Calling ALL Vodafone "Unlimited" data plan users

godskitchen

As many of you know, Vodafone have been cutting off users of their "Unlimited" data plan over the past week or so. I hate to keep using the inverted commas but its their wording not ours, hell its even on my last bill!

What have they been cut of for? For using more than 5Gb of data, some how this doesn't seem so "Unlimited" anymore does it!

Never was what is effectually a 5Gb cap ever mentioned to me when I signed up to the service, I have not been made aware of this even now, I only know of the situation through these boards. Vodafone have moved the goal posts, without telling us, not only is moving the goal post unacceptable, not informing us is just as bad.

We need to take action, we need to stick together and we need to make everyone including media aware of what is going on. It seems to me that now anyone can offer unlimited service, subject to "Fair use" and then make up the rules as they go along. If I did this in my business I would be shut down.

If we don't stick together on this one we can all kiss good buy to the service we signed up for. Its clear to me that Vodafone are prepared to loose us as customers so its going to be a hard fight and we need get our heads together on this one.

What are we going to do as a group? Are we prepared to compromise? Do we stand a chance of changing their mind? how many of us are there?

Don't sit back and let other people sort this one out people, stand up and be counted.

jhegarty

The first step is to make a written complaint to comreg...

I haven't been cut off yet, but from what I have read its only a matter of time......

the second I got cut off there will be a letter going off....

godskitchen

How about if we were to put something in writing as a group?

Or get one person in Comreg as a point of contact for us when we get cut off?

Sponge Bob

Comreg dont give a **** about you people, go to the NCA instead. Comreg allowed 1000s of Smart customers to get cut off this time last year and did nothing then.

Comreg will only act if you make a formal complaint TO Vodafone first ....after which Vodafone wll cut you off and after which again Comreg will do nothing because you are not a Vodafone customer.

www.nca.ie I recommend you ring them first thing in the morning ad PM names between yourselves to get a point of contact for complaints .

Then email the contact the full complaint to follow

Make sure you have a copy of your T&Cs to hand.

Once you have logged a complaint with the NCA and gotten a complaint rfeference acknowledgement then complain to Comreg but ONLY about systemic breach of contract .

croo

I'm an unlimited customer too but I doubt if I've ever crossed the 5GB limit .. but now that godskitchen has told me how to improve my connection I could easily who knows. With their advertised 3.6Mb speeds and planned 7.2Mb - a 5GB limit is a makes the whole thing kind of meaningless.

I must say vodafones stance on this amazes me. They paid billions for 3g licenses that were useless for so long while they held out - only selling their bandwidth at prices only big businesses could afford. And now that they have a sliver of a chance of making some kind of return on their 3g licenses (and I would bet 3g is their only real growth area) they pull some rubbish like this on those early adapters who were willing to spend above the odds to use their service.

godskitchen

Sponge Wow amazing info, I will get on to it first thing in the morning!

croo Your dead right about Early Adapters or Early Adopters, there is also the added benifit of us knowing what we are talking about, I am pretty sure most of us are and have sold Vodafone to friends, and I know I am the first port of call for friends on maters of this kind.

You would imagine Vodafone wold know this?

godskitchen

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Comreg dont give a **** about you people, go to the NCA instead. Comreg allowed 1000s of Smart customers to get cut off this time last year and did nothing then.

Comreg will only act if you make a formal complaint TO Vodafone first ....after which Vodafone wll cut you off and after which again Comreg will do nothing because you are not a Vodafone customer.

www.nca.ie I recommend you ring them first thing in the morning ad PM names between yourselves to get a point of contact for complaints .

Then email the contact the full complaint to follow

Make sure you have a copy of your T&Cs to hand.

Once you have logged a complaint with the NCA and gotten a complaint rfeference acknowledgement then complain to Comreg but ONLY about systemic breach of contract .

When I call them in the morning and get the contacts email address, do we all need to email said contact? And what do we need to be quoting from the T&Cs? Also what kind of wording do you recommend using? Is it too strong to say breach of contract?

