€700 meteor bill from data usage!!!!!!

SoupyNorman

I checked mymeteor online account this morning...I nearly fell off my chair upon seeing data charges accumulating to €700.

I'm on a basic meteor plan, with 200 minutes and texts but I also have the monthly 250mb addon.(which I have never gone over)

Now I am quite wary of my data usage and I only check Facebook and gmail on my phone. I know there can be many arguments that can be applied here...like me being naive in what I think is being used v's what is being used but there is an anomaly in that my last billing period was 10th feb - 10th Mar (no data charge as I have the 250mb addon). On the 11th Mar (start of the new billing period) I notice my data usage being charged from the get go i.e. not even given a chance to break the 250mb threshold?

I am at a loss here and I'm also quite worried and agitated.

I've called Meteor this morning but they say as my bill for this period has not been issued yet they cannot see the charges but I assume the wait until you have received a printed invoice before helping.

My last bill was €25, next bill looks like it's going to be over €700.....does not compute.

I also know that mobile operators are forced by an EU directive to notify mobile users when usage goes over €50 which was not done in my case.


Has anybody a similar experience or advice at least, my head is spinning here.

whippet

SoupyNorman wrote: »

I also know that mobile operators are forced by an EU directive to notify mobile users when usage goes over €50 which was not done in my case.

I don't think this is in force yet.

Judging by what you are saying it looks like it could be a mistake alright.

Wait until you can get details from Meteor.

foggy_lad

sounds like meteor have failed to apply your add-on for this billing period, they could make a lot of money from this mistake happening. I am surprised that they could not see your bill considering you can see it online as they only use your online account details to check. That is why they need your pin number when you ring.
Sounds like they are stalling hoping you will go away thinking you must have used all that data.

SoupyNorman

whippet wrote: »

I don't think this is in force yet.

Judging by what you are saying it looks like it could be a mistake alright.

Wait until you can get details from Meteor.

According to this it's up and running.


Hrmmmm!

SoupyNorman

foggy_lad wrote: »

sounds like meteor have failed to apply your add-on for this billing period, they could make a lot of money from this mistake happening. I am surprised that they could not see your bill considering you can see it online as they only use your online account details to check. That is why they need your pin number when you ring.
Sounds like they are stalling hoping you will go away thinking you must have used all that data.

This is my main suspicion and the most logical answer from looking at my details, it's frustrating that I have to wait to get the bill before I can query it.

jor el

You have the 250MB add on, so if they've failed to apply it for some reason, they can't charge you for that. They'll simply have to correct the mistake.

Try ringing them again, and see if you get anywhere.

Davd

Just saw this thread this morning and out of interest decided to check my own meteor bill this month as I got the add on back in January. Found I was charged 20 euro more than I sould have been (20 for data).
A quick call sorted this out and was told as a good will gesture, I would get my 20 euro back although I was adamant that I hadn't gone over the 250MB (only use it for email etc, never for download). I know one of the lads in the office here was charged 700 euro for downloads before and he got it back without an admission of fault on their behalf. He doesn't even use his phone for internet access!

jomc

the girlfriend is with meteor. when she logs in to her online account it says hi .... and the amount of mins and texts she has, it also says below add ons, and the amount of add ons she has left, so maybe check your account and see if it has any add ons??

jcb3cxs

Hi, I used to work for meteor, a lot of customers came in with this problem. My advice is just to be carefull with GPS on some phones (eg SE 995) when you use GPS your phone downloads maps each time, also the tracker function on this SE uses GPS and internet continuously and ya might not know. Also turn off internet as a shortcut key, a wrong button being pressed in your pocket and you could have a huge bill!!! Give meteor a ring if ya get nowhere with them ask to speak to a supervisor and say you will have to report them to comreg!!! Hope this helps some of ye!!!

