3 Mobile Broadband Shower of *****

xp90

Dear All,
My younger 17 y/o brother got stung by 3 for going over his limit (€35), and apparently 3 who have been quite arrogant on the phone, borderline rude, insit they warned him onscreen 4 times! but he insists this didnt happen, because if it did he wouldnt have proceeded! Any thoughts??

jor el

He either didn't check or didn't understand what he was buying, either way it's his own fault. The caps are well publicised on all the 3G operators websites, as are the charges for over use.

Calling them a shower of ***** won't help his case with them either.

cursai

Had the same problem with Vodafone. Went over my Download limit one month. Wasnt even in the country. wathched it very closely the second month(did feck all use of it). Went over the limit again. Got on to them about it. They refunded me. next month over the limit again. Got sick and tired of their game so just bought out of the contract. Guys on the phone were courteous though. At some points i was very irrate. Havent touched any of those mobile dongles since.

xp90

jor el wrote: »

He either didn't check or didn't understand what he was buying, either way it's his own fault. The caps are well publicised on all the 3G operators websites, as are the charges for over use.

Calling them a shower of ***** won't help his case with them either.

For your info hes not a stupid twat he knows rightly, fact of the matter is 3 purported to have warned him 4 times, and their customer service lackeys are less than pleasant to deal with

jay93

xp90 wrote: »

Dear All,
My younger 17 y/o brother got stung by 3 for going over his limit (€35), and apparently 3 who have been quite arrogant on the phone, borderline rude, insit they warned him onscreen 4 times! but he insists this didnt happen, because if it did he wouldnt have proceeded! Any thoughts??

tbh they dont just sting you with charges unless you do go over limit what is his montly limit anyways??
they would have warned him they will keep sending you texts to the modem software if your limit is up and they will keep sending texts to tell you to stop using it as you are be charged for it..
ive never had a bad experiance with 3 on the phone try be calm with them and explain what happned keep at them they will give in eventuallly everyone ive ever known with 3 was never overcharged without warning same goes to o2 they always warn you

smellslikeshoes

Customer service aside, he went over limit, it's his fault.

colinod0806

xp90 wrote: »

For your info hes not a stupid twat he knows rightly, fact of the matter is 3 purported to have warned him 4 times, and their customer service lackeys are less than pleasant to deal with

nobody called your brother a stupid twat.the fact of the matter is 3 send numerous text messages to your modem to inform you that you are about to go over your limit and then that you are gone over it.i went over my limit once because i didnt notice these(maybe your brother didnt either).i left 3 for a different reason but in all my time with them i spoke to a good few customer service reps and though hard to understand each and every one of them were extremely pleasant and helpful so maybe you need your brother to double check before you start accusing people and calling them *****.:)

JonathanAnon

tbh it's the same as flying with Ryanair. The service is cheap, but you better watch out for things that will bring up the cost of the package.. I have Three Bband for 20 a month for 10gigs, and I have to keep an eye on it to make sure that I dont go over the limit.

They wont exactly send somebody knocking on your door or phone you to let you know that you're over the limit. They let you by texts through the software usually...

If he is using up the limit and is not sure why, it's usually either videos downloaded/streamed, or audio downloaded/streamed, or else possibly a virus/spyware etc etc.

The onus is on YOU to make sure you dont go over the limit, so keep an eye on it every few days.

Dr. Nick

You said the magic words - '17-y-old' and 'limit'

jor el

xp90 wrote: »

For your info hes not a stupid twat he knows rightly, fact of the matter is 3 purported to have warned him 4 times, and their customer service lackeys are less than pleasant to deal with

Whether they did or didn't warn him is beside the point. The limits are there, and it's up to him to know what they are and to monitor his usage.

jay93

with mobile broadband you should always monitor usage just in case you do go over the limit ..if he did go over the limit which he probably did but didnt notice then 3 have every right to charge extra as is outlined in T&C'S by using their service he is obliged to pay any over usage i know it kinda sucks but thats just the way it goes with every ISP that charge for over use not just 3:rolleyes:

Im open to being corrected on this and just throwing it out there as an idea

Is the contract in his name? You say he is 17. Do you not have to be over 18 to enter into these kinds of contracts?

