[access-uk] Re: Cost of calls: I-phone users warning
- From: "Mike Moore" <mikeis@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:32:51 -0000
Hi,
Perhaps Orange could change their slogan-
"The future's bright (for us), the future's Orange (or in the red for you!)
Regards,
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Yusuf
Sent: 13 March 2011 15:16
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Cost of calls: I-phone users warning
Something similar happened to me after a trip to Cyprus back in 1997. I did
everything I could to find out what the costs were going to be and I
routinely checked my bill each month whilst I was there. I was shocked when
I came back to find a bill of over £1000. Orange had failed to tell me that
charges could be delayed. Its amazing that in this day and age these sorts
of things still happen.
Yusuf
If you have nothing better to do, why not take a look at my blog
http://yusufaosman.wordpress.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Derek Hornby" <Derek.hornby_uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2011 1:38 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Cost of calls: I-phone users warning
>I thought this may interest some of you.
>
>
> Sunday Times 13 March 2011
>
> Hello, caller, your data download has cost £5,000
>
> Ali Hussain and Jack Grimston investigate A BUSINESSMAN has been
> landed with a phone bill of nearly £5,000 for checking his emails
> while on holiday in one of the worst examples of "data rip-offs"
> facing thousands of consumers who take a smartphone abroad.
>
> Gary Stevens, 33, from Newport, in Essex, was sent the bill by Orange
> for using his iPhone 4 on a 10-day family trip to Dubai.
>
> He is among hundreds of shocked phone users with average bills of
> £5,000- £6,000 who have complained to consumer watchdogs after being
> caught out by phone companies' high charges for downloading data when
> abroad. The problem has been worsened by the new generation of
> smartphones, many of which automatically download emails and update
> applications every time they are switched on.
> This
> means consumers often run up hefty bills without realising they have
> done so.
>
> According to industry sources, one consumer has even been charged
> £23,000 because of an app that continuously downloaded data without
> the user's knowledge during a trip abroad.
>
> The Communications & Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (Cisas),
> which arbitrates in bill disputes, said it was dealing with hundreds
> of "bill shock"
> cases , each caused by data downloading , compared with just a handful
> two years ago. About one in five of its mobile phone complaints now
> relates to data bills.
>
> Charges for "data-roaming" , downloading from the internet while
> abroad , are capped within the European Union. Despite this, they are
> still so high that last month Neelie Kroes, the digital commissioner,
> described them as "rip-offs".
>
> Companies justify the charges by claiming it is expensive to manage
> data transfer and billing between operators in different countries, a
> similar justification to that used before they were forced to bring
> down international call charges.
>
> For travellers such as Stevens going outside the EU, the situation is
> far worse, with charges more than double those in Europe.
>
> Stevens, an account manager for an umbrella distribution company, said
> he had been "confused, angry and perplexed" by his experiences with
> Orange.
>
> Before going on the trip to Dubai last September with his wife,
> Giuseppina, 25, and their one-year-old son, Rocco, Stevens called the
> company to ask what the best available package would be for him to
> check emails while he was away.
>
> He was advised to buy a 50MB package costing pound 60, which he hoped
> would be enough, allowing about 500 average-sized emails to be
> downloaded.
>
> Stevens quickly exceeded this, however, and found out on his return
> that he had been charged £4,720. Text messages warning him that he
> had exceeded the initial limit came through too late to affect his
> internet use.
>
> "It is hard to describe the feeling in the pit of your stomach," said
> Stevens.
>
> After a series of complaints to Orange and to Cisas, the bill was cut
> to £,180, but Stevens is now considering legal action against Orange
> to bring it down further.
>
> He is angry because the company failed to tell him he could minimise
> his bill by ensuring that the "data roaming" facility on the phone was
> switched off.
> This
> would have allowed him only to make voice calls and to check emails by
> connecting his phone to a local wireless internet service rather than
> to the mobile network.
>
> This is only an option, however, if the user is within range of a
> wireless network. For someone who is not , on a ski slope, for example
> , they risk continuously downloading data and being charged for it.
>
> Unlike charges for calls and texts, which accumulate only while the
> phone is being used, charges for data can add up without the owner
> noticing, because emails and some data such as the user's location are
> automatically updated.
> Google Android phones also update apps such as weather, news and
> Facebook, while other devices such as iPhones and Blackberries require
> the app to be opened before it is updated.
>
> According to calculations by Uswitch.com, the price comparison
> website, simply switching a phone on outside the EU could cost £54 in
> automatic downloads.
> This compares with about £20 in Europe.
>
> Mike Wilson, mobile manager at m one y s up e r -market.com, said:
> "Charges
> For using your mobile abroad, especially outside the EU, can be
> extortionate and operators are doing little to protect customers.
>
> Make sure you have turned off data functions before setting off." An
> EU spokesman said it had no jurisdiction to regulate charging outside
> Europe,
> adding: "The best we can do is raise awareness and get customers to
> complain." A spokesman for Orange said: "We are working on a solution
> to provide more alerts to help consumers manage usage, which we plan
> to have in place imminently."
>
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