Iphone data charges?? r they havin a laugh

carlih1

Hi ya.

Just had my orange iphone cut off 4 days after by bank dd bounced because of an extra £97.00 in data charges. But 4 days?? two of them were the weekend, when i spoke to the lady on hte phone she said i should have had two letters before it was cut off and because of that i have had to call a mobile number to orange for 45 minutes to try and sort this mess out.

Basically we went on holiday and she said most people get a msg on their iphone asking to turn off data roaming, was the first i had heard of it and basically i have been charged from the moment i set foot in spain to the minute i left.

I think i accessed the internet once to find a cure for tummy trouble but apart from that if i needed to i used the computer in the hotel.

I've just spent all this time on hte phone to them and she was going round and round in circles. I've said im not willing to pay for something that in my eyes is a scam! If your not aware of something then how can you switch it off? I had my phone mostly turned off and only used it to call home to check on the little ones. Anyway rant over?

Am i actually expected to pay this extortionate amount and arent they completely out of order blocking my phone after four days? ? I've had no letter from them in fact right now im completely fed up with orange.

Carli

cgk1

B

Basically we went on holiday and she said most people get a msg on their iphone asking to turn off data roaming, was the first i had heard of it and basically i have been charged from the moment i set foot in spain to the minute i left.

I think i accessed the internet once to find a cure for tummy trouble but apart from that if i needed to i used the computer in the hotel.

What has more than likely happened is that while you weren't actively searching for information, your phone was pulling down data for applications in the background. With Smart-phones, you have to be very careful that you manually disable the data connection or you will find that it's still working in the background.

Just had my orange iphone cut off 4 days after by bank dd bounced because of an extra £97.00 in data charges.

There is something wrong here, you should have been cut off when you reached £41 (because of changes to European regulations that came into force on the 1st July 2010).

these three things should have happened:

Under the rules:

* Operators must send details of data roaming charges to customers when they enter another EU country
* A warning when 80% of the limit is used must be sent by text message, e-mail, or pop-up window on a computer
* Customers should be cut off when they reach the agreed limit or the default maximum of 50 euros.

cgk1

Wow, I thought this was a money saving forum not one where people could purse their lips and try and outcompete each other in how much they can resemble someone sucking a lemon. Yes I'm sure it's fantastically helpful to tell the OP that He/She is an idiot but how is that helping them with the current situation?


carlih1 - my first suggestion to you would be to ask why you weren't cut off at £41 as they are required to do by law (unless you had already pre-agreed a higher limit?)

carlih1

Sorry but these posts Are jus derogatory. I am a stay at home mum with three children who also has ME. I dont have time to read every single law and regulation about how everything in my life works. I was though of the opinion that if the internet isnt accessed you dont get charged for it. if that makes me ignorant then so be it i was merely asking for advice not condescending comments!
Its a shame people like you let this forum down.

Thanks to the posters that actually offered some advice. Will follow those up thanks.

robt_2

The default iPhone setting is that data roaming is OFF - you (or someone else) has enabled it, assuming that the phone was not second hand and the previous owner had it turned ON.

It is very strange you were cut off so quickly though.

pigeonpie

sorry you have M.E and a stressy fight with Orange. I also have M.E and know that it doesn't help with cognitive functioning so people should be a lot more understanding than clearly some of them are.
Here's the link for the EU regulation - send it to Orange and good luck with it http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/roaming/regulation/index_en.htm

Guys_Dad

OP - you complain about being cut off after 4 days because your DD was bounced? But you write "I've said im not willing to pay for something that in my eyes is a scam! If your not aware of something then how can you switch it off? I had my phone mostly turned off and only used it to call home to check on the little ones. "

So are Orange not correct then to cut their losses??


The point made - rather rudely in my opinion - about Iphones running up data use by running apps in "silent" or hidden mode is very valid and, in all fairness, you really need to read the manual and understand about these devices to avoid the pitfall you found yourself in.

You should pay the amount to avoid any further damage to your credit rating because you can be sure that no other network will give you a contract if you have previous experience of not paying Orange.

Then you should look at your itemised account and you may find that the times of the data transfers were in the middle of the night, showing that indeed your Iphone was working behind the scenes - my cheap Nokia 5130 did that to me apparently.

The main thing to get your head around is, unless Orange have really cocked up the data charges, then it must be down to you, however unwittingly. So, if they are in the clear, accept that it was a genuine mistake on your part, slap your wrists for not taking the time and effort to learn about the sophisticated bit of technology you have, rectify that NOW, and move on.

cgk1

You should pay the amount to avoid any further damage to your credit rating because you can be sure that no other network will give you a contract if you have previous experience of not paying Orange.

No they should query why they were not cut off at £41 as per European regulation, even if they have to pay the £41 they should not pay the rest due to the unlawful activities of the company.

JJ_Egan

Smartphone bought nobody told me data was always ON .( though thats why they call them smart )
Surprised that it was but not my networks fault that i am ignorant of how something works .
Lesson learned use app to turn mobile data off .
I still get caught out occasionally my fault cannot expect the network to pay just cause i am thick at times .

jje

Guys_Dad

cgk1 wrote: »

No they should query why they were not cut off at £41 as per European regulation, even if they have to pay the £41 they should not pay the rest due to the unlawful activities of the company.

In an ideal world you may be right but this is not the ideal world. Make no mistake, if OP doesn't pay, the credit record will reflect that. In this day and age, a bad credit record can have serious repercussions way in excess of the amount "overpaid".

Pay then reclaim is the only way forward, unfortunately. But, hey, that's only my opinion, you may be morally correct. Bet many other MSE members wouldn't take the chance though.

gjchester

carlih1 wrote: »

I dont have time to read every single law and regulation about how everything in my life works. I was though of the opinion that if the internet isnt accessed you dont get charged for it. .

With respect your MS is irrelevent to this.

If you don't read Terms and Condiditons with any product you can't really complain when they charge you as defined in the contract.

Coming back on topic. Orange charge £3 a meg for data in Spain, so a £97 bill is 33/34MB of data. Thats more than a little surfing, did you check Facebook for example?

Iphones by default do not allow data roaming, you have to specifically turn it on and it does warn you of that it might be expensive on the slider.


I relaise thats little comfort but you should have heeded the warning.