Sponge Bob

godskitchen wrote: »

When I call them in the morning and get the contacts email address, do we all need to email said contact? And what do we need to be quoting from the T&Cs?

I do not have a copy of your T&Cs , get one quick ...search yeer emails or search quotes on Boards in Voda related threads from the second half of last year when the service was on offer . I will wager that persons who do not exceed 5gb are getting the toe as well.

Also what kind of wording do you recommend using? Is it too strong to say breach of contract?

"Systematic Breach Of Contract" is more like what it is.

Also make sure that you contact lots and lots of Journalists in The Register who cover these things very quickly and ask awkward questions in Newbury.

I am sure that they would just love to hear that Voda is systematically repudiating contracts with their early adopters and evangelisers.

v10

godskitchen wrote: »

As many of you know, Vodafone have been cutting off users of their "Unlimited" data plan over the past week or so. I hate to keep using the inverted commas but its their wording not ours, hell its even on my last bill!

What have they been cut of for? For using more than 5Gb of data, some how this doesn't seem so "Unlimited" anymore does it!

Never was what is effectually a 5Gb cap ever mentioned to me when I signed up to the service, I have not been made aware of this even now, I only know of the situation through these boards. Vodafone have moved the goal posts, without telling us, not only is moving the goal post unacceptable, not informing us is just as bad.
<SNIP>

Have you actually been cut off ?
Perhaps its only customers that signed up after Vodafone introduced the 5gb cap that are being cut off ?
I don't myself so I'm just asking the question ...

mdwexford

Ive been cut off and i have unlimited data usage apparently.

Im willing to send emails or make phone calls or do whatever you guys decide the best plan of action is.

Cabaal

As much as I love astrix's I don't think we need so many in the title, as such I've removed them.

Curious, although you signed to a "Unlimited" plan what did the T&C's state, any FUP attached?

Slice

You should all complain seperately to both the National Consumer Agency and to Advertising Standards

godskitchen

Sponge Bob wrote: »

I do not have a copy of your T&Cs , get one quick ...search yeer emails or search quotes on Boards in Voda related threads from the second half of last year when the service was on offer . I will wager that persons who do not exceed 5gb are getting the toe as well.



"Systematic Breach Of Contract" is more like what it is.

So I should not only be quoting the T&Cs to NCA but also giving them links from boards?

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Also make sure that you contact lots and lots of Journalists in The Register who cover these things very quickly and ask awkward questions in Newbury.

I am sure that they would just love to hear that Voda is systematically repudiating contracts with their early adopters and evangelisers.

I am a bit lost here, is The Register not just for the UK? And what do you mean by Newbury? Also what would be a awkward question?

sorry for the stupidness but I want to this started in the best possible way.

Thanks

watty

"El Reg", or Vulture Central will of course print Irish stories. If zany or interesting. Such as Shredded mail instead of lost CDs. They ran "3" stories twice, but say it will only warrant a story now if "3" is perfect ...

godskitchen

OK, I got in touch with NCA, very helpful if a little slow to understand the situation, I have the name of the contact there and will get around to emailing them as soon as I can, like the rest of you I have other things to be getting on with.

What is the best way of doing this? Would we all send pretty much the same email from our own accounts? We will each be given a ref number for the complaint. Please PM me and I will give you the relevant email address and the contacts name, although it wont be this contact dealing directly with thew problem, I am however assured they will all end up with the same person.

Also guys, please help me find the other "Unlimited" data users, we need as many people on this as possible, so if you can look through posts in the past and give me a hand that would be great.

We might want to talk about non general issues via PM, so feel free to do so to me at least.

godskitchen

Come on guys, I cant really be the only one that concerned with what Vodafone is doing, I really dont have the time to go off on a one man crusade on this, any help from others effected by this would be great, going to the NCA with 3 people wont have any impact.

niallb

Who here has actully been cut off and what dates did they start their contract with Vodafone.
Were you still paying €48.99 a month?

