Attention all N900 Vodafone users in the UK!

[adamFsmith]

If, like me, you bought an N900 earlier in the year on contract based on a promise of "unlimited internet", only to find when it's too late that "Unlimited" equals "500MB a month, subject to fair usage policy", then you may be interested in this...

http://www.bitterwallet.com/vodafone-scrap-fair-use-policy-for-data-dont-tell-customers/29230/

They're now planning to charge us £5 for every extra 500MB we use, and haven't bothered to inform anyone of the changes. Cheeky?

Looks like there's an outside possibility we'll be able to cancel our contracts early and walk away with the phone.

UPDATE! Vodafone replies -
http://www.bitterwallet.com/can-i-cancel-my-vodafone-contract-new-statement-on-new-data-charges-but-theyre-still-wrong/29277



EDIT - Another big update!

Vodafone have made a press release about the new charges, and acknowledged that some users WILL be able to cancel their contracts.
Bitterwallet have kindly provided a template letter to send to the bastards.

http://www.bitterwallet.com/how-to-cancel-your-vodafone-contract-details-and-templates/29324


EDIT - August - they're at it again!

http://www.bitterwallet.com/vodafone-cancels-its-fair-usage-policy-from-1-october-so-can-you-cancel-your-vodafone-contract/33934

[bensmith808]

If, like me, you bought an N900 earlier in the year on contract based on a promise of "unlimited internet", only to find when it's too late that "Unlimited" equals "500MB a month, subject to fair usage policy", then you may be interested in this...

http://www.bitterwallet.com/vodafone-scrap-fair-use-policy-for-data-dont-tell-customers/29230/comment-page-1#comment-58905

They're now planning to charge us £5 for every extra 500MB we use, and haven't bothered to inform anyone of the changes. Cheeky?

Looks like there's an outside possibility we'll be able to cancel our contracts early and walk away with the phone.


I remember asking the phones guy "so unlimited internet means unlimited, right?" and he said "yeah, unlimited....but with a limit". -.-" What contract are you on though? I haven't got such problems, I know a friend of mine had and he changed contract at the end...but I'm fine, I buyed the N900 as PYG but the sim is on contract.

[sophocha]

well,that is why you should move to 3 for 15 pounds simfree and 1GB of data per month with free skype calls!

[adamFsmith]

I remember asking the phones guy "so unlimited internet means unlimited, right?" and he said "yeah, unlimited....but with a limit". -.-" .

I got even worse than that. When I complained the stupid woman in the Vodafone shop told me 500MB was "pretty much unlimited" and that she "knew of lots of businessmen that use Blackberries to send emails all day, and they never go near the limit"

I'm on a £30 a month contract, for two years. I'd never have taken it out if i'd have known the true meaning of "unlimited".

[johnel]

I remember something like this from last year.

I think the policy at the time was "yeah, unlimited=500mb but if you go over that now and again you won't be penalised. We'll warn you and suggest you buy an additional package it the limit is breached consistently".

I can get 3g in Edinburgh but any access times-out - the network is constantly saturated. I can get a 3g in the middle of nowhere but internet access is fine.

There are obvious abusers of the network so mybe charge them if they persistently offend.

Maybe Vodafone are using a hard line and expecting a more moderate proposal to be accepted.

[bensmith808]

I got even worse than that. When I complained the stupid woman in the Vodafone shop told me 500MB was "pretty much unlimited" and that she "knew of lots of businessmen that use Blackberries to send emails all day, and they never go near the limit"

I'm on a £30 a month contract, for two years. I'd never have taken it out if i'd have known the true meaning of "unlimited".

What the...? :eek: I'm on a £30 month contract too, 2 years (I originally got it with the N97, but it was buggy so I sold it with mazuma and got the N900 instead). Businessmen download the emails as push with their blackberries, or they only check that, but when you've got a N900 (which is primarily an Internet tablet), you'll visit sites that are much more bulky than just hotmail or yahoo, and depending on the person, 500 MAY or MAY NOT be enough! I think you should write a letter of complaint, and if they've overcharged you, I think you should have a refund!

[Haus3r]

Guys, the "unlimited" is a very very dodgy area. They are allowed to make changes/amendments any time they want. So one day it can be 1gb, the other day they might throttle it down to 500mb and charge you for anything you get over that limit.

"Fair usage policy applies" > This is where the problem lays. I think the government / EU should take a close look at this!

[marcsony]

this sucks im glad i went with o2 there limit is 3gb on fair usage. if there are limits to such services then it shold be displayed up front not hidden im sure a lot of people would chose otherwise knowing about the limit.

[Haus3r]

...if there are limits to such services then it shold be displayed up front not hidden im sure a lot of people would chose otherwise knowing about the limit..

It's not hidden, just read their T&C or ask for them. Problem is: noone bothers - everybody believes the sales people and takes everything they tell you. I always read their T&C, especially for "Fair usage policy" and a few other things, like cancellation. They are not obliged to put this where the customer WILL read it, they prefer to tuck it away in the small print.

[devu]

:mad: Is that why vodafone has this distinguish with P.R.?

I reflashed my n900 to leaked 1.2 (Yea I knew the risk, i had to check something with new flash version) contractWAP completely disappear now officially I see Vodafone Internet GPRS. Just wondering how is gonna affect me or it's just only uncovered their intentions.

[scomic55]

just out of interest, how would you use this info to cancel a contract? you never know when that kind of info might come in handy!

[maki43]

This is interesting but it is only going to effect people who are already going over the 500mb limit (obviously). I think there is something in thier contract which says that this will be considered an 'addon'.

But it will certainly be an uphill struggle to cancel just on these grounds.

[bockersjv]

Amok, this is a vodafone thread. May I suggest you start another regarding your 3 payg issue. You may get more of a response too.

[NokTokDaddy]

It's because of dodgy contracts like these that I decided to go PAYG a couple of years back. I'm still a Vodafone customer but can regulate my spend and useage to suit me, not 'The Man'.

I reckon that overall I'm saving money against a £35/month contract* on an N900; I paid £470 for my sim-free N900. I should get £200 back for it next year (after 18M use) so it'll stand me in at £270.00.

On average I spend £18/Month on top-ups - that's £324 over 18M. (Typically I buy 200 mins/month for £15 and rarely use them all). Add in the nett cost of the phone (£270.00) and I'll have spent £594 over 18M - that's £33/M, saving me £36.00 over the 18M period.

* That's if I could get an N900 on contract for free. Most suppliers wanted 100 when I last checked. That being the case I'm nearly £140 better off.

PLUS I have the freedom to change device when I want.

I get enough free calls & internet access via my landline and use free wireless when out and about. If I need to use Vodafone's WAP service I pay 50p/day - not bad value for occasional use.

It won't suit everyone - but give it some thought. Not many of us use 700 'Free' minutes a month...

[Neegs]

This is interesting but it is only going to effect people who are already going over the 500mb limit (obviously). I think there is something in thier contract which says that this will be considered an 'addon'.

But it will certainly be an uphill struggle to cancel just on these grounds.

well no not really it effects everyone that has the FUP associated to their contract. Just because i dont go over doesnt mean this doesnt effect me.

There are times when i need to use the contract WAP and im constantly thinking how much data is this page going to use etc. i rarely go on any streaming sites like youtube unless connected to wifi.

i was much more relaxed when i heard the Vodafone really only enforce the FUP if you regularly go over by loads. This is stated on the VF forums repeatedly (cant access thread link as work has locked it outside lunch)

If this goes ahead i will now be charged for going over with no exception. Now i will have to constantly check my data and never use such a poweful media device for anything that needs a connection. This nunlifies the reason for getting a smartphone (please no argumnets about wether its a smartphone or linux computer. I need the internet for both)

This effects me greatly and i am going to follow this very carefully and if i can get out i will

[crispy]

has anybody been charged extra yet for going over 500mb. i'm over 1000mb already this month and a little worried. from what i have read,they will notify me before they add extra charges. ?

[oskarmat]

well,that is why you should move to 3 for 15 pounds simfree and 1GB of data per month with free skype calls!

except that skype calls go into your regular data download - in other words: they are not free

[johnel]

has anybody been charged extra yet for going over 500mb. i'm over 1000mb already this month and a little worried. from what i have read,they will notify me before they add extra charges. ?

I think the policy starts on 1st June.

you should be ok.

[casper27]

They have to give you 30 days notice to any change in T & C's what they are saying is that this is not a change to them but an additional service which is bollocks.

[UNderworld]

They're now planning to charge us £5 for every extra 500MB we use, and haven't bothered to inform anyone of the changes. Cheeky?

Looks like there's an outside possibility we'll be able to cancel our contracts early and walk away with the phone.

what happens if they inform us, and we dont agree??

i would get out of this contract ANY DAY, with or without the phone

/me rushes to read my t&c completely

[anandv76]

i got a t-mo "booster" at £20 for 6 months for unlimited (read 1gb) usage which seems quite reasonable...

Meant to add on a pay-g connection...

[Neegs]

This is utter crap if i had known vodafone were so bad i wouldn't have bothered going with them. As this has got the attention of the vodafone people it might be worthwhile checking what Firmware version you are on. I didnt realise Vodafone have there own version for the n900 which isnt even up to date with the latest global FW. all details in thread below

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=48015

This is stupid im cancelling without a doubt if i can

[kevinm2k]

Doesn't it say in terms and conditions that they are allowed to charge for data after the limit though?

All this news means is that they are going to actually do that now rather than just send a letter? If I can get out of contract then great, if anyone succeeds.. let us know!

[cashclientel]

Vodafone now make clear that their advertising that 'unlimited' internet is only 500mb - I've seen it in the windows of their shop. This is to avoid the obvious issue that they advertised deals to be "unlimited" but then alerted customers post agreement that 'unlimited' actually meant '500 MB'. I'm sure the ASA/Trading Standards have had their stick in about this.

It's to stop people using their phones as broadband modems for laptops.

Voda can't start charging you for 500MB+ usage if you signed up to something advertised as unlimited. Even if you've signed a contract that contains a burried clause stating that "where we say unlimited we really mean 500mb".

I'm not a solicitor, but I don't believe that Voda can retain the right to alter contracts signed up to as "Unlimited" to "500 MB" as this would be a material change to a warranted clause. the contract is for provision of x minutes, x texts and unlimited internet. You change one of those and you change the whole deal.

Thus you should be able to reject their change in policy (i.e. charging you for 500MB< usage) as a breach of contract.

Please can someone who knows what their talking about step in on this. I'm assuming a general rule is possible here without reading the t+c's of every users individual contracts?

[adam123]

just spoken to vodafone, my contract will not be changing its contracts started after june 1st

[cashclientel]

@devildriven I don't believe you should send what you've written there.

You need to clarify that when the contract was agreed there was no limit on the data.
You secondly need to state what change has been made by them, and when this was brought in.
You need to establish that you were not informed within the limits of the original contract.
You lastly need to combine these three into a summary stating that they have breached the contract.

Have you been charged for using >500MB data yet? If they don't actually change your conditions then they haven't changed the terms without informing you (thus there is no breach).

Stating that they may start to charge you for over 500MB in future would not be classed as an anticipatory breach in my opinion

[UNderworld]

Just checked my bill online and apparently my data usage for the last month was 32GB!

This is going to cost me a fortune if they go ahead with this! :mad::mad::mad:

HOLY COW.... and i've been downloading top gear from my home wifi to view on the bus...... :eek:

[mornage]

I'm no legal expert but as far as I understand, when you take a contact out and agree to the terms, that is your contract. They can change the contract with notice but you have to agree to them, if you do not, they either have to honour the original contract or cancel it. As they have breached the contract, they cannot charge you cancellation fees.

Changing the terms like this, is changing the contract you have agreed with and you are within your right to walk away without charge if they do not honour the original contract.

This does not suprise me with Vodafone though. Before I got my N900, I had a blackberry storm on contract with them. After a few months they contacted me telling me that my free sat-nav service was coming to an end, that they would extend it for one month and that it would cost 7.99(ish) a month to continue after that. As I do not drive and had other map software on the phone that I could use free, I declined to continue. However, they started to charge me for it. I queried this with them and whilst they investigated, I did not pay the bill (not gonna pay for something I didn't want or ask for) so they cut me off.

I called them to pay after it was sorted and they told me the bar would be lifted within 30 mins. 2hrs later, still nothing... anyway, 3 calls later they informed me that it was because I had a blackberry that it was taking so long and it would be 48hrs. Not happy but with not much more I could do, I accepted this. 2hours later it was working again!

