Newest Vodacom OOB Shark Victim

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Bernie

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May 2, 2006
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Just an arb vent.

I am now a member of the OOB victim club.

I have a call limit of R100 on my sons phone, been working quite well the last couple of years on his contract. We recently upgraded, he got an S5, and on Saturday night his phone downloaded a crap load of app updates and I am sure he probably surfed some too, ate up his data bundle and then chowed another R1200 worth of data.

What I didnt realise, is that the cost of the data (and or voice) is only calculated after the session ends, so its possible to bypass your call limit on your contract with ease - very very frustrating.

Anyway - I guess this is very expensive school fees.

:mad: :mad:

Rant over!
 
marine1

marine1

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And definitely not the last. But according to the propaganda machine only a few go OOB. Lol

Mafia
 
Electric

Electric

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Jul 22, 2013
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kianm said:
yep. Or even better, go full prepaid especially for kids
Click to expand...

Yes, this.
My son is on prepaid.
If he uses his call time it's his problem.
All data is via wireless which helps with updates n play store apps.
 
S

SWM

Active Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2009
Messages
93
On the S5 there is an option to set a data limit warning:

Settings -> Data Usage -> Set Mobile Data Limit

It might not cut out the data connection, but at least you can set a warning for when you reach a certain limit.
 
M

MKFrost

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Oct 23, 2012
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I do not understand why the service providers cannot just solve these OOB problems once and for all.

Not sure how their billing works but I call BS on the fact that the billing is done after the session ends. Why can it work on prepaid where you are cutoff even before you get to your last cent but on contract it just keeps on running for ever?
 
Electric

Electric

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MKFrost said:
I do not understand why the service providers cannot just solve these OOB problems once and for all.

Not sure how their billing works but I call BS on the fact that the billing is done after the session ends. Why can it work on prepaid where you are cutoff even before you get to your last cent but on contract it just keeps on running for ever?
Click to expand...

They make money off of oob rates.
Surely it's not their responsibility to monitor it?
It's the responsibility of the cell owner to be sure he doesn't go over his alloted data amount.
Why would they prevent a money making opportunity?
 
Enzo Matrix

Enzo Matrix

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MKFrost said:
I do not understand why the service providers cannot just solve these OOB problems once and for all.

Not sure how their billing works but I call BS on the fact that the billing is done after the session ends. Why can it work on prepaid where you are cutoff even before you get to your last cent but on contract it just keeps on running for ever?
Click to expand...

Because of how the systems work. CellC is the only provider who has realtime usage on prepaid and postpaid. The others dont, old systems in place. No conspiracy here
 
M

MKFrost

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Electric said:
They make money off of oob rates.
Surely it's not their responsibility to monitor it?
It's the responsibility of the cell owner to be sure he doesn't go over his alloted data amount.
Why would they prevent a money making opportunity?
Click to expand...

Yes agree that its the owners responsibility BUT the service providers should then not offer something such as being able to set a limit if they well know that such limit will not come into play due to how they do their billing after the session only.

Also, there is a very fine line between making money and extortion.
 
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Electric

Electric

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MKFrost said:
Yes agree that its the owners responsibility BUT the service providers should then not offer something such as being able to set a limit if they well know that such limit will not come into play due to how they do their billing after the session only.

Also, there is a very fine line between making and extortion.
Click to expand...

I agree fully.
That does not mean the cell providers agree.
They are not ethics based companies, we all know this.
 
Z

zululami

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Feb 11, 2011
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It may be your son's fault, but if you call Vodacom and ask them nicely and tell them that your son was not aware, they may 'as a gesture of goodwill' cut your bill by as much as 75 percent. They did it for me... Twice this year.

Message they sent me: "Good day. Please be advised that after investigation I can confirm that the billing is correct as per the volumes of data that were processed. Please install a data monitoring app to manage the data connections and volumes consumed going forward. I am pleased to inform you that as a valued customer, Vodacom is prepared to load a credit of R650.17 incl VAT as a once off gesture of goodwill due to unexpected data usage. Please allow 7-14 working days for the credit to reflect. Thank you Kind regards, Vodacom Customer Care Craig Cicero"
 
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M

MKFrost

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rakabos3 said:
Because of how the systems work. CellC is the only provider who has realtime usage on prepaid and postpaid. The others dont, old systems in place. No conspiracy here
Click to expand...

Do not agree, why does my Vodacom prepaid cut out if I'm out of money? If no realtime usage monitoring then how do they know I'm out of funds?
 
Enzo Matrix

Enzo Matrix

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MKFrost said:
Do not agree, why does my Vodacom prepaid cut out if I'm out of money? If no realtime usage monitoring then how do they know I'm out of funds?
Click to expand...

:wtf:

Whether you agree or not is besides the point. Ive worked at all the telcos and thats the way it works. Prepaid = realtime usage and cut off. Postpaid = delayed call rating and billing (except at Cellc)
 
M

MKFrost

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rakabos3 said:
:wtf:

Whether you agree or not is besides the point. Ive worked at all the telcos and thats the way it works. Prepaid = realtime usage and cut off. Postpaid = delayed call rating and billing (except at Cellc)
Click to expand...

In your post you said that only Cell C had realtime monitoring on prepaid. That is what I did not agree with.

Because of how the systems work. CellC is the only provider who has realtime usage on prepaid and postpaid. The others dont, old systems in place. No conspiracy here
Click to expand...
 
Enzo Matrix

Enzo Matrix

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Vodacom, MTN, CellC = realtime prepaid
Vodacom, MTN = delayed postpaid
CellC = realtime postpaid
 
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