Edit: OK, I see from the other thread that people in this situation have been cut off.
I'd use about 5-8G a month, working from home - any really big downloads between 2am and 6am
Guess I'll find out soon enough.

I'm on unlimited myself since last December, and rang Vodafone after receving an
advert in the post about the cheaper 5G capped service last month.

I rang and stated I did not want to change my account to the cheaper option,
and asked them to confirm that I was still on an Unlimited tariff, and not
restricted to a 5G limit. They did so without hesitation.
I've been wondering whether they'll let me renew it,
but I guess I'll find out next month.

Any chance people who were cut off had recently had their bill dropped from
€48.99 a month to €29.99 a month - perhaps after 12 months unlimited?

This needs to be an accurate picture before going anywhere.
€48.99 is Unlimited, €29.99 is 5GB

NiallB

godskitchen

Yes NiallB, your right we do need more info, I have yet to be cut off but it wont be long, I was trying to get in before they did it, I can not survive with out the internet. I have had my contract for 18 months now, so my 12 months was up a long time ago, I too got the letter explaining about the new charges, binned it.

The people that were cut off stated that they were told it would be better to drop down to the €29 package, so that clears that point up, they are still paying €48.99

My last bill, two weeks ago stated "Unlimited", I would use 5Gb in a week sometimes, but was away last week.

mdwexford

Im paying 48.99 and was cut off for using too much, 14 gigs last month.

smellslikeshoes

How many people have actually been cut off? Ive only seen a handful from this thread and the other one, seems like its a bit of an over reaction. Simple fact is though lads Vodafone are entirely within their powers and I doubt the NCA would have much interest in the situation because the contract is not available anymore. Easiest answer here is to move provider and not give Vodafone your money anymore. A good amount of people who got Vodafone as soon as it came out will probably be able to get broadband from another provider by now even if its gonna be from the other mobile broadband provider O2 (three don't count because they only provides fraudband).

godskitchen

smellslikeshoes is right guys, I am out, I can get FWA, and have been able to for almost a year, its just Voda suited me as I travel about a lot.

I now need a good service with low pings, I have to use voip for business and the delay on Voda sometimes is too long, good luck with it!

Anyone want to buy a 3G router and antenna? I can get HSDPA from 12 miles away!

niallb

@Godskitchen Get in touch when you no longer need the router.
I've a friend just outside Castlebar who'd love to take it it off yor hands.

She's already got the USB modem, but it's green light only with that.
I bought down my own router last week with a small antenna, and we
got decent 3G if not quite HSDPA.

Good luck whatever you decide.

godskitchen

naillb, PM sent.

6digitnumber

I use 20Gb a month so i would say vodafone will be getting on to me soon then. Do they phone you or write to you? When they cut you off, do they automatically swith you over to the new capped service, or do they simply cut you off and terminate your contract?

godskitchen

From what has been said so far, it seems they just cut you off and inform you when you call them, charming! I dont think they can force you onto another contract, if they could, believe me they would!

craichoe

If you read the T&C's of the contract , they reserve the right to change the conditions of the Service at anytime. However by doing this you can back out of the 1 year contract you were tied into.

Its not a breach of contract, its within the terms of the contract and theres a get out clause there for both parties.

daveharnett

The brit ASA has set a precedent on this one. Apparently in the english language, "unlimited" actually means "without limits"! Now, if we can just get marketing people to understand.
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_43242.htm

godskitchen

daveharnett wrote: »

The brit ASA has set a precedent on this one. Apparently in the english language, "unlimited" actually means "without limits"! Now, if we can just get marketing people to understand.
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_43242.htm

Getting marketing people to understand anything that is not wrapped in spin/lies is near impossible, next to lawyers they are the scum of the earth, and I have some good friends in marketing.

Thats also a great link for anyone wanting to take this further!

6digitnumber

godskitchen wrote: »

From what has been said so far, it seems they just cut you off and inform you when you call them, charming! I dont think they can force you onto another contract, if they could, believe me they would!

