02 - We love to rip off loyal customers

[george321]

The guardian recently released on article explaining that 1.6 million brits, don't have time, can't be bothered, or were never infomed they can check their monthly mobile phone useage,

I tick all these boxes, - having had an 02 contract for around three years, I was completely cluless that one could check thier monthly useage of calls texts and minutues. Even if I had been told when I took out the contact I wouldn't have been remotely interested in doing so.

This was fine for three years, my monthly fee ranging from £15 to £20 - however I've recently been caught out with a large £120 bill,

Personally I think 02 will just alienate and frustrate many loyal customers by not sending a text reminder informing customers they have ran out of mins for any given month.

Secondly they should explain about their app function when customers sign up, regulators should make this mandatory,

Thirdly for many millions of older customers like myself who are not remotely interested in constantly wasting their time checking thier monthly useage, regulators should make it mandatory for people to be able to cap thier monthly bill to a set sum. So people like myself that simply want a hassle free phone can rest assured their monthly bill can never exceed a set amount,

Before anyone says if I signed the contract I should monitor my bills, - the point I'm making is I fundamentally don't want to watse weeks of my life, over a lifetime checking a piece of rubbish app, - it's not how I want to spend my most precious resorce - time

Lastly how annoying is it to be harassed and get three or four sales calls a day asking about upgrades by rude sales staff asking about upgrades, how amazing would it be, to have a useful function on the app, and opt out of all the harassment and sales calls, - I'd rather deal with ppi people that 02 sales staff

What a dreadful business 02 is, can't wait to move my service provider, or go back to pay as you go -

It will be a happy day when I move service provider and never have to deal with 02 again and can leave thier shady, corrupt and irresponsible practices behind me.

[MI5]

Hi @george321 

Spend caps are already in place for all new contracts taken after October 1st this year.

Checking your balance in the MyO2 app takes seconds and there is also the option to opt out of marketing within your MyO2 so that rubbish app would be very useful to you.

[Cleoriff]

@george321

I agree with one of your last comments, that Classic PAYG may be the best option for you. When you run out you top up, it's that simple.

I am one of the 'older generation' and was on PAYG for years and only changed to contract when my top ups during travel to Spain became ridiculous.

I own my phone now and not interested in upgrading it, so currently on a sim only contract (which you can have for 30 days or 12 months)

It gives you the benefit of a contract without any of the hassle. (For £14 a month I get unlimited calls and texts and 3gb data).

I don't spend hours of my life checking My O2 either. I look at it once a month via the app just to check all is in order with my bill. It always is.

[Glory1]

Good morning @george321

I have been a customer of O2 about 10 years, first on PAYG then contract from December 2012. I am happy with the service O2 provide.

Having unlimited calls and texts, I never find I have to check either as I rarely make a phone call and either use Whatsapp for messages or email. Let me add that I am an older customer: I'm 73.

I should also add that not having a laptop or desktop PC, I use my phone for everything: all my online shopping, accessing this forum and other websites, Skyping, sending emails, downloading and playing music, streaming films and TV shows, downloading and playing games. So you will understand I use my phone a lot all day and every day.

While O2 don't advise any customers regarding texts or minutes usage, they do send a text when you have used 80% of your data and another when you have used 100% of your data. Personally I don't find it a waste of my time spending a minute to check my data as it is my responsibility, not O2's, to ensure I don't exceed my allowances. And that is the case for all customers whatever their age.

I'm sorry @george321 but I feel as it's my phone I have to take a certain amount of responsibiliy on ensuring I'm not hit by sudden high bills in a month. And can't blame O2 for my negligence if I got caught out because I couldn't be bothered to check and control my usage.

Sorry to hear you are unhappy with O2 but you are, of course entitled to your opinion. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Welcome to the forum by the way 

[gmarkj]

I would recommend you check your most recent bill - if you have jumped from £20 to £120 for your bill and you have not changed your usage then there may be charges for items you are not expecting.
There is some help from the community (which is made up of customers like you and not people who work for o2):
https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/How-to-Guides/Have-you-fallen-for-or-been-conned-into-a-premium-rate-s...

