract customers when they're approaching the upper limit of their data bundle (which is 500MB per month). [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]500MB means you can read and reply to thousands of emails, download 24 Google maps and read 8,000 BBC News stories and our records currently show that [FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]97% of our customers never reach their limit and will not be receiving the text alerts at all.[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The minority of our customers who do come close will receive a text telling them they are approaching their data allowance and advising them to monitor their usage going forward. At this point customers will not be charged anything more. [/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]If after receiving several such alerts, over a period of a few months, customers continue to use excessive amounts of data they will be contacted by Vodafone and advised to upgrade to another data plan to avoid incurring unnecessary additional charges. Our c[/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]ustomers will be able to make an informed decision on whether to continue, limit their use or change to a different price plan, giving them total control of their spend.[/FONT]

I hope this clarifies things.
Kind Regards
<Removed>"

Since my 7day cooloff has been extended, got to make a decision as to whether this is acceptable or not. 2 years is a long time to be tied down with a company that behave like this.

danielz000

bym007 wrote: »

I have had a look at your template. I disagree with point # 02, whereby the letter argues that based on previous months' usage, this will increase my bill by 10%. When I signed the contract, there was no hard-cap agreed on the "unlimited Internet". So, as soon as that becomes hard-cap ie 500MB, the terms have changed.

Apart from that it all looks good!

Well I sort of just added that bit in on the basis of it already being in the contract. Realistically it's complete garbage as it would allow them to repeatedly increase the bill by 10%.... therefore the 10% is of no relevance and you'd probably just have to argue on the basis of a change in the contract that you're not agreeing too....

CaptainD_2

Vodafone_company_representative wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

Jakub's comments were correct at the time they were posted, but we've since made another announcement, here(link removed):

This is absolutely the correct information, and Jakub's comments can now be ignored.

Thanks,

Tom

Note: 500MB means you can read and reply to thousands of emails, download 24 Google maps and read 8,000 BBC News stories. Today, a tiny fraction of our customers use their full allowance????


Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK

What utter nonsense.

1/It is categorically untrue and deliberately misleading to claim that you can get such high levels of usage from a smartphone for 500MB.

2/It is also categorically untrue and deliberately misleading to claim that a data package with either a 500MB cap or FUP represents unlimited internet access.

3/ It is also fraudulent to sign people up to a contract promising 'unlimited' internet, then 3 months later to cap it at 500MB and start charging anyone that dares to go over this limit without even so much of a warning.

So this only affects 3% of all customers......How many customers have smartphones per chance? Is that 3% too? Is anyone at vf actually capable of telling the truth instead of using inaccurate, unreliable and unreferenced statistics to justify their own arguments?

Vodafone must realise that at this stage their customers do not want some wishy washy assurance of how much data 500MB represents or proportionally how few people this affects, they know full well how much data 500MB is. That is why they are all here kicking off about it.

N20Y1D

nm83 wrote: »

They're at least singing from the same hymn sheet now. Received the following today after my query:


Since my 7day cooloff has been extended, got to make a decision as to whether this is acceptable or not. 2 years is a long time to be tied down with a company that behave like this.

They arent, they have sent you yesterdays statement, they have changed their tune again since then...


In your message it states they will monitor usage for a few months and then warn you and then if after receiving several such alerts, over a period of a few months you are still going over they will charge you.... where as now they are saying.

have just been speaking wiith Jakub Hrabovsky, Vodafone's head of web relations. He has been able to provide responses to my questions and is happy for me to post his responses here. The wording below is mine but the overall messages are what Jakub said.

1. As of the 1st of June, Vodafone will be implementing a text service to notify 'heavy' users that they have used their allowance. The exact wording of this text is still being clarified. Jakub thought heavy users would be all users who used over 500MB. No additional charges will be applied to their account at this stage.

2. If they continue their heavy usage in the following month, they will be called by someone from Vodafone to discuss what options they have - either reducing usage, upgrading to a Mobile Broadband bundle or having charges applied to their account in subsequent months. No additional charges will be applied to their account at this stage.

3. If the users doesn't take an additional bundle and their heavy usage continues then they will be charged at the rate of £5 per additional 500MB. Jakub confirmed that if these charges were to lead to an increase in your total bill of more than 10% then you should have grounds to terminate your agreement under clause 11.2.c. without incurring early termination charges.



- Jakub confirmed that no-one will be charged for excessive usage before they have been contacted by a vodafone representative.

- Vodafone are still trying to clarify the definition of 'excessive usage'

- Jakub said that it is highly unlikely that customers who use in the region of 500-600 MB per month will incur additional charges.

- There are discussions going on with their legal department around the following clause in the Terms and Conditions:


The clarification is around "your price plan's standard rate". It has previously been confirmed on the Vodafone eForum that no pricing structure has been in place for this and so this might require a small change to the Terms and Conditions.

Jakub also provided more information on the 3% figure previously quoted. This is the number of Mobile Internet users who use 500MB in a month. He also used the figure of 1% to describe the number of customers whose use is 'excessive'.

I also raised the question about why the 500MB limit was deemed to be sufficient to most smartphone users whilst it was decided that 1GB was needed for an iPhone or Nexus1. He said that this was confusing and would be looked into, but was not able to provide a more detailed response.

Andy

If i was you i would be on the phone to them telling them you want to cancel immediately.

bym007

If I were managing this whole crisis, I would offer all the original customers a chance to go back to the original T&Cs without any changes.

