Data Plans on Simplicity Tariff

[Anonymous]

Can someone - after four 'Chats' with 'Gurus' who are clearly checking the same website I am - explain to me in plain English why I can only pay for 500MB data (£6/month; 'The All-Rounder') on the month-to-month Simplicity 100 tariff? I would like to pay £10/month for 1GB ('The Works') but this is only supported on tariffs of 600mins (£21/month before data) and above. Why exactly?

I've been an O2 customer for over 4 years, have paid them over £2000 in this time, and recently switched off the iPhone 35 tariff (using an iPhone 4) on an 'upgrade' to save some money, but am seriously considering jumping ship to 3 over this. I can see no good reason why a customer willing to pay that £10/month shouldn't be allowed to on the lower tariff, other than to force them into a higher basic cost. I have no need for 600 mins and Unlimited texts, simply an extra 500MB without paying every month for several one-off 100MB Bolt Ons at £3 each - and this seems rather cynical on O2's part.

[Anonymous]

Again, yes but there is a complication. With the money saved by switching I've enabled International Favourites as my girlfriend lives in the USA. Having a local number for her (and being able to give her a USA number for my mobile) makes things so much easier (data or WiFi with her are sometimes spotty, hence why I don't go Unlimited Data elsewhere with VOIP). So the main reason I want to stay with O2 is that and convenience. The latter is being eroded quickly though.

There is a longer story, which will bore you all to tears but in the process of trying to get an extra 500MB the chap from the Recontract team put a block on my account after our chat when he told me he'd given an extra 500MB at £6/month (better than squat I thought). He had done no such thing and had in fact put a block after 'customer request'. There was no such request. I have the transcript. Customer service so poor it beggars belief.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

What you are looking for can't be done. O2 have decided not to offer that particular bundle on that particular tariff.

I understand that you're not happy about it, but there are plenty of other options out there including moving network.

You seem to want to stay with O2 for various reasons, if you do decide to stay with O2 while you're still in the country, then you need to get your head around it that what you're asking for isn't going to happen, no matter how unhappy it makes you.

Unfortunately that is the the answer to your enquiry.

[Anonymous]

---

@MI5 wrote:
Giffgaff have recently revised their pricing structure to address that issue and have banned tethering on the £10 tariff. You now get 1gb for £10 or unlimited with tethering for £12

---

Hi,

How will they police banning tethering when an owner of a Jailbroken iPhone and an app tweak like 'tether me' can be used. 

[Anonymous]

I understand that, which is partly why I'm so annoyed, but why in that case was I offered (and told it had been done, no less - I have the transcript) a duplicate of the 500MB/£6 bundle on my tariff, to take it to 1GB total? It comes with it, but isn't offered as separate Bolt On. Ostensibly I can't do that either but I was offered it. On a pedantic note, all of this *can* be done, it just looks like it *won't*.

Of course, instead of doing that this was somehow interpreted as me asking for a block on my account, which is a related but separate issue.

There are only two reasons why I am staying with O2. Firstly, keeping the number, but I've ported this number through various networks since 2003 or so and will do so again, I'd just prefer not to. Secondly, the International Favourites thing is convenient for my girlfriend in the USA.

All I want is another 500MB on my data allowance, for which I will pay O2's going rate. I'm not asking for *more* out of my current deal for the same money, or asking to pay less. I'm actually wanting to give O2 money and they won't let me. In the process of trying to give them money, I've also had my phone cut off totally for one evening. It's absurd.

It just seems a rather arbitrary decision, borne out of marketing and bottom-line considerations rather than actually trying to keep customers (and I hazard, through contracts, phones, roaming charges etc O2 have done better than average out of me). It's a stupid way to conduct business.

[MI5]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@MI5 wrote:
Giffgaff have recently revised their pricing structure to address that issue and have banned tethering on the £10 tariff. You now get 1gb for £10 or unlimited with tethering for £12

---

Hi,

How will they police banning tethering when an owner of a Jailbroken iPhone and an app tweak like 'tether me' can be used. 

---

Because after you've used 1gb you get cut off

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I understand that, which is partly why I'm so annoyed, but why in that case was I offered (and told it had been done, no less - I have the transcript) a duplicate of the 500MB/£6 bundle on my tariff, to take it to 1GB total? It comes with it, but isn't offered as separate Bolt On. Ostensibly I can't do that either but I was offered it. On a pedantic note, all of this *can* be done, it just looks like it *won't*.

Of course, instead of doing that this was somehow interpreted as me asking for a block on my account, which is a related but separate issue.

There are only two reasons why I am staying with O2. Firstly, keeping the number, but I've ported this number through various networks since 2003 or so and will do so again, I'd just prefer not to. Secondly, the International Favourites thing is convenient for my girlfriend in the USA.

All I want is another 500MB on my data allowance, for which I will pay O2's going rate. I'm not asking for *more* out of my current deal for the same money, or asking to pay less. I'm actually wanting to give O2 money and they won't let me. In the process of trying to give them money, I've also had my phone cut off totally for one evening. It's absurd.

It just seems a rather arbitrary decision, borne out of marketing and bottom-line considerations rather than actually trying to keep customers (and I hazard, through contracts, phones, roaming charges etc O2 have done better than average out of me). It's a stupid way to conduct business.

---

That an online webchat offered you it is a secondary point.  The reason why its secondary is that what you're asking for can't be processed on O2's systems.  Even if an advisor wanted to give you what you were asking for, when they go to process it it will come back saying they can't do it.

Online webchat have a tendency to offer people things that can't be done.  Unfortunately its Customer Services job to pick up the pieces.  But like I say, we can't do something that the system won't allow for, no matter how much we want it to be done. 

The only "workaround" way I can think of is to put you on a higher tariff where you can get the 1GB bolton, then discount it down to a lower price, but as its a 30 day contract there's no chance of that being agreed to, as you're not going to get a discount off a 30 day deal.