I'm not at all surprised. A buddy of mine was using their capped 5Gb product, he 's not too clued up on computer things and woudlnt know the difference between a gigabyte and a lovebite. He went over his monthly allowance by quite a bit! 20Gb or so. Nobody called him to warn him about the huge bill he was running up, the 1st he knew was when his modem stopped working and he phoned them up himself. He was duly informed that he owed them 2000 euros or so...nice!

smellslikeshoes

6digitnumber wrote: »

I'm not at all surprised. A buddy of mine was using their capped 5Gb product, he 's not too clued up on computer things and woudlnt know the difference between a gigabyte and a lovebite. He went over his monthly allowance by quite a bit! 20Gb or so. Nobody called him to warn him about the huge bill he was running up, the 1st he knew was when his modem stopped working and he phoned them up himself. He was duly informed that he owed them 2000 euros or so...nice!

At the same time though its not Vodafones fault that he didn't know how much he was using, Do you think that a company would warn you about running up a bill to 2000 euro? They are a business not a charity.

croo

Just considering my options here. I currently use the e620 card with a router. If I switched to o2 could remove the sim from usb modem (or better yet forgo the modem and just get a 3g sim) and place it in the e620 I got from vodafone? Of course I would have to reconfig the connection details on the linksys router and I understand this would mean a reduction in max possible speed form 3.6Mb to 1.8Mb... but I'm just curious if it would work?

I'm a bit reluctant to go o2 as it strikes me as supporting just another Eircom. But I see they have double the download limit at half the price (of vodafone "unlimited") so seems like a better deal.
PLUS, if you do pass the "fair usage" limits you won't run up at €2,000 bill without knowing as the o2 terms claim you will be informed and if you continue THEN they reserve the right to bill.

smellslikeshoes wrote: »

its not Vodafones fault that he didn't know how much he was using

It is if vodafone have no system in place to keep you up to date with your actual usage. To my knowledge there is nowhere you can check your actual usage, is there? If you use one system and the vodafone connect software it has a counter ok. But if you use more than one system (or a even dual boot system) or perhaps an OS that is not supported by vodafone & their connect software then there is no way to know except guess work.

I cannot find a hard copy of the T&C from last year, I believe it always had a fair usage clause but I don't remember there being a specified 5Gb max.
Regardless, I agree with others it is pointless to waste time arguing with vodafone and the best thing to do is vote with our wallets and move provider.
And of course I will move phones too.

smellslikeshoes

croo wrote: »

It is if vodafone have no system in place to keep you up to date with your actual usage. To my knowledge there is nowhere you can check your actual usage, is there? If you use one system and the vodafone connect software it has a counter ok. But if you use more than one system (or a even dual boot system) or perhaps an OS that is not supported by vodafone & their connect software then there is no way to know except guess work.

No court in the world would rule that its Vodafones fault that you went over the limit. Although I'm not 100% sure on a usage counter because up till now there has never been any talk of limits on unlimited package but you could always ring them and they would give you your statistics.

croo

ok, well perhaps fault is the wrong word
But if cars had no speedometers how would you feel when you got a speeding ticket? Whose "fault" would it be? By law and in court it's still your fault of course for breaking the speed limit, but wouldn't you be thinking it's not fair?

I myself have no idea what my usage is until I see the bill at the end of the month. Now being on the "unlimited" package I expect if I do cross their 5Gb line they'll just stop my connection so I don't have to worry about a huge bill. But to offer a service with a limited usage but no means of measuring that usage (I don't think calling them is practical, you'd need to be calling every day) ... well it seems to me they may as well not put a price on the service at all. But, I'm sure that would be illegal!

So yes legally you are correct... but that doesn't make it right.

godskitchen

I will say this again, NOWHERE did my "Unlimited" talk of a cap, NEVER was 5Gb talked about, apart from one press release way back. I was never told 5Gb at any point.

