# €750  huge vodafone bill



## moylan1 (12 Jan 2006)

my wife and i recently moved into our new house. the landline was only connected recently because eircom were slow to connect their service to the estate. about two months ago my wife gave birth to twins and is at home looking after them. as she had no way of communicting to others she could only use her mobile. 

when the phone bill arrived it came to an astonishing 750 euros. her normal bill is about €60.

because my wife is good when it comes to spending she was using prepaid phone credit for international calls. these no.s didnt appear on the bill apart from the "planet" locall number

when we analised the bill further we noticed that the charges were at their worst when she phoned landlines in dublin during the working week day and other networks. there were no international calls on the bill or landlines outside dublin.

a typical example was one day she inadvertantly racked up €25 charge by phoning a another netowrk for the same number of minutes.

when i looked at the website to find out about call costs there seems to be no information regarding calls to other networks or landlines.

does any one know how we can complain and get vodafone to reconsider the amount in the bill. this seems to be a rip-off


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## SteelBlue05 (12 Jan 2006)

Doubt theres anything you can do, except maybe use the phone less.

Do you have broadband? Could you look into using VoIP (internet phone) - its cheaper.


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## Humpback (12 Jan 2006)

How can you call this a ripoff? Expensive maybe. But definitely no ripoff.

Just because you're not aware of the cost of something before purchasing it (mobile minutes) doesn't mean that somethings a ripoff. In most other areas of daily life, you'd check the price of something before buying it, so why be any different when it comes to mobile calls.

Why don't you ring up Vodafone and find out the tariff you're on, and ask what the per-minute charges are for the types of calls you're making and the times you've been making them. At least then you know why you've been charged this amount.

No harm is asking for money off the bill too. They may take pity on you, but what are the chances.

As for complaining, I'm not sure what you've to complain about. You used the phone a lot and were charged a lot. Everyone and their wife (your wife!) knows that using the mobile is more expensive than regular landline calls, and that mobile to mobile is even more expensive. 
If you don't like the charges, don't use the phone. Go elsewhere. Loads of other companies out there.

For future usage, you can ask Vodafone to recommend what the best tariff is for you to be on. They'll look at your usage and have a recommendation based on that.


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## moylan1 (12 Jan 2006)

i disagree. you call 1 euro a minute reasonable?

if we asked how much absoltely everything costs before we use a service we wouldnt get anywhere.

not many consumers asked about fees and charges for their pensions but somehow the government stepped into do something about it.
vodafone tariff information seems to be deliberately unclear and not easily accessible.

doesnt the law protect the consumer about unfair contracts regardless to what they have signed upto.


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## gnashers (12 Jan 2006)

Another thing to keep an eye on with mobile phones is when peak call charges apply. I spent a year on vodafone presuming that peak calls were from 8.00 till 18.00 but when I checked it out the peak time actually runs till 20.00. 
Any calls during peak time that are outside your package tend to be very expensive.


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## sun_sparks (12 Jan 2006)

I think that, in fairness, all mobile providers are the same when it comes to advertising their rates. 

And how many people know exactly what they pay per minute for calls from their landline? It's not something the providers race to clarify either.


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## SteelBlue05 (12 Jan 2006)

moylan1 said:
			
		

> if we asked how much absoltely everything costs before we use a service we wouldnt get anywhere.


 
If thats your approach then how can you complain about a big bill? Its not like there are a thousand different pricing structures for your phone plan. There are probably only a few. If you knew you were going to be using the mobile a LOT then you could have double checked your tariff rates before hand, a quick call to your provider would have explained it all.

I agree with the previous poster, this is not a rip off at all.


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## tallpaul (12 Jan 2006)

Have to agree, no real sympathy for the OP. Everyone knows that using a mobile is expensive and is very expensive when used during peak hours. Do you not avail of the 'phone a friend for free' offer that Vodafone operates? Pick one number and they give you a (relatively generous) amount of free minutes to use with this number which should assist on cutting down on costs in the future.


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## Ms X (12 Jan 2006)

Check out [broken link removed] re the cost of calls etc


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## Humpback (12 Jan 2006)

moylan1 said:
			
		

> i disagree. you call 1 euro a minute reasonable?


 
That's besides the point. You signed a contract with Vodafone where, if you knew and appreciated what you were signing, would charge you that amount per minute at certain times. 