During the time I was disputing the extra charge, they refunded me that part of the bill and "canceled" the sat nav, but the next bill and the same charge was there!!!!

In all it took 6 months and 30 + emails to actually cancel the sat nav I never asked for. I asked for compensation and all they came back with is "I'm sure you will give us another chance to provide you with excellent customer service"

I would never go with Vodafone for a contract phone again! I am so glad I waited for carphone warehouse to offer the N900 on T-mobile!

[mornage]

HOLY COW.... and i've been downloading top gear from my home wifi to view on the bus...... :eek:

Wifi is fine as it you home internet account, not vodafones 3G!

[stayloa]

Jeez - I just jumped ship to o2 as my contract was coming to an end and they wouldn't give me a better deal per month that taking out a new starter contract (sim only) with o2... I was on an 18month, £45 a month - you'd think they'd have done something to keep me!

But hey, although o2 isn't truly unlimited, reports of 40gb+ usage being allowed is fiiiine by me! Just downloaded the humble indie bundle through it with no trouble at all :-)

[se23]

how comes all you guys are on 18 months with voda??? im on a 12 month paying £45 600mins, unlimited texts & data and im soooooooooooo unhappy with the service! but i would b even more upset if i was on an 18month. I got this deal from nokia website

[afaq]

im going to call them now. i got a text from them. read below.


You are reaching the end of your data allowance. You will be charged another £5.00 (Inc VAT) for the next 500MB. We will notify you again before you reach the next charging point. To stop these messages Text STOP to 40506. Keep track of internet charges with Vodafone. Sent MAY 05 @11:22 UK

[digital909]

If we don't get the flash update, the 500mb will be ample soon enough :(

[Ronaldo]

i'm on 18 month contract got it on feb, i did get a text other day which i thought was weird, i dont do more then 300mb on n900 (use wifi at home) but got a desire other day and loving google service and maps with navigation which will eat up alot of data.. maybe time to cancel, any one had luck cancelling their contract?

[ddwwf1]

i also recieved the text telling me im nearly up to the limit of me data allowance and that if i go over i will then be charged a extra £5 i did not agree to this when i signed the contract it was for 600 mins unlimited texts and unlimited data for 40 a month for 18 months if i can get out of this contract and find a better deal then i would love to do that please let us know how u get on with speaking to voda as if u can get out i will be doing the same

[UNderworld]

Nope no joy yet. just spoke to someone there and it across the board. existing and new customers. the only way to cancel is is pay the early cancellation fees.. Think im going to have a cry now. have emailed them too so we'll see what comes of that but im not hopeful anymore.

and what is are those cancellation fees??

im going to see if i can get some info on the moneysavingexpert forum later when i come..

gotta rush to work now..

if anyone has some time, please check that forum and ask over there, or i'll do it myself at night...

one more thing: does voda not monitor these forums?? :confused:

[mornage]

Cancellation fee is how much you would have left to pay without VAT and 25% discount (If I remember rightly)

[extent]

Im wondering how long it will take before somebody takes all these companies to court based on their "unlimited" offers...

but then, they could say "amazingly unlimited internet with free alcohol and as much mb as you want/your pc can handle within 24hrs!!!".......as long as the actual contract (those a4 sheets in small print text that no one bothers to read) says 500mb or less as their real limitations per month, then theyre safe to say or lie about whatever they want in any advertising!! ;(

[ddwwf1]

just got a text from voda saying "we sent you a text by mistake Re: out of bundle charges very sorry please be assured u have not been charged. for info click here http://live.vodafone.com/zr/sa1

[matts76]

im also on the 600mins unlimited texts* and unlimited internet* im currently siting at around 700mb this month, i rarley go over 500mb but after reading the vodaphone forum was under the impresion i would just be contacted if i consistantly went over it and asked to upgraded my data plan, ive hd no text from them and have recieved no notice from them that they are changing their T&C's either by letter or email,
i would be very interested to see where this goes as the unlimited data plan was why i chose this contract, and i will look to get out of it if they charge me for just going over now and then.

[se23]

ok incase anybody else is going to get one, i suggest you check out the 12month options here
http://www.nokiaretail.co.uk/Brands/Nokia/Nseries-Multimedia-Phones/sb489/n443/p26078.htm?lpsrc=google&lpcat=NokiaN900l&lpgrp=NokiaRetail&lptxt=TMobv22&lpkey=nokia%20n900%20contract&gclid=CMqXoLG6wKECFVGX2AodtWi1EA#ctl00_content_n97 _wrapper

hope these links are allowed! although I would only get a voda contract if u HAVE to, as they have been a big let down 4 me.

[vectorspace]

I started my Nokia N900 contract 6 days ago.

£35 a month, 24 month contract.
600 minutes, 500MB internet, unlimited texts - all explicitly stated.

The guy in the shop also told me that I would be charged a maximum of 50p per day if I go over the download limit - that is effectively £15 a month extra for actual unlimited usage. (Unless they take other action to ensure fare use.)

[afaq]

just got a text from voda saying "we sent you a text by mistake Re: out of bundle charges very sorry please be assured u have not been charged. for info click here http://live.vodafone.com/zr/sa1

I called them up and they said the above message was sent because they sent the "you're reaching the end of your allowance" message prematurely to some customers. (im only 280MB into my allowance)

On further investigation the lady told me - they are now enforcing the 500MB allowance on all their customers. Apparently the 500MB allowance was in the contract since "always". As a lot of people are now using more than 500MB they are starting to crack down.

I explained to her that the N900 is an internet tablet and breathes internet and 500MB is not enough. Her rebuttal was that most users dont go over 500MB . Anyway further discussions with her led to no where.

Her audacity to repeat the point "we offer unlimited upto 500MB" - which I pointed out is logically impossible - its like saying you have unlimited calls up to 500mins.

So once you go over 500MB the charges are as below:

£5 for the next 500MB.

This is to go live 1st June 2010.

Btw the iPhone users of vodafone get 1GB allowance. Bastards.

[afaq]

I started my Nokia N900 contract 6 days ago.

The guy in the shop also told me that I would be charged a maximum of 50p per day if I go over the download limit - that is effectively £15 a month extra for actual unlimited usage. (Unless they take other action to ensure fare use.)

That rate is currently true but no more. From 1st June the £5 for the 500MB will be practised.

[afaq]

Today i flashed my phone to the latest version (one i hasten to add that voda havent even managed to release in the uk yet!) I had to reinstall ALL 67 of the apps i have on my n900. thats got to eat up quite a bit of data right?

I wonder, are Vodafone going to be prepared to reimburse us every time we upgrade to the next release and have to reinstall all our apps after a flash?

PR1.2 for example, i can imagine thats going to a pretty hefty download??

Use wifi. They will not help you out.

[Stevebratt]

hmm id love to get out of my voda contract, and this might help, there service is just aweful in my area and id love to get on 02

i bought the phone from nokia.com £20 a month free texts and 200 calls plus £5 per month unlimiter internet add on 12 months paid an extra £200 for the phone but think in total it worked out at about £550 if i dont go over allowances. if anyone has success cancling post here so others of us can do the same.

thanks

[UNderworld]

if this is starting as from 1st july, its STILL a change of contract...

[UNderworld]

taken from here
http://www.nokiaretail.co.uk/Brands/Nokia/Nseries-Multimedia-Phones/sb489/p26078.htm

Deal Price: FREE
£25 Texter + Mobile Internet
+ 600 Minutes
+ Unlimited Text
+ Unlimited Mobile Web
+ 3 Months Free Insurance

£30.00 per month
24 month contract

there is no sign of fair usage policy in the website...

[zombiegavins]

this sucks im glad i went with o2 there limit is 3gb on fair usage. if there are limits to such services then it shold be displayed up front not hidden im sure a lot of people would chose otherwise knowing about the limit.

i would seriously look into that if i was you. i was originally with o2 and was told that their fair usage limit was 3gb, later on however o2 cut me off for breach of fair usage and i was informed by their credit control department that o2 fair usage is actually only 200mb per month

[zombiegavins]

Have you been charged for using >500MB data yet?

i have gone over the 500mb unlimited data limit twice, once by a couple of hundred megs and once by a whole gig and i was charged for neither.

on a side note did everybody know that when vodafone say unlimited texts they actually mean 3000 texts

[sophocha]

except that skype calls go into your regular data download - in other words: they are not free

My mistake, it used to be free with my 5800, but you can`t beat 1gb of data for 15 pounds!

[yorg]

i would seriously look into that if i was you. i was originally with o2 and was told that their fair usage limit was 3gb, later on however o2 cut me off for breach of fair usage and i was informed by their credit control department that o2 fair usage is actually only 200mb per month

I can verify that the o2 fair usage limit is 200mb per month.

They don't enforce it very strictly but it is in the contract.

To be honest I am not that impressed with O2 3G coverage and DL speed in general. Unless you use your phone a lot around an area with good 3G then it is almost practically impossible to go over 1GB a month as speeds are very low (at least for me).

What kind of speeds do you guys get with voda? Does anyone have experience with 3G coverage across the M4 and M3?

I would gladly pay more for a better network that is not saturated by iphone users.

[UNderworld]

edited....... to be continued later

[justmeinit]

Hey Guys good luck, I had a contract with Orange last year for the samsung i8910 and they changed their terms and conditions for overseas calls i think it was and i and 1000s others managed to cancel their contract with no fight from Orange. Moneysaving Expert is great when it comes to this sort of thing.
Also this is probably the reason why the phone has been pulled from the Vodaphone shop. I think anyone who got their phone from a vodaphone shop will have a really good chance of getting their contract cancelled.

[UNderworld]

Hey Guys good luck, I had a contract with Orange last year for the samsung i8910 and they changed their terms and conditions for overseas calls i think it was and i and 1000s others managed to cancel their contract with no fight from Orange. Moneysaving Expert is great when it comes to this sort of thing.
Also this is probably the reason why the phone has been pulled from the Vodaphone shop. I think anyone who got their phone from a vodaphone shop will have a really good chance of getting their contract cancelled.

any example of the letter you sent??


anyone has any comments on my letter above, please let me know before 1pm tomorrow, as I will be free only that time, n print and send it off recorded... you guys can do the same, or wait till i / others get a reply from vodafone. but according to the contract, do it before 1st june

[adamFsmith]

New update! (added to OP as well)
http://www.bitterwallet.com/can-i-cancel-my-vodafone-contract-new-statement-on-new-data-charges-but-theyre-still-wrong/29277

All I can say is that i'm totally speechless. What a total, utter, hideous mess of a company.

[bjknight]

@devu, no. Nothing to do with it.

O2's fair usage is unofficially 500MB per month too. The first you hear is a text message and a temporary disruption to your data service.

Then you get a letter or two saying that you are breaching the rules on either streaming or tethering.

Then they may, though I am not aware of anyone getting this yet, charge you for the extra data.

Mind you, when I got the letter, I called them to see what they thought they knew. They said that they weren't that bothered but to keep an eye because they might throttle my connection after the 500MB is hit.

Fair usage should mean that. Simple as. If they don't have a network that can support it, don't advertise it. Ofcom (UK) have looked into this. Google it.

[dj_steve]

yep i had this issue with vodafone myself last year, had 2 contracts with them (mum had one i had other) mums contract (on a samsung f490v) had a addon for internet that was £7.50 a mont hand gave 120mb which was fine, my contract on my htc tytn2 had 'unlimited' internet which i was never ever informed was 500mb so was more than slightly surprised to recieve a phone call one day saying that i was very close to my limit and if i continued to use it vodafone were going to TRIPLE my bill. - i had been on holiday the week previous and was using my phone as modem so yes had used a fair bit of data but i was never informed of the limit, suffice to say i ended up selling both the contract phones to cex and then using the money to pay off the 2 contracts as i dont agree with vodafones business ethics and breech of trading descriptions.

