add-on expired today at 6:52pm

foggy_lad

my mobile broadband add-on expired earlier but three have taken €37.26 from my balance for useage covered by the add-on. surely they must know by now that they can't charge for a service unless they inform the customer that there add-on has expired 1st!

this is the second time they have tried this scam its like those clubs when your on holidays where you buy a drink and when your leaving they take €1000 for the dancing girls:D

foggy_lad

three have accepted that they did not inform me the add-on was expired untill approx 2weeks after!

and that customers have no way of checking what their remaining balance is for add ons as ringing customer care will not give an accurate UP-TO-DATE account of your usage!

yet they have decided to escalate this to their billing dept which will probabally take as long as the other issue i have with them since september! not a problem as they guaranteed that issue will now be resolved by monday at the latest!

they are really getting worse as far as billing issues and mobile broadband they are unable to charge for services in real time ie: as you use them!:eek:

foggy_lad

a quick update on this i have recieved a full refund and apology from three but only after weeks of contact and lies to me about the usage monitor in "MyThree", three said it has always worked! and also lies about the dates i bought the add-ons, then their executive office ignored me for two weeks untill ComReg saved the day and got things sorted!

Cabaal

foggy_lad, I'll never understand you, you hate Three with a passion but you just keep on using there services

Gillo

In fairness I get the idea foggy_lad hates pretty much everything.

board om

Gillo wrote: »

In fairness I get the idea foggy_lad hates pretty much everything.

i kind of came to that conclusion myself. everything is a SCAM. the whole world is out to get him..............

cgarvey

Does the addon not last for a finite time? I.e. if you buy it today at XX;XX, you know that in Y days at XX:XX (or XX:XX -1 second) it will expire?

Sam Vimes

board om wrote: »

i kind of came to that conclusion myself. everything is a SCAM. the whole world is out to get him..............

ssshhhhh. we don't want him to know we're out to get him. carry on foggy :pac:

cgarvey wrote: »

Does the addon not last for a finite time? I.e. if you buy it today at XX;XX, you know that in Y days at XX:XX (or XX:XX -1 second) it will expire?

that's true but tbh no one's going to remember the exact date they bought an add on a month ago. they usually send you a text two days before the add on expires but even at that i always forget.

however, i usually get a text at some point during the day saying something like "you have spent €0.49 outside your add on since x date" and that's when i remember to buy it again. did they not send you these texts foggy? and how did you manage to let it go two weeks? a few days maybe but you had to know something was up two weeks after the add on was supposed to expire

board om

foggy_lad wrote: »

this is the second time they have tried this scam its like those clubs when your on holidays where you buy a drink and when your leaving they take €1000 for the dancing girls:D

i am sorry but i have to say something. this is possibly the worst analogy or comparison of services i have ever heard. what you are describing having happened to you with Three has no similarity in any way what so ever to being charged €1000 for watching pretty ladies dance with no clothes on (unless of course the Add-on is a Data Add-on for downloading X Rated clips to your mobile, and even then the similiarity would just be the pretty ladies not having clothes on, but thats where the similiarity would end).

an analogy is 'supposed' to be "a similarity between like features of two things, on wich a comparison may be based"

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/analogy

Im sorry, i just had to point that out.

the_syco

Cabaal wrote: »

foggy_lad, I'll never understand you, you hate Three with a passion but you just keep on using there services

Don't get this bit either. If I hit my nose off a wall, I'd avoid walking into it. foggy_lad hates 3, but can't get enough of them.

foggy_lad

cgarvey wrote: »

Does the addon not last for a finite time? I.e. if you buy it today at XX;XX, you know that in Y days at XX:XX (or XX:XX -1 second) it will expire?

it was a 100mb add-on which lasts a month(30days) unless you use 100mb 1st! they allowed me use almost 200mb without informing me of going over the 100mb as there is/was no way to check usage then two weeks later they charged for the extra usage!

Sam Vimes wrote: »

ssshhhhh. we don't want him to know we're out to get him. carry on foggy :pac:


that's true but tbh no one's going to remember the exact date they bought an add on a month ago. they usually send you a text two days before the add on expires but even at that i always forget.

however, i usually get a text at some point during the day saying something like "you have spent €0.49 outside your add on since x date" and that's when i remember to buy it again. did they not send you these texts foggy? and how did you manage to let it go two weeks? a few days maybe but you had to know something was up two weeks after the add on was supposed to expire

the add-on had not expired but i had used above the 100mb limit but without any way to check usage i was unable to know i had used so much! and they did send 13 messages to say i had gone over the 100mb limit but these arrived 2weeks afterwards and they did not charge me for the extra usage until after that again!

and as for why i stick with three well it is a reasonable service just a pity it is handled so badly when something goes wrong and the data packages are the best available so i just stick with them and insist on getting my money's worth!

cgarvey

foggy_lad wrote: »

it was a 100mb add-on which lasts a month(30days) unless you use 100mb 1st! they allowed me use almost 200mb without informing me of going over the 100mb as there is/was no way to check usage then two weeks later they charged for the extra usage!

