Data disaster: A mobile phone bill of R20,000

Wonder who the providers are in these complaints.

Get a SMS from Vodacom as soon as I hit 4.89MB of a data bundle remaining, but maybe that's a prepaid only thing?

TelkomMobile just cuts you off.
 
Wonder who the providers are in these complaints.

Get a SMS from Vodacom as soon as I hit 4.89MB of a data bundle remaining, but maybe that's a prepaid only thing?

TelkomMobile just cuts you off.

Sometimes if their systems are down you might not get that SMS and go out of bundle.

It happens. Often.
 
Wonder who the providers are in these complaints.

Get a SMS from Vodacom as soon as I hit 4.89MB of a data bundle remaining, but maybe that's a prepaid only thing?

TelkomMobile just cuts you off.

I get an SMS on Telkom Mobile when I have 100MB left.
 
What is the reason why data gets depleted so quick?
My friends that are on MTN are scared of switching on their data... I have personally checked their phones as well and there is nothing funny or suspicious enough to justify the loss of data.
 
Or, you know, lower the cost of the astronomically overpriced data?
 
What is the reason why data gets depleted so quick?
My friends that are on MTN are scared of switching on their data... I have personally checked their phones as well and there is nothing funny or suspicious enough to justify the loss of data.

Happens to me too. When I travel, I use the 24h data bundle from MTN. After 5 minutes it says I've used 150MB. Phone says I've used 5MB. I don't top up on airtime because MTN strips that away too, at the same time.
 
They forgot to upgrade the users as well when they started selling smartphones.

Yes, sometimes the service providers are to blame, but If you buy a sports car you cannot hold the dealer responsible for the heavy fuel consumption.
 
Luckily I am on prepaid :D. Bought my latest smartphone with CC from Orange.

Still curious on the which provider has the most complaints.

Wait until you have to fight them on this. You'll lose many a year off your life expectancy :(
 
Yup. Nearly got caught the other day as well - didn't realise the tablet was running off a phone hotspot instead of the ADSL wifi.

To their credit VC sent lots of SMS's so noticed that something was up shortly after hitting 0mb.
 
Where's ICASA when you need them?
Clearly there is a problem.
Service providers are happy to raid your bank account.
Why don't cell phone companies implement a Rand cap on the bill.
If the bill gets over R1,000 disable the line - unless a prior arrangement is made.

Tip:
Prepaid - works a charm.
On Android you can set the limits to disable data.
 
Vodacom said:
“We educate our customers to frequently check their data bundle balance by dialling *111# or download the My Vodacom App,” said Vodacom communication specialist Andile April.

Does Vodacom also educate its contract data bundle customers that the data usage records are not realtime and may be out of date by one or more days?
 
ICASA should force networks to implement a solution that forces consumers to know that they're going to be browsing out of bundle, kinda like what Telkom has.
 
What is the reason why data gets depleted so quick?
My friends that are on MTN are scared of switching on their data... I have personally checked their phones as well and there is nothing funny or suspicious enough to justify the loss of data.

I've had no real issues with MTN with my 2 contracts. On both of them, I have a credit limit set. My phone also has limits set. I also get SMSes when the data bundle is about to expire, when the data bundle is depleted and another SMS when I'm using out of bundle rates. People also need to keep track of their usage and get more familiar with what data is used for on any phone. The MTN app is using quite up-to-date.
 
I've had no real issues with MTN with my 2 contracts. On both of them, I have a credit limit set. My phone also has limits set. I also get SMSes when the data bundle is about to expire, when the data bundle is depleted and another SMS when I'm using out of bundle rates. People also need to keep track of their usage and get more familiar with what data is used for on any phone. The MTN app is using quite up-to-date.

Credit Limit on Vodacom is fubar this weekend so no idea if I would have been locked... At least I am locked. Can't unlock at the moment though
 
The article fails to mention:
- which network users are getting these bills
- What type of smarthphone OS is responsive at most - Android/Windows, etc. I suspect Windows 10 is a leader.

Other considerations:
1. I know that user can not stop some Android OS or Windows updates. They can't mark things on the box if it is not possible to disable after all.
2. Phones with automatic updates turned on by default should be banned from selling in SA.

In other words instead of educating users, some strongest meassures should be in place.
 
I'm on cell c contract and get an sms when I'm 15mb left. The only annoying thing is they tell you to recharge to avoid oob but I can't recharge on my package :(
 
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