abused by international data roaming with an iphon... - Page 4

Anonymous · ‎11-12-2007

News about to go around the web:
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Please please please may you write an article on how o2 people are being abused by international data roaming with an iphone. I have an o2 iphone and work in France, the unlimited data policy does not cover anything outside of the UK, and ALL data packages offered by o2 are not available for iphone users. Which means I can use my iphone abroad - BUT with a charge of 7.05gbp per Mb. Which means an average of 140gbp a month, which really means I would be stupid to use my iphone overseas, which means for any travel it is as useful as a nokia 2110.

Many thanks,

Anonymous · ‎09-09-2008

Its unfair trading. How can one predict that looking at a few emails on a handful of occasions...after I wasn't downloading a movie...would cost that kind of money?
It's not possible for the average man/woman in the street to predict. Yes if you are a tecchnie then maybe you know. I expected something reasonable, maybe £10 extra...

And I've never heard of this bolt on thingy.

Some of us are single mothers, with lots of responsibilities, work etc and not tons of time to research endless technical information.

The entire point of mac is that its intuitive and easy. This isn't.

Anonymous · ‎09-09-2008

I understand where you are coming from, many people lead hectic and busy lifestyles but that's why customer support is there or information on prices on the website etc. You don't need to research anything if you don't have time, just call through and ask to clarify any prices/charges you may occur. If you are going abroad again tho. Just to give you the heads up, you could add on a data roaming bolt on. It's £20 for the month and covers 10Mb, suitable for the light - medium use. With the iPhone being such a data sensitive phone, it is usually cheaper to add on a bolt on.
For more information call through to CS on 2302 free from the phone.

Anonymous · ‎09-09-2008

Hi there,
see my original email re data roaming charges and note that my complaint was not that the charges were excessive (which obviously they are) but that THE DATA USAGE OF AN iPHONE ABROAD DOES NOT TALLY WITH THE AMOUNT OF DATA CHARGED BY O2 e.g. there is a major problem with the way data usage is calculated with an iPhone which is probably why o2 are giving so many credits.
I asked for an itemised bill with the amount of data and all the times that the phone connected after a short trip to Italy so I could compare my email received with email sent on those days (since I did not use Safari having heard the rumours that there was something seriously wrong with o2 data charges which was backed up by a call to The Guardian newspaper who were already compiling an article based on a fellow journalists experience in the first month of release). O2 said they could not provide itemised billing. That means they cannot take anyone to court since any judge would throw out an unsubstantiated bill.
My impression was that o2 are charging for the header size of the email rather than the amount of data downloaded so if someone sends you a 5Mb email and your phone is only set to download the first 5k you still get billed for 5Mb or, worse, 5Mb repeatedly, or users are being charged for everything in the Mailbox every connection unless you delete the lot each session (assuming you have email collection turned to manual collect. Gets pretty expensive if you iPhone is polling the network for mail all the time or even every hour.
I reported this to Ofcom or whatever they are now called. They replied "I appreciate that you have approached us for help but Ofcom does not become involved in settling disputes that consumers have with their service providers. Our role is about encouraging the communications industry to take ownership in addressing and resolving these." which says a lot about their effectiveness as a regulator and arbitrator.
I have not used my iPhone abroad since.

Anonymous · ‎09-09-2008

Thats complete nonsense and badly researched. The O2 billing system is the same system used for all usage/data charges here in the UK and any international use. The same system was in use long before the original iphone was available. Regardless whether you have an iPhone or not, whether the use is from the UK or international it is all recorded in the same manner. Your charged for the complete amount of data downloaded/uploaded so that would be for the full email and not the header. This is the very same no matter what phone you are using. The network does not determine what type of phone you are using and would certainly not charge you differently for using an iPhone.

All usage is recorded and can be provided as itemised. The general data costs/MB/dates/times are provided on the online billing but you can request for further information. Customer services can request with network services to provide further information. Within 5days you can then be provided with all the information possibly available. O2 have full records of any data use and will charge for this. Legally O2 did not have to offer any goodwill refunds and could quite easily provide full network recordings to back up the charges.

darrengf · ‎09-09-2008

i dont have a iphone but i do back Chippie up with the data explanation.

I looked at my bill for the usa and it was about right to what my phone said. aprox 3.5mb of data.

So unless there is a real problem with the iphone it self? Does the iphone keep looking and trying to update things that you dont know about?

