Internet on Mobile = $476 for 5 Minutes!

[fakegt]

I got my Optus bill the other day and almost fell over, it was about $470 over my normal bill. On my mobile plan I have a 5MB allowance(means jack to me) that I have never used and at work one day the Phone books didn't have a listing for what I was after, so for the first time I got the net up on the Mobile and googled what I was after and went to the site for a max of 5 minutes all up.(NO IT WAS NOT PORN!)
I called Optus who told me my download was 158MB and that its not based on time but download. I went off my nut and asked for a manager as I said this was way over the top. They checked over my usage as I have been with them for over 15 years and I told them if they didn't reverse it they would lose me for ever.
A half hour later they reduced my $543 bill back down to $67! I see myself as one lucky bloke who learnt a valuable lesson and will get a new plan with dedicated net usage included.
But if I was 18 and only with them 6 months I'm sure I'd be screwed.
Any other close calls out there?
Cheers, Dave

[cs123]

No way you can download 158MB just browsing.

Does your phone do email too. Perhaps when you enabled the internet on it your mail client started downloading emails or something. That happened to me on a iphone 1 with voda pay as you go. Ouch.

[dannyhilton]

If you have an iPhone, or another type of smart phone, it'll download data automatically to check emails and things like that. There normally is a button to turn of 'Cellular Data' to avoid horrible fees like this. Besides this, I think Optus made a boo boo.

Besides, how does one download 158mb of data in 5 minutes on the Optus network? Please, share your secret with me!!!

[fakegt]

I've got a 3 yo Nokia 6220 with a small screen, that's one reason I've never bothered with it. When I pushed the Net button I think it connected straight through without any drama. Optus have disabled that function at their end for the moment and next month my plan is up and I'll get a Nokia N8 with Internet browsing included in the plan. They told me I didn't have Internet included and I think that 5MB was a $5 cap for GPRS(is that the GPS on the phone?)I've have no real idea how many MB 5 minutes should use up but yes it does sound like crap. Never accessed email on it before either. Strictly calls and sms.
I think this new plan has 1 GB included, that should be heaps for the odd bit of use? Pick me as a non techno person yet??

[flappist]

Just call them and ask about it. They will usually just credit you. If not the contact the TBO.

[fakegt]

Originally Posted by flappist

Just call them and ask about it. They will usually just credit you. If not the contact the TBO.

As per original post, I Called and Net charge was reversed.

[Mansal]

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) is not GPS, it's the protocol that your phone uses to send/receive data. However if you were using something like Google Maps then it'd use your GPS to obtain position info (if your phone is equipped with one).

Still, even when using Google Maps, 158 in 5 mins is next to impossible..

[cs123]

GPRS = General Packet Radio Service which is the old 2G networks data service. Slow as a wet week

[Auslandau]

Have had a few scares but all have been reversed ..... cousin just got back from 2 weeks in China and used his Iphone. Didn't turn off roaming ...... $12,600.00. It was knocked back to $600.00 with a phone call

[Yellow_Festiva]

My brother and a bunch of his mates went to Vegas for a week for his bucks party. In that week they each racked up roaming internet bills in the thousands....

They were all going out, getting and and during their constant shenanigans they all took photo's of themselves in various 'states' (ala "The Hangover") and uploaded them to Facebook etc.

They all called upon return and all managed to weasel various discounts off their respective bills. One of them pretended to cry and said his boss would kill him and he was in fear of his life. Got a bit over a grand off for that little performance.

Good thing you weren't overseas lol, that 158mb would have added another 0 to the end of the bill!

[Spudz27]

Originally Posted by fakegt

I got my Optus bill the other day and almost fell over, it was about $470 over my normal bill. On my mobile plan I have a 5MB allowance(means jack to me) that I have never used and at work one day the Phone books didn't have a listing for what I was after, so for the first time I got the net up on the Mobile and googled what I was after and went to the site for a max of 5 minutes all up.(NO IT WAS NOT PORN!)
I called Optus who told me my download was 158MB and that its not based on time but download. I went off my nut and asked for a manager as I said this was way over the top. They checked over my usage as I have been with them for over 15 years and I told them if they didn't reverse it they would lose me for ever.
A half hour later they reduced my $543 bill back down to $67! I see myself as one lucky bloke who learnt a valuable lesson and will get a new plan with dedicated net usage included.
But if I was 18 and only with them 6 months I'm sure I'd be screwed.
Any other close calls out there?
Cheers, Dave

Wow for 5mins? I use my Iphone for browsing and email everyday of the month and I am lucky if I use 150mb of my 1.5gb. In the hospital the otherday I was on the net all day and only managed 46mb.

