Mobile Phone Caps

[Worried2014]

Hi,

Just after some general advice. I pay monthly for my sons phone, obviously in my name. The provider gave us an option in July to place a cap on the account to avoid high bills and I set this up straightaway to £5 on top the normal monthly amount. I also have my own mobile with same provider with the same low cap.

Fast forward to yesterday I got a massive bill of £94.49. I have questioned the cap and got a reply stating that I had indeed set up a cap but the cap renewed when the allowances refreshed (so each month). There was no information to say the cap had refreshed or that setting a cap was only temporary. My personal account has not refreshed so I don't understand why the other account did. They say we received a text warning, which we did and my son ignored :-\. Do I have any right to argue this bill as it seems wrong as they have admitted I had set a cap on the account.

Thanks

Worried2014

[Kati]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

[MENTION=99495]slainte caragh[/MENTION] [MENTION=19723]Lee Vodafone Company Rep[/MENTION] ... this would be your area wouldn't it??

[slainte caragh]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

Thanks @Kati, lets have a look

Firstly, which provider is this?

The only one I know who offer a cap is Tesco (my kids are on that network) and they don't need the cap renewed every month,

Have you added anything to the tariff? A bolt on for extra data? Change of allowances?

How long has your son had the contract? If this is the first time this has happened I would be asking why you didn't receive a change of contract letter offering you a timescale to cancel with no termination costs as per OFCOM guidlelines?

I would keep escalating, say that you have never renewed the cap before and suggest this is a internal computer glitch that you are not liable for.
@Lee Vodafone Company Rep can you have a look too as your knowledge is more current than mine.

[Worried2014]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

Thanks. Contract for 11mths It's iDMobile (carphone warehouse) we only ever pay the basic amount as the whole point of monthly is everything is included and he normally stays within this. It seems one weekend he forgot to turn off mobile data and use the home wifi. We never add extras. I'm annoyed his has cap refreshed to a maximum £75 on top of his bill but mine hasn't and both setup using their app. They are using the excuse that he did receive a warning text as a "well you knew about it" excuse but I feel I set a cap and they should stand by that. I have not argued it at all yet....just trying to get advice before I do.

Thanks

Worried2014

[Kati]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

ID Mobile Capping ~ https://www.idmobile.co.uk/help-and-advice/capping

What happens if I reach my capped limit?

1. If an allowance (mins, texts or data) runs out but you still keep using it, you'll be charged until you reach your capped limit.
2. When you reach your capped limit, you'll be unable to use that allowance any more, or do anything you'd be charged for (e.g. international calls or premium numbers).
3. You'll still be able to use any allowances you've got left. And you can always buy add-ons of mins, texts and data, or increase your cap (up to your credit limit).

Note: Penalty fees and invoice surcharges always get added to your monthly bill. They don't count towards your cap.

[slainte caragh]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

Ok I would be asking the following questions:

Why has this never reset to £75 before?
Why was I not advised of this at Point Of Sale?
What was the wording of the text? Did it clearly say Your cap is now £75?
Do they not send a warning text of unusually high usage?

I would ask them to look at his previous usage and explain to you how this happened, it seems there has been a glitch and they are trying to make you pay for it.

Does it state in the contract you took out you have to renew the cap?

[slainte caragh]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

ID Mobile Capping ~ https://www.idmobile.co.uk/help-and-advice/capping

We must stop meeting like this !!

Just having a squizz and the T&Cs

So far this jumps out *If you bought a Shockproof plan before 15th June 2017, then your cap is pre-set at £5.

When did you start the contract?

[slainte caragh]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

Apologies for the multiple posts, from what I am reading they don't have a leg to stand on!

There is absolutely NOTHING in the T&Cs that state you have to reinstate the data cap each month, the main difference from the pre 06/06/17 and post 06/06/17 contracts is that you will be credit checked before increasing your cap!

Can you check the text your son got and post what it said for me please?

[Kati]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

So far this jumps out *If you bought a Shockproof plan before 15th June 2017, then your cap is pre-set at £5.

what jumps out at me so far is the fact that there is no mention on the page I linked to that says you have to 'renew' your cap every month!

- - - Updated - - -

There is absolutely NOTHING in the T&Cs that state you have to reinstate the data cap each month

beat me to it again SC xx

[slainte caragh]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

methinks they are pulling a fast un!

I would be interested in their comments as to where in the T&Cs it is made clear that this is needed and their comments on OFCOM guidelines about transparency in charging.

I suggest a formal complaint about being charged for an error and asking where in the general t&cs it states this.. then I will look that bit up for you too

[Worried2014]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

Ok I would be asking the following questions:

Why has this never reset to £75 before?
Why was I not advised of this at Point Of Sale?
What was the wording of the text? Did it clearly say Your cap is now £75?
Do they not send a warning text of unusually high usage?

