Three - hit with 170 Euro Bill for 2GB of data usage.

Doodie123 · 08-04-2021 8:26pm #1

Hey there ppl - looking for some advice.

Short version: Acquaintance billed €170 by Three as their phone used TWO GB of data in a month. On an ancient plan (€30 p/m) with ZERO data allowance (elderly, housebound)

Cause: disconnected from house broadband WiFi, likely Chrome pushing website notification spam and/or autoplaying vids on news websites.

Vendor: Three won't budge. Insist on full payment.

Question: I know EU law caps Roaming (outside Ireland in EU) to €3.50 per GB. Is there any similar restriction on maximum that can be charged per GB within Ireland?

Long version:

A family acquaintance who's been hit with a stonking huge bill for data usage on their smartphone (only used for calls, online banking 2FA and connecting their hearing aid to the phone/TV)
Turns out they were on a grandfathered plan carried on from O2 from waaaay back in the early 2000's or thereabouts that had ZERO data usage (despite them paying €35 or so a month)
Now - this wasn't a problem since they were housebound, had broadband wi-fi and the phone was connected to that normally.
However, certain parts of their premises doesn't have wifi coverage.

I looked at the Android data usage, and from what I see, their usage is normally 10-100 MB a month.
Last Month, Chrome jumped to 2.5GB of use. I had to close a pile of web browser notification (pushed stories from Daily Mail, Daily Mirror etc. that were clogging their phone)
Despite them adamantly denying this, I explained that it was likely either all these notifications, or an autoplaying video at the bottom of a news page whilst they were in an area of their house where the wifi doesn't reach.
I even demonstrated this to them.

Disabled Mobile data altogether on their phone, and advised that there's better low-cost vendors (GoMo, 48, Vodafone Clear) with 'unlimited' data caps and cheaper cost

Now - I think this is particularly mean of Three. This person has been a customer with them right from the very start. Data use is negligible material cost as (via 48) they offered 100GB for €8. EU caps data roaming at €3.50 a month when roaming outside state - but this instance was in-Ireland use.

Any advice or suggestions or legal recourse?

JTMan · 08-04-2021 8:59pm

Ring Three and talk to them. They might offer a reduction to the bill.

okidoki987 · 09-04-2021 1:17am

Tough one if 3 insist on full payment as you don't have a leg to stand on unfortunately.
I would get onto them and explain what happened and see what they can do.
I'd push the "it was an old person who has been with you for x years" story and see what they say.
Try saying like, they had to move room due to damp or something like that and the phone didn't pick up the Wifi signal in the new room?
Remember you will be no worse off so keep hounding them if you don't get anything in the first few calls to them.
Also use social media if that fails.

Mjolnir · 09-04-2021 1:35am

okidoki987 wrote: »

Tough one if 3 insist on full payment as you don't have a leg to stand on unfortunately.
I would get onto them and explain what happened and see what they can do.
I'd push the "it was an old person who has been with you for x years" story and see what they say.
Try saying like, they had to move room due to damp or something like that and the phone didn't pick up the Wifi signal in the new room?
Remember you will be no worse off so keep hounding them if you don't get anything in the first few calls to them.
Also use social media if that fails.

Pretty much this, unfortunately they haven't a leg to stand on or any form of recourse.
A chat over the phone and if all else fails a few tagged twitter posts(usually some form of good will to get people to zip it on twitter)

Surprised that such a plan is still in place, a lot of the older plans have been phased out and the customers put on the equivalent. Perhaps question that.

Ten Pin · 09-04-2021 10:32am

EECC was due to be enacted last December but for whatever reason it didn't happen but maybe the clauses can provide pointers to getting bill cancelled/reduced.

https://notifications.three.ie/EECC/billpay/1

From that link...

5.Best price plan advice
From the new EECC implementation date we will provide customers with a notification of the best price plan advice at least one month before their existing contract is due to expire. For example, if your contract is due to expire on 30 June 2020, you will receive a best price plan advice notification before 30 May 2020. You will also receive best price plan advice at least annually when your fixed term contract has expired and you have not entered into a new contract.

