Talkmobile £600 bill for 8gb data for my 14yr old

Rusty!

buglawton wrote: »

Three has an annoying feature, if you want a quick look at your account via the 3 app you have to turn wifi OFF. Easy to forget to turn it on again.

This is incorrect.

buglawton

Just checked the Three iPhone app with WiFi and indeed, that's been fixed now.

[ Edit ]
The above was 5 mins after trying 3G only.

Back on home wifi, opened the Three app, see:

"You're not connected to the Three mobile network..." Etc as before.
So I was right first time.
To access your account on the Three app you need to turn OFF wifi and it's so easy to forget to turn it back on - welcome to BILL SHOCK!

MarkBargain

I would phone TalkMobile again and say you want to leave the network because of what happened. Ask for your PAC and see if they make you any sort of discount off the big bill to stay. If not, as others have suggested, I would moved to a network like Tesco that allows a usage cap, or alternatively a service like Giffgaff which works using credit topped up in advance to buy monthly packages.

Kim_13

MarkBargain wrote: »

I would phone TalkMobile again and say you want to leave the network because of what happened. Ask for your PAC and see if they make you any sort of discount off the big bill to stay. If not, as others have suggested, I would moved to a network like Tesco that allows a usage cap, or alternatively a service like Giffgaff which works using credit topped up in advance to buy monthly packages.

Definitely this. Ofcom state that they can't refuse to give you a PAC on the grounds that you owe them money.

grumbler

And what if there are still many months ahead before the minimum term ends?

System

You could do two practical steps to limit data use:

1. Turn off 3G on the mobile, 2G will use GPRS or EDGE both of which are slower than 3G.
2. Change the APN settings on the phone so the type is only MMS (remove default,sup and internet if there)

Talk Mobile have an awful billing system which isn't even close to realtime - they told me it took them up to 3 days to get billing info from Vodafone..! You could ask if they can apply any data bundles to the account to reduce the cost.

buglawton

Good point, Talk Mobile will have already bought the data from Vodaphone in advance so it should not have cost them anything like that amount.

It's a big fail of the phone manufacturers that you don't get a popup warning when streaming on 3G. With Android you can probably get an app to do that but not iphones. It all adds up to what looks like a conspiracy to encourage this sort of thing to happen. This week on Watchdog there was a big item on phone theft leading to £6000-20000 mobile bills due to organised fraud. Similar reason, no automatic bill caps. The UK was supposed to get legislation this spring but all networks refused to cooperate. Avoid contract phones!

Rusty!

buglawton wrote: »

Just checked the Three iPhone app with WiFi and indeed, that's been fixed now.

[ Edit ]
The above was 5 mins after trying 3G only.

Back on home wifi, opened the Three app, see:

"You're not connected to the Three mobile network..." Etc as before.
So I was right first time.
To access your account on the Three app you need to turn OFF wifi and it's so easy to forget to turn it back on - welcome to BILL SHOCK!

On the Android app you can view your remaining mins etc with WiFi on.

So we're both wrong and both right, I guess.

cashbag

You have long been able to access your three account by using the website on WiFi, rather than the app with WiFi turned off. I have my phone on three PAYG, but usually check my balance/account info either from my PC or tablet so there is no chance of using mobile data. But even on the phone you can just to go to the website when you have a WiFi signal. Simples! Free! Safe!

buglawton

Apps are meant to make life simple & easy and no need to enter a username and password on a tiny screen at a busy railway station.

On that basis the Three app is a bit of a FAIL as it forces you to turn WiFi off. My non-techy missus has trouble with it every time.

But the main reason we sometimes find WiFi turned off at home on the phone is, she's been out and about and something like o2 or an in-store free WiFi had only half connected, so blocking 3g data. Disabling the WiFi solves that but it's so easy to leave it off the rest of the day. Luckily it's a PAYG SIM. This lack of data control is a major reason we avoid contract SIMs.