I would ask them to look at his previous usage and explain to you how this happened, it seems there has been a glitch and they are trying to make you pay for it.

Does it state in the contract you took out you have to renew the cap?

I admit I have not checked the cap monthly. I set the cap after they introduced it...I thought I did this straightaway in June but their email said I set it in July 2017. We brought phone Nov 2016

The cap was changed via app with no confirmation of it changing bur they have confirmed I did set up the cap....no information saying the cap would reset each month.

Yes my son received a warning text and ignored it and so yes it is his fault for ignoring the text BUT I never worriedid about that as I believedon't the maximum charge I would ever have to pay was the £5 on top on the monthly charge.

Thanks

Worried2014

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks I will definitely be putting in a complaint with a request for a full refund of the extra charges.... (or at least £70 as the cap should have been £5)

- - - Updated - - -

what jumps out at me so far is the fact that there is no mention on the page I linked to that says you have to 'renew' your cap every month!

- - - Updated - - -

beat me to it again SC xx

Thank you. I couldn't find that info anywhere either. I will write a nice complaint then and see what they say.

- - - Updated - - -

I will also mention my cap has not renewed each month but mine is a rolling 30 day sim only

[slainte caragh]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

I admit I have not checked the cap monthly. I set the cap after they introduced it...I thought I did this straightaway in June but their email said I set it in July 2017. We brought phone Nov 2016
You need them to prove how this was changed. Which device was it changed from? What time?


The cap was changed via app with no confirmation of it changing bur they have confirmed I did set up the cap....no information saying the cap would reset each month
If they have not confirmed a change to my mind they cannot enforce it. You have a right to clear and transparent billing, part of that is a clear warning text that they have changed the cap and when this expires if ever.

Yes my son received a warning text and ignored it and so yes it is his fault for ignoring the text BUT I never worriedid about that as I believedon't the maximum charge I would ever have to pay was the £5 on top on the monthly charge
What did the text say? did it clearly say "Your cap is now £75."

Thanks

Worried2014

Don't worry, I'll do as much as I can for you

[Worried2014]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

Apologies for the multiple posts, from what I am reading they don't have a leg to stand on!

There is absolutely NOTHING in the T&Cs that state you have to reinstate the data cap each month, the main difference from the pre 06/06/17 and post 06/06/17 contracts is that you will be credit checked before increasing your cap!

Can you check the text your son got and post what it said for me please?

It said:
Capping
Your new capping feature puts a cap on your monthly spend, helping you to avoid nasty surprises. This means if you use all of your minutes, texts or data, you won't be able to spend anything over your cap.

We've set your cap at your credit limit. It'll kick in when your billing period refreshes for the first time after 15 June 2017. You can lower this to as little as £5.
To change your cap, simply log in to your app.

So they set it high when everything refreshed on or just after 15th June but I set the cap in July.

Today they said
Thanks for your recent email.

I took a detailed look at your account and can confirm that a Cap was placed on your account on the 18/07/2017, the Cap

was placed via the account MDS: Mobile App Webservice and was not a permanent Cap, it reverted back to the £75 when your

allowances refreshed.

A permanent marker has been now placed on the £5 Cap.

The extra charges generated on your account was £74.99 and you were charged for exceeding your Data usage.

Once you go over your monthly data allowance, you get charged 10p for each MB of data that you use (as a guide, you’ll use 1MB looking at a webpage).

Several Notifications was sent out advising you that you have reached your limit please see below.

27351785 You've now used 80% of your data allowance. You can buy add-ons and keep an eye on what you're using.... Sat Aug 26 18:26:27 GMT 2017 Sat Aug 26 18:26:27 GMT 2017 Realtime Sent

27353312 You've now used 100% of your data allowance. You'll now be charged £10.24 for every 100mb of UK data.... Sat Aug 26 19:10:30 GMT 2017 Sat Aug 26 19:10:30 GMT 2017 Realtime Sent

You can keep an eye on your available allowances at any time using the iD Mobile app or My Online account


But I was never told or received any info saying it was not a permanent cap until today's email.

[Worried2014]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

Thanks for all your help. I know I should have kept my eye on the ball but assumed the cap meant I didn't really have to worry about it....I normally check thing throughly.

I'm not worried, it's paid and these things happen but I am bloody angry that they have either hidden the info about the caps setting people up for huge bills or more likely lying through their teeth

[Worried2014]

Re: Mobile Phone Caps

That info above was the email they sent, which comes directly to me. The text message my son received on his phone is below

On 15 June we're giving you two free features: inclusive EU roaming and capping! You can roam like at home in 50 destinations, using your monthly allowance of mins, texts & data (fair usage policy applies). With capping, you can limit your monthly spend in the app and avoid bill shock. More info: idmobile.co.uk/goto We've updated your T&Cs with the changes - view them here: idmobile.co.uk/legal/terms-and-conditions This text is for your info. You don't need to contact us.