EDIT: i have a vodafone contract currently but i only bought it to get free hdtv (through a carphone warehouse subsiduary company) and its only a samsung tocco lite anyway so no internet on it and i STILL struggle to get a signal where i live, i thought voda were meant to be one of the best networks in uk - thats utter bulls***. t-mobile are good on n900 quick and with webnwalk the fair usage is 3gb (least i think it is ve blown through upwards of 6gb before withotu issue(im still on same tariff i used with my g1 which has web'n'walk plus as part of tariff)

[UNderworld]

New update! (added to OP as well)
http://www.bitterwallet.com/can-i-cancel-my-vodafone-contract-new-statement-on-new-data-charges-but-theyre-still-wrong/29277

All I can say is that i'm totally speechless. What a total, utter, hideous mess of a company.

that means if I use just around 500mb or more, i can cancel??

those who use less than 450MB in the previous month gets screwed ??? :eek::eek::eek: i think i did less last month.. because this month im gonna FLOOR IT (will b away from home)

[UNderworld]

Will I be allowed to cancel my account under Clause 7?

We’ ll be giving you 14 days’ notice before introducing Out Of Bundle charging which complies with clause 7a. You’ll be entitled to end your contract if you can show that the introduction of the new charges has increased your total call and usage charges by more than 10%. This needs to be compared to the same amount of usage in the previous month. You must also write to us within the 14 day window indicating that you want to end your contract. (Address: Vodafone UK, Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2FN).


This sounds pretty promising for cancelling my contract with them now based on my previous months usage, 32gb. They will have no choice according to this!

get your letter ready in the meanwhile...
:D 32gb... they will be more than happy to let you go. looll

[Neegs]

im in the situation were i manage my time and wouldnt go over just in case i got charged. now i will definitely get changed i want to leave but not sure how successful i will be as i have never gone over in the past

[meandu229]

My girlfriend got her n900 in jan from voda but has been using a orange sim in it ever since the voda sim doing nothing, will she be able to cancel I dont think she will but always worth a go

[orcocan]

just realised my usage last month was 900 mb, although previously always managed to be under 400mb, spotify is the culprit in my case.. i think i'll try to cancel the contract too

do you guys know what we'll need to pay to get out of the contract? surely they'll want you to pay for your phone in full?

[UNderworld]

just realised my usage last month was 900 mb, although previously always managed to be under 400mb, spotify is the culprit in my case.. i think i'll try to cancel the contract too

do you guys know what we'll need to pay to get out of the contract? surely they'll want you to pay for your phone in full?

nothing!!! just your last bill

[UNderworld]

My girlfriend got her n900 in jan from voda but has been using a orange sim in it ever since the voda sim doing nothing, will she be able to cancel I dont think she will but always worth a go

buckingham place

[UNderworld]

buckingham place
:confused::confused:I just wrote this below:
where does buckingham palace come from??:confused::confused:


just realised my usage last month was 900 mb, although previously always managed to be under 400mb, spotify is the culprit in my case.. i think i'll try to cancel the contract too

do you guys know what we'll need to pay to get out of the contract? surely they'll want you to pay for your phone in full?

Get your voda sim in and start downloading... provided you have "unlimited" internet

[justmeinit]

hey guys when i cancelled last year with orange i had to wait for a text from them which they were sending out telling customers of the new charges. I go the text and rang them straight away and they let me cancel over the phone.

[TomJ]

My mistake, it used to be free with my 5800, but you can`t beat 1gb of data for 15 pounds!

Not quite a mistake, but a misunderstanding. You do get unlimited Skype calls on 3, but only using their software which, rather than connecting over the internet, dials a number which then connects to the other Skype account. It uses a version of iSkoot; I understand that if you know the right settings you can get vanilla iSkoot to work. However, given the built-in Skype capabilities of the n900 I doubt iSkoot will be ported to Maemo.

[meandu229]

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2446159&page=6
this guy is arguing right now,, doesnt look like it is going well

[ddwwf1]

right guys and gals i think we need a standard letter than we can all amend with our own account details etc is anyone good at writing something like that so we can all use it to get out of this mess. also where will be people be going once they leave im tempted by a virgin sim only deal with a FUP of 1gb.

i just checked my data usage and last month i topped a gb and have easily gone over 500mb every month since i got the phone when it was released.

if someone could write this letter or has a example one that would be awesome

[Neegs]

right i have just got off the phonne with Voda to express my concerns with this new change. the person on the phone seemed to be very well versed in the conversation but the cracks began to show once i dug a little deeper.

I asked about the scraping of the fair usage policy. the person explained that you will now receive a text to say you are reaching your limit and then charged once you go over. i explained that this was still a change to the terms and explained what i said above about always keeping checks on my data.

the person then tried to say the new policy was in fact to help the consumer as they have been getting billed extra without notification. i went on to explain how on Vodafones own forum and in the shops Vodafones employees have been telling me 500 was enough and that it was a soft limit anyway and that you will only get charged if you frequently go over by lots. this is after throttling etc.

i said that this was a very big change as this was now a set limit and i would be charged for going over no matter what. i then said that 500 was very small considering that iphone users with vodafone get 1gb. i went on to explain i have an n900 and that we render websites fully and that it will take up a lot more data than with an iphone in some cases.

The interesting part is that she did admit it was a change to the soft policy. which to me is a change simple as. due to this change i asked if it was possible to cancel my contract as i am not using the phone as it was intended and these changes make it worse.

here is were she the cracks showed as clearly even vodafone staff are not sure. she said that it may change in the next few days as they are still getting new information everyday. i again said well i would like to think about cancelling as i am not happy about the changes. she says she will need to escalate to management but she said we could speak about upping my limit to 1 gig to match the iphone contract. I am to expect a call from a manager in the next 48hours.

upping my limit may be an option we will see what the "manager" has to say

[UNderworld]

im safe... looks like the 10% will affect me.. OHH NOO
buckingham place

[ddwwf1]

10% will affect me also

[UNderworld]

What the hell is wrong in this forum...
every time it says buckingham palace when i'm pasting LOL

Your usage information
This time you...
saved £48.90 by using your inclusive minutes
sent 39 text messages
made 717.458MB of mobile browsing + data calls

[ddwwf1]

This time you...
saved £110.28 by using your inclusive minutes
sent 610 text messages
made 1.060GB of mobile browsing + data calls

[UNderworld]

we might as well see terabytes this month from some users

[ddwwf1]

i listen to alot o interen radio so i might try and rack loads of data lol

[dbs11]

i ended up putting my N900 Vodafone sim into my iPhone so i make use of the app > lower data useage. Id prefer to use the N900 with the Voda sim but unless Voda sort it out i'd be very interested in terminating my contract due to this change (if one of the clauses permit me too)

[buxz777]

there not taking this laying down just spent half hour on chat and kept going round in circles

they arnt making it easy thats for sure , at the end of the day surely under 11d they have changed a way a service works and under them conditions of our service agreement we can cancel

has anyone got access to a solicitor to look over the contract and see if we have got a leg to stand on

the chat rep told me the fair useage policy isnt in the terms and conditions and therfore they can change it within 14 days as long as they give notice

i have the chat log if people want to see it

[dj_steve]

i say post the log and let other analyse it, more eyes = more thoughts on the matter

[buxz777]

Chat InformationYou are about to be connected to a online customer service adviser for Vodafone UK.

Chat InformationYou are now connected with Shailesh.

Shailesh: Hello, you're chatting with Shailesh, one of Vodafone's online customer service specialists. May I take your name please?

You: steve

Shailesh: Thank you

Shailesh: How may I help you today?

You: hi mate iam a bit annoyed that vodafone have breached my contracts with you

Shailesh: Could you help me withyour query?

You: i have an account with vodafone unlimited internet , i have found out on my own accord that you have now changed it to 500mb and that after the 500mb i will now be cahrged

You: i have had no written confirmation from you

You: and the change will take place in less then 30 days

Shailesh: We don't offer unlimited internet on any of our contracts

Shailesh: You get 500 MB to use every month according the fair usage policy

You: you have changed the terms my friend , it now says i will be charged , before it never said that

Shailesh: You will be charged extra only if you exceed 500 MB of data

You: You may end this agreement by writing to us if: (d) we change this Agreement to your significant disadvantage including the change or withdrawal of Services (we will tell you if this is the case) and you write to us within one month of us telling you about the change. This does not apply where the change relates to Services which can be cancelled without termination of this Agreement.’

You: you have changed the service , it will now cost money , before it never did

You: voda moda have confirmed this on your eforum

You: in the past if we went over 500mb nothing would happend , if we carried on going over the 500mb we would rcieve a letter or phonecall advising us we were going over the fup

You: now we are automatically charged

Shailesh: We never offered unlimited internet to our customers

You: how is that not a change to th service

Shailesh: How may I help you today?

You: could i have your employer number

You: i wish to complain about you

Shailesh: Sorry, I typed in the above sentence by mistake

Shailesh: What I'll do is transfer this chat to my Manager

You: please do

Shailesh: He will discuss this with you

Chat InformationPlease wait while I transfer the chat to Kais.

Chat InformationYou are now connected with Kais.

You: hello

Kais: Hi my name is Kais

You: hi kais

You: can you see my previous chat

Kais: Please give me a while so that I can go through the conversation

Kais: have read through your previous conversation and understand that you wish to cancel your agreement because of the pending changes to our data charging

You: well you seem to have broken our service agreement yes

You: you have changed the way the service works , which according to 11.d of my terms is a breach of our contract

Kais: I have checked this with the relevant team and confirm you that have not breached any of the terms and conditions of your agreement by introducing these charges.

Kais: The fair usage policy for the Vodafone Mobile Internet (VMI) bundle is not in the terms and conditions of your agreement and we have given the required amount of notice for the change to take effect (14 days), this does not come into effect until the 1st June 2010.

Kais: way the VMI bundle works is that customer's using over the 500MB allowance should always have been charged but up until now this has not been enforced

You: it doesnt state this in the terms and conditions and mods on your eforum when asked didnt give this reply

You: it is all over the eforum

You: in writting

You: for everyone to see

You: where in my terms and conditions does it state that if i go over the fup i will be charged

You: it clearly doesnt does it and now it does , is that not a big enough change

You: and your ''team'' has informed users different when asked on your eforum

You: iam sorry but i have it in writting , in black and white in section 11.d that i can cancel my contracts

You: also why havent i been told about these changes taking place what sort of operations is that??

Kais: I can assure you that you wouldn't have been exceeding the 500 MB limit so should not be charged

Kais: All customers will be notified about the change very shortly

You: hi karis i dont care what you can assure me the facts are

You: you have changed the service and brached my contract

You: it is in the terms and conditions please check them

You: vodafone have broken my terms

You: its simple

Kais: We have not breached the contact as we reserve the right to make review and change the charges

Kais: sorry if you feel this way but this is not the case

You: You may end this agreement by writing to us if: (d) we change this Agreement to your significant disadvantage including the change or withdrawal of Services (we will tell you if this is the case) and you write to us within one month of us telling you about the change. This does not apply where the change relates to Services which can be cancelled without termination of this Agreement.’

Kais: The fair usage policy for the Vodafone Mobile Internet (VMI) bundle is not in the terms and conditions of your agreement and we have given the required amount of notice for the change to take effect (14 days), this does not come into effect until the 1st June 2010.

You: i havent had any notice yet

You: i will be taking this further

You: offcom , watchdog , user forums

Kais: So you will be notified within 14-days of change

You: can i have your employer number please

You: i will need it for my case

Kais: You can call us on 191 free from your Vodafone mobile

You: i need your employer number

Kais: Sorry I'm unable to disclose any personal information over the chat

You: this is ridiculous its not personal and i need it for my records incase this goes to court

Kais: As I have explained this is Vodafone's current position, it is completely your choice if you wish to pursue this elsewhere

You: so how do i identify who i spoke to

You: and how do i complain about you

You: ????

Kais: You have the option to get the chat transcription at the end of this chat

You: ok well your not very helpfull so iam taking this further we may as well end this as your just giving me the run about at the end of the day vodafone have sold me a contract and changed the terms and conditions , they are at risk of loosing millions of pounds and are trying to fob customers off hoping they loose intrest and dont cancel , well i wont and i will chase this further

You: have a good day

[buxz777]

there you go hope it helps

if a mod doesnt agree with me posting the log please delete it

please excuse my arguements i was in a hurry for work and was using 11.d as my main case for cancellation

[dbs11]

Im very intrigued with this. Iv never been too happy with the Nokia N900 due to the FUP 500MB, and this new introduction makes life worse. So much so, that I just use my iPhone to browse due to lower data usage.

