Orange bill for £500 - help

saggie_annie

I have received £300 internet data usage bill this month. When i called orange i was told that i have used 3GB above my allowance and the my data usage bill was capped to £300 and when i checked my recent charges for bill that’s due to generate next month – its shows £300 data charge in that as well.
I do not watch videos or listen song. I mostly use my chatting app. Moreover i have wi-fi at home and at work. So am normally on wi-fi. I was not using my phone in any different way this month. From my past bill my average data usage is 300-400MB.

So i asked orange to tell me which site have used most or where i have used most data. They said they do not have such info. They can only tell the time and amount of data used which is also not very accurate.

When i spoke to them and asked about £1 a day cap then i was told that mine is business account. so i asked about capping rule for business and the said £5 for 250MB. Then i asked "if thats the rule then i should be charged £60 for 3GB not £300". The lady replied " that capping is with new deals". my contract is 9month old.
There’s something not right. What shall i do now? Please help !!!

Emy1501

saggie_annie wrote: »

I have received £300 internet data usage bill this month. When i called orange i was told that i have used 3GB above my allowance and the my data usage bill was capped to £300 and when i checked my recent charges for bill that’s due to generate next month – its shows £300 data charge in that as well.
I do not watch videos or listen song. I mostly use my chatting app. Moreover i have wi-fi at home and at work. So am normally on wi-fi. I was not using my phone in any different way this month. From my past bill my average data usage is 300-400MB.

So i asked orange to tell me which site have used most or where i have used most data. They said they do not have such info. They can only tell the time and amount of data used which is also not very accurate.

When i spoke to them and asked about £1 a day cap then i was told that mine is business account. so i asked about capping rule for business and the said £5 for 250MB. Then i asked "if thats the rule then i should be charged £60 for 3GB not £300". The lady replied " that capping is with new deals". my contract is 9month old.
There’s something not right. What shall i do now? Please help !!!

You need to read the T&C for charges and the data cap. I know when I was looking for a new sim only deal oranges for capped data per day only seemed to relate to the first 25 mb and then it was something like £3 a mb. You therefore need to clarify charges.

If you have an android or apple phone you may want to download something like my data apps which will break down all usage across wifi and mobile data and then you can monitor any problems.

At the same time you may want to turn mobile data off for the time being or try to agree a better package till ou can sort out the problem.

Also push Orange for a breakdown of the charges

Also check whether you have things like apps updating automatically on and that apps can update over mobile data plus syncing etc as these can all increase data usage.

Herongull

I don't know if this helps but according to the Orange website, UK data usage (not just browsing - usage) is capped.

"We've also capped UK data usage for when you've used all of your monthly data allocation. The maximum you'll pay once you've used your data allocation is £40.85 (£30.64 on some older plans)."

The above implies that the cap (£40.85 or £30.64 on older plans) is for the month.

http://help.orange.co.uk/orangeuk/support/personal/476689

It sounds like these big bills are just system errors and the CS are just guessing "explanations"

Orange also say elsewhere on their site


"We know that one of your main concerns when using data is controlling how much you use. Because of this, we've launched the Orange Bill Promise for any tariffs connected before 5 May 2010, which will help you have that extra peace of mind when using mobile broadband.

Depending on which tariff you have, we've introduced a £30.64 per month cap and a £40.85 per month cap. This means that each month, you'll not be charged for any out-of-bundle data usage above the cap limit that you have with your tariff. If you have any queries regarding your cap, please call 150 from your Orange phone, or 07973 100 150 from any other phone.

Caps aren't available in any other value to those listed above, and apply only to UK data usage.

Should your usage exceed the cap value on a regular basis, we reserve the right to request that you control your data usage, or we may change you to another tariff."

http://help.orange.co.uk/orangeuk/support/personal/481869

saggie_annie

when i spoke to CS - they said because this is first time they will help me and i may have to pay only 20%. And if you disagree you have to pay full amount. It was like they were threatening me to accept whatever they are offering. But i am still not happy to pay £120+vat as i think there's some mistake and i dont use mobile internet much when am out. Mostly i use it at home or at work. Moreover when there are capping options then why wast i given that choice.

Herongull

Based on the information on the Orange website, these are not "capping options" - everyone is automatically capped so they cannot get a big data bill (as long as you connected after May 2010).

The maximum you can be billed for data in a month is either £30.65 or £40.85.

saggie_annie

Thanks Herongull and Emy.

Sry but a bit siliy question. Is the internet allowance in my contract is mobile broadband?

grumbler

I think the term 'mobile broadband' is used for PC dongles.
For a phone it is 'mobile data' or 'mobile internet'.

And they do have the information on what you used the data for. They just don't want to move their fat asses to get it. It's easier for them just to bully and blackmail their customers. Demand investigation and explanation of what exactly they charge you for. If they refuse complain to Ofcom/ombudsman.

Herongull

Grumbler, you are right.

Sorry Saggie-Annie - I put data cap into the Orange website and the passages I've quoted came out. Didn't spot the significance of mobile broadband.

You were right to query - it definitely wasn't a silly question.

Guys_Dad

Herongull wrote: »

Grumbler, you are right.

Sorry Saggie-Annie - I put data cap into the Orange website and the passages I've quoted came out. Didn't spot the significance of mobile broadband.

You were right to query - it definitely wasn't a silly question.

Also, Saggie-Annie has a business a/c.

Charliezoo

Sorry if this is a silly question - how does 1 hour 10 mins of UK streaming end up costing £500? I didn't think this would be possible!