If that is not workable (or affordable) for Vodafone, then the only option at the moment (on which most of the customers here seem happy) would be to provide a "limited internet" bundle with a reasonable hard cap ie 1-3GB (going by market).

However, if thats not happening then, we should be allowed to cancel our contracts and start a new deal from scratch, be it with chargeable internet or whatever.... In that case, the customers will know what they are getting into for next 18-24 months.

bym007

I just received a reply to my complaint to Consumer Direct, and here is their advice:

Dear Mr xxx,

Thank you for your email of 10th May, your case is logged under the reference number WA-xxxx.

Thank you for contacting Consumer Direct. I am sorry to hear of the difficulties you have experienced with the trader: at this stage I can offer you some legal guidance in regards to your rights.

Vodaphone's terms and conditions clearly allow them to amend the Fair Usage Policy at their discretion. However, based on clauses 7.2 and 11.2 (as attached by yourself) you may then be able to cancel this phone contract as a result, as long as this is done within the 30-day time-frame that Vodaphone allows.

This appears to be the case from the information you have provided. However, if you feel that the terms allowing Vodaphone to change the provision of internet services to be unfair, then ultimately only a judge could decide if this was to be considered a fair term in a contract.

It is strongly recommended that you send your letter of cancellation by recorded delivery and keep a copy for possible future reference. Please note that in offering this advice, Consumer Direct wishes to make it clear that it is based on the evidence to hand on the above date and is subject to revision or amendment in the light of further evidence. Only the courts can interpret statutory legislation with any authority.

If you need any further advice then please contact us on 08454 040506 or alternatively we offer a Welsh line on 08454 040505

Our office is open between 8am - 6.30pm Mon - Fri and 9am - 1pm Saturday. Please note we are closed on Bank Holidays.

You can view our website www.consumerdirect.gov.uk
Thank you for your enquiry.

xx
Consumer Direct

N20Y1D

It looks like Jakub is on Twitter....

@JakubH


edit: and contradicting himself.......

nickmack

Luckily, my contract with VF will be finishing within a couple of months.

For people who signed up more recently for 'Unlimited' internet with a FUP, they are now finding this is a hard limit. Despite VF's assertion to the contrary, I believe these are part of the core terms. They appear to be removing a clause from the contract referring to FUP, as this is being scrapped.

What VF should do is only implement this for new contracts. All existing customers should remain on a 500Mb FUP 'soft' limit.

This has turned into a PR disaster for VF and they are completely to blame for poor communication. Whatever the outcome, it leaves a bad taste for VF customers and gives them a reputation to avoid for those new data hungry devices.

essex_chris

This morning i received another call from Vodafone - this was to follow up the one i received yesterday and was to correct a mistake made when telling me that i would receive a letter through the post. Instead of a letter i would be able to be contacted by email with the template content for the letter - this is fine with me as email, text, letter i just wanted something concrete from Vodafone in regards to the changes

This is what i received minutes after the call.

Dear Mressex_chris


Thank you for your e-mail to Guy Laurence.

Last week we sent an incorrect test message in error to a small number of customers informing them that they are coming up to the top end of the bundle and they would be charged if they went over. This has caused some confusion so we want to set the record straight and clarify what we're doing.

We are launching a free service on June 1 by alerting those customers who consistently use more than their data allowance. This alert will say we will review your spend and if you continue to use more data than your allowance consistently over the coming months, we'll contact you to have a chat about your usage and offer an alternative data plan to avoid incurring out of bundle charges. That means you will be able to manage your usage more effectively. We’re also giving clarity to what these data rates are for out of bundle charges.

The good news for you is that very few customers - less than 3% - use up their data allowance so it is highly unlikely you're monthly bill will be any different from normal. In your case, I've seen that you don't use your full data allowance so unless your data usage increases dramatically you won't be affected and you won’t receive an alert from us.

I trust this clarifies Vodafone's position.

Kind regards



Amanda ********

Directors Office
For and on behalf of
Guy Laurence

Vodafone UK CEO
Tel: 08704 ********
E-mail: [EMAIL="vodafonedirectorsoffice&#64;vodafone.com"]***************@vodafone.com[/EMAIL]
Vodafone Limited
Registered Office: Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire. RG14 2FN

I have edited out certain parts of the email with asterisks

This is clearly just the same nonspecific stuff that has been posted on the Vodafone eForum - so to some extent i feel i am back to square one. I have been promised credits to my account for the mistake on my tariff, and the credit for saturday delivery i paid for when the items didn't arrive complete - but in regards to data it seems that if i go over 500Mb every month by even 1Mb then i will be paying £5.

I will have to try and confirm what i would have been paying before this change. In all honesty i was never really sure as i knew it was fair use. Given the other tariffs giving 1Gb i would not think that charging for anything below 1Gb would be fair.

I was expecting something a bit more conclusive really, so i will have to read this and other threads thoroughly and get some kind of confirmation - i do not want to be strung along for 3-4months and then find that i am being charged but am too late to do anything about it.

danielz000

essex_chris wrote: »

I was expecting something a bit more conclusive really, so i will have to read this and other threads thoroughly and get some kind of confirmation - i do not want to be strung along for 3-4months and then find that i am being charged but am too late to do anything about it.

Don't waste your time reading mate... I've been reading them over and over again for 3 days now and I've got absolutely no where... Like you said it seems that in 3-4 months they are going to give us all a royal shafting and it'll be too late to do anything about it... I think your just going to have to make a call on cancelling the DD and sending them a letter, or not doing anything at all....

Tough one eh?