This is what Tom_Vodafone had to say (Vodafone eForum post #297):
Will I be allowed to cancel my account under Clause 7?
We’ ll be giving you 14 days' notice before introducing Out Of Bundle charging which complies with clause 7a. You'll be entitled to end your contract if you can show that the introduction of the new charges has increased your total call and usage charges by more than 10%. This needs to be compared to the same amount of usage in the previous month. You must also write to us within the 14 day window indicating that you want to end your contract. (Address: Vodafone UK, Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2FN).

I've asked and just looking to confirm if the comparison of 10% on previous month is May bill (which is still in progess) against the April bill.
If YES, then thats plenty of time to up the data usage to incur a small charge.
Or, if it isnt May vs April, then it would be June vs May...and of course come 1st June you start getting charged....no doubt it will be more than 10%.

[matts76]

I've also copied the post on the vodaphone eforum by tom as i think it will come in handy in future, im gonna wait for the 14day notification before i write to them, but i wouldn't be suprised if before then vf start backtracking

[se23]

i was so looking forward to pr 1.2 and video calling my sis in barbados anytime i wanted. people mite note think this 500mb is a big deal but it really is. and i never abuse data, but this is not on.

[stew-b]

i pay £30 PLUS £5 for unlimited internet bundle,surely this is really unlimited?? within reason obviously....

[leetut]

i pay £30 + £5 for web too,
i have no 3G signal where i live using vodafone, bit gutted as o2 has great 3G reception,
but this fair usage policy has been around for years, at least 5 years ago i argued with vodafone over it, and i lost that argument back then, im sure theres nothing we can do, dont use vodafone again, thats what i did 5years ago, but o2 wouldnt stock this n900 so i had no choice to go back there, ill hopefully buy out my contract later this year and go back to o2

[UNderworld]

the customer service told me shem cant put me through the manager cuz he was busy... any1 else got this? they hiding away passing everything on poor csa...
im sending a letter out on monday and get in touch with trading standards or consumer direct

[zombiegavins]

the most rediculous thing when you consider that the n900 is a more data heavy phone is that if you get an iphone from vodafone then the fair usage is 1gb. i personally believe that this should be extended to the n900 as well. i think i will struggle to stay under 500mb after june 1st

[UNderworld]

the most rediculous thing when you consider that the n900 is a more data heavy phone is that if you get an iphone from vodafone then the fair usage is 1gb. i personally believe that this should be extended to the n900 as well. i think i will struggle to stay under 500mb after june 1st

I moderated my data use last month a lot, using it only when needed, and I thought I did well below 400MB.. It was not until yesterday when checking my bill, that I found out I did 750 MB something..:eek:

By the way, I emailed the ceo of vodafone describing the situation and asked to end my contract under clause 11.2(c) and (d)..

email CC'ed to webrelations@vodafone.com and watchdog..(couldnt find email for consumer direct)

I just hope it works, then I can give the letter out for anyone who wishes to do the same.....

[kyllerbuzcut]

That would be ace. I have been reading the situation last night and this morning& I am sure loads of people on here, including myself would be very interested in having a standard format letter that has been proven to have worked. I'm not sure vodafone realise there is a forum here, where I'd guess around 90% of n900 owners visit, and that adds up to a LOT of customers.
There will be a lot of android users that read the android forums too, maybe not as much as a percentage, but probably at least as many vodafone customers there that will want to end their contract.. It's like vodafone don't know there's an internet and news travels fast on it.

[orcocan]

From the VF forum

Hi Everyone, Tom_Vodafone (from the eForum) here. I just wanted to drop you a message to say that if any of you want to make contact with us as a company to voice your concerns about the situation, the best way to do this is by dropping my team an email at webrelations@vodafone.com, or by completing the Online Contact ...Form at vodafone.co.uk/contactus and including the code WRT135 in the subject line. We've been heavily involved in this discussion across the web as you know, and I promise you that all of your feelings and concerns will be fed back. Feel free to get in contact any time.

Best Wishes,

Tom Rushton,

eForum and Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK

I would urge you to write to express your dissatisfaction and perhaps see if we can convince VF to retract their plan

[orcocan]

please join the FB group as well

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=121369471223650&v=wall

[UNderworld]

Any chance youd be so kind to post or pm the letter so i could take a look please?

pm'd.
Theres also one I posted on page 2 / 3 which yet needs some modifications.. but that one goes through post;)


one more thing:
Voda says this 500MB limit already existed. If ever it WAS 500MB max, then going over it by 1MB would mean we have to pay for 1MB usage(which was some 50p or whatever per day or something like that)... fair enough

But this new policy means we have to pay minimum £5 even if we use 1MB , or 500MB more.. therefore, an increase in tariff ANYWAY. So, i think we can still cancel on clauses 11.2(c)and(d)...


Ive been explaining this to customer services for the past hour but he was soooooooooo thick that he couldnt understand/pretend not to.:eek:

[elepedus]

I don't think they're thick, I think they put it on in the hope that you'll get frustrated and give up.

Out of interest, where do we stand on refusing the changes and sticking with the old agreement? i.e: I will not cancel my contract as long as you honour the original agreement - or negotiate new terms on both sides.

[UNderworld]

I don't think they're thick, I think they put it on in the hope that you'll get frustrated and give up.

Out of interest, where do we stand on refusing the changes and sticking with the old agreement? i.e: I will not cancel my contract as long as you honour the original agreement - or negotiate new terms on both sides.

vodafone is currently saying:
"Computer says NO!!!"

BUT read this:
Will I be allowed to cancel my account under Clause 7?
We’ ll be giving you 14 days’ notice before introducing Out Of Bundle charging which complies with clause 7a. You’ll be entitled to end your contract if you can show that the introduction of the new charges has increased your total call and usage charges by more than 10%. This needs to be compared to the same amount of usage in the previous month. You must also write to us within the 14 day window indicating that you want to end your contract. (Address: Vodafone UK, Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2FN)

[UNderworld]

Ive just been on the phone to cancellations depi on 191,


She told me so far, there is no change in my contract, I have NOT been charged for going over 500MB. If there is any change in contract, they will let me know by text message(so she knows about this) and then I can contact them regarding that.
So far, I cannot do anything because vodafone has not changed the contract yet.
I can discuss further AFTER i get a text message.


BUT .. looks like someone has had a different story
From eForum: Worked for me, Just been on phone with voda cancellations and they said yes you are allowed to cancel if this change will increase your bill by more than 10% email or write in and we will sort it. Email already sent, giffgaff here i come, no fair use policy at all from now on.

[Ashley]

I recently moved house and i have been using my n900 as my main internet connection... i have been following this thread and i just registered for the vodafone account.. anyway last month i used just over 30 gb of data... and i expect this month to be no less, however i have not received any text messages or letters regarding my usage. i really don't want to commit to a 12 month broadband so i really hope they honor my existing contract. I bought my phone at a nokia retail store and no mention of a fair usage policy either verbally or in writing... at least at the end of the day i have the power to cancel my direct debit and i think as long as i send vodafone a comprehensive and sound argument in writing.. maybe just maybe ill get my contract cancelled.

[kyllerbuzcut]

So- the plan should be to use as much data over the next couple of weeks as you can, (using vodafone internet and not wifi obviously). That way you can show that there will be an extra charge of at least £5 on your bill if the charge is introduced.
If that £5 charge is at least 10% of your ordinary bill ( i.e if you normally pay less than £50 per month for your tariff) then this change to the contract, by vodafone, means that you are affected by more than 10%. This SHOULD mean you can then cancel your contract under the clause mentioned above.

My wife and I are both going to try this and see what happens. My wife wants a new phone ( fed up with her HTC magic) and I wouldn't mind getting a nice, cheap, sim only deal to use on my n900 until it's time that a reasonable successor to this great device appears.

P.S. If I am wrong on any of my assumptions then someone please correct me:)

[UNderworld]

I used 259GB in Dec and 290GB in Jan with virgin home broadband size L(10 MBps), plus other months, and I am now on Virgin's traffic management as it looks to them that I am in the top 5% of downloaders...

I wonder what would have happened to Vodafone if I didnt have a home broadband..... LOL

[UNderworld]

So- the plan should be to use as much data over the next couple of weeks as you can, (using vodafone internet and not wifi obviously). That way you can show that there will be an extra charge of at least £5 on your bill if the charge is introduced.
If that £5 charge is at least 10% of your ordinary bill ( i.e if you normally pay less than £50 per month for your tariff) then this change to the contract, by vodafone, means that you are affected by more than 10%. This SHOULD mean you can then cancel your contract under the clause mentioned above.

My wife and I are both going to try this and see what happens. My wife wants a new phone ( fed up with her HTC magic) and I wouldn't mind getting a nice, cheap, sim only deal to use on my n900 until it's time that a reasonable successor to this great device appears.

P.S. If I am wrong on any of my assumptions then someone please correct me:)

when is your bill cut-off date??
if its in the next few days, then GO FOR IT...
STOP READING
GO GO GO GO

still here??:eek:

edit: i'm not an expert... its just some logic I am using, with the help of some words like "previous month" from voda's contract.....
you can then count this month's usage as "previous month" because it will be before 1st june (or the text msg)

[orcocan]

I recently moved house and i have been using my n900 as my main internet connection... i have been following this thread and i just registered for the vodafone account.. anyway last month i used just over 30 gb of data... and i expect this month to be no less, however i have not received any text messages or letters regarding my usage. i really don't want to commit to a 12 month broadband so i really hope they honor my existing contract. I bought my phone at a nokia retail store and no mention of a fair usage policy either verbally or in writing... at least at the end of the day i have the power to cancel my direct debit and i think as long as i send vodafone a comprehensive and sound argument in writing.. maybe just maybe ill get my contract cancelled.

you're not supposed to use it as your main modem, i understand why you should be charged more if you download 30gb a month, i don't understand why i should be charged more if i download 700MB

they have plans to do that... http://online.vodafone.co.uk/business/business-internet/broadband-via-mobile-phone

[UNderworld]

you're not supposed to use it as your main modem, i understand why you should be charged more if you download 30gb a month, i don't understand why i should be charged more if i download 700MB

they have plans to do that... http://online.vodafone.co.uk/business/business-internet/broadband-via-mobile-phone

why should he sign up for a 12 month broadband contract if he will only need it 1 or 2 months till he gets a proper home broadband package??

I moved house, I know the difficulties before you get a proper home broadband.. it takes weeks!!! Btw, i've used o2's gprs as my main internet for a month, and no alarm was raised....:D .. by main internet, I MEAN it:rolleyes: .. downloading 24hrs

[Luz]

Dont know if this is anything to do with this topic, but i just tried the 44555 to check my gprs usage and it gave me all detail except GPRS (mins used etc, just no amount of gprs used). Maybe just a blip, just a coincidence it happend after all the talk of usage on here!!!!?!

[UNderworld]

Dont know if this is anything to do with this topic, but i just tried the 44555 to check my gprs usage and it gave me all detail except GPRS (mins used etc, just no amount of gprs used). Maybe just a blip, just a coincidence it happend after all the talk of usage on here!!!!?!

lol just noticed it aswell.. and every time i talked about data usage, voda customer services told me to dial 445555.. what *****holes!!!:D

[ddwwf1]

i just tried 44555 and didnt get any data usage info in the text either i dont know why they hide from you the amount of data you have used.

just to take the piss i have had my phone connected to a internet radio station for hours via gprs with the volume on mute just to rack up data lol

im going to try and get out under the 10% clause aswell

[UNderworld]

i just tried 44555 and didnt get any data usage info in the text either i dont know why they hide from you the amount of data you have used.

just to take the piss i have had my phone connected to a internet radio station for hours via gprs with the volume on mute just to rack up data lol

im going to try and get out under the 10% clause aswell

hahahah quality... when is your bill cut off date??

