Vodafone Internet Charges ?

[morgande]

Hello, I got my n95 last weekend and I love it, it's a great phone.

I've got Vodafone "unlimited" Internet on a contract and everwhere I look it says
that there is a 500mb limit on anything with is ok for me, BUT when talking to a couple of
different support people at vodafone they say that yes, it is 500mb limit but if
I use youtube, googlemap, instants messenger or anything I download like music or movies, I have to pay extra internet charges ?!?!

Can someone please tell me how it works, I'm totally confused over when I will and when I won't be charged by vodafone when using their "unlimited" internet.

Thanks!

[madmansam]

It is a very wellknown RIP OFF with some carriers .. you will never know what you allowed or disallowed with voda !!!!!just call them and insist on full terms and conditions of your allowances and threat to move on as there is no such a thing called " LIMITED UNLIMITED"..Good luck.

[morgande]

Ok, Sounds like vodafone in't very good, I've only hade the phone for a week so I can probably get out of the contract without any problems,
What provider would be better If I want to use the internet quite alot ?

[Bartmanekul]

You will not get charged for going over the 500 limit.

500MB is more of a guideline, if your excessivly using it (i.e. over 500MB a lot, or constantly doing it each month), then they will contact you and tell you to either curb your usage, or start paying for a higher data package.

This is on Vodafones own forum posted by their reps, so you can feel safe on that one.

[morgande]

Thanks, But I still don't feel safe after what they told me, When I talked to them I said that I had 10mb
in the log on recieved data and they still insisted that I would get charged separate if I used google maps
or you tube and the only thing I wouldn't get charge for was normal web browsing, Not sure what to do,
I spoke with 3 different people at vodafone and they all told me the same, but looking at their webpage all
I see is the 500mb limit, there's no mention about any extra for ie google maps.

[Bartmanekul]

Vodafone has a real problem with its support staff, thats always been the case. They need to sort it out.

Hang about, I'll try to find the vodafone post where it gave details.

I asked the rep if that data included everything, i.e. using the phone as a modem for a laptop.

I was told that was fine.

[Bartmanekul]

Here you go, from Vodafones own forum with answers from their own reps.

New Price Plans - Vodafone eForum

Scroll down to post 73, where it says:

Hi again

The new data is as woogal says. There's a fair usage limit that if consistently exceeded may result in charges. If for example you normally use under 500MB per month then one month used 600MB, you'd not be charged for the additional 100MB as this is the kind of scenario the new plans have been designed to avoid.

If your phone is used as a modem, this will be included in your data allowance. Just be aware of the amount of data you're using as it's easy to get out of hand through a laptop.

Dave
eForum Team

Going by whats said in that thread, you would have a very good case for a refund if they charged you extra.

They really need to get the phone support sorted out, its currently very poor. When they stopped charging for unlock codes it was exactly the same thing, some support staff saying different to others and not knowing the new policy.

[morgande]

Great, Thanks, I will give the a call again and hit them with all the info you've given me, It'll be fun to see what they say

[Steve_R]

I'd be very careful with all this internet on Vodafone stuff if I were you.

Ewan over at smstextnews has just had a ball dropped with his latest bill, which is probably data outside of what Vodafone want you to use....... SMS Text News Archives Have I made a massive mistake signing up with Vodafone?

[Paul 88]

Vodafone offed me "free" internet on my phone,i just replied "i have broadband at home"

[morgande]

I've decided to return the phone and join another provider,
I'm not gonna be stuck in an 18 month contract when things about internet charges are very unclear.

Can anyone suggest a provider ? Don't want to switch a second time If I make another bad choice.

[Steve_R]

I've decided to return the phone and join another provider,
I'm not gonna be stuck in an 18 month contract when things about internet charges are very unclear.

Can anyone suggest a provider ? Don't want to switch a second time If I make another bad choice.

If you use a fair bit of data, it's probably going to have to be Three or T-Mobile. I'd personally go with Three, as T-Mobile's call quality is just plain terrible.

[morgande]

Oh god, Now I'm torn Again, I Got an official respone from the vodafone forum.

Thanks for letting me know your thoughts on our data bundle.

There's absolutely no need to be wary of using data services as there's no additional data service that you'll be charged for. Googlemaps, youtube, instant messenger and emails are all services that are included in your data allowance.

The only things I can think of that you're charged extra for are downloads of music etc from Vodafone Live and if you're using data outside of the UK. You're always asked to confirm these charges though beforehand. You'll never be charged without being aware of it.

The link for smstextnews is a little misleading. Ewan is a friend of the eForum Team and we've contacted him and resolved this. The bill Ewan posted shows that these data charges are for April. Before the 1st May 2008, the data bundle was 120MB so this would indicate to me that Ewan used over this 120MB and incurred charges. I'm sure Ewan will update his blog too in the near future. Obviously with the new Unlimited bundle (500MB fair usage policy), there's no chance of running up charges unwittingly.

I hope this helps put you at ease and hope you can now make full use of the great data services available.

Dave
eForum Team

[Bartmanekul]

I was going to post to ask about that, but forgot my password and got locked out for a while.

[dtm]

I'd personally go with Three, as T-Mobile's call quality is just plain terrible.

Ermm.. Three uses T-Mobile's (and also Orange's) masts, how can the quality be poor on one and not on the other?

I would recommend T-Mobile only because im with them and have never had a problem and feel the reps go that extra mile to help you save money etc plus they speak english and can understand cleary what i say

[Steve_R]

Ermm.. Three uses T-Mobile's (and also Orange's) masts, how can the quality be poor on one and not on the other?

Not quite correct.....

Three uses the Orange 2G network only.

The partnership between T-Mobile and 3 only covers the 3G networks, and only to extend each others networks in areas that one provider hasn't got coverage.

Seeing as 3 has, by far, the bigger 3G network, I would say that more often than not it is going to be T-Mobile customers piggybacking onto the 3 network rather than vice-versa.

[dtm]

Not quite correct.....

Three uses the Orange 2G network only.

The partnership between T-Mobile and 3 only covers the 3G networks, and only to extend each others networks in areas that one provider hasn't got coverage.

Seeing as 3 has, by far, the bigger 3G network, I would say that more often than not it is going to be T-Mobile customers piggybacking onto the 3 network rather than vice-versa.

So i guess your in a area that T-Mobile doesnt provide very good signal as opposed to 3/Hutch and thats why you have poor quality in calls?

[PhobosDeimos]

Hello everyone.

I can understand the confusion caused by people giving you different answers.
For that I can only apologise and post the correct information here.

Vodafone do not block or restrict access on it's internet connection for any services however there are a few charges for usage outside the bundles T's&C's. The following is taken directly from our Data Charges Page :

"Neither our day rate nor monthly pack can be used for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services or Peer-to-Peer services. These services are charged separately at £2 per MB, with a 5p minimum charge for each data session."

This is the one and only exclusion from our new Data packs so all in all, a pretty open product.
If you wish to read more about data charges you can find it here.

One of the biggest things people mix up is sending videos and pictures via MMS as data. MMS's are not classed as data and are charged separately.

If you have any more questions surrounding data then we are more than happy to help.


PhobosDeimos
Vodafone UK

[Bartmanekul]

Eh, so how is MMS charged? Does it come out of normal text allowance (i.e. 3 texts)?

And how do you know a VOIP program is being used?

[dani2xll]

i would also like to know how that is charged as i have 3000 texts a month being used rarely. Can i use it for mms and i know vodafone locks voip out of their phones but what if you have an uncustomised phone, how is this voip charged or how do they know what it is that your using the data connection for?