Was there anything in the contract about capping bill over a certain limit or notification alerts if bill reached a certain level.

Ask three for a copy of the contract that was agreed when it started. They are supposed to provide a contract to customer, was anything signed for at the time? Presume it was bought in a shop rather than online so there should be something on paper somewhere. If three can't provide contract and it can't be found then use that as a negotiating tactic.

You may have to make a formal complaint if they don't concede some or all of the bill.

Also consider submitting a SAR to get all the details about the contract and usage reports so that you have all the information needed.

Three will probably play a bit of hardball but concentrate on the process of complaints and data requests to hopefully get a satisfactory outcome.

Bear in mind that all the ISPs have been pulled up by Comreg over contract clarity and cancellation rights and some have been fined for it.

Qprmeath · 11-04-2021 8:28am

Had similar with Three at start of pandemic. My wife did some meetings she’d normally travel to through her phone. She didn’t realise not on wifi as a few black spots in our house. Think it was costing roughly €250 extra on her bill. After a call to Three and explaining situation think I ended up paying half that amount.

babelfish1990 · 11-04-2021 10:16am

Doodie123 wrote: »

Hey there ppl - looking for some advice.

Short version: Acquaintance billed €170 by Three as their phone used TWO GB of data in a month. On an ancient plan (€30 p/m) with ZERO data allowance (elderly, housebound)

Cause: disconnected from house broadband WiFi, likely Chrome pushing website notification spam and/or autoplaying vids on news websites.

Vendor: Three won't budge. Insist on full payment.

Question: I know EU law caps Roaming (outside Ireland in EU) to €3.50 per GB. Is there any similar restriction on maximum that can be charged per GB within Ireland?

Unfair as it seems, it's probably not worth wasting any time engaging with Three. If they do agree to reduce the charge (as others have managed to do), your friend will probably still pay half the charge, but end up committed to a more expensive contract than they need. For example, if they save €85 after negotiation, but end up on a contract costing €10 per month more than required, then after 8 months the negotiated "saving" will have been recouped by Three.

Just change network, to a deal that offers better value, and cut your losses.

GoMo is probably a good option for someone like this - €14.99per month for unlimited voice/text and 120GB data. Although it is not the cheapest (If they are with Eir for Broadband, they could add mobile for as little as €9.99 per month), it has a couple of advantages. First of all, out-of-bundle usage is capped at €30 - so if they make another mistake (such as making a long international call), their usage will be capped at €30 out-of-bundle. Secondly GoMo deals are capped "for life" for existing users - so there is no need to keep renegotiating every year to get the best deal. By comparison, the Eir €9.99 deal requires calling up once a year to re-commit. GoMo is an Eir product - same network, except no 5G offered, and online customer-care only.

dublinman1990 · 13-04-2021 5:26am

3 offer 4G unlimited broadband for €30p/m on a 2 year billpay contract. You can also get a €30 sim-only deal every 30 days with a 4G phone. They both offer a 750gb data allowance p/m. 3 are currently rolling out 5G broadband across the country as well. I'm not sure if you're in an area with 5G coverage or you plan to buy a 5G phone to use it. But it will offer a 1tb data allowance p/m for €45 p/m on a self-install basis.

The coverage checker is here if you want to use your address for it.

https://www.three.ie/shop/coverage-check.html

Are you still in contract with this plan with 3 or not? Depending on your contract that you have with 3 at the moment; it might be worth your while to ask 3 over the phone about these new plans if you do become eligible for an upgrade with them. The current plan that you are on right now sounds like something that was sold to you by 3 several years ago & is now way out of date for your current broadband needs. In my mind; it should have been phased out by now & you would have been a much better plan compared to the one you are using at the moment. Does it say in your current T&C's that you can cancel it if 3 say they can change it & put you another plan or is that not allowed?

I am not sure what to say about the large bill at the moment. I have no experience with this situation as I've only joined 3 since January this year. But if you have a large bill with them. They will say that you can't upgrade your plan until you have paid the bill in full or with some negotiation if you had issues with the plan before.

Three - hit with 170 Euro Bill for 2GB of data usage.

Comments