Huge three.ie bill for 160 Euro for internet for my 83 year old mother and cut off

gussieg

So I gave my mother a nowtv stick I bought in Tesco to be able to watch her few things , and I gave her my phone as a hotspot as I was aware she was on a poor deal with three .ie for something like 26 Euro a month for 3gbs of data .
I warned her not to switch over and to call me if she couldn't get it working but she was in the middle of watching something and switched to her modem , then three.ie cut her off and hit them with a bill of 160 . They are now cut off so I'm going over to reinstate the phone hotspot if possible.
It's things like this that just make me sick about phone companies and tv companies etc. Hitting those most vulnerable the hardest.

MarkR

gussieg wrote: »

So I gave my mother a nowtv stick I bought in Tesco to be able to watch her few things , and I gave her my phone as a hotspot as I was aware she was on a poor deal with three .ie for something like 26 Euro a month for 3gbs of data .
I warned her not to switch over and to call me if she couldn't get it working but she was in the middle of watching something and switched to her modem , then three.ie cut her off and hit them with a bill of 160 . They are now cut off so I'm going over to reinstate the phone hotspot if possible.
It's things like this that just make me sick about phone companies and tv companies etc. Hitting those most vulnerable the hardest.

They didn't do anything wrong. Her setup wasn't suitable for her, and three luckily cut her off before it became astronomical. Get something like 48 with 80gb of data, or at least look for better options.

berocca2016

Vodafone will do unlimited broadband for 30 euro a month via the landline.

antix80

Are you serious?
It sounds like your lack of know-how cost your mother €160.
If she's not short on cash, I'd recommend going with fixed line broadband instead of messing with dongles and hotspots at her age. Most providers do good introductory deals with equipment included.

DopeTech

Yeah you'll have to put this one down to experience and either encourage her to switch to a better data plan or get in fixed line broadband. If she's already paying for a landline adding broadband may not work out that much more expensive.

Have a look at 48.ie, gomo.ie, or for fixed line onebigswitch.ie have a good offer for Vodafone fixed line broadband and phone at the moment.

100% your own fault and I'm baffled how you can blame the company.

Unlimited broadband from many sources for a fixed rate of about 40ish euro

100gb 4g with unlimited calls with 48.ie for 12.99

80gb with momo I think for similar

The list goes on. End result, you messed up. Change to a new supplier

U2erthy

Using phone as a hotspot is not a good idea you need a sim modem router and unlimited data. Sim plans have little data
Don't have it on bill pay or you pay for extra data onnprepay they just cut you off

gussieg

sure its just business isnt it , but for someone of her age to be hit with bills like that especially at this time, worries her.all she uses it for is to keep in touch and no she doesnt fully understand how it all works . what i think is crap is that they have been paying over the odds for so little data for so long. THey tried to get broadband before but were told they were outside the area for it. So now not just internet off, but geographically isolated too.

antix80

Why didn't you get her to upgrade her plan to something more suitable?
Hotspots can get disconnected easily and devices can jump between wifi too.

Phone three when she's there, let them validate then take over the call.
Leave out the bit about hotspots etc. Just say you'd like to upgrade to a more suitable plan, could they reconnect her as she relies on internet due to covid isolation, and ask about writing off the arrears.

If you are polite the csr will probably help out.
If they can't waive arrears I'd suggest writing a letter.

_Kaiser_

In all fairness OP, this wasn't 3's fault and as others said they actually did her a favour in this case. Nothing to do with her being elderly or vulnerable at all.

You need to see what options ARE available to her (if not fixed line then a better 4G plan or maybe there's a local crowd?) and set her up on that - or set it up in your name perhaps which will allow you to manage the account (GDPR etc)

This one is on you I'm afraid.