Possibly after you exited the net stayed open in the backround and the constant loading of ads etc on a website caused your data usage.

[Danny]

If the OP has an old Nokia, it would have been a simple case of that he has left the GPRS on. It's hard to know on a Nokia when you leave it on becasue the old ones just had a little "G" symbol in the top corner and you manually had to hold the red phone button for 5 secs until it turned off.

[ea90_S]

ive had it with mobiles last 3 bills all $500 bucks due to "internet usage" bastards wont reverse bill they just say anyway you going to pay bill or be defaulted!!

[JC]

Originally Posted by ea90_S

ive had it with mobiles last 3 bills all $500 bucks due to "internet usage" bastards wont reverse bill they just say anyway you going to pay bill or be defaulted!!

There's a saying "Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me" It doesn't say anything about thrice, but I'd suggest this is more your fault than the phone company's. You have now established a pattern of usage, so no wonder they won't reverse what would appear to them to be legitimate charges.

Had a $800 phone bill in Hong Kong in 1999/2000 - I had roaming turned on and people rang me from Oz. Work covered it, and I turned roaming off and got a local sim card.

[kyro_02]

came back from thailand, I am on three, and i i got charged every time the reception connected(as I have internet data turned off when roaming, so definitely not that) but was charged $6, no phone calls received or made, it seem's i got charged just to connect to the local reception tower there? weird

and I definitely never use over 150mb in a Month.. let alone 5 minutes, something must be wrong with optus lol

[Falcon_Crazy]

As perople say, its not so much 5 mins, but if something was left running inbackground. Even on a GPRS connection, if the phone downloads an update to the software (some phones, even older 2G variety will do this), its not hard to rack up that level of use. When i last updated an old Nokia with new software, id did it over the air and it was 150 MB.

[Spanrz]

I've had 2 x Sony Ericsson phones, both are pieces of s^%#.

Last time I went to the States, I couldn't manage to switch off the feature for downloading news and the like. While in the States, it would check for news about 3-4 times a day. I only realised what it was doing halfway through the trip as I checked my phone balance online.
Total bill was $350, but $250 was of data charges, just for checking news....That I didn't want.

Because I bought it in a Telstra Shop, it was loaded with Telstra's own software (modified Sony software). It was loaded in such a way, that all the menu's were hard to get around, particularly turning of the web stuff.
The only way I knew how to switch the news feeds off was to turn off the phone.

I think a new phone and more closely regarded on settings, I will have on next trip (in June/July)

Could have been much worse, like some of you above... Would have crapped myself.

[mik]

there was bloke on ACA iirc some time ago useing his phone as a gps, i`m not 100 % sure of the figure but i think it was $38000.00

[FG XR]

Far out browsing host have being 158mb...

[Tuddy200]

GPS on Smart Phones is where people get screwed the most, alot of people I know out there still don't understand that using 'Google Maps' is using an Internet Connection to display the maps, it's only using GPS to find your location.

Considering the maps are full on graphical and if your moving, then you quickly see why data charges go through the roof, Telstra is $2.00 per MB on Pay as You Go!

How to avoid these charges? Look into your providers notifictions settings. Telstra have a portal on thier website in which you can check your Data Usage in close to real time and estimated costs. You can also set in here or on your phone to recieve a SMS/Email notification when you hit a certain limit.

[csv8]

On the Samsung Galaxy S, go to>Mobile Network Settings and un- tick Data Roaming

[Ben73]

Hmmm I use my iPhone's internet daily. And iPhone GPS weekly.

I have 2GB which I believe is 2000MB? I hope I never go over.

