Prevent cellular bill shock

ocleroux said:
It has now also been made mandatory for us to input a ALTNUM when activating a 3G contract on Fastrak Jannie. I think this is a good thing.
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Yup, one of the things we're doing to get the ALTNUM DB in better shape. You might soon see a pop-up as well if you don't have an ALTNUM configured. E-mail notification is also on the radar.

ALTNUM is a powerful feature and, if more people used it, we would see less complaints of people going OOB without their knowledge. As much as you guys, I don't want to see anyone with a higher bill than expected. Vodacom probably have more features built to manage usage than any of the networks but many people just don't know about them.
 
jannievanzyl said:
Been there for years. CLL (Call Limit Lock) works on both data and voice.

Furthermore, Vodacom specifically built the Top-Up data contracts for people who want the advantages of contract without the possibility of bill shock. Again, this has been available for years.

ALTNUM is not just for when you go over, but for any notification. Everyone who does not use data on their primary voice contract should configure it. Unless you have the need to complain about triggering a threshold in the middle of the night. (And your phone does not have a silent mode setting. ;))
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I don't think you can play this one from your "high horse"...

For example I have been with vodacom since its inception and have never heard of these services, let alone know how to activate this.

So it's not surprising many others are also not aware.
 
jannievanzyl said:
Yup, one of the things we're doing to get the ALTNUM DB in better shape. You might soon see a pop-up as well if you don't have an ALTNUM configured. E-mail notification is also on the radar.

ALTNUM is a powerful feature and, if more people used it, we would see less complaints of people going OOB without their knowledge. As much as you guys, I don't want to see anyone with a higher bill than expected. Vodacom probably have more features built to manage usage than any of the networks but many people just don't know about them.
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What is ALTNUM?
 
These limits have default values (shown in the table below) that may be adjusted down or up (subject to credit checks) by the customer.
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Could you please provide details on where you got this information. I have the 300 package with R1250 hard cap. I really want to put this lower at say R500 or so. If I somehow hit R1250 it would be a bill shock for me and I want to avoid that happening.

Every person I have spoken to at Virgin has told me its just not possible, and there is no hope in hell of getting it lowered. They can go up (pending credit checks) but thats about it.
 
[)roi(];7129650 said:
I don't think you can play this one from your "high horse"...

For example I have been with vodacom since its inception and have never heard of these services, let alone know how to activate this.

So it's not surprising many others are also not aware.
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That's the problem. We have these things and have built a number of processes to put the information out there but it's not a simple process. For you guys and us. That's why this forum is so valuable to get this info out as well.

But it would be cool if peeps asked if something is available instead of just stating it's not. ;)
 
deweyzeph said:
I have one very simple way to prevent bill shock....I have a prepaid sim card. I don't understand why people still have contracts.
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Main line (voice): International roaming
Data: I agree, people should just get pre-paid. However, I think for some peeps it is still too complex to buy a SIM, load money on it and then convert to data. Even with the newer systems that allows you to load data directly, it is still too complex. Explaining to my in-laws why I need to access their online banking to give them 3G data on their new 3G stick? Eish, I don't know...
 
jannievanzyl said:
That's the problem. We have these things and have built a number of processes to put the information out there but it's not a simple process. For you guys and us. That's why this forum is so valuable to get this info out as well.

But it would be cool if peeps asked if something is available instead of just stating it's not. ;)
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We all appreciate your presence, frank responses and assistance here;

The size of your communication problem is apparent -- many people on this forums aren't aware of these fancy features, let alone the majority of your customers...

Interested to see what you do to resolve this.
 
[)roi(];7130086 said:
We all appreciate your presence, frank responses and assistance here;

The size of your communication problem is apparent -- many people on this forums aren't aware of these fancy features, let alone the majority of your customers...

Interested to see what you do to resolve this.
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+1 I learned some thing today thanks
 
I am very wary of contracts, but I'm on MTN Anytime Top Up. Benefit of subsidised phone on contract, but the limit is like prepaid and then you top up.

Real time balance checks (USSD ) FTW.

Love how MTN and Red Bull Mobile (Cell C) offer this on my contracts
 
deweyzeph said:
I have one very simple way to prevent bill shock....I have a prepaid sim card. I don't understand why people still have contracts.
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I have a 10gb/month pre-paid CellC data contract and use BitMeter to check the useage. On 19th October, BitMeter reported I had used 4.75Gb, so obviously (I thought) I had 5.25Gb left. That day the modem stopped receiving data. It would connect and I could ping websites (CellC's at least) but no data. I fiddled around most of the day, then called CellC at 3.30pm. After 45 mins on hold, spoke to a person who took me through all the steps that I had already done, without resolving the problem. So next day I called again. After speaking to 6 different people, at last someone asked for the number of the SIM card. Then told me it was blocked as I had exceeded my cap. Explained that I monitor useage and is less than half of available cap, also router has password and in any case there is no signal outside the house, let alone more than 10 metres away or upstairs. After further 15 mins on hold, was told to try it again and it worked. No explanation on what was done, he just said it was some error.
 
jannievanzyl said:
R2/MB OOB on a contract for starters?
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Oh ok, sorry for not keeping with the times, when was the OOB rates updated again? Still, R1 per meg for 3 hours at around 2 MB per second equals roughly R 21,600 (R1 * 2MB/s * 60s * 60m * 3h) - which is probably enough to bankrupt most MyBB users for an awesome 3 hours of high speed internet.
 
jannievanzyl said:
Been there for years. CLL (Call Limit Lock) works on both data and voice.
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From the terms and conditions:

  • The call limit is not a guaranteed service and you will remain liable for all charges incurred, whether in excess of the limit set or not.

This condition does not make me feel very comfortable with the call limit service you mention, makes me wonder what the point is.
 
jannievanzyl said:
Been there for years. CLL (Call Limit Lock) works on both data and voice.

Furthermore, Vodacom specifically built the Top-Up data contracts for people who want the advantages of contract without the possibility of bill shock. Again, this has been available for years.

ALTNUM is not just for when you go over, but for any notification. Everyone who does not use data on their primary voice contract should configure it. Unless you have the need to complain about triggering a threshold in the middle of the night. (And your phone does not have a silent mode setting. ;))
Click to expand...

Top-Up data contracts -> Really, what about that 2 Gig + 2 Gig promotion that I took out, didn't have a top-up
option on that one.

ALTNUM -> If this is as ineffective as the notifications that I was supposed to receive but didn't receive then what good is it. Also what good is it if you can blitz through 200 MB in less than 10 minutes (and R800 later) and the SMS notifications are not in real time. This service is not preventative in heavy usage only detective.

Let's not forget the useless cap - which you have to specifically ask for.
Which is not a cut off and not real time.
I temporarily increased my cap by R50 in order to use nightowl data and the new threshold did not kick in, and the warnings were not received and my complaint to Vodacom was not responded to.

Really Jannie, this is not very customer centric. Why can't you just cap automatically when the limit is reached?
Why make the customer's life harder? Why not offer the same service as Cell C? Is the extra profit really worth the poor perception that you are getting from customers.

Can't wait till my contract ends with Vodacom...
 
deweyzeph said:
Convenience? Prepaid is much more convenient than contract. Also, if the only way you can afford a high-end phone is by getting it on a contract, then you shouldn't be getting a high-end phone. Either buy it cash, or don't buy it at all.
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Why would you say this? Some people prefer the convenience of a contract phone and can benefit by saving money.
 
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