Meteor Online Purchase

lunar.wire

Hi,
Just want to warn people off purchasing online with Meteor and I am wondering if anyone else has had this experience:
I recently purchased a bill-pay plan online with Meteor. The plan was €20/month for 200 minutes & 200 texts and was purchased on 12 November 2010. I assumed that my minutes would start from then on not having been with them before, but they didn't....
My first bill is €61. The CSR told me that the billing cycle starts on the 24th and said that I was given partial credits for the time between cycles... ie from the 12th to the 24th and that I went over those allotted units.
When purchasing online it was not obvious that the bill started at a different date and I was under the impression I had 200 minutes and 200 texts from the date of purchase, thereby being overcharged.
When I asked the CSR if she thought that was fair, she said that she didn't think was fair and that was why she'd never be on bill-pay! Meteor seem to ensure that their CSR are powerless to do anything of significance.
Also, the order information they sent me has this for the billing date:
Billing Details:
< /table>
I've emailed Meteor, Comreg and the consumer affairs, but I'm realizing O2 was much better than Meteor (so far at least). Mobile phone companies seem to be in a league of their own when it comes to scamming customers out of money and not having proper customer service.

I think if they advertise 200 minutes & texts per month they should at least tell you when it starts, without any ambiguity.

foggy_lad

lunar.wire wrote: »

Hi,
Just want to warn people off purchasing online with Meteor and I am wondering if anyone else has had this experience:
I recently purchased a bill-pay plan online with Meteor. The plan was €20/month for 200 minutes & 200 texts and was purchased on 12 November 2010. I assumed that my minutes would start from then on not having been with them before, but they didn't....
My first bill is €61. The CSR told me that the billing cycle starts on the 24th and said that I was given partial credits for the time between cycles... ie from the 12th to the 24th and that I went over those allotted units.
When purchasing online it was not obvious that the bill started at a different date and I was under the impression I had 200 minutes and 200 texts from the date of purchase, thereby being overcharged.
When I asked the CSR if she thought that was fair, she said that she didn't think was fair and that was why she'd never be on bill-pay! Meteor seem to ensure that their CSR are powerless to do anything of significance.
Also, the order information they sent me has this for the billing date:
Billing Details:
< /table>
I've emailed Meteor, Comreg and the consumer affairs, but I'm realizing O2 was much better than Meteor (so far at least). Mobile phone companies seem to be in a league of their own when it comes to scamming customers out of money and not having proper customer service.

I think if they advertise 200 minutes & texts per month they should at least tell you when it starts, without any ambiguity.

This system is used by all the mobile operators afaik, if you join mid billing period you pay a portion of the monthly charge for the portion of the period you have use of the service but you would then be allowed inclusive minutes etc at a pro rata rate. Why would you get the full monthly allowance when only paying for part of the month?

Jev/N

I signed up to €30/month before and had no issues, it was also made clear in the letter sent with the pack from Meteor.

If you logged onto MyMeteor to check your minutes, you would have known how much you had left and would have been able to curb your usage.

Welcome to the world of bill pay :rolleyes:

lunar.wire

foggy_lad wrote: »

Why would you get the full monthly allowance when only paying for part of the month?

I don't think I should get the full monthly allowance for paying for part of the month.
I think that meteor should have either told me the billing period and the number of pro-rata units I would receive or started the bill from the date I began with them. I don't think I should be obligated to find out the period, it should be part of the contract and should be highlighted to me.

lunar.wire

Jev/N wrote: »

I signed up to €30/month before and had no issues, it was also made clear in the letter sent with the pack from Meteor.

If you logged onto MyMeteor to check your minutes, you would have known how much you had left and would have been able to curb your usage.

Welcome to the world of bill pay :rolleyes:

Well, that's more like how I expected to be treated:). I had thought that Meteor weren't that bad a company. I expected some sort of notification that I will receive x amount of minutes & texts, and that the bill period will begin again on a particular date, but I never received any, so assumed it begins when I signed up. If they had informed me I would have had no problem. They sent me my phone, but no letter to tell me those details.
I did go online after using it for a while and saw that my bill period would start again on the 24th, but was never told the minutes. Also, having not been with Meteor before, I read the "your next bill" charge of €21 to be the total and not what I had gone over. They are actually charging me €41. I now know they do a count-down thing and then show additional charges, but I only saw that on the 24th.
I probably need a higher tariff, but I'm well used to staying within my bill-pay limits. In the two years with O2 I went over my units once. Bill pay is still cheaper than pay-as-you go, but I expect my phone company to be above board.
If you got a letter stating the units you had and when the bill period ended, then perhaps it's a genuine mistake, but the CSR didn't mention any letter. She sounded a bit nervous at first, so perhaps she was new. I found it strange of a representative to be telling me, "that's why I'd never go on bill-pay".
Anyhow, guess I'm stuck with them for 18 months unless consumer affairs or com reg can help me. If I can I might go back to O2, even if they are more expensive they never cheated me out of money, I went over my units fair and square. Ran up a large bill, but it was my own doing.... no problem with that. Also, their bills are simpler too and you can download a spreadsheet, rather than a PDF as with Meteor.