SoupyNorman

jcb3cxs wrote: »

Hi, I used to work for meteor, a lot of customers came in with this problem. My advice is just to be carefull with GPS on some phones (eg SE 995) when you use GPS your phone downloads maps each time, also the tracker function on this SE uses GPS and internet continuously and ya might not know. Also turn off internet as a shortcut key, a wrong button being pressed in your pocket and you could have a huge bill!!! Give meteor a ring if ya get nowhere with them ask to speak to a supervisor and say you will have to report them to comreg!!! Hope this helps some of ye!!!

Thanks, the problem isnt really about going over my usage, it’s that it didn’t seem to be there…this is a timeline of how it happened:

Last billing period was 10th Feb - 10th March, no extra charges…all my mobile internet access was no charge.

11th March (start of new billing period) all usage is charged i.e. no accounting for my 250mb addon.

If it was case that it was near the end of the billing period and I was being charged, 1. I’d pay it and 2 .it would not be nearly as expensive as I found it near impossible
To use the allocated 200mb.

Before I call again I’m just embarking on this fact-finding expedition so as to be a little more armed next time.

phili_g

Happened to my bro last week, he rang them up and turns out his data add on wasnt applied.

Must have been a glitch in their billing system, I'm sure they'll correct your bill

SoupyNorman

phili_g wrote: »

Happened to my bro last week, he rang them up and turns out his data add on wasnt applied.

Must have been a glitch in their billing system, I'm sure they'll correct your bill

Thanks, this is comforting. It being such a massive chunk of cash you can forgive my edginess!

Domscard

SoupyNorman wrote: »

According to this it's up and running.


Hrmmmm!

That's an extremely interesting link - very useful. I hadn't heard it was in force and it will be comforting for a lot of people who seem to be getting ferocious data charges. There have been a few similar Meteor threads recently. Roaming costs are a big fear for me as I'm over and back across the border regularly. Some apps (especially maps like Ovi) seem to have a mind of their own when it comes to connecting and drawing down data I've knobbled my Vodafone connection with extra characters in an attempt to stop it connecting without my knowledge but I'm not sure if it's enough.

Kevin!

SoupyNorman wrote: »

Thanks, this is comforting. It being such a massive chunk of cash you can forgive my edginess!

Just out of interest, how much data does it say you have used (mb)?

SoupyNorman

Kevin! wrote: »

Just out of interest, how much data does it say you have used (mb)?

Used:

180mb in Jan
161mb in Feb
217mb for this billing period so far...

It should be irrelevant though as I was charged for data from the 1st day of the billing period.

Kevin!

SoupyNorman wrote: »

Used:

180mb in Jan
161mb in Feb
217mb for this billing period so far...

It should be irrelevant though as I was charged for data from the 1st day of the billing period.

Yeah, you do owe them a bit of money though as you have gone over your 200mb cap?

according to there website, data charges is 2c per kb

http://www.meteor.ie/do_more/mobileinternet/bp_pricing/



You have used 17mb over your cap, so


1024kb per mb,

1024kbx2= 20.48(Per mb)
17x20.48= €348.16


I could have got my calculations totally arseways, but that is what I believe it to be

SoupyNorman

Kevin! wrote: »

Yeah, you do owe them a bit of money though as you have gone over your 200mb cap?

according to there website, data charges is 2c per kb

http://www.meteor.ie/do_more/mobileinternet/bp_pricing/



You have used 17mb over your cap, so


1024kb per mb,

1024kbx2= 20.48(Per mb)
17x20.48= €348.16


I could have got my calculations totally arseways, but that is what I believe it to be

The cap is 250mb.


Secondly, that should not matter if you get me....the addon did not seem to be present at all. From the start of the billing period I should have not seen any charge for my mobile internet, say this time last month I was nearing the end of my billing period and my usage went to 251mb, I'd then start to see charges being applied!

Kevin!

SoupyNorman wrote: »

The cap is 250mb.


Secondly, that should not matter if you get me....the addon did not seem to be present at all. From the start of the billing period I should have not seen any charge for my mobile internet, say this time last month I was nearing the end of my billing period and my usage went to 251mb, I'd then start to see charges being applied!

appoligies, for some reason I thought that the meteor cap was 200mb p/m.

