Talk Mobile Billing Dispute

rirismi

Hey guys

I don't know if this is right sub forum for this but I thought I could with some advice.

Talk Mobile recently sent me through my phone bill for this month which is whooping £71.54 instead of my usual £30. So I immediately called them up to see what the charges were for and they said it was data usage. I'm entitled to IGB a month as part of my contract.

When I got this phone a year and half ago, I went through the contracy with an employee to make sure I had all the details correct before signing. I would be billed on the 18th of each month via direct debit and my data, minutes and texts would be refreshed on the 1st of each month (which is what is said on the contract).

When I relayed the information to the employee at the carphoem warehouse, he stated to me everything would be refreshed on the 16th of each month. I know with soem companies the refresh date can be different. So confirming the details with him I signed the contract, though was initially confused when he said it was the 16th rather the 1st that everything gets refreshed.

For the last year and half with this phone my bills have been perfectly fine, so I've never had to look at my statements online as they have all been at the £30 mark. But with this shocking bill of £71.53 for apparently using 0.94GB from the 16th September to 15th October according to the data usage on my phone... I was confused as there should be no extra charge as I'm under 1GB.

When I call they say I have used 1.44gb from the Ist September to 30th September.

From what I gather... When originally getting this phone, the employee misinformed of the cycle of when my phone gets refreshed, when I stated the contract said the 1st and he said the 16th.

A manager is going to get back to me in 5 days. Do you guys think I have leg to stand in being charged £30 instead of £71 based on being misinformed, regardless of me asking the employee a few times before signing that its definitely being refreshed on the 16th rather than the 1st.

The contract states it refreshes on the 1st, so I am worried they are just going to say to me "Well you should have read your contract."

I did and relayed to an employee in which they came me misleading information...

Obviously for the future I'll update my phone to correct data cycle so this doesn't happen again. I'm assuming I have just been lucky this last year and a half...

grumbler

rirismi wrote: »

....I would be billed on the 18th of each month via direct debit and my data, minutes and texts would be refreshed on the 1st of each month (which is what is said on the contract).

Do you have the contract? Quote exactly what it says or post a photo.

When I relayed the information to the employee at the carphoem warehouse, he stated to me everything would be refreshed on the 16th of each month. I know with soem companies the refresh date can be different. So confirming the details with him I signed the contract, though was initially confused when he said it was the 16th rather the 1st that everything gets refreshed.

The 'refresh' date can't be different from the billing date. You get billed for the finished billing month and get the allowances 'refreshed' for the next billing month.
There can be a small delay between the bill is produced and when you physically receive it.

The first bill is usually different as it covers more than one billing month - because the the contract and the billing month generally don't start on the same date.

rirismi

grumbler wrote: »

Do you have the contract? Quote exactly what it says or post a photo.

The 'refresh' date can't be different from the billing date. You get billed for the finished billing month and get the allowances 'refreshed' for the next billing month.
There can be a small delay between the bill is produced and when you physically receive it.

The first bill is usually different as it covers more than one billing month - because the the contract and the billing month generally don't start on the same date.

I just managed to dig the contract out. Maybe my memory is even more terrible than I thought. It doesn't even state a refresh date on the contract, just personal information such as address, contract package information and length of contract.... But he showed it to me on the computer screen when he was sorting out all the details.

I am billed on the 18-20th of each month (my bank statements show that)... Depending on bank holidays and such... And was told it would be refreshed on the 16th, so when they were helping me set up my phone they set up the data usage cycle from 16th of one month to the 15th of the next so I could keep track of my data usage.

It just seems odd that a year and a half into a contract I get a surprise bill when I haven't done anything different with phone, I rarely download new apps and never use data roaming. And I use WiFi over data at any given opportunity. I have never gone over my data allowance before in the four years I have been with Talk Mobile. So to tell me I have gone over my allowance by 0.5GB is obsurd.

God... I don't even know what to think anymore. I did get the contract through the carphone warehouse.

grumbler

rirismi wrote: »

...I am billed on the 18-20th of each month (my bank statements show that)...

Your bank statement shows the DD payment taken on the due date that is about 15 days later than the billing date.

Have you ever seen your mobile bill? It says everything very clearly.

rirismi

grumbler wrote: »

Your bank statement shows the DD payment taken on the due date that is about 15 days later than the billing date.

Have you ever seen your mobile bill? It says everything very clearly.

Taken out on the 18th of every month for all the months I can see. And this one is due 18th October according to the bill. I've never really ever had to go online and look at my bills because I have always been charged £30 a month like I signed up for so there hasn't been a reason for me to check. Which is I suppose is silly of me in hindsight.

