CellC Internet billing problem

[Shonver]

I have a CellC CasualChat 100 contract. I occasionally used my cell phone as a modem to connect onto the internet (no more, since I have Vodacom broadband). My CellC account suddenly increased from an average of around R600 pm (I have 2 contract phones) to R2710 for September useage. The statement indicated that I had connected to the internet 920 times that month. This works out to an average of 30 times per day! My latest account, for October useage is R1700, and the statement says I have made 501 internet calls.

I contacted CellC several times to get the issue resolved, but this has not yet happened (though I don't want this post to be about this). What I eventually got from them was a verbal report (originating from their IT dept) that the connections had in fact come form my SIM card, and I should have the phone checked out. It was either faulty or it was incorrectly configured. "Customer is liable". Case closed (without my notification!).

Last night I checked my Nokia N71 phone to try and figure out what the problem could be. I discovered that under Settings-> Connection->Packet data->Packet data conn. the selection was "When available". I changed it to "When needed".

Questions:

1. Was the Packet data conn. "When available" setting the cause of the multiple connections?
2. The duration of these connections is in the region of 1040 to 1600 k (I assume), roughly R2 a time. Is this right?
3. Am I liable for these charges? Should they charge me?
4. Any advice on how to get this resolved? I have made several attempts to speak to someone who can actually make a sensible decision, but to no avail.

 

[mercurial]

cell c have screwdrivered me sideways, but i'm just waiting to see what's gonna happen. basically, their stole my airtime and i'm waiting to get it back - R93. if i don't, i'm making waves. i'm on those contracts where you pay R50 a month, and in return get R50 airtime with 25sms's. not sure what the contract name is. their customer service tends to take their own sweet time when "resolving" cases. they don't even have common decency to get back and report on a case. they get a big thumbs down from me.

 

[simmo44]

well, i know the lots of connections thing is just cos of the way the packet data works , since it doesn't need a dedicated connection it cuts the one connection somewhere between 1040 and 1600kb and then reopens another one. so if you download a 30Mb file this will equate to about 25 to 35 internet "calls" as mentioned on your bill.

I've been surprised by my bill on a few occasions, but i downloaded a net usage monitor and after a month i saw that the billing was pretty close to what my usage monitor sed. That R2 a minute adds up really quickly!

Just get a Virgin prepaid SIM - 50c a meg is much better.

 

[mercurial]

it's not R2 a minute, rather R2 per mb. but like u said, rather Virgin or MTN for major GPRS reduction costs.

 

[Shonver]

Bump!

Is there no-one who can answer my questions here? Did I post in the wrong forum?

 

[simmo44]

it's not R2 a minute, rather R2 per mb. but like u said, rather Virgin or MTN for major GPRS reduction costs.

If its GPRS/ EDGE then it is R2 a meg. The way these connections work means they are only charged on data volumes and not time. Unless you are using CSD (the old pre-GPRS connection) which works like a dial-up modem then it is charged per minute in the same way a voice mail would be.

 

[mercurial]

If its GPRS/ EDGE then it is R2 a meg. The way these connections work means they are only charged on data volumes and not time. Unless you are using CSD (the old pre-GPRS connection) which works like a dial-up modem then it is charged per minute in the same way a voice mail would be.

yip and that's probly why his bill was so high

 

[Shonver]

I asked CellC. They said it was R2/Meg.

 

[mercurial]

I asked CellC. They said it was R2/Meg.

yes, but what we're trying to say is maybe your settings are set to CSD and not GPRS. the latter is much, much cheaper. CSD is a rip-off.

 

[Shonver]

Well, so far no joy. I discovered that the phone setting I described above did cause the problem. That does not mean to say that I should pay the extra charges. My phone is now set to "When needed", and my internet billing has returned to normal.

The problem (as I understand it) was that, whenever my phone would lose connection with their network, it would re-establish the link. This disconnect/reconnect cycle would happen continuously. It seems that everytime it did they were billing me!

I spoke to a guy @ cellc named Andrew. He was sharp, and understood my problem. He agreed with me that the billing was incorrect. I got him to agree to ask the IT dept. for a report that shows exactly when I connected to the internet, and when I did not. Naturally, I said I would pay for the occassions that I did visit an internet site. It sounded promising. But, cellc being cellc, they have still not sorted me out. Latest: they "don't understand the problem".

Anyway, I think that their billing users in this way is fraudulent. I want to complain to a higher authority. Who do I direct my complaint to?