[ddwwf1]

hahahah quality... when is your bill cut off date??

you know i dont know when the cut off date is i know mybill date is 16th of each month gona max it for a day or so then can say look at my usage ur new clause will cost me more than 10% of my bill.

i just hope they man up and admit they f**ked up so i can keep this amazing phone and get a miles better sim only deal

[UNderworld]

you know i dont know when the cut off date is i know mybill date is 16th of each month gona max it for a day or so then can say look at my usage ur new clause will cost me more than 10% of my bill.

i just hope they man up and admit they f**ked up so i can keep this amazing phone and get a miles better sim only deal

when does your minutes refresh???
I get minutes on the 8th each month, and my bill date is 14th.. dont know why... probably yours is 10th then???? :eek:

get downloading man... watch a movie on iplayer, and one on u tube at the same time.. use the multitasking a bit:D:D

[ddwwf1]

when does your minutes refresh???
I get minutes on the 8th each month, and my bill date is 14th.. dont know why... probably yours is 10th then???? :eek:

get downloading man... watch a movie on iplayer, and one on u tube at the same time.. use the multitasking a bit:D:D

i find downloading torrents helps to rack up mbs i have a pc i hardly use now since i have had this phone lol almost all my internet usage goes through this device

[buxz777]

i like vodafone they are a good provider however these charges are steep and they have gone from one of the best priced operators to one of the worst priced operators for mobile web

i would be happy if they capped the limit to say 2gb-3gb and then charged you another £5 for the next 2gb-3gb

to me this would stop people abusing the service so much and would also stop people who used it properley worrying about going over the measly 500mb allowance that is set at the minute

heck people could even abuse it if they wanted but just pay £5 for every 2gb-3gb data they used

[buxz777]

i find downloading torrents helps to rack up mbs i have a pc i hardly use now since i have had this phone lol almost all my internet usage goes through this device

not being funny mate and sorry if this sounds harsh but its because of people like you dwnloading torrents etc that we are all suffering

it has allways been 500mb just with a soft limit

its obviuous looking at this thread and the voda thread that many people have been abusing the service , hence these new changes

if people are downloading torrents etc then its pretty obvious why these changes are now taking place

[ddwwf1]

not being funny mate and sorry if this sounds harsh but its because of people like you dwnloading torrents etc that we are all suffering

it has allways been 500mb just with a soft limit

its obviuous looking at this thread and the voda thread that many people have been abusing the service , hence these new changes

if people are downloading torrents etc then its pretty obvious why these changes are now taking place

understandable mate but up until now i have used it normally granted i like to watch horse racing on my n900 but if im betting online with the phone then i will watch the race on my phone to also i like to listen to a internet radio station alot on my way to work each day as well as checking facebook coming on here checking football scores looking at news etc which i would define as normal usage if it breaks over 500mb then fair enough but im not doing it on purpose

only now when i want a high data usage so that i can tell voda that it will affect me by 10% in my bill that im now taking the piss with my usage

[buxz777]

thats fair enough but there are people ive read about downloading loads ive read of some people hitting 40gb on their mobile data plan

some home broadband providers offer that as a fair useage policy for alot more then 5pounds a month lol

from your post about torrents i guessd you was one of them , sorry about that

if you are using it for normal internet useage and not downloading movies and 100s of mp3s etc then i would think 2-3gb would suffice most users and keep them happy for the odd streaming session and social networking etc

like i say i like vodafone , i dont like these new charges but its obvious why they have been introduced with some users using it as their main connection for torrents and streaming it will use alot of data , id like to see a better fair useage policy one that makes using it less worrying but also stops it being abused

£5 for 3gb is quite fair in my opinion



understandable mate but up until now i have used it normally granted i like to watch horse racing on my n900 but if im betting online with the phone then i will watch the race on my phone to also i like to listen to a internet radio station alot on my way to work each day as well as checking facebook coming on here checking football scores looking at news etc which i would define as normal usage if it breaks over 500mb then fair enough but im not doing it on purpose

only now when i want a high data usage so that i can tell voda that it will affect me by 10% in my bill that im now taking the piss with my usage

[UNderworld]

you know i dont know when the cut off date is i know mybill date is 16th of each month gona max it for a day or so then can say look at my usage ur new clause will cost me more than 10% of my bill.

i just hope they man up and admit they f**ked up so i can keep this amazing phone and get a miles better sim only deal

go in your online bill, view bills, and sort it by date, you should have a date quite close before the 16th (your bill date), maybe 10th or 11th...
that is the date your new bill starts.. the previous one ends on the day before..
hope this helps

or ask 191

[vmajor]

Just to give you some international perspective, and to clearly demonstrate that there is no reason or justification for the horrendous data fees that at the very least English speaking world is subjected to - there may be others, but I cannot speak/read their languages.

I am in Taiwan, the most I can EVER pay per month on my permanent 3.5G connection is the equivalent of USD 28/month. There are no limits, no cap, no "fair use policy" nonsense, nothing. EDIT: there are also no arbitrary or artificial usage limits or conditions either. I can tether and use Skype out on my connection. It is fully featured.

There is zero justification for exploiting market oligopolies by the telecom companies and setting extremely high charges to data usage (wired or wireless) - the only reason is profit.

There are no magic or hardware based bandwidth usage limits. Bandwidth is what it is and the demand for bandwidth will always increase. Available bandwidth is at all times less than demand for it, so "shaping" it at the provider level, or setting "fair use" policies is either a) wrong, b) exploitation of the helpless. In either way you should all complain to the telecom regulator and get rid of that nonsense. You should also complain about the high charges.

If there is no viable, widely available lower priced alternative in your country, you also have a good case for your country's business regulatory body starting an oligopoly investigation which should bear fruit if it is actually done fairly and openly.

V.

[ddwwf1]

2-3gb a month as a FUP would be awesome could use it without having to worry im going to ge charged extra for going over the 500mb allowance i dont think in this day and age 500 is a realistic amount for smartphones now

i have been happy with voda but would rather get out and pay a lot less for the same amount of usage

[TommiTMX]

I agree with most that 2-3Gb is a reasonable amount, I haven't (for the last several months) gone over the 500Mb soft-limit, but since the other day I have started using 3G a lot more (got the SureSignal) and 3G coverage is a lot stronger in my area lately.

I hope I can get covered under this net of 10% because Vodafone has overcharged me a lot for many things in the past.

Does anyone know if the 10% is for a specific contract or the account? I'm assuming it is for each individual contract?

Will watch this closely!

[UNderworld]

I agree with most that 2-3Gb is a reasonable amount, I haven't (for the last several months) gone over the 500Mb soft-limit, but since the other day I have started using 3G a lot more (got the SureSignal) and 3G coverage is a lot stronger in my area lately.

I hope I can get covered under this net of 10% because Vodafone has overcharged me a lot for many things in the past.

Does anyone know if the 10% is for a specific contract or the account? I'm assuming it is for each individual contract?

Will watch this closely!


as what i see, the chances for people who have used over 500 this month or last month, whichever applies, is bigger.. as this will directly affect their plan by 20percent more.. (just noticed theres no percentage sign on n900) ... however it still is possible to cancel under clause 11.2(d)... but im not too sure about that..

if you know your bill cut off date, and if its in the next few days, ill advise you to exceed 500 ASAP...

[ddwwf1]

as what i see, the chances for people who have used over 500 this month or last month, whichever applies, is bigger.. as this will directly affect their plan by 20percent more.. (just noticed theres no percentage sign on n900) ... however it still is possible to cancel under clause 11.2(d)... but im not too sure about that..

if you know your bill cut off date, and if its in the next few days, ill advise you to exceed 500 ASAP...

just so you know future reference the % sign is available by pressing the blue arroy key then the key above it called sym ctrl that will give u a list of extra characters

i am going to ring voda tomorrow and see what they say im crossing everything that i can get out of this contract will save me loads of money

[UNderworld]

just ask them which date you get your new minutes n txt n internet...
they are helpless at the moment..

[buxz777]

ive made a thread here

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/59823-how-would-users-feel-about-this-could-a-mod-maybe-suggest-this-to-management/

if you think 2-3gb is fair then please say so in the thread

may not do anything but worth a shot

cheers peeps

[buxz777]

closed my thread allready

please go to this one http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/57718-mobile-internet-will-the-500mb-allowance-be-enough-for-internet-usage/page__st__460__gopid__389555&#entry389555

and quote my post and add if you think 2-3 gb would be fair

[johnel]

I do understand the need to regulate the network. It is often saturated here in Edinburgh and sometimes internet access is not possible although I get a strong 3g signal.

At the end of the day Vodafone should be charging the abusers of the network not everyone else.

They are probably trying to push people to buy their "optional" broadband deal - £15 a month for 3gb?.

@buxz777: Also, shutting down your thread is pretty ******ed. Just shows Vodafone are unwilling to listen to their market.

Let's see what happens. If Vodafone do introduce a £5 fee then the best thing to do is take your custom elsewhere. There are many competitors who seem to offer fairer terms.

I'm tied into a 2 year contract (currently 6 months in) and have no problem walking aways from it - bought my mobile from Mobilesdirect.

Another possibility is to cancel your direct debit, wait for the "You owe us money" letter/email, claim you are suffering from "financial hardship" and hopefully negotiate a better deal.

[Ashley]

you're not supposed to use it as your main modem, i understand why you should be charged more if you download 30gb a month, i don't understand why i should be charged more if i download 700MB

they have plans to do that... http://online.vodafone.co.uk/business/business-internet/broadband-via-mobile-phone

Who said that i'm not supposed to use my 3G connection as my main modem... why not! I signed up to an unlimited data plan and there was not mention of a FUP either verbally at the nokia store or in writing, including within the vodafone t&c's which i signed. The first time i ever knew about a FUP was reading this thread.

I am living in temporary accomodation, probably going to be there for 3-4 months. i can't commit to a 12 month virgin broadband or a bt line.

[afaq]

Agreed with everyone here. I've reset my data counter, logged onto IM, turned on internet radio and will youtube like never before. I was way over 500Mb last month and to make sure it happens again these steps are necessary.

I am shocked at the audacity of the VF staff. I've spoken to them honestly about what the N900 is built for, about my internet needs and how we shouldnt get a cap as small as the 500MB if the iphone gets 1GB only to be told there is nothing they can do.

I will be calling them as soon as I get their text telling me about the change in contract. Funny thing is if they didnt already text me to warn me about me going over the allowance and then the 2nd mssg to apologise for the error text none of this would have been known. They shot themselves in the foot.

Bring it on Voda. bring it on.

[afaq]

FYI: Internet radio has already downloaded/uploaded a total of 5MB in 5 mins.

[biggzy]

the problem is vodafone say you can cancel if your bill will be 10% more, what about if i had the contract, not used net yet due to using wifi at home but was planing on going on a long trip around the UK and using gprs? i had the contract on the understanding i get unlimited altho it has a fair usage of 500mb but i was told if i go over the 500mb i WILL NOT be charged unless i go over every month, so now when i go traveling in july i can no longer use my n900 as i would like to as i will get charged from 1st june, but when i had the contract i was told i would not get charged.
voda need to sort this out, i will not accept the new t&c so its up to them what they do after that.

[johnel]

To be fair Vodafone previous policy was quite "laid back" compared to other operators.

"Sure there is a 500mb limit but if you go over now and again we won't penalise you for it."

That was quite a refreshing change from the others.

Unfortunately I imagine shareholders want their return on investment and now if you go over 500mb you get charged a fiver.

Just charge persistent offenders that is much fairer (but I imagine is less porfitable).

[afaq]

No other UK provider has removed their fair use policy. VF is the first to do this. If this proves successfull be assured others will follow. This will limit our choices and increase our costs. We will lose the flexibility to switch operators if they are all the same.

Reminds me of the Broadband competition. Soon they removed unlimited internet and introduced limits on how much you want to use per month and pay accordingly. I wouldnt mind a version of this if they had a reasonable option on the table for unlimited internet. If 15 mins of internet radio has taken up 15MB - in 8 hours i would have passed my allowance for the month. A few road trips and youtubing and im paying into the £10's.

[johnel]

You think this is bad.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2010/05/10/o2_vodafone_ipad_mobile_broadband_deals/

[ddwwf1]

does anyone know how to reset the personal data plan monitor widget wana see how much i rack up through a 24hour period of my normal use

[afaq]

You think this is bad.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2010/05/10/o2_vodafone_ipad_mobile_broadband_deals/

Ouch! double ouch.

[southwalesboy]

What if I bought my contract knowing that I am likely to use large ammounts of data after I leave university (and lose access to their internet facilities) but thus far havn’t used over 500mb? I finish uni this month, and I know i’ll be using more than 500mb, but last month i only used 300mb! How can they say they base the next 19 months of my contract on the previous 30days usage? what if someone was abroad that month! its ridiculous! I need to cancel!

[kevinm2k]

I have checked my bill, every month i'm going just over 1gb, so does this mean under 11.2 I can cancel the contract? If so... do I also get to keep the phone?