It was then turned into fact by the internet, by people who were not in possession of a contract.

As I said before guys, I am moving over to FWA but I will help in any way I can with this.

anthony4335

Think that I might have been cut off, as of yesterday, I have yet to ring as I thought it might just be a ISP problem as my friend was unable to log onto his three broadband yesterday, All I am getting when I try and connect it that I am unable to get a IP address. I have the card plugged into a router ,and as I like this setup I do not wish to got with either 3 or O2 for the moment. Damm ..... If they have a 5GB policy why are we paying the 50 euro a month charge then. and I just got another bill the other day.

godskitchen

I got cut off once, for got to pay bill, was getting no ip as well.

If you have a laptop you will get a 619 error, the most descriptive error ever!

So sounds like you have got the chop.

Just out of interest, for those who did get cut off, you said Voda reconnected you and said dont be a bad boy again, so were they giving you another 5Gb for the rest of the month? did they say your "cap" started again?

godskitchen

Just got this from another thread, if i was staying with HSDPA to connect to the net, I know what I would be doing right now, assuming you can pick up O2.

Xcellor wrote:

If you want a decent cap go with o2. They offer Acceptable usage policy.

I did over 20 gigs and didn't get charged. Just make sure you aren't consistenly over and should be grand.

With Three they will extort every last penny from you because they are the cheapest provider of this service so I figure they must try to make their money on the chancers.

X

kaiser sauze wrote: »

I second that, did 40Gb (:o) myself and nowt said. Just don't do it constantly.

Taken from
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055115306&page=162

6digitnumber

godskitchen wrote: »

Just got this from another thread, if i was staying with HSDPA to connect to the net, I know what I would be doing right now, assuming you can pick up O2.






Taken from
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055115306&page=162

But couldn't they just change their policy without notice and decide actually they want you to cough up €1000 for that extra 10Gigs you used this month? Is their anything in the contract that would forbid that?

smellslikeshoes

croo wrote: »

ok, well perhaps fault is the wrong word
But if cars had no speedometers how would you feel when you got a speeding ticket? Whose "fault" would it be? By law and in court it's still your fault of course for breaking the speed limit, but wouldn't you be thinking it's not fair?

It would be your fault for buying a car with no speedometer, you signed the contract, you used the bandwidth. Vodafone didn't force you to buy their product.

anthony4335

I am going to give them a ring as soon as I can and see what the story is and if they tell me that I have to stay within the 5GB limit, I will tell them to go and shove there cap where the sun doesn;t shine, as what is the point where of 10 euro less I can go to O2, and for 30 euro less I can try three ( I know about all the horror stories ). The only way to really get to them is if enough people leave they might change the stance on it,

kaiser sauze

6digitnumber wrote: »

But couldn't they just change their policy without notice and decide actually they want you to cough up €1000 for that extra 10Gigs you used this month? Is their anything in the contract that would forbid that?

Technically, no.

However, O2 give a detailed explanation of their fair use policy. I invite you to read it. Go to the broadband section of their website. It may allay some of your fears.

In a lot of contracts, if the vendor wishes to change the contract terms, you must be notified in writing, and in some cases you are given the option of withdrawing from the revised contract. The latter part of this is rare; the better vendors do the former at least. Sometimes, instead of writing, they will have told you to keep an eye on a weblink. Not ideal, but at least an attempt to inform.

Time to read that small print!

godskitchen

I am surprised at the lack of "Unlimited" users coming forward, I am sure there are more of us using the boards.

For those of you who can get O2, it might be a plan to call them, explain the stuation, explain your usage and ask them if they can help if you, as a group were to jump ****.

Worth a try.

smellslikeshoes

Simple fact is though Godskitchen it seems like very few people have been cut off, there is plenty of users using boards but unless you're a broadband junkie you don't go into broadband unless you have a problem.

godskitchen

smellslikeshoes wrote: »

Simple fact is though Godskitchen it seems like very few people have been cut off, there is plenty of users using boards but unless you're a broadband junkie you don't go into broadband unless you have a problem.