Much clearer, ta!

Paulw

foggy_lad wrote: »

they are really getting worse as far as billing issues and mobile broadband they are unable to charge for services in real time ie: as you use them!:eek:

There are technical reasons as to why there are no real time charging ability for such services. This would be similar across all networks.

But, the information should be available within an hour of last usage.

foggy_lad

Paulw wrote: »

There are technical reasons as to why there are no real time charging ability for such services. This would be similar across all networks.

But, the information should be available within an hour of last usage.

data charging on all other networks is done usually within a few minutes of customers using the service not an hour! so three have no excuse for this, they are the only network currently experiencing issues with this! meteor did have a similar problem a few years ago when they went 2.5G but sorted it out very quickly at the time!

board om

foggy_lad wrote: »

data charging on all other networks is done usually within a few minutes of customers using the service not an hour! so three have no excuse for this, they are the only network currently experiencing issues with this! meteor did have a similar problem a few years ago when they went 2.5G but sorted it out very quickly at the time!

actually i am bill pay with vodafone and it is a few hours, not a few minutes. so if Three can do it in an hour they are doing a good job. beside, unless you used the extra 100mb in that hour that you couldnt see your usage then it doesnt make a difference. sure you could have logged in and checked it along the way. you had 2 weeks.

foggy_lad

i am on pre-pay and other networks have no problem with real-time charging on pre-pay so why are three lagging behind?

also i was unable to check my usage at all as the MyThree area of the three browser that shows usage did not work then and does not work even now!! and ringing three did not give an accurate usage either!

board om you imply i couldn't see usage for only one hour, where did you get that information from?

to avoid confusion here is the sequence of events
1/ bought 100mb add-on 6th january
2/ used mobile broadband for the month without any way to check usage unless i rang three for an estimated usage
3/ on 4th febuary used more mb's and then stopped using at approx 4pm
4/ at 6.15pm 4th feb received text saying add-on had expired so i knew then not to use broadband until i got another add-on
5/ at approx 8pm three took almost €40 from my pre-pay credit for usage hours earlier. this is not allowed for pre-pay customers but in the case of board om it is allowed for bill-pay accounts!

Sam Vimes

foggy_lad wrote: »

5/ at approx 8pm three took almost €40 from my pre-pay credit for usage hours earlier. this is not allowed for pre-pay customers but in the case of board om it is allowed for bill-pay accounts!

i really wish you'd stop saying this. Do you think that if you say it enough times it'll become true?

On bill pay, you use your phone as much as you want and then are sent a bill at the end of the month

On pre pay, you put money into an account and it's deducted in real time as you use services. The important difference is that once your credit is gone, you are prevented from using the service

There is no requirement on them to take the money instantaneously. The only requirement is that they don't take more than you have credited

Please read the above and take it to heart. When you say they cannot take the money at a later time, you are wrong

the question you should ask yourself is: when did the money used for the service leave my bank account and go into 3's? was it before i used the service or after i used it?

if you gave 3 the money before you used the service it's PRE pay, otherwise it's POST pay. when 3 changed the amount of credit recorded in their customer database is irrelevant. no money changed hands at that point

foggy_lad

you have just put my case perfectly now!

Sam Vimes wrote: »

On pre pay, you put money into an account and it's deducted in real time as you use services. The important difference is that once your credit is gone, you are prevented from using the service

forget about bill pay it is irrelevant here, to be deducted in real time means that three will deduct amounts from your credit as you use a service ie you make a call and your balance is reduced cuntinously while you are on the call or the credit is taken almost immediately after the call ends!

and the same can be expected for data usage if you use a service you should be charged for that service as you are using it(in real time) not several hours or weeks later!

Sam Vimes

foggy_lad wrote: »

you have just put my case perfectly now!


forget about bill pay it is irrelevant here, to be deducted in real time means that three will deduct amounts from your credit as you use a service ie you make a call and your balance is reduced cuntinously while you are on the call or the credit is taken almost immediately after the call ends!

and the same can be expected for data usage if you use a service you should be charged for that service as you are using it(in real time) not several hours or weeks later!

i have only put your case perfectly if you completely ignore every sentence except the one you highlighted.

i hesitated about putting it in in case you misunderstood it in the way you have. pre pay customers are charged with what's known as the real time charging system, whereas bill pay customers are charged from the records their calls create in the database.

just because it's called the real time charging system, does not suddenly mean that there is a piece of legislation in ireland which specifies that the money must be taken instantaneously. in fact, it's physically impossible to take the money instantaneously. there will always be some delay.