[Neegs]

the problem is vodafone say you can cancel if your bill will be 10% more, what about if i had the contract, not used net yet due to using wifi at home but was planing on going on a long trip around the UK and using gprs? i had the contract on the understanding i get unlimited altho it has a fair usage of 500mb but i was told if i go over the 500mb i WILL NOT be charged unless i go over every month, so now when i go traveling in july i can no longer use my n900 as i would like to as i will get charged from 1st june, but when i had the contract i was told i would not get charged.
voda need to sort this out, i will not accept the new t&c so its up to them what they do after that.

This is my issue, if this 10% clause is used they are punishing users that have not abused the system and letting people that have, get out of their contract!

I have always used Wifi were possible mainly cos its faster but i didnt want to go near the limit. i have pretty much turned of anything that access the net. Now work have switched off the wifi (not impressed) so i will be mainly using the wap through the day now. i listen to internet radio all the time so am keen to see what my data usage will be like now

[danielz000]

I'll be doing this too buddy... Also, I'm going to knock up a letter for their cancellation team tonight...

Should that not work, it'll be a small claims court for me!

So- the plan should be to use as much data over the next couple of weeks as you can, (using vodafone internet and not wifi obviously). That way you can show that there will be an extra charge of at least £5 on your bill if the charge is introduced.
If that £5 charge is at least 10% of your ordinary bill ( i.e if you normally pay less than £50 per month for your tariff) then this change to the contract, by vodafone, means that you are affected by more than 10%. This SHOULD mean you can then cancel your contract under the clause mentioned above.

My wife and I are both going to try this and see what happens. My wife wants a new phone ( fed up with her HTC magic) and I wouldn't mind getting a nice, cheap, sim only deal to use on my n900 until it's time that a reasonable successor to this great device appears.

P.S. If I am wrong on any of my assumptions then someone please correct me:)

[UNderworld]

if they change it,
argue on 11.2(a)
we don't do something fundamental that we should have done under this Agreement within 7 days of you asking us in writing;
ask them to revert it back and if they dont,

then its (d)

we change this Agreement to your significant disadvantage including the change or withdrawal of Services (we will tell you if this is the case) and you write to us within one month of us telling you about the change. This does not apply where the change relates to Services which can be cancelled without termination of this Agreement.

you could also argue on the fact that they gave 14 days' notice rather than 28 days (somewhere in the t&c)....

People who have exceeded 500mb last month/this month will just have an advantage of 11.2(c)

[UNderworld]

Actually, one could also argue on 11.2(b), because right now its counted by MB.. (50p or so for something), but later, it will be £5 straight away...

This thing is interesting.... We got all 4 points to argue on!!!!

[mr_bridger]

So when is the TXT's coming, anyone had one yet?

i dont even know if this will apply to me...

i had a 18month deal with MPD

75 mins
250 txts
£25.54 + vat a month (£30)

sure it was unlimited internet,... well... i do about 800mb a month anyways...

[kevinm2k]

Ive heard (on the vodafone e-forum) you can't make the complaint until the text message comes through, I think this is because they may change there mind and not bring it in.

[luflux]

Techradar have just released this;

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/vodafone-defends-decision-to-drop-unlimited-internet-688313

[mr_bridger]

Just found out my original basket infor (take screenshots and PDF's of everything)

looks like im paying extra for the internet? does this make a difference?

[Marlon]

Mine is a bit odd, I've got the "VMI WEB Browsing" pack - which is the Unlimited (500mb FUP) addon but they give it to me free. Had it for about 4 months - the previous 3 months I've used well over the 500mb
Feb - made 1.212GB of mobile browsing + data calls
Mar - made 2.741GB of mobile browsing + data calls
Apr - made 2.244GB of mobile browsing + data calls

So far this month I'm up to 1.5GB - my bill will increase dramatically if I get charged £5 per 500mb - currently my bills over the past 3 months have averaged ~£20 (just less than).

Edit: I've not had ANY text from Vodafone at all, no contact regardless of what I used per month.

Techradar have just released this;

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/vodafone-defends-decision-to-drop-unlimited-internet-688313

Based on this article the 10% rule applies completely, my bill will go from £20/month to at least £25 - £30 per month!


Marlon

[qwertyberty]

Just found out my original basket infor (take screenshots and PDF's of everything)

looks like im paying extra for the internet? does this make a difference?

No it shouldn't do. If you started your contract and added the internet bundle after that it would constitute out of bundle charging.
But yours is included in the original deal.
That said Voda seem to make the rules as they go along at the moment.

[Luz]

I have only had phone 1 month, CPW sold it as unlimited internet, which is hardly what I now have. I have used about 300 mb in a month as have not been away anywhere, so use wifi when at home. I think a fairer system would be allow you to have a rolling amount, so if I use 300 one month and then 700 the next thats still classes as allowable at no extra charge, this does seem to target people who have kept within the limit, as heavy users can now cancel their contract keep the phone i presume and get a better deal elsewhere?!, whilst we are stuck with the worry of being charged extra when we may go slightly over.... seems unfair...

[pelago]

does anyone know how to reset the personal data plan monitor widget wana see how much i rack up through a 24hour period of my normal use

Go into N900 Settings, Phone, Data counter, Clear.

[johnel]

You would think that the ever-increasing number of connected devices and the increasing use of bandwidth, we should see decreasing costs or more generous allowances.

But typically here in the UK the inverse happens instead.

It costs more and you get less. No wonder we are so far behind internet-based communications compared to Europe and the USA.

Have Vodafone formally announced this?
When does the 14-day notice start from (to cancel contract)?

[afaq]

if it all starts 1st June - then mid May we should get the text to tell us.
Then we can use the notes from this thread to send out cancellation letters.

[johnel]

I originally signed up with mobile phones direct - if I cancel my 2-year contract with Vodafone do I have to inform mobile phones direct too?

[kyllerbuzcut]

I have been in a similar situation to many, using wifi at home and only using about 100-250mb of internet usage a month. I don't see how I could go near the 500mb if I wasn't doing it deliberately. Since I heard about this situation though I've used about 300 in the past 2days.
I think, why should the people who use the data responsibly get punished by having to fork out if they ever go over the 500mb. Also, on a personal note I am still quite near the beginning of a 2year contract (what's that all about anyway, TWO f-ing years tied to the same contact just to get the device you want). Cutting the contract short will allow me to save a lot of money, plus allow me to upgrade when I want, not when they tell me.
So-sending a message to the corporate big boys AND saving myself cash- what's not to like about getting out of your contract early?

[afaq]

I originally signed up with mobile phones direct - if I cancel my 2-year contract with Vodafone do I have to inform mobile phones direct too?

Depends who you are paying. Who cares if the other party knows or not. They only act as middle men in these deals.

[kevinm2k]

i have just contacted vodafone and had a chat with a guy about this, he confirmed in the end that because of 11.2 I would be allowed to terminate the contract, but I would have to pay a termination fee.

Does this sound right? I mean surely they are the ones in breach, why should I have to pay a fee because they have changed my contract??

[dj_steve]

its not right, you cant be charged a ETF as its vodas fault due to breech of contract (i got out of one of my contracts with voda without paying ETF because of a similar arguement (though im my case it was due to my contract being falsly sold as unlimited internet and texts and me not being informed that their was a limit of 500mb on internet and 3000 texts

[spoonbuddy]

I have a question:

Is the network capable of transmitting enough data to allow all users to have no download limit or would the amount of traffic make it difficult for everyone to even connect to the network?

[afaq]

No way should you have to (or you should) pay any termination fee. That sounds like he's playing you for a fool and saying "yes your right...so u can cancel but theres a fee".

If we had to pay a fee to cancel the contract then this whole thread becomes a little unimportant. The whole point is that VF have changed their price plan, put on a limit and are now saying tough luck to those with 2 year contracts. Meanwhile Nexus/Iphone users get 1GB from the start.

[johnel]

Is the fee enforcable by law?

If you cancel the contract then surely you cannot be bound by it's terms?

[afaq]

I have a question:

Is the network capable of transmitting enough data to allow all users to have no download limit or would the amount of traffic make it difficult for everyone to even connect to the network?


The network is capable of alowing all its users to use more than 500Mb per month - from what others have written it seems some are using close to 30GB. However with higher costs for VF in maintaining the hardware and operational service they are passing on the costs to us.

VF being the largest telephone operator in the world is capable enough to upgrade its functions to allow everyone to use the internet at their desire but in reality most people use the internet light-medium use.

Somenetworks like AT&T in the USA which once had exclusive rights to the Iphone saw its internet/call quality suffer enormously because of the concentration of iphone users in the NY area. So yes quality suffers but the hardware is there.

I cant remember where but I read an article recently discussing how all the operators are investing heavily in upgrading their hardware to allow for increased user bases.

[kevinm2k]

I said to him, I was pretty sure I don't have to pay any fee as they are in breach of contract and he came back with, we are not in breach of contract because we have let you know what is happening, and if you don't accept it then it is up to you and you have to pay a termination fee to cancel.

I am pretty sure that isn't correct, as what would be the point of 11.2, you can pay a termination fee whenever you want, but could do with a little more information to go back at them with.

[UNderworld]

Just found out my original basket infor (take screenshots and PDF's of everything)

looks like im paying extra for the internet? does this make a difference?

You get little mins for £25

see mine, plus N900 was free..
£30 includes VAT

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb52/neelesh35_2007/Untitled-2.jpg

[mr_bridger]

You get little mins for £25

see mine, plus N900 was free..
£30 includes VAT

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb52/neelesh35_2007/Untitled-2.jpg


that 6 months difference makes a lot of difference to me.... anyway, i only really recieve calls. so i dont care for loads of mins.

and had mine 7 months....

[UNderworld]

I said to him, I was pretty sure I don't have to pay any fee as they are in breach of contract and he came back with, we are not in breach of contract because we have let you know what is happening, and if you don't accept it then it is up to you and you have to pay a termination fee to cancel.

I am pretty sure that isn't correct, as what would be the point of 11.2, you can pay a termination fee whenever you want, but could do with a little more information to go back at them with.

I normally record my calls to customer services, and at the end, I ask them if they will be happy if I use this phone call as proof later on...
Well, its not that I care what they reply, I just let them know, and then ask them to confirm again what they said.. llol, together with their name and dept

[UNderworld]

I said to him, I was pretty sure I don't have to pay any fee as they are in breach of contract and he came back with, we are not in breach of contract because we have let you know what is happening, and if you don't accept it then it is up to you and you have to pay a termination fee to cancel.

You should have asked him then whats the point of having a contract if they can amend it whenever they want, and just let customers know whats happening. ......

I just got an email from ASA, unfortunately they dont deal with online ads.. but tbh, i dont remember complaining to ASA:D, maybe out of stress yesterday i did it (other type of stress, not voda :p) .

KEEP COOL GUYS, LETS WAIT FOR THE TEXT MESSAGE..
We waited for PR1.2 for so long, I'm sure we can hold on a bit more:D:D
cancellation notices wont work at this moment, because our terms are still the same (YET)

[kevinm2k]

I find it quite amusing actually that when I was speaking to the customer service guy, it was clear he was just reading a book and trying to answer my questions, and knew nothing of the terms and conditions I was quoting.

I honestly dont see how they can get out of this, without changing there minds and not changing our terms and conditions.

I actually quite like voda as a network, I always have full signal and its pretty fast, but I cant be having a limit on my data, I use it for allsorts inc skype

[adamFsmith]

Big update, gentlemen!

Vodafone have made a press release about the new charges, and acknowledged that some users WILL be able to cancel their contracts.
Bitterwallet have kindly provided a template letter to send to the bastards.

http://www.bitterwallet.com/how-to-cancel-your-vodafone-contract-details-and-templates/29324

[casper27]

How do you think this would effect getting a mobile contract in the future? I bet they will have some sort of database of people who have screwed them over. Not to mention a blot on your credit rating.
These companies always win and its just not right.. I hope this turns out to be an idea floated by Vodafone and they see sense before it actaully happens.

[adamFsmith]

How do you think this would effect getting a mobile contract in the future? I bet they will have some sort of database of people who have screwed them over. Not to mention a blot on your credit rating.
These companies always win and its just not right.. I hope this turns out to be an idea floated by Vodafone and they see sense before it actaully happens.

Nope, they're not going to go back on this, especially as they've just made the official press release.
If you don't cancel before the charges come into effect, they will take that as you accepting them and you'll be stuck.

It shouldn't affect your credit rating, as long as you haven't missed any payments so far. They're at fault, not you.

EDIT - I'll put this here too, to make sure people see it if they only see this page.