(Incidentally, I'd query your assertion that it's €1/min, but that's a separate matter unless you tell us specifically what tariff you're phone is actually on).



			
				moylan1 said:
			
		

> if we asked how much absoltely everything costs before we use a service we wouldnt get anywhere.


 
Then you've more money than sense. If you value your money so much, you'll be aware of where it's being spent, particular with your comments regarding your need for money at this time.



			
				moylan1 said:
			
		

> vodafone tariff information seems to be deliberately unclear and not easily accessible.


 
You never told us your tariff, but it should have the information on the cost per minute on their website, and as I suggested above, if you ring Vodafone instead of complaining here, you may be able to get somewhere. Let us know how you get on.



			
				moylan1 said:
			
		

> doesnt the law protect the consumer about unfair contracts regardless to what they have signed upto.


 
Can't comment on that - there are more legal experts here who can help, but in the most case doesn't the "buyer beware" principle apply here? 



			
				sun_sparks said:
			
		

> I think that, in fairness, all mobile providers are the same when it comes to advertising their rates.


 
Not really. All mobile providers are obliged by COMREG to provide their tariff information on their websites. They now also have the aforementioned www.callcosts.ie site where you can find out their rates.


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## CCOVICH (12 Jan 2006)

How many minutes and text messages were on the bill for €750 compared to a usual bill?

The costs for phoning other networks and landlines are nearly always higher than calling numbers on your own network (unless you are on a flat rate tariff), and there is no difference in phoning landlines in Dublin as opposed to outside Dublin (i.e. it is the same for all Irish area codes on Irish mobiles).


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## demoivre (12 Jan 2006)

moylan1 said:
			
		

> when i looked at the website to find out about call costs there seems to be no information regarding calls to other networks or landlines.
> 
> does any one know how we can complain and get vodafone to reconsider the amount in the bill. this seems to be a rip-off



All Vodafones charges are listed under Price plans on their home page including call costs to other networks and landlines .http://www.vodafone.ie/index.jsp

I would say you are wasting your time complaining tbh. On what basis are you hoping Vodafone will reduce the bill? The calls were made by your wife - it's hardly Vodafones fault she made too many of them and/ or stayed on the phone too long.


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## ajapale (12 Jan 2006)

Ive looked at the vodafone site and cant see were calls to landlines during business hours can cost €1/min. Could anyone post a link here showing this tariff?

Thanks,
aj


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## Janet (12 Jan 2006)

moylan1 said:
			
		

> a typical example was one day she inadvertantly racked up €25 charge by phoning a another netowrk for the same number of minutes.



I understood this to mean the call was to another mobile, not to a landline.


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## ajapale (12 Jan 2006)

Thanks Janet, it looks like it was a call to another mobile network allright.

All the same If some one could point me to the vodafone tariff that charges €1/min to another mobile net work I would be gratefull.

aj


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## moylan1 (12 Jan 2006)

oops my mistake

it seems the expense was approx 50c/min for landlines and and mobiles during the day.


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## legend99 (13 Jan 2006)

there was an article in the Times last week about the number of people being brought to court on an ongoing basis about unpaid phone bills. I think O2 had brought someone to court for as little as 150 or thereabouts of an unpaid bill...


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## kazbah (13 Jan 2006)

I agree you should have checked the tariff if you knew you were going to be using the hone alot.  Everyone knows mobile calls are expensive.

You could switch to Meteor Leisuretime Plus Pay as You Go - 13c per minute to all mobile networks and landlines offpeak.  Or Anytime Plus 20c all Irish Mobile/Landline calls all times.


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## ClubMan (13 Jan 2006)

moylan1 said:
			
		

> when we analised the bill further...


Yikes!!!!


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## quarterfloun (17 Jan 2006)

What they do in the comfort of thier own home............ 

It does seem a bit strange in this day and age that there is no standard charge across the board - forget who you call, where you call etc. The world is nothing more than a giant VOIP network in one shape or fashion. There should be a connection charge (variable dependant on service provider) to the global network plus a fixed monthly infrastructure fee. Roll on Globalisation.

At the end of the day she racked up the bill so pay up.


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## Eurofan (18 Jan 2006)

ClubMan said:
			
		

> Yikes!!!!


Hey after paying out 750 euro getting to 'analise' that damn bill would be the least i'd expect!


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