Might be a way out of it for you, worth investigating maybe

jay93

Davegalway wrote: »

Im open to being corrected on this and just throwing it out there as an idea

Is the contract in his name? You say he is 17. Do you not have to be over 18 to enter into these kinds of contracts?

Might be a way out of it for you, worth investigating maybe

and if 3 find out you provided them with false info you would be rightly screwed then especially if it was a contract taken out for the 17 yr old lad they wouldnt be to happy to find this out

Walkman

If he set up his My3 account via their site he could have tracked his usage

Walkman

Walkman wrote: »

If he set up his My3 account via their site he could have tracked his usage

2 problems with this -

1 - my3 goes offline at random times which makes it harder to monitor data usage plus they informed me that it is NOT accurate to the minute - there can be a lag in data usage up to 2 hours (3 stated this - not me :P )

2 some modems come with software (3connect has while mobile partner for the e5830 doesnt have a usage section) with no data monitoring like the e5830 - this in its self coupled witht the inaccurate nature and unrealiable nature of my3 can lead to limits being breached if youa re on small caps

I have gotten screwed over before and it was an error on the system coupled with no usage facility in my modem software (thats how i know that my3 can be up to two hours slow in data usage)

So.....you need to check if the modem had usage monitoring capibility and compare any logs to the usage your brother did at specific periods of time and also check with your brother if my3 had being checked regularly and if it had - had it being inaccurate at any stage?

:)

One tip I will suggest to all novice 3g dongle users - keep logs and watch your my3 or equivelent service for usage and its accuracy

jor el

warlikedave wrote: »

1 - my3 goes offline at random times which makes it harder to monitor data usage plus they informed me that it is NOT accurate to the minute - there can be a lag in data usage up to 2 hours (3 stated this - not me :P )

A lot of ISPs only update your usage stats once every 24 hours, so a 2 hour delay is not bad. I don't see how this is really a problem anyway, unless you're almost at your limit, trying to use every MB you have, and are checking to see what you have left right now.

If you're playing it that close to the limit, then you're more than likely going to go over.

warlikedave wrote: »

2 some modems come with software (3connect has while mobile partner for the e5830 doesnt have a usage section) with no data monitoring like the e5830 - this in its self coupled witht the inaccurate nature and unrealiable nature of my3 can lead to limits being breached if youa re on small caps

The software that monitors usage, as supplied with some modems, operates on a calendar month, but an ISP's billing period is rarely (if ever) based on a calendar month. This makes the software supplied with the modem useless. Not having such software is no loss.

To monitor your usage, you need a 3rd party software package where you can set the monthly period, set the limit and set a warning limit (to let you know you're getting close). You also need to check your usage with the official monitoring utility supplied by your ISP.

Cleocatra

Found 3 mobile very rude when leaving their network. I was called stubborn and I was told I was very hard to please when I wouldn't stay with them. This was after me putting up with their incredibly bad service and bad manners for the 12 months of my contract. Now I remain with a bill for text messages when I was abroad on a phone that was locked up in Ireland and roaming charges for voicemail messages left a phone I had abroad even tho the phone was turned off. :mad:

Cleocatra

Cleocatra wrote: »

Found 3 mobile very rude when leaving their network. I was called stubborn and I was told I was very hard to please when I wouldn't stay with them. This was after me putting up with their incredibly bad service and bad manners for the 12 months of my contract. Now I remain with a bill for text messages when I was abroad on a phone that was locked up in Ireland and roaming charges for voicemail messages left a phone I had abroad even tho the phone was turned off. :mad:

has similar issues so i cancelled my phone contract with them 3 months before the end and jsut paid them to get off my back - they really sicken you at times....my mobile broadband is ok but i still hate having to ring them up if theres an issues ever myself

stubburn is an outline of their character - not the customer

SIX PACK

Im fed up with 3 broadband also i used to pay by direct debit but they kept taking 2months at a time instead of 1...
Then when i call them up i get some fella from their call centre most likely from INDIA who doesn't have a good command of the English language...

That just drives me nuts...

My final grudge is they should cut you off when you have used up your €20 allowance every month.. that way you wont go over your limit. They used to do that when i signed up with them 2years ago, But now they just let you carry on & hit you for a larger bill if u exceed your limit.
Unless they have an agreement with the company to state otherwise.

Walkman

If you don't want to go over your limit why did you not just check your usage on my3 via their website.