Vodacom stole 220Mb from me!

C

cjw1378

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Hi All,

I'm in SA on business/holiday and ended up buying a Vodafone-branded Huawei K3520 along with a 1GB pre-paid data bundle from one of the Vodacom 3G shops.

I've only used the sim in that modem in one laptop. The vodafone software along with my firewall both say I've only used 780Mb. However everyone at Vodacom I've spoken to (and that's a lot of people, and they are without doubt the *worst* of their type I've dealt with anywhere in the world) assure me I've used the remaining 220Mb and refuse to do anything about it.

What on earth could cause such a huge discrepancy at their end?
Is it common for vodacom to rip their clients off in this way?
I'd normally look for a regulator or ombudsman to take this up with, but I'm only here until Monday :-(

Now, next question: I tried putting my UK Orange 3G sim in the modem and it worked fine (well, I didn't connect, uk roaming data rates are extortionate but I haven't yet noticed the outright theft that Vodacom are trying!) but if I put an MTN 3G sim in the modem, it tells me "incorrect sim inserted". Does this mean that only Vodacom sims can be used in this modem in SA?

cheers,

Chris
 
Imagine you buy a dozen eggs.
You eat 10 during the week, saving the last 2 for your saturday morning hangover cure.
You wake up saturday morning, go to break your last 2 treasured eggs into a glass only to discover they are just hollow empty shells.
You go to Nulaid and demand to see the chicken who laid the empty eggs.
The manager directs you to the chicken farmer who supplied the eggs.
The chicken farmer takes you to the shed where he keeps his 10,000 chickens...
You grab a chicken and throttle it dead.
Feel better now?

Alternatively, you grab a chicken, look it in the eye, and think to yourself: "What's the use?"
 
Did you take into account that the 1GB of data is calculated using both uploaded and downloaded data?

Also worth keeping in mind that good old Microsoft updates can eat a large amount of data and I'm not sure if these register on your firewall software?

The modem can not be (network) locked under ICASA rules and your MTN SIM being rejected is possibly just a compatibility issue with that SIM.

Hey! If you use Orange UK you must be used to the worst service provided by a network providor known to mankind!! Vodacom by and large are a lot better than Orange UK.
 
Last edited:
Garden Router said:
Imagine you buy a dozen eggs.
You eat 10 during the week, saving the last 2 for your saturday morning hangover cure.
You wake up saturday morning, go to break your last 2 treasured eggs into a glass only to discover they are just hollow empty shells.
You go to Nulaid and demand to see the chicken who laid the empty eggs.
The manager directs you to the chicken farmer who supplied the eggs.
The chicken farmer takes you to the shed where he keeps his 10,000 chickens...
You grab a chicken and throttle it dead.
Feel better now?

Alternatively, you grab a chicken, look it in the eye, and think to yourself: "What's the use?"
Click to expand...

Creative but succinct...nice one :D
 
cjw1378 said:
Hi All,

I'm in SA on business/holiday and ended up buying a Vodafone-branded Huawei K3520 along with a 1GB pre-paid data bundle from one of the Vodacom 3G shops.

I've only used the sim in that modem in one laptop. The vodafone software along with my firewall both say I've only used 780Mb. However everyone at Vodacom I've spoken to (and that's a lot of people, and they are without doubt the *worst* of their type I've dealt with anywhere in the world) assure me I've used the remaining 220Mb and refuse to do anything about it.

What on earth could cause such a huge discrepancy at their end?
Is it common for vodacom to rip their clients off in this way?
I'd normally look for a regulator or ombudsman to take this up with, but I'm only here until Monday :-(

Now, next question: I tried putting my UK Orange 3G sim in the modem and it worked fine (well, I didn't connect, uk roaming data rates are extortionate but I haven't yet noticed the outright theft that Vodacom are trying!) but if I put an MTN 3G sim in the modem, it tells me "incorrect sim inserted". Does this mean that only Vodacom sims can be used in this modem in SA?

cheers,

Chris
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the data usage monitor in the Vodafone software comes with a large disclaimer with regards to accuracy. It's usually best to run a 3rd party app like netlimiter or netmeter alongside it for more accurate results. You can also register at www.vodacom4me.co.za and monitor you usage there.

I have personally seen some applications generate traffic that is not picked up with the vodafone software (this can even happen with some of the 3rd party apps).

With regards to using your Oranage SIM. Cellphones and Modems are unlocked in SA. The Vodafone software however will generally only work with a Vodacom/Vodafone SIM. You should be able to find generic software for the device directly from Huawei which will work with any sim.

Good luck and enjoy the rest of your trip :)
 
For some reason the Windows version of the Mobile Connect software refuses to allow the MTN card to work on it.
The Linux version works fine on both MTN and Voda though.
Go figure.
 
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