This is clearly a mistake on there behalf, ages ago when I was browsing the o2 forum, I saw a similar problem and the rep said to wait it out till the end of the month as it has not passed any checks on there end and their computers should pick it up before the final bill is issued and rectify any charges that shouldn't be present

Has the billing period your talking about already gone by, or are you in the middle of it

mackmuffin

You should fight them tooth and nail on this. My sister's boyfriend was charged over €1000, even though he'd not used his limit of internet either. It's a few months on and they still refuse to cancel the debt, even threatening him with court action. They are doing this a LOT. They're doing it on pre-pay too, I'm on a pre-pay plan with them and I get charged 5 euro a day for internet when I should be charged no more than 99 cent.

Domscard

mackmuffin wrote: »

You should fight them tooth and nail on this. My sister's boyfriend was charged over €1000, even though he'd not used his limit of internet either. It's a few months on and they still refuse to cancel the debt, even threatening him with court action. They are doing this a LOT. They're doing it on pre-pay too, I'm on a pre-pay plan with them and I get charged 5 euro a day for internet when I should be charged no more than 99 cent.

Why don't you leave Meteor? As you're on pre-pay, there's no contract and being charged €5 a day instead of 99c must soon mount up. As well as fighting tooth and nail, people need to vote with their feet. Assuming you've paid enough, you can get your current phone unlocked and go to another network.
The one worry that many people on bill pay contracts who've incurred these huge charges is that they may not be able to prove that they haven't used the data - it seems that Meteor (and more often than not on these threads it IS Meteor) have the upper hand here. That link provided by SoupyNorman looks like a great safeguard from now on, although getting to the root of the problem is still the optimum.

BurnsCarpenter

SoupyNorman wrote: »

According to this it's up and running.


Hrmmmm!

Not that you can tell from that article but these rules only cover roaming charges in other EU countries.

Domscard

BurnsCarpenter wrote: »

Not that you can tell from that article but these rules only cover roaming charges in other EU countries.

Yes, drat! Here's another link with better information. Really could be doing with this kind of a cut-off for normal mobile internet with all the smartphones on the go.

SoupyNorman

Thanks for the input people.

I decided to call again this morning, as I was very sure that it was a case of my internet addon not being applied and saints be praised they conceded this!!!

However the bill will be issued as is however the CSA informed me that the bill will be capped at €50 pending investigation, seemingly all bills with high data usage are now issued 'capped'. A note is gone onto my account that my addon was not applied at the start of the billing period.

So that looks like a resolution, but Meteor being Meteor there still could be hassle a little further on down the road!!

unnameduser

I once saw a bill for a little over €26k!! The same fellow has it framed now!
As far as I remember it was due to a data package not being applied to an O2 phone. I believe it was being used as a modem.

Sorted quite quickly actually. Stick to your guns OP. It must be a fault on their side!

PacManFan

It does look to be a mistake on Meteor's part, but I was just wondering OP do you pay your bills by direct debit? If so and if they won't deal with you before the bill is issued, just remember that they won't hesitate in taking that €700 :eek:.

yoshx

i can lend u 100 euros , guys be more nice to each other lets donate some money to this guy , we shouldn't give advices we should give direct help :P

SoupyNorman

PacManFan wrote: »

It does look to be a mistake on Meteor's part, but I was just wondering OP do you pay your bills by direct debit? If so and if they won't deal with you before the bill is issued, just remember that they won't hesitate in taking that €700 :eek:.

I pay by DD, however dont worry they wont be getting that kind of cash out of my account! Anyway the CSA stated that the bill will be capped at €50 (seemingly all high data bills are capped pending investigation)! Or possibly only people who are proactive (like me) get a stop on the full amount.

The case might play out that they take € and credit me back the rest, I wont be at all game for that but if thats the worst way it pans out then I'll accept it.