Need Help, Just ask. We are one big Family here in the o2 Forum.
Use iPhone XS Max dual sim, SE, Honor 10, IPad Pro 11, Apple Watch 4 LTE, 100+ Mpbs Barrier and a Record Player.

Anonymous · ‎10-09-2008

It really disgust's me, the level of responsibility which iphone customers have on there data roaming with their iphone. Once customers go abroad and switch on their phone in a foreign network, they receive a text message with the charges for using the phone abroad as well as the data charges abroad.

Customers need to read the terms and conditions on there contracts before signing them. Even if customers are going abroad, they should always call customer services to check how much it cost to use the service abroad. At the moment, O2 appear to be cancelling off the charges for the first time customer receive a billshock and trying to educate the customers with regard to their usage. However, if the customer has used there iphone abroad previously and never called with regard to it, then they will be aware of the charges and while not get the charges credit/cancelled.

Once O2 take the step and tells customers that the tariff text message they receive once they land in a foreign network, confirms that they will be charged and O2 will not credit there usage back again, I will be happy. It really dissapoints me that people are really irresponsible in these cases - YOU HAVE SIGNED A CONTRACT AND IF YOUR NOT SURE THEN CALL O2 ABOUT IT, IF YOU DONT THEN YOU DESERVE TO GET THESE EXCESSIVE DATA ROAMING CHARGES.

Sorry if that appears to be rather harsh but I feel strong about this type of thing.

Tev32

Anonymous · ‎10-09-2008

I replied to sheepdog last night but it didn't publish the message.
I'm amazed at the extent to which people are frothing at the mouth about poor little ole multinational company o2. I can only assume they work for o2 and are being paid to post on this so called forum for the public. (In which case I suggest they employ people with better grammar and spelling).

Sheepdog, I thought it was self-explanatory as to why I bought an iphone but I will explain it to you very slowly. You are clearly not an apple mac user. I am a Mac user. The iphone software is the same that is used on my Macbook. As I love all the other mac products that I have bought it was only natural that, when I needed a new phone and wanted an ipod, to buy an iphone.
Mac are known for innovative, easy to use, intuitive products and good customer service. Unfortunately when getting into the phone business they have hooked up with o2 who have very different values it appears.
I bought the phone in March paying £320 for it. Yes, the highest spec. By May it was no longer working. I went to the o2 shop and was given lots of flannel about having to put it in for repair which could take several weeks and during which I would be given some cheapo non internet phone. I promptly turned on my heel and went to the Applemac shop where they replaced it immediately.
Within days the new 3g version was brought out, and shortly after that the iphone became free to people paying £45 a month. Yeah thanks guys. I'm a mug. Thanks for rewarding my loyalty.
(Part of the reason that the downloading charges abroad were so expensive I imagine were also because it took so long. And no, Sheepdog, I didnt download photos or attachments. It was just normal text based emails. How could I know how many megabytes a normal email contains? I'm not 19, I'm 48 and an averagely computer savvy (or not) woman).

Anonymous · ‎10-09-2008

I also said last night that I decry the short term attitudes that businesses seem to have nowadays...all Game Theory and rip-offs.
Think long-term and gain customer loyalty.
Right now my daughter needs a new phone and contract. Having seen the problems I have had with the iphone and o2, she is unwilling to get an iphone, despite the fact that she also has a macbook laptop, with which the iphone would be compatible.
I'm not trying to bring down the capitalist system of profit (oh ok, maybe I am) but am suggesting that for capitalism to work long-term, to build good relations between businesses and customers, to engender a feeling of good-will, a good business should be fair and transparent.
Mobile phone companies are notorious for treating customers badly to the extent that the European Union are trying to legislate against rip-off charges, particularly abroad.
Check this link which explains all: http://www.betanews.com/article/EU_set_ ... 1216326619

Anonymous · ‎10-09-2008

This post is with regard to the data roaming charges, not the after care etc. It's common sense that you are going to receive charges for using your iphone abroad, whether it's by receiving or making calls, going over your allowance on text messages or using the internet.

The Blackberry tariff has an additional bolt on available which allows customers to have unlimited usage of their blackberry data abroad. However, no other tariff with O2 has that.

Tev32

Anonymous · ‎10-09-2008

Yawn more o2 gnomes posting.
I will post and say whatever I like mate.
This post is not about Blackberrys for that matter.
I never said I shouldn't pay. I said I should be charged fairly and in a transparent manner.

NO normal person would even be arguing with this. £90 to look at a few emails is clearly unreasonable. To suggest anything else shows that you are working for the company. Working for The Man, in fact. Free yourself!