in order to meet your criteria for pre pay, networks would have to employ psychics to forecast what calls you were going to make

it's called pre PAY, as in you pay before you use the service. if it was called pre CREDIT CHANGED ON 3'S SYSTEMS, you'd be correct. however, it's not called that


edit:in this post:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=55803200&postcount=4066

you seem to understand the difference, that pre pay customers must pay in advance. in that case, 3 allowed him to use more than he had paid for and then said he must pay for the extra usage and you correctly said that they weren't allowed do that. do you understand the difference between that case and yours?

foggy_lad

Sam Vimes wrote: »

i have only put your case perfectly if you completely ignore every sentence except the one you highlighted.

i hesitated about putting it in in case you misunderstood it in the way you have. pre pay customers are charged with what's known as the real time charging system, whereas bill pay customers are charged from the records their calls create in the database.

just because it's called the real time charging system, does not suddenly mean that there is a piece of legislation in ireland which specifies that the money must be taken instantaneously. in fact, it's physically impossible to take the money instantaneously. there will always be some delay.

in order to meet your criteria for pre pay, networks would have to employ psychics to forecast what calls you were going to make

it's called pre PAY, as in you pay before you use the service. if it was called pre CREDIT CHANGED ON 3'S SYSTEMS, you'd be correct. however, it's not called that


edit:in this post:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=55803200&postcount=4066

you seem to understand the difference, that pre pay customers must pay in advance. in that case, 3 allowed him to use more than he had paid for and then said he must pay for the extra usage and you correctly said that they weren't allowed do that. do you understand the difference between that case and yours?

the rules that apply to my case are/must be the same or surely ComReg would have informed me that three were correct in taking my credit rather than investigate and get me a full refund? nobody expects that their credit will be taken instantly but it should be taken within a reasonable time not several hours or even 30 minutes!

customers should not be penalised just because three do not update, process and handle their accounts in an efficient manner.

there is also the issue of three changing the cost of a service without informing the customer - when a customer has an active add-on they are paying a set price for the service but when the add-on expires they are charged a higher rate and three are obliged to inform of this increase and when it comes into effect but in this case they did not.

Paulw

foggy_lad wrote: »

forget about bill pay it is irrelevant here, to be deducted in real time means that three will deduct amounts from your credit as you use a service ie you make a call and your balance is reduced continously while you are on the call or the credit is taken almost immediately after the call ends!

and the same can be expected for data usage if you use a service you should be charged for that service as you are using it(in real time) not several hours or weeks later!

With data charging there is usually a delay in charging. This can be anything from a few seconds to an hour. This is just how the technology works. Trust me, I work in the industry.

They are well within their right to charge you after the event. I am not sure on the regulations, but most operators have a 6 hour charge window. So, anything up to 6 hrs after you end your call you can be charged for it.

You use the service, so you are liable to pay for it.

I've no idea how Three do it, but I do know how the other operators work.

Sam Vimes

foggy_lad wrote: »

the rules that apply to my case are/must be the same or surely ComReg would have informed me that three were correct in taking my credit rather than investigate and get me a full refund? nobody expects that their credit will be taken instantly but it should be taken within a reasonable time not several hours or even 30 minutes!

3 were wrong in this case because they never told you the add on was expired. they never should have taken the credit at all. when they took it is completely irrelevant

foggy_lad wrote: »

there is also the issue of three changing the cost of a service without informing the customer - when a customer has an active add-on they are paying a set price for the service but when the add-on expires they are charged a higher rate and three are obliged to inform of this increase and when it comes into effect but in this case they did not.

that is the reason you got a refund. there is no "also" here. it is the only reason you got a refund

board om

foggy_lad wrote: »

customers should not be penalised just because three do not update, process and handle their accounts in an efficient manner.

but the customer is not being penalised. paying a little bit later than expected is hardly being penalised, it is just paying a bit later. your still paying the same amount you would have paid just at a later stage. ill bet if as soon as the add-on finished your internet usage was blocked by 3 and you couldnt use it again until the next add-on kicked in, your would be complaining how 3 stopped your internet service.

foggy_lad wrote: »

there is also the issue of three changing the cost of a service without informing the customer - when a customer has an active add-on they are paying a set price for the service but when the add-on expires they are charged a higher rate and three are obliged to inform of this increase and when it comes into effect but in this case they did not.

everyone knows tat the price you get with an add-on is cheaper than the standard pricing. sure if it wasnt then what would be the point in purchasing add-ons. when you buy an add-on you are buying a bulk of minutes/data/texts at a cheaper rate, and when those minutes/data/texts are used up you pay the standard rate after that. so you cant say you didnt know there was a differnt price for the data once the add-on had finished.

Sam Vimes

board om wrote: »

so you cant say you didnt know there was a differnt price for the data once the add-on had finished.

to be fair to foggy, he did know the outside add on price was more but he had no way of knowing that the add on had expired because the usage monitor doesn't work and they didn't alert him that he'd gone over 100mb.

of course, that doesn't change the fact that he's wrong when he says the network can't have any delay in taking the credit when you use a service