Charges for connecting to "maritime" networks without consent - how do they get away with this?

Bricks

k12479 said:

Oh come on...you're giving a domestic satellite hardware cost to compare to one that's moving, in inhospitable conditions with capacity for 1000+ people and that a 12 month contract is cheaper per unit than a short-term ad-hoc connection.

Of course there's an element of what they can get away with, exacerbated by limited competition compared to land-based providers for the obvious reason that the market is much smaller. But anything marine, or aeronautical, is more expensive than land-based counterparts for various reasons.

Yup sure. Of course the hardware would be more expensive and I can see that there is a significant difference in receiving/broadcasting from a moving location. 

On the other hand they can buy and sell data in much greater bulk than a domestic user.

The point is to get a grip on how expensive satellite data is to provide, fundamentally.

Even if the "being at sea" factor increased the cost 100-fold so that it was $1 per MB, if you are selling it at £6 per MB then there's still an enormous mark-up involved.

southsidergs

Despite the rights/wrongs & whats happened etc, the bit about speaking to your supplier is correct. They should have been sending you a text first so you'd be entitled to a refund from them based on that IMO

zagfles

Bricks said:

No one is addressing the question of how a regular UK consumer, should reasonably come to be aware of the fact that if they get on a ferry from their home country to another country which they've checked is within their roaming allowances, their phone is liable to automatically connect to a network that has charges for data that are so high no-one would do it by choice.

Nor does anyone seem interested in the motives of the ferry company and/or the maritime network provider, in installing such a service on board. Again, the data charges are so high that no-one would choose to connect to it, especially given that wi-fi networks are available on board.

I get it, there is some self-satisfaction in being able to post about how you yourself are sufficiently superior to the regular person in your knowledge, planning and research that you can avoid getting caught ought. Many congratulations. But I think that we are looking at a situation that is set up with the intention of catching people out, and I don't see why this shouldn't be questioned or challenged.

I only got charged £10 because I set my spend cap low. It's not the end of the world for me. I'm complaining out of principle, because I don't think it's ok to deliberately trap people in this way. I don't think it's ok to impose a financial penalty as a punishment for not being aware of something, something that is not highlighted in a way that is intended to make sure as few people as possible get caught.

Ding! The usual here.

I remember when I was on Vodafone they sent a text when connected to a maritime network saying data is disabled and giving the (very high) charges for voice/texts. On 1pmobile it didn't seem to connect to maritime networks even though it's in their tariff list.

Money_Grabber13579

southsidergs said:

Despite the rights/wrongs & whats happened etc, the bit about speaking to your supplier is correct. They should have been sending you a text first so you'd be entitled to a refund from them based on that IMO

I’m surprised the OP didn’t get a text with this information. Over the years, I’ve been with O2, EE and currently BT and every time I’ve been on the boat, I’ve received a text explaining the costs.

MikeWhite

Ding! The usual here.

I remember when I was on Vodafone they sent a text when connected to a maritime network saying data is disabled and giving the (very high) charges for voice/texts. On 1pmobile it didn't seem to connect to maritime networks even though it's in their tariff list.

Aha, I get the warning on 1p mobile when walking along the North Norfolk coast, under the bigger cliffs.

Money_Grabber13579

I’m on the boat right now and have just received this message (destination and departure ports are both in the UK).

Bricks

Money_Grabber13579 said:

I’m on the boat right now and have just received this message (destination and departure ports are both in the UK).

Hope you either have a zero spend cap or managed to switch it off before they charged you £50 for a few MB of incidental data!

Money_Grabber13579

Bricks said:

Money_Grabber13579 said:

I’m on the boat right now and have just received this message (destination and departure ports are both in the UK).

Hope you either have a zero spend cap or managed to switch it off before they charged you £50 for a few MB of incidental data!

Yep. My roaming is turned off (as it always is until I actually want to use it and even then, I always look for wireless networks first) and I was connected to the ship’s free wi-fi (painfully slow but did the job).

Bricks

Well, I just managed to get this charge fully refunded, with little argument from my operator (three UK).

daverett

I was stung by a £45 charge for taking a ferry.  Three network, all inclusive plan including data and roaming for £27pcm.

I boarded the ferry, went to bed in my cabin and woke up in France to some incomprehensible SMS about reaching data limits (on an unlimited roaming contract) plus a whopping £45 + VAT charge incurred whilst asleep.

Not happy!