[george321]

My phone has no space for an extra app, and still works on a 4 digit pin to lock and unlock it, - I have no interest in purchasing a newer model,

It take me approximately 17 seconds to unlock it and login in to my 02 account to check my useage -

Not that I was ever informed about any of this 3 years ago

I have just calculated that checking my useage 5 times a month at 17 seconds a go, would cost me 22.6 hours, over an 80 year period, I personally would like to spend that time doing something else, - and not spend it checking a crappy app,

Also is it really beyond the remit of what I'm guessing is a ftse 500 company to send a text reminder, letting customers know they are out of mins any given month, given they have time to bombard and harrass customers with unwanted sales calls.

Of course we both know, they don't want to do this, they would rather rape customers bank accounts - charging an insanely high 'standard rate' to rinse as much money per customer as possible, and intentionally avoid letting loyal customers know they have used all avaliable mins any given month,

As I've said I cannot wait to leave this shady, corrupt, company with its legalised raping of customers bank accounts with ridiculously high 'standard rate,' - intentionally misleading and non-informing them.

Lastly it should have been possible to caps ones useage 10 years ago, it's a very basic concept to insert into any contract - far too little to late, the millions of pounds of damage to hard working citizens bank accounts has already been done, via corrupt financial rape, by a corrupt evil borderline monopoly, -

Best Wishes

[MI5]

Good luck 

[george321]

Good morning @ Glory 1

As you just stated, 02 don't inform customers about mins left via text, I find this totally and completely unacceptable, it's done delibetately to raise millions extra in working capital.

It's tantamount to financial corruption and dishonesty on a massive scale,

Some very basic maths - my bill is an unexpected £100 extra due to the deliberate corruption and the evil greed of this evil monopoly

I would take a very conservative few the same corruption and financial rape occurs to another 25,000 02 customers.

That's £2,500,000 worth of deliberate financial rape by 02 - ( this an exteremly conservative few ) since 02 have around 25 million customers.

It would cost 02 zero to send such texts, but would you authorise such texts as the CEO of 02 - if it was your £2.5 million Xmas bonus,

We will absolutely 'agree to disagree' because you are absolutely wrong and I am absolutely right, - if just a few dozen people read this and change to an honest network provider, or set up a useage cap, I will have saved many thousands of pounds for consumers,

Also it's great that you have so much time to check your phone usage, play games, and shop online, - I don't much of the year I work 18 hours a day and eat and sleep for 6.

It SHOULD be the responsibly of 02 to keep customers infomed, - morally, ethically and financially if they run out of mins in any given month - it's called 'responsible business practices' you might be interested in looking into it.

It SHOULD have been 02's resposibility to explain to me how to check my bill three years ago, when I signed the contract - It SHOULD have been provided to be at the time I spent years waiting for a paper bill, indeed it's normally a legal condition to explain such things with-in UK contract law

It SHOULD be 02's job to provide clear succient information to customers upon them signing up on a contract.

It SHOULD be 02's job NOT to steal millions of hard earned customers wages, through corruption, fraud, incompetence and murky business practices

Would you for an extra 2.5 million ?

It will a happy Xmas for me, ridding myself of these corrupt, irresponsible, unethical Shysters -

Legalised ftse criminality and corruption makes me feel sick to the stomach

[Glory1]

Clearly @george321 you are not interested in anything any of us have to say but want to have a rant about a company you feel is corrupt etc etc. So be it.

However, just for the record I have the time to do what I do because I am retired having worked extremely hard for over 40 years. I've earned my retirement and am not going to apologise to you or anyone else for the freedom I now have.

But as said you want to have a rant. Well I will echo @MI5's message to you Good Luck.

[viridis]

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@george321 wrote:
Thirdly for many millions of older customers like myself who are not remotely interested in constantly wasting their time checking thier monthly useage, 

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Obviously your £120 bill would indicate that it's not in fact, a waste of time.

For all o2s faults, you can't pin the blame on them for your own apathy towards your usage and subsequent bill.