The billing period they have hear is from the 4th of one month to the 3rd of the next, but I am always billed on the 18th.

They suddenly decided to start charging for my mobile data on the 25th September when they thought I was already over 1GB of data. But according to how they set up my "refreshers", I had only used around 0.3GB from the 16th September to the 26th September.

It seems there has just been so much miscommunication in this entire contract...

balletshoes

It may not be the sole reason for your data bill this month, but do you have facebook on your phone? If so, have you gone in and changed the settings to only stream videos on facebook while using wifi? Facebook changed their processes this year, and it hit my OH's phone last month (he had extra data charges for the first time ever on his monthly bill).

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5053034

rirismi

balletshoes wrote: »

It may not be the sole reason for your data bill this month, but do you have facebook on your phone? If so, have you gone in and changed the settings to only stream videos on facebook while using wifi? Facebook changed their processes this year, and it hit my OH's phone last month (he had extra data charges for the first time ever on his monthly bill).

The Facebook auto play video thing has been around for a few months. I didn't turn off the setting for the first couple of months it was out and it didn't affect my data. I turned the video feature off anyway because it was just plain annoying.

I have literally searched through all my apps to make sure none of them have been causing the charge this month... I haven't downloaded any new apps in the last month.

The only time I really use my data is in my lunch break at work... Apart from that it is disabled and am connected to WiFi.

mobilejunkie

There seem to be some misconceptions about this.

Talkmobile billing isn't like other networks. The bundle date is indeed NOT the same as the statement date. The terms used by the OP are misleading; they have now said it is the dd and not the bill which happens around 18th. That means the billing date they have now found makes sense - though the bundle date will be a few days earlier i.e. around 1st.

The CPW employee selling the phone wouldn't have known what the billing or bundle dates are, since they are set up by the network and also not generally stated in the t&c.

Not checking bills is always a huge error - all sorts can happen and in this instance the different dates would have been evident had the OP checked at any time up until this happened.

The first thing I do with any new contract is call the network and check the billing date, the bundle date (NOT the same date with this network) and a few other things - before I use the sim. I then reset the logs for minutes, texts and data at the start of each new bundle date so I never go outside my allowances on any given contract. I also immediately set a pin on the phone (unless I'm selling it, which I invariably do nowadays) and the sim - something else most people seem not to bother with and which causes repeated problems when phones go missing or get stolen according to the threads on here.

grumbler

mobilejunkie wrote: »

...Talkmobile billing isn't like other networks. The bundle date is indeed NOT the same as the statement date.

I stand corrected then...

mobilejunkie

It's unusual and makes things unnecessarily complicated, but the way they work. They also still charge in advance (rather than pro-rata as other networks I am with do) on the bill prior to terminiation - and if you don't ask for the overpayment back, you don't get.

rirismi

mobilejunkie wrote: »

There seem to be some misconceptions about this.

Talkmobile billing isn't like other networks. The bundle date is indeed NOT the same as the statement date. The terms used by the OP are misleading; they have now said it is the dd and not the bill which happens around 18th. That means the billing date they have now found makes sense - though the bundle date will be a few days earlier i.e. around 1st.

The CPW employee selling the phone wouldn't have known what the billing or bundle dates are, since they are set up by the network and also not generally stated in the t&c.

Not checking bills is always a huge error - all sorts can happen and in this instance the different dates would have been evident had the OP checked at any time up until this happened.

The first thing I do with any new contract is call the network and check the billing date, the bundle date (NOT the same date with this network) and a few other things - before I use the sim. I then reset the logs for minutes, texts and data at the start of each new bundle date so I never go outside my allowances on any given contract. I also immediately set a pin on the phone (unless I'm selling it, which I invariably do nowadays) and the sim - something else most people seem not to bother with and which causes repeated problems when phones go missing or get stolen according to the threads on here.

The weird thing is before this current phone... I was on a contract with them before. Very similar package and was well aware that the billing date was 18th like agreed and the "refresh date' being the 1st. When making a new contract for a new phone when my other was due for expiry, keeping everything the same would obviously be the easiest thing to do.

So when the employee said the 16th as opposed to the 1st, you're correct, I probably should have investigated further. But I'm no expert with phone companies... I assume the employee knew if he had told me a date. If he was unsure it was 16th when I was going through the contract with him, surely he would have said something along the lines of "I'm not sure... Let me ask or another staff member or call the appropriate person?"

Obviously... Me not checking my bills regularly is my error, I accept that.