But now I am wondering, GPS, Internet pages, Videos, online games.... I went all out this month, now I am worried.

[BuckTooth]

A very good plan for Telstra pre-paid members. I recharge $30 a month and i get $170 credit and 150mb of data to use in 30 days. Its called the Cap+ plan. I've never been remotely close to using the full 150mb and i use my phone on the net considerably since joining this plan.

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Have had Iphone almost 2 years and use the internet constantly at work for work related stuff while on the train and bus, use the GPS google maps etc and the most I have ever used is about 250mb, and that would include youtube clips.

So 158 in 5 minutes impossible, would take a serious effort especially on opts which is slow as (I am with optus for another 8 weeks till the plan runs out then will be gone).

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by JC

Had a $800 phone bill in Hong Kong in 1999/2000 - I had roaming turned on and people rang me from Oz. Work covered it, and I turned roaming off and got a local sim card.

Bingo, you just get a local sim card.

In asia you'll find its dirt cheap (I remember Singapore having international SMS cheaper then our local SMS).

In the states I went and bought a crappy phone. $2 daily cap FTW. haha

[dannyhilton]

Originally Posted by Ben73

But now I am wondering, GPS, Internet pages, Videos, online games.... I went all out this month, now I am worried.

What provider are you with? One of the greatest 'forget to mention' bits the Telcos don't tell you is that you can check your call usage, and data usage. If on Telstra, you go to Mobile BigPond. Virgin have a dedicated section, as do Optus and Vodafone. I'm sure all others do too.

Having an iPhone, another nifty way to check is doing the following:

- Unlock your iPhone and bring up the main 'Home Screen'
- Click on the 'Settings' application
- Click the 'General' tab about 1/3 of the way down the page
- Select the 'Usage' tab
- Look at the bottom of the page, this shows the 'Cellular Network Data.'

It's normally fairly accurate. Reset it each month and you should be able to check where you're at most the time. But again, I'm sure most telcos would have a section for you to check your data online?

[HLC]

voda did the same for me. claimed i went over my cap, when it should have been changed months prior. Rang them up and gave them a mouthful.

Got a fat credit from them, and havent paid a bill in nearly 5 months.

[gtfpv]

scary stuff indeed , i have an iphone , with a 250MB data plan , and $350 dollars of calls for $55 /mth . i have pages open all the time , i use google, and youtube for , slight viewing . and maps all the time . i just checked my data usage and i 've used 60MB in 3 weeks . i also download songs direct .
if i try and download a game i think it says , please use WIFI . This game is over 20MB .
SO IT WONT ALLOW IT .
i use wifi at home , but hardly use internet on phone at home . i have WIFI SWITCHED ON . airplane mode always off ( WTF is that)
locations on ( dont know what that does)
3G ON enabled ,
AND DATA ROAMING always off . ( dont know what that is ) .
when i go interstae i always have reception and internet usage youtube usage , maps etc . and i have never gone over 100MB . I Dont know how bills in the 100s happen , as i use all these things , and never go over $55 / MTH .
CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN WHY I DONT GO OVER WHEN I use all these things around most of australia .

[Yellow_Festiva]

gtfpv:

You don't go over because you are not downloading enough. Even though it seems like a lot, it is my understanding that many sites know when they are being accessed by a phone and reduce the amount of content sent to basic essentials.

Airplane mode is an option that turns off your phones ability to make and receive calls / sms etc, actually, any form of communication that uses your phones internal antenna.

All you will be able to do is play games, listen to music, use all the other functions that do not require a network signal.

[gtfpv]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

gtfpv:

You don't go over because you are not downloading enough. Even though it seems like a lot, it is my understanding that many sites know when they are being accessed by a phone and reduce the amount of content sent to basic essentials.

Airplane mode is an option that turns off your phones ability to make and receive calls / sms etc, actually, any form of communication that uses your phones internal antenna.

All you will be able to do is play games, listen to music, use all the other functions that do not require a network signal.

ok so when i was out at sea , and had no signal /service . it was because the airplane mode was off . i tried to get a signal by switching on data raoming to no effect , is it the airplane mode that gets the signal when switched on and then the high bills come accordingly . ? i thought it was the data roaming.