Oops. Turns out Vodafone Australia hasn’t been charging mobile customers for data use involving peer-to-peer, password-protected web-based email and banking sites, or VoIP services.
If you’re a heavy user of these services, be aware that your bills could increase after the billing correction kicks in on July 8. The good news is there will be no back-dating of charges for such data use prior to this date.
When contacted for comment, Vodafone supplied the following official statement:
Following a recent review of our billing systems, from the 8th July customers using the following types of mobile handset data will incur charges:
• The use of peer-to-peer file sharing websites that allow users to share content amongst a closed community.
• The use of Voice over IP (VoIP) applications that customers may have previously downloaded from the internet to their phone.
• The use of services via the internet that require a personal log-in (e.g. web-based email and internet banking).These charges are in line with customers’ existing contracts but were not previously billed. There will be no back-dating of charges relating to these types of usage prior to 8th July 2011.
The correction will affect both standard internet access from a handset and also ‘tethered’ access that involves using a mobile as a modem to connect a computer to the internet.
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Nathan
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 4:38 PMSo that’s why my data usage didn’t jump when I used my phone to download some peer to peer stuff last month. Ha ha.
Well I didn’t go over my cap, but if I had known about this I would have cranked it and made them pay for the last 6 months of crappy service.
Kent
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 4:48 PMGo hard till the 8th bra, that’s what I’m doing, swap internet connection on my pc to my phones, then smash it up ayy
Steve
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 5:58 PMI had this going on without even knowing a couple weeks ago. Had my phone as a hotspot for my laptop, which… turned out had utorrent running in the background. Ouch ouch ouch.. hmmm? not bad!
Frank Egal
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 5:19 PMseriously, how could this happen?
how does this company survive!
Brendan
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 5:51 PMIt’s a Ponzi scheme.
borganstein
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 7:10 PMwin awesome comment
Franz
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 6:14 PMSo in other words, when their mobile broadband is working, it isn’t working.
MJ
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 6:33 PMnot that it matters. i get rat #@it quality with data from vodafone anyway. could do that even if i wanted to. too slow
Jamie
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 7:13 PMSo you’re saying that if my 3G actually worked on my Vodafone phone, I could have downloaded via bittorrent for free?
Lasty
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 9:34 AMhahaahaha +1
I was astonished at the thought of the voda data network “working” too
Nathan
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 5:45 PMJust got a message from Vodafone stating that a data correction will occur on the 8th of July not that no one will be charged until after that date.
It states that because of my recent data usage Vodafone believe I could get a higher than expected bill based on my data usage.
I call BS. Even counting the torrent data on my mobile I never went over my cap of 1GB so if I get charged one cent I’ll be going straight to TIO.
Add to that, if they weren’t charging how can I trust their billing is correct and they aren’t just charging me extra for the torrent data? counting it as extra even though it fits in the cap.
Oh well at least I didn’t start leeching yet as others might have done.
John
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 9:33 PMHow long has this been going on? Clearly they can afford and support this kind of traffic, which means we are being overcharged.
Vodafail.
TenguTech
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 9:08 AMMaybe that is why the traffic on their network is so slow, even when you get 5 bars of connection? Everyone using the bandwidth without worrying about usage?
On a related note, I got SMSed a URL that didn’t work and was interested to find that vfau.me is running a <a href="http://leefe.ratestheworld.com.au/2011/06/29/vodafoneau-dont-url-me-ill-url-you-vfau-medcg4n/"not very corporate branded copy of Yourls.
TenguTech
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 4:50 PMOops, typo due to new keyboard. Try this.
amy
Monday, July 11, 2011 at 4:29 AMits 11/7 i still have no credit but can use data will i get slogged when i recharge??
SuperSim
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 6:57 PMI have same issue and have used about 40GB mobile data without recharging since December. I use apps for calls and txt. Once or twice a week safari redirects to vodafone insufficient funds page but clearing cache and resetting network settings fixes this inconvenience ;)
Yvonne
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 5:17 PMIs this why my daughter’s Vodafone account ($49 cap) has shown crazy charges for internet use since 11 July, eg PKT 930863kb for 6:16:07 minutes $413.16 … this is not a typo!!!!? She’s never exceeded her cap in the previous 10 months or so and can’t understand where these charges could have come from.
Any advice, opinions would be really appreciated. I’m currently waiting on a Vodafone supervisor (in India) to phone me back …
Colleen Jones
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 1:55 PMI am having trouble trying to recharge my phone, My son originally set up my account and I don’t remember the password either does he. I have since on two accasions tried with temparily pass words and still not able to get on and then being locked out.
I end up ringing and re charging my mobile, as in pre paid. Today the landline phone went dead in the midst of speaking to one of your reps and since. I can not even phone you.
I desperately want to re charge my phone. I would like to be able to set it up online, when given a new password that works. I want my phone recharge to ring my son for xmas.
Please I need help.
Colleen