Good point! Although I object to being called a junkie of any kind

davidf1412

They just cut me off (three times) without warning in the last 10 days. The first time I asked why I was cut off, was told 'we're having problems with 2g and 3g', the second time didn't ask and was reconnected right away, the 3rd time (a week ago, a Friday) was told I'm cut off until the next bill was paid.

I pleaded that I was a dr just about to do a weekend on call and my 3g modem replaces my reference books for medical info, literally a matter of potential life-and-death, they still said no, I said I'd had no warning though they said I'd been 'warned' twice already, I begged and grovelled and was eventually reconnected.

I'll be very happy to join in any group action against Vodafone. I've put dozens of my patients onto Vodafone, and will have great pleasure in recommending them to another provider. ie O2 Unless Vodafone can give me 'reasonable useage' which for me is a lot more than 5 gigs a month for about €50!

Plus you get put on hold forever when you try to get reconnected.

godskitchen

It seems to me they are making an effort to make it had to do business with them, they want us to leave, which I am doing but mainly for other reasons.

If you stick together and state your case, maybe even compromise in some places something might be salvaged from this.

As it stands this is a disgusting way for one of the worlds biggest companies to be treating some of its more knowledgeable and early adopters. I for sure wont be reccomending them anymore.

It may be that they are not breaking the contract or the law, but to me it stinks, there is a way of doing things and this is not it.

davidf1412 You are in an ideal position to go to the press with your horror story, I can just see the reaction of people when they find out a Doctor was with out something he uses to help and save lives! (Slow clap Vodafone)

Stick together guys, and as I said if I can help in anyway I will.

davidf1412

godskitchen wrote: »

davidf1412 You are in an ideal position to go to the press with your horror story, I can just see the reaction of people when they find out a Doctor was with out something he uses to help and save lives! (Slow clap Vodafone)

Stick together guys, and as I said if I can help in anyway I will.

I'll look for press contacts or write a letter. I checked The Register as recommended earlier in this thread but it seems to be located in a foreign land.

Cassiel

It'd help to understand if specific user profiles being targeted. Vodafone has been pushing its 'unlimited' 3G phone service this Autumn and thats who we are sharing bandwidth with. Are people who have been disco'd:
Connected continuously?
Connected as and when needed?
Located in a high population area?
Downloading high volumes at peak periods or at off-peak? etc.


As far as I know wasn't the unlimited contract wording changed to include 5GB as per 'fair usage' earlier this year some time before the launch of the capped service?

I have been signed up just over a year. Definitely over the '5gb' per month but only usually have 7-8gb usage.

If a 5gb cap was 'volunteered' I would have to leave Vodafone mainly because of the penalty applied when exceeding the cap.

DaBreno

Wow! didnt know they were at this. Id love to know what Unlimited means in their dictionary. Its out of order, maybe they think due to the poor state of BB rollout in this country.

Too bad, I wont be as qucik to recommend them again. :mad:

anthony4335

Just an update on my situation, I rang Vodafone this morning to report the problem and I was put on to Tech support, she was not too happy with the fact this was using the router as they say they do not support this but as I no longer have a laptop with a PCMCIA slot I could not do much about this. She said that she would disconnect me and reconnect me to the nework, and it seems to have worked. Great no mention about limits or anything like that, so I will just keep my head down for a while longer.

godskitchen

Cassiel My "Unlimited" contract had no talk of caps, let along anything to do with 5Gb, NOTHING.

I am connecting to a mast that I am pretty sure no one esle really uses, its in a small village and the village had DSL and FWA, still waiting to see if I get cut off, if I do all hell will break loose, someone is going to have a bad day at work thats for sure. They can cancel the contract if they like, I am leaving anyway, and taking my €200+ a month phone bill with me

anthony4335She was not happy about you using a router? Its Voadfone branded for f's sake, they really dont have a clue do they! utter clowns!