Vodafone have made a press release about the new charges, and acknowledged that some users WILL be able to cancel their contracts.
Bitterwallet have kindly provided a template letter to send to the bastards.

http://www.bitterwallet.com/how-to-cancel-your-vodafone-contract-details-and-templates/29324

[*Sonic*]

I havent been notified of the change to my contract so they arent valid in that sense

A press release that I know nothing about doesnt necessarily mean I have accepted the new terms of the contract

[UNderworld]

WHY the heck do they keep telling this:

500MB means you can read and reply to 10,000 emails, download 24 Google maps and read 8,000 BBC News stories.

who told them I only need it for email, maps and bbc?
I listen to internet radio
I am on facebook the whole day
I am on msn the whole day
I have RSS feeds
on top of a few email accounts, skype, etc...

[UNderworld]

No where in the press release does it mention the current FAIR USAGE POLICY...
Vodafone is trying to play the game in their favour (typical)...

It mentions "their upper limit", making customers THINK that that ACTUALLY IS their upper limit.... when it clearly is not...

This is called "introducing the upper limit" , not "letting customers know about the upper limit".. There IS NO upper limit currently in place

[matts76]

colld someone who has been able to open the cancelation letter on bitterwallet please post it as i cant open it on my n900,
Thanks

[Fargus]

well,that is why you should move to 3 for 15 pounds simfree and 1GB of data per month with free skype calls!

Skype calls are only free if you use the 3 provided software, not the Connection provided by Maemo!

[UNderworld]

colld someone who has been able to open the cancelation letter on bitterwallet please post it as i cant open it on my n900,
Thanks

[add your name, postal address, email address & telephone number]

Customer Relations
Vodafone Group Plc
Vodafone House
The Connection
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 2FN
[date]

By Recorded Delivery Post

Dear Sirs,

RE: Termination of Pay Monthly Mobile Contract –Mobile # [your mobile No.] Account No. [your Account No.] .

I hereby terminate my pay monthly mobile telephone contract with Vodafone, in accordance with §11.a of your May 2009 Pay Monthly airtime agreement terms and conditions.

There are two reasons I am terminating my contract:

1. Information posted on the Vodafone eForums on 6 May 2010 at 3:39 PM states that Vodafone intends to introduce Out Of Bundle charging for Pay Monthly customers from 1 June 2010. A further post clarified this on 7 May 2010 at 5:00 PM. The net result is that my agreement with Vodafone will no longer be subject to a Fair Use Policy, as stated in §27 of the Vodafone Your Plan Price Plan Terms.

According to §7 of the Pay Monthly airtime agreement, any changes to the agreement, which includes the Vodafone Your Plan Price Plan Terms, require at least 30 days’ notice. I have received no such notice, and therefore consider Vodafone to be in breach of its agreement.

2. The changes to my agreement as outlined above will mean my mobile usage will be subject to automatic out-of-bundle charges and no Fair Use Policy, a change which is to my Significant Disadvantage as it restricts use of data services, specifically mobile applications, for the remainder of my contract. Any attempt to impose them on me without allowing a penalty–free right to cancel, is unfair and unenforceable as a matter of law.

§11.b of the Pay monthly airtime agreement states I may end my agreement if such changes cause Significant Disadvantage. Furthermore, these automatic charges offend §(i)-(l) inclusive of Schedule 2 and §5 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. In particular, Schedule 2 (1)”(l) …allowing a seller of goods or supplier of services to increase their price without in both cases giving the consumer the corresponding right to cancel the contract if the final price is too high in relation to the price agreed when the contract was concluded;..”

You will be aware of Ofcom’s Guidance that this is objectionable “under continuing contracts where consumers are 'captive' – that is, they have no penalty-free right to cancel” but you have not seen fit to comply with Ofcom’s advice that to be fair; Any kind of variation clause may in principle be fair if consumers are free to escape its effects by ending the contract. To be genuinely free to cancel, they must not be left worse off for having entered the contract, whether by experiencing financial loss (for example, forfeiture of a prepayment) or serious inconvenience, or any other adverse consequences.”

I now exercise my legal right to cancel the contract due to your breach of agreed terms, your automatic charges and the Significant Disadvantage that they cause.

I reject as unfair your attempt to artificially limit the right to cancel to some scenarios and not others in the face of the clear legislation and regulatory guidance and General Condition 9. Any attempt to claim a penalty and in particular a cancellation charge will be resisted. These terms are also unfair and therefore non-binding and unenforceable. Any claim for them will be disputed and you will need a Court Order to obtain payment of them. I will defend any legal proceedings for such sums under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

[I have spoken to your account staff and can confirm that no charges have been incurred in excess of the monthly charges paid in advance –which I have paid as usual. I will cancel my direct debit immediately.]

OR

[I have spoken to your account staff and can confirm [£ ] of other charges have been incurred in excess of the monthly charges paid in advance –which I have paid as usual. I will cancel my direct debit immediately. I now enclose a cheque in full and final satisfaction of the remaining charges owed to you under the contract and including any ancillary or collateral contracts, if any.] [NB in this case ---don’t forget to add “In Full and Final Settlement” to the cheque].

Yours sincerely,

[matts76]

@UNderworld

Cheers mate

[UNderworld]

@UNderworld

Cheers mate

ur welcom..
more char:D

Edit: reminding anyone new who wants further info:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=32681487&posted=1#post32681487

[se23]

ha ah the rep i just called is now saying that they have not been updated on the fup and if it is going to change they will text me, but she said nothing is set yet and it might not be. i told her im not going to wait as i paid double on my bill this month in calls as i knew mw terms when i took out contract but that they cant just change the fup. she said we not changing anything. funny thing is she thought i had an iphone and i took this contract out with n900

[UNderworld]

ha ah the rep i just called is now saying that they have not been updated on the fup and if it is going to change they will text me, but she said nothing is set yet and it might not be. i told her im not going to wait as i paid double on my bill this month in calls as i knew mw terms when i took out contract but that they cant just change the fup. she said we not changing anything. funny thing is she thought i had an iphone and i took this contract out with n900

if they talk about "them texting you" , its quite obvious they know about it.. otherwise, she would have said: we will contact you / let you know / inform you... but not "text you" ...

They have been told to "make as if they dont know anything" because it has not been announced to customers yet

[adam123]

Hope someone manages to get out of this soon, i will certainly be sending that letter if it works

[qwertyberty]

Thats a great template letter,

But should I still use it if I want a PAC and to keep my number.

Or should I just add into the first paragraph that I'll require a PAC to port my number to a non bastard network (as if such a thing exists).

[UNderworld]

Thats a great template letter,

But should I still use it if I want a PAC and to keep my number.

Or should I just add into the first paragraph that I'll require a PAC to port my number to a non bastard network (as if such a thing exists).

not worth sending out letters now...
wait till you get a text message.. then we will be more assured of the increase... and will have a solid ground to fight on;)
you can request PAC any time


How about the networks "Failed to disclose key information" about FUP??? They make a contract based on their policy.. are we meant to go through their whole set of policies to find out "key information" like usage limits??

[Luz]

reading that template letter, it doesnt mention the 10% rule, so would be ok for anyone to use it?! does anyone agree? or am I blind?!!

[qwertyberty]

reading that template letter, it doesnt mention the 10% rule, so would be ok for anyone to use it?! does anyone agree? or am I blind?!!

According to the Bitter wallet article they have breached the contract regardless just by not providing 30 days notice.

Personally I'll try to get my wife's contract cancelled too even though She's never used the internet.
She pays for it and has 13 months left of her contract, who are they to say she won't become a heavy user of the net in the remaining contract time.

[Luz]

Think I will also consider sending the letter, as I dont agree with the change they plan to make, if they were clever tho, they would just give 30 days notice.... that would negate that particular issue...

[justmeinit]

Could i be really cheeky and get a phone now on contract and then cancel in a couple of weeks and keep the phone

[fraaaaanka]

Could i be really cheeky and get a phone now on contract and then cancel in a couple of weeks and keep the phone

haha, that made me really Laugh Out Loud

[afaq]

this is getting exciting.
im tired of being screwed by big companies.

as for PAC code just call them and ask for it. say you are cancelling your contract and would need a pac code asap. if they ask for termination feee etc just say i am writing a letter to vodafone but for now you can take my payment for any outstanding bills.

[justmeinit]

haha, that made me really Laugh Out Loud

Do you think id get away with it. If i get some thick bloke in a shop i might pull it off lol

[UNderworld]

Could i be really cheeky and get a phone now on contract and then cancel in a couple of weeks and keep the phone

no harm in trying :p ..

Ive been thinking the same, but then I thought they are stupid, but not THAT much:D:D

they would already have new t&c in place

[dbs11]

I originally signed up with mobile phones direct - if I cancel my 2-year contract with Vodafone do I have to inform mobile phones direct too?

i got mine with MPD with 3 months free insurance. This insurance is provided by MPD so i'll have to cancel that with them.

[windows7]

I recommend T-mobile, very good 3g coverage in the uk, I have used web & Walk with a dongle before moving my contract from vodafone and while t-mobile do throttle your speed if you go over the fair usage, fair usage on web & walk used to be 3gb but might be 5gb now... the good thing about t-mobile is they never charge you if you go over the fair usage limit. web & walk is the package that comes with n900 (same as dongle package for a £5, but my web & walk package was free, on £20 month contract, 300 miunutes with 300 or 600 texts...).

Not only i manage to get the n900 cheaper then anywhere else, vodafone gave me an extremely hard time when i tried to leave and insulted my intellengence (as a long term customer) with an offer which was nowhere as good as t-mobile.

[afaq]

Saw this from T-mobiles UK site

For the Desire:

This phone needs our Internet Booster, giving you unlimited internet.

Clever phones like this needs the internet for their 'always-on' internet connection, internet will be included in your price plan, so you can choose a different Flexible Booster.

[windows7]

another thing to remember about vodafone, in order for vodafone to have the right to sell iphones, vodafone had to increase the iphone data fair usage to 1gb were other phone contracts users only get 500mb...

[UNderworld]

i got mine with MPD with 3 months free insurance. This insurance is provided by MPD so i'll have to cancel that with them.

you dont HAVE to... you can still keep the insurance on pay as you go

[afaq]

Just saw this from the Vodafone forums:

Posted Yesterday, 03:40 PM
Worked for me, Just been on phone with voda cancellations and they said yes you are allowed to cancel if this change will increase your bill by more than 10% email or write in and we will sort it.
Email already sent, giffgaff here i come, no fair use policy at all from now on.

[UNderworld]

I originally signed up with mobile phones direct - if I cancel my 2-year contract with Vodafone do I have to inform mobile phones direct too?

No:D your contract is with Vodafone

Is the fee enforcable by law?

If you cancel the contract then surely you cannot be bound by it's terms?

What fee? There is no termination fee etc...
If vodafone amends the contract, its their responsibility... We just do not agree to the new contract, and give them 30 days notice..

The mobile phone supplied to you is not in the agreement. Agreement only has minutes, text, internet, vodafone passport, and all those services you took with them...:D

If we are eligible to cancel the contract due to any of the clauses in 11.2, we only will have to pay for the rest 30days' notice period. thats it:eek::eek:

[dbs11]

another thing to remember about vodafone, in order for vodafone to have the right to sell iphones, vodafone had to increase the iphone data fair usage to 1gb were other phone contracts users only get 500mb...

since they will also be selling the iPad, you can imagine that the data usage VF see is gna go through the roof! so perhaps they are trying to stablise the smartphone as they realise the potential the iPad will have on their network!

[UNderworld]

Just saw this from the Vodafone forums:

Posted Yesterday, 03:40 PM
Worked for me, Just been on phone with voda cancellations and they said yes you are allowed to cancel if this change will increase your bill by more than 10% email or write in and we will sort it.
Email already sent, giffgaff here i come, no fair use policy at all from now on.

all CSA's at vodafone I spoke to, since Saturday, have been telling me to wait until I get official notice of the change...

Also, one more thing, we dont have to wait for them to tell us under which clause of the contract we can cancel the agreement..

vodafone is trying to minimize its upcoming loss by spreading a rumour that only those who went over 500MB last/this month could be eligible for cancellation... They tend to draw everyone's attention only to that particular clause... BAD MOVE:D:D

[UNderworld]

what I dont understand is:
Home broadband is approx £20 (10mbps), you get WAAAY over 40GB per month.... - ive even been to nearly 300
50p per GB in this case (rough figures)

Vodafone one is £5 - you get 0.5GB...
got it yet?? yeah thats £10 per GB

A fair deal would be at least 3-4GB....

