Vodacom 'Limit' not working

About 2 years ago I registered a limit with Vodacom when I loaned a 3G card to a friend, subsequently got a bill for > R3k and when inquiring helpdesk said they can see the limit was activated but it was 'immediately thereafter deactivated by their system'. No further explanation possible, but I was still liable for the amount despite the failure on their side as the data was consumed after all.

I ****ing kid you not!

Asked for an investigation but (surprise!) never heard from them again, wrote it off as school fees but I closed my 3 accounts (had one since 1996!) and the only agreement I still have with Vodascum is a 79c/min prepaid sim.

If you trust the devil you will get burned!
 
evilstebunny said:
About 2 years ago I registered a limit with Vodacom when I loaned a 3G card to a friend, subsequently got a bill for > R3k and when inquiring helpdesk said they can see the limit was activated but it was 'immediately thereafter deactivated by their system'. No further explanation possible, but I was still liable for the amount despite the failure on their side as the data was consumed after all.

I ****ing kid you not!

Asked for an investigation but (surprise!) never heard from them again, wrote it off as school fees but I closed my 3 accounts (had one since 1996!) and the only agreement I still have with Vodascum is a 79c/min prepaid sim.

If you trust the devil you will get burned!
Click to expand...

Not sure how that happened. Yikes.

I have had to unlock many of my corporate clients lines due to call limits being reached. The only way for me to do that is to load a higher temp limit for the rest of the month and then the system will automatically open the line again whithin a hour or so.
 
Ockie said:
The limit is for usage only. It does not include your subs. It is also a best effort service. Data billing can be delayed. If you set a limit for R1200.00 it means you can go up to R1200.00 for out of bundle usage + subs that you pay monthly. Data billing can be delayed which is why it is a best effort service. If you download a 4gig movie on LTE by the time the download is done and the billing system updates you could have overshot that call limit. Once the billing updates and the system sees you have reached your limit and overshot it, it will lock.

If this is a data line only, consider changing it to a top up.
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so, If I start a continuous session on a prepaid sim card with 50mb data, could I download a 4 gig movie before the systems reconcile?
 
Wall said:
so, If I start a continuous session on a prepaid sim card with 50mb data, could I download a 4 gig movie before the systems reconcile?
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Prepaid does not run on the same billing engine as contract. Prepaid data billing is real time. Contract data billing can be a bit delayed. And before I get flamed and hammered and get a bullet between the eyes .... I dont like it either. But that is how it is until Vodacom changes it. We are busy switching to a new system, but it is being done in phases and it will be rolled out to us as we and the stores go for the training on it....so it is going to be a while before fully implemented across the entire contract base. Even so, I am not sure if data billing is real time with the new system.

That is why I said in my post that you quoted he might want to consider moving to top up. Top Up works on same real time billing as prepaid
 
Wall said:
so, If I start a continuous session on a prepaid sim card with 50mb data, could I download a 4 gig movie before the systems reconcile?
Click to expand...

No, the prepaid system it live, the postpaid system is a legacy system and has a delay while the session is active.

The incompetent developers at Vodacom has been unable to change the system to live, while the glorious developers at Telkom Mobile could because their system is sparkly and new.
 
Ockie said:
Prepaid does not run on the same billing engine as contract. Prepaid data billing is real time. Contract data billing can be a bit delayed. And before I get flamed and hammered and get a bullet between the eyes .... I dont like it either. But that is how it is until Vodacom changes it. We are busy switching to a new system, but it is being done in phases and it will be rolled out to us as we and the stores go for the training on it....so it is going to be a while before fully implemented across the entire contract base. Even so, I am not sure if data billing is real time with the new system.

That is why I said in my post that you quoted he might want to consider moving to top up. Top Up works on same real time billing as prepaid
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LOL, the OOB shark is waiting for many customers. I honestly think if Vodacom was truly commited to rectifing this problem, it would have been fixed a long time ago.
 
supersunbird said:
No, the prepaid system it live, the postpaid system is a legacy system and has a delay while the session is active.

The incompetent developers at Vodacom has been unable to change the system to live, while the glorious developers at Telkom Mobile could because their system is sparkly and new.
Click to expand...

If they wanted to fix it, they would have. They HAD to do it on prepaid or they'll run losses, with contracts, they know they'll have a barrel over your head and will catch you with exhorbitant fees, OOB Shark style.
 
Wall said:
If they wanted to fix it, they would have. They HAD to do it on prepaid or they'll run losses, with contracts, they know they'll have a barrel over your head and will catch you with exhorbitant fees, OOB Shark style.
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100% agree. This is what I said in my arguments which may have been why they passed a small credit to me. I would love to know what the Data OOB Shark is worth to Vodacom on a monthly basis. I'm sure that 1000's of customers rack a R1000+ in data OOB charges. The fact that you have to pay more per month for a top up contract with the same data and minutes commitment when compared to a post paid one is testament to that.
 
munchies said:
100% agree. This is what I said in my arguments which may have been why they passed a small credit to me. I would love to know what the Data OOB Shark is worth to Vodacom on a monthly basis. I'm sure that 1000's of customers rack a R1000+ in data OOB charges. The fact that you have to pay more per month for a top up contract with the same data and minutes commitment when compared to a post paid one is testament to that.
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Complain, escalate and complain some more before escalating again.

Got hit with a painful amount last year but was lucky that some Vodacom peeps stepped in, pretty sure someone at myBB prodded someone. Got credited and didn't pay them for 3 months :p
 
Wall said:
so, If I start a continuous session on a prepaid sim card with 50mb data, could I download a 4 gig movie before the systems reconcile?
Click to expand...

Vodaxom's prepaid system appears to work on a buffer system to protect Vodacom from you overrunning the limit. They basically cut you off while you still have about 2Mb on your balance to prevent you going over. Very sneaky of them because that 2Mb is always lost. So even their prepaid system can't actually do real time.
 
Ockie said:
Why would you do that though?
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Ockie, obviously I don't do this on purpose! I try and stay ahead with bundles. But some days you're just so busy, you load a bundle, forget to set a limit, for got that you forgot to set a limit, billshock! The fault is often as much my own as it is Vodacom's I will admit (hence not fighting prior big bills even though some were very dodgy!). But that is why I set the limit, to make sure that I could never go more than R1200 OOB. Yet here I stand with R2144 OOB charges!
 
Vodacom now tells me that the terms and conditions state that should the service fail, the customer is still liable for the charges.

So what is the point of offering a limit?

Seems a little pointless to me?
 
its weird how cellc and telkom mobile can get it right, the second im out of bundle on either, i get a redirect page, informing me
 
ijacobs3 said:
its weird how cellc and telkom mobile can get it right, the second im out of bundle on either, i get a redirect page, informing me
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That would be the best way to manage this. But hey. OOB charges probably fund the office party kitty or something!
 
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