There is no doubt now that it is their mistake but I think it's prudent to get on top of things like this as soon as their spotted...I know if I received the paper bill for €700 I'd of been way more flustered.

mackmuffin

Domscard wrote: »

Why don't you leave Meteor? As you're on pre-pay, there's no contract and being charged €5 a day instead of 99c must soon mount up. As well as fighting tooth and nail, people need to vote with their feet. Assuming you've paid enough, you can get your current phone unlocked and go to another network.
The one worry that many people on bill pay contracts who've incurred these huge charges is that they may not be able to prove that they haven't used the data - it seems that Meteor (and more often than not on these threads it IS Meteor) have the upper hand here. That link provided by SoupyNorman looks like a great safeguard from now on, although getting to the root of the problem is still the optimum.

Oh, I am leaving Meteor, once I am refunded for the credit that they took. I never check my balance much, it amounts to over €50. I checked my online account details and it clearly says I didn't go over the usage allowance for the 99 cent a day thing, but also clearly says I was charged up to 5 a day, so I've screen shot and emailed them and am waiting for a response!

Meteor: Glynn

Hi everyone

I work for Meteor and I am pleased to say that we are fully signed up to the EU rules re capping data charging. Unfortunately if you look at your usage on MyMeteor it may look like you will get a higher than expected bill, but our systems only allow the discount to be applied at the end when we are preparing your actual bill. So the good news is you should never get charged more than €50 plus VAT in the month, but this will only be evident when you get your bill. If you are at all worried pls call us on 1905.

Glynn from Meteor

SoupyNorman

Meteor (Glynn) wrote: »

Hi everyone

I work for Meteor and I am pleased to say that we are fully signed up to the EU rules re capping data charging. Unfortunately if you look at your usage on MyMeteor it may look like you will get a higher than expected bill, but our systems only allow the discount to be applied at the end when we are preparing your actual bill. So the good news is you should never get charged more than €50 plus VAT in the month, but this will only be evident when you get your bill. If you are at all worried pls call us on 1905.

Glynn from Meteor

Thanks for that clarification Glynn, however I will not owe the €50 as my internet addon was not applied for this billing period but I've already discussed this with a Meteor CSA.

ha-ya-said-what

Meteor (Glynn) wrote: »

Hi everyone

I work for Meteor and I am pleased to say that we are fully signed up to the EU rules re capping data charging. Unfortunately if you look at your usage on MyMeteor it may look like you will get a higher than expected bill, but our systems only allow the discount to be applied at the end when we are preparing your actual bill. So the good news is you should never get charged more than €50 plus VAT in the month, but this will only be evident when you get your bill. If you are at all worried pls call us on 1905.

Glynn from Meteor

I just spotted this & had to ask how is it every business customer on meteor I've met has had the same complaint of being over charged on paper bills issued to them, & I do remember reading on the meteor site in the section allowing people to discuss problems & concerns that they too were being over charged.

bongi69

Meteor (Glynn) wrote: »

Hi everyone

I work for Meteor and I am pleased to say that we are fully signed up to the EU rules re capping data charging. Unfortunately if you look at your usage on MyMeteor it may look like you will get a higher than expected bill, but our systems only allow the discount to be applied at the end when we are preparing your actual bill. So the good news is you should never get charged more than €50 plus VAT in the month, but this will only be evident when you get your bill. If you are at all worried pls call us on 1905.

Glynn from Meteor

Off topic, but have you received my cancellation letter and sim card yet? I sent it over a week ago and their has been no written confirmation from yourselves. FYI it was a billing issue that now sees me happily using an iPhone on 02 (with relatively unlimited data I should add)

Meteor: Glynn

"Thanks for that clarification Glynn, however I will not owe the €50 as my internet addon was not applied for this billing period but I've already discussed this with a Meteor CSA."




Hi SoupyNorman,

Glad to hear Customer Care sorted that for you.

Unfortunately, I can't respond to all your account problems on here (I am only one man ) If you give the nice people at Customer Care a call I'm sure they'll try sort any issues you have.

Thanks
Glynn