chrislad

http://www.meteor.ie/support/billing/

All on their site on the billing section.

If your billing date was the 25th, and you signed up on the 11th, you would be billed:

11th to the 24th: (14 days of usage, which is about 46% of a cycle) - approx 9e

25th to the 24th of the following month: 20e

Total First Bill: 29e.

Going forward, you will only have 20e plus what you want over on the previous month.

Cabaal

OP be your own admission you assumed alot of things, why should Meteor accept liabilty for things you assumed?

If you werent 100% sure you could have checked with meteor

lunar.wire

Cabaal wrote: »

OP be your own admission you assumed alot of things, why should Meteor accept liabilty for things you assumed?

If you werent 100% sure you could have checked with meteor

chrislad wrote: »

http://www.meteor.ie/support/billing/
All on their site on the billing section.

I was entering into a new contract and as far as I am aware it is their obligation to inform me of the terms of the contract. I read everything they sent me. I do not accept, at all, that it is my responsibility to go looking up contract information on their website.
What was presented to me on the site was the price-plan promotion, which I read the details of (and looked for the caveats to). I read the email and snail-mail post they sent, I printed and scan-read the T&C, none of which mentioned the units that were allocated, or that I would not get full units until the billing cycle lapsed, or when the cycle starts.
I contend that my assumptions were fair and that it is their liability to instruct me of any changes to the advert. Not giving me a months units is a change to the advertised plan. I think it is fair and reasonable to expect to be told when the cycle starts and the units I'd receive. Also, my previous provider's billing cycle was the beginning of the month (2nd), the 24th isn't the end or the beginning of the month. How could I, without my own research, know that date.
I repeat. I do not accept that I should have to look up contractual information online. I read and signed the documentation that was sent to me. I read the email.
I really cannot understand why people seem to think that a customer should have to go off to find the fine print. If that's what you expect, that's what you'll get.
The burden has shifted more and more toward labouring the consumer with increasing levels of fine print. Even Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren says she can't read all the fine print for every contract she enters into. I do glance over it (more than most I imagine). How many times have you done click-install-yes-yes-install without reading the licence agreement. You could be selling you first born under section1 subsection 3 with due regard for subsection 4.2..... All I was expecting was to be told the situation. I don't see what's wrong with that.

My advice to anyone, would be to not use the Meteor online store, unless you are already with them. They did not tell me the full story through their correspondence and I find it strange that the contributors here seem to be telling me that it's up to me to have found it out and I do not accept that. I should have been told.

I do not think the information was ever given to me. If is in the T&C, I find that a bit sneaking. If I didn't notice in the email or the posted stuff, then I'd accept it was my mistake, but I've looked over those things in retrospect and still haven't found those vital details.
I know it's only a small amount of money, but advertising a €20 is obviously for people on a budget. If Meteor aren't clear (in the documentation they send you) and you go over your allowance because of it, I find that to be unfair.... Perhaps the consumer affairs and com/reg will tell me that it's my fault too and that they'd never use bill pay, either way I'll let you know.

lunar.wire

The Customer Support were unrepentant and unhelpful, doing the usual corporate guff of not actually responding to the specific points I put to them. They just (basically) re-sent the same info over and over, despite previous emails challenging them.
I ended up not continuing it to ComReg for a number of reasons:

• Relatively small amount of money involved
• New Year resulted in delay
• Unfortunately, they are the cheapest. O2 do not have a similar plan as yet.
• Guessing ComReg is on the side of com companies rather than regulation.
• Too much hassle

My advise remains......
Do not purchase from Meteor online.

I suspect that the companies such as Meteor have policies designed to cheat. As the cost & hassle to the consumer is large in comparison to the grievance, they undoubtedly win out financially in the majority of cases.
..... (Just updating as promised)