[afaq]

all CSA's at vodafone I spoke to, since Saturday, have been telling me to wait until I get official notice of the change...

Also, one more thing, we dont have to wait for them to tell us under which clause of the contract we can cancel the agreement..

vodafone is trying to minimize its upcoming loss by spreading a rumour that only those who went over 500MB last/this month could be eligible for cancellation... They tend to draw everyone's attention only to that particular clause... BAD MOVE:D:D


Pay attention to this post guys. He makes very good points.

[UNderworld]

Saw this from T-mobiles UK site

For the Desire:

This phone needs our Internet Booster, giving you unlimited internet.

Clever phones like this needs the internet for their 'always-on' internet connection, internet will be included in your price plan, so you can choose a different Flexible Booster.

but you did not read the small prints :D
*Internet on your phone comes with a fair use policy of 3GB a month. We'll monitor how much you send and receive each calendar month so that we can protect our network for all our internet on your customers. If you use more than your fair use policy amount, we won't charge you any more, but we may restrict how you can use your plan, depending on how often you go over your amount and by how much. As your phone is always connected to the internet, if you remove your internet on your phone Plus Booster from your account you'll automatically be charged up to £1 every day. That £1 a day rate has its own fair use policy and other legal stuff, which you can see here: t-mobile.co.uk/services/uk/fairuse/#fup5.

THIS is what I call fair usage...

I'm moving to t-mobile with an htc desire as soon as I cancel this....

[UNderworld]

Vodafone is claiming these charges already existed, and are giving only 14 days' notice. Do you know why??

see below:
7.1 = Advantage to them
7.2 = Advantage to us

If they claim falsely that this is a change to the charges only and give 14 days' notice, they will not allow us to cancel the policy, according to 7.1

However, if they give 30 days' notice, this would mean we can proceed without doubt to cancel our policy under 7.2

7.1

We may change our Charges and/or introduce new Charges from time to time. If we increase our Charges, we will give you at least 14 days' notice. If we believe any change in our Charges will not disadvantage you, it may be included without notice.



7.2

We can make changes to or withdraw Services at any time and we can make changes to and/or introduce new terms to this Agreement at any time. We will give you at least 30 days notice of these changes if we do and you may have a right to end this Agreement under clause 11, if we do.

Does "make changes" not include "increase charges"??

the only reason they are saying that these charges already existed and giving 14 days' notice onyly is: they want some shelter under 7.1

[afaq]

Just noticed this on the bitterwallet post.

http://www.bitterwallet.com/how-to-cancel-your-vodafone-contract-details-and-templates/29324

# Posted by Daniel Z | May 10th, 2010 at 10:18 pm

Hi All,

Just spotted a mistake on the template letter, there’s a reference to “Section 11.b” but I think it should read “Section 11.d”…?


Can anyone confirm this is correct before i pop this letter in the post please? ;)


the difference in clause points is because people are referencing two contracts from 2008 and 2009. both 11.b and 11.d have the same text so it doesnt matter really. they will get the point.

[Snaps]

Here is my situation. Can someone please help me!

I joined Vodafone in December 2009 and have been really unhappy with the service I received. I always get connection errors and my phone keeps disconnecting with almost any phone calls. Additionally, I hardly ever get any decent reception. I spoke to vodafone and they advised me to turn off 3G, which I have, and its been better but still is problematic. Thing is... I WANT 3G ON. Its a Internet Tablet and I dont want to be browsing the web in 2G!!! I live in London, so I dont have connection problems in this City!

I have never gone over the 500Mb limit, and dont have a problem with this. So... Can I still cancel the contract under these terms?

Of course I would bullcrap and tell them that im unhappy with the contract changes, bla bla bla. So would this be a viable way of getting OUT of the contract???

If I send them this letter, and tell them that they violated their own agreements, would I cancel this successfully? What do you think? If I stop the DD, would they NOT come after me and charge me the full contract fees and so on?

Also would I get to keep my beloved N900???

Please help! I think this would be a great opportunity to get out of the crap vodafone contract I am on now, and move back to O2, but I am not sure if I should do this!!! I am afraid vodafone will come after me and sue me silly!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[mr_bridger]

Can anyone confirm this is correct before i pop this letter in the post please? ;)

Surely we cant send letters until vodafone actually send us a text confirming the change?

[afaq]

Surely we cant send letters until vodafone actually send us a text confirming the change?

Technically you already can. They have already stated the change on ther forums, and it's already all over the web. We got a text from them and they have already confirmed it on the phone to me. BUT yes we should wait for the text anyway. Makes arguments solid.

[afaq]

Ok, well i took my contract out early this year, so that would be the 2009 version i'm guessing.

Any idea which one that would be? :o

Ah I dont know actually. Find a copy of the contract and verify (and let us know :D). it should be on their website or in the email in the form of a link they sent you when you signed up.

[qwertyberty]

posted on voda eforum this morning and on MSE by MattJ;


"Hello Everyone,

We have seen quite a bit of speculation on the out of bundle charges for Vodafone UK mobile internet users on forums and in the media. We wanted to clarify things. Here are the facts as they stand today:

In June we'll be introducing a free text service to tell our contract customers when they're approaching the upper limit of their data bundle. As the vast majority of our mobile internet subscribers (more than 97 percent) never reach the limit they will not be receiving the text alerts at all.

The minority of our customers (less then 3 percent) who do come close will receive a text telling them they are approaching their data allowance and advising them to monitor their usage going forward. At this point customers will not be charged anything more.

If after receiving several such alerts, over a period of few months, customers continue to use excessive amounts of data they will be contacted by Vodafone and advised to upgrade to another data plan to avoid incurring unnecessary additional charges.

Customers will be able to make an informed decision on whether to continue, limit their use or change to a different price plan, giving them total control of their spend.


However, if customers continue to use excessive amounts of data over a longer period of time, the costs are as follows:

Current charge Out of bundle charge

No handheld data bundle 50p a day for 25MB 50p for an additional 10MB

Handheld data bundle £5 a month, or £7.50 with a flexi-bundle £5 for an additional 500MB

Note: 500MB means you can read and reply to thousands of emails, download 24 Google maps and read 8,000 BBC News stories. Today, a tiny fraction of our customers use their full allowance.

Thanks,

Tom

eForum Team"

Sneaky bastards are to trying to wriggle out of it, now it's looking like a 'new text service' for us and a properly enforced fup.:mad:

[afaq]

That is an interesting change (though not predictable) to their upcoming policy.

They clearly read on their forums the number of users who will be leaving VF as they have some brains and have figured out the contract is in their favours and are now trying to minimise loss.

When i spoke to customer service agent a few days ago I specifically asked if there is another data package I can sign up to get more/unlimited data and I was told 'NO'.

My guess is, if this is all true, then we will be asked to pay MORE just to get the 1GB limit that Iphone users get (for free btw). Lets see how things settle but if that happens, does anyone know if we can argue on discriminative grounds for unfair pricing?

[qwertyberty]

Will do, should be able to find out by this afternoon. :D

Just spoke to 02 and they can offer a 30 day rolling contract on sim only deals for 600 mins, unlimited texts and unlimited internet. I queried them on the unlimited usage and they were adamant that it was i fact UNLIMITED with NO FUP and no plans to bring one in. :eek:

Is this true or was i being told porkies?

I'm sure O2 are telling the truth:rolleyes:, on no, hold on it's porkies.

[afaq]

Will do, should be able to find out by this afternoon. :D

Just spoke to 02 and they can offer a 30 day rolling contract on sim only deals for 600 mins, unlimited texts and unlimited internet. I queried them on the unlimited usage and they were adamant that it was i fact UNLIMITED with NO FUP and no plans to bring one in. :eek:

Is this true or was i being told porkies?

No i think that is true. My cousin had it briefly and loved it.
Mmmm i wants a N900 and Desire handset now. Was really hoping I could cancel this contract.

[afaq]

Keep following the VF eForum for the latest updates. It is now being argued that there is still a change of T&C's - so drama goes on.

Link (http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/57718-mobile-internet-will-the-500mb-allowance-be-enough-for-internet-usage/page__st__680)

[Neegs]

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaat i can access Vodafone forum at work Grr i dont want to use my WAP incase i go near the ......... :P

[SpeedEvil]

I'm cheap.
For me - 1G/mo works out.
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/payg/boosters/ - 20 quid for 6 months internet - on pay as you go.
I can see that 1G/mo would be tight for some.
But - I'm on wifi most of the time, and haven't actually hit 1G in any month yet.

This is only of course suitable if you don't make many calls or texts.

[Snaps]

Here is my situation. Can someone please help me!

I joined Vodafone in December 2009 and have been really unhappy with the service I received. I always get connection errors and my phone keeps disconnecting with almost any phone calls. Additionally, I hardly ever get any decent reception. I spoke to vodafone and they advised me to turn off 3G, which I have, and its been better but still is problematic. Thing is... I WANT 3G ON. Its a Internet Tablet and I dont want to be browsing the web in 2G!!! I live in London, so I dont have connection problems in this City!

I have never gone over the 500Mb limit, and dont have a problem with this. So... Can I still cancel the contract under these terms?

Of course I would bullcrap and tell them that im unhappy with the contract changes, bla bla bla. So would this be a viable way of getting OUT of the contract???

If I send them this letter, and tell them that they violated their own agreements, would I cancel this successfully? What do you think? If I stop the DD, would they NOT come after me and charge me the full contract fees and so on?

Also would I get to keep my beloved N900???

Please help! I think this would be a great opportunity to get out of the crap vodafone contract I am on now, and move back to O2, but I am not sure if I should do this!!! I am afraid vodafone will come after me and sue me silly!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

So do I have a case to cancel?

[qwertyberty]

@ Snaps
We don't know yet as Vodafone's statement on their eforum this morning has confused the issue even further.
For the latest updates keep checking the vodafone eforum here (http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/57718-mobile-internet-will-the-500mb-allowance-be-enough-for-internet-usage/page__st__740), there is a thread on money saving expert here (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2446159&page=17) and not forgetting Bitter Wallet (http://www.bitterwallet.com/how-to-cancel-your-vodafone-contract-details-and-templates/29324) who are as of this moment bothering vodafone via twitter.

[andygee]

That is an interesting change (though not predictable) to their upcoming policy.

They clearly read on their forums the number of users who will be leaving VF as they have some brains and have figured out the contract is in their favours and are now trying to minimise loss.

When i spoke to customer service agent a few days ago I specifically asked if there is another data package I can sign up to get more/unlimited data and I was told 'NO'.

My guess is, if this is all true, then we will be asked to pay MORE just to get the 1GB limit that Iphone users get (for free btw). Lets see how things settle but if that happens, does anyone know if we can argue on discriminative grounds for unfair pricing?

I was thinking the same its been leaked to see how we the customers react they saw they would have lost a lot of contracts. So have backed down..

Lets keep up the pressure on here and eforum

[Snaps]

@ Snaps
We don't know yet as Vodafone's statement on their eforum this morning has confused the issue even further.
For the latest updates keep checking the vodafone eforum here (http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/57718-mobile-internet-will-the-500mb-allowance-be-enough-for-internet-usage/page__st__740), there is a thread on money saving expert here (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2446159&page=17) and not forgetting Bitter Wallet (http://www.bitterwallet.com/how-to-cancel-your-vodafone-contract-details-and-templates/29324) who are as of this moment bothering vodafone via twitter.

If they are changing my contract, I can refuse it, and cancel without any further fees involved?

Surely this is the way forward??

[qwertyberty]

If they are changing my contract, I can refuse it, and cancel without any further fees involved?

Surely this is the way forward??

Yes but only if we can prove they have changed the contract.

This mornings statement is unclear, it could be read as Vodafone are just enforcing the fair usage policy strictly now, without changing any terms in the contract.
I really hope this is not the case, for now it's just wait and see.

[Snaps]

Yes but only if we can prove they have changed the contract.

This mornings statement is unclear, it could be read as Vodafone are just enforcing the fair usage policy strictly now, without changing any terms in the contract.
I really hope this is not the case, for now it's just wait and see.
I really hope that I can leave them. I guess I will wait for their message or letter to me informing me of the changes.

If we do manage to cancel our contracts, do we still keep the phone, or would I have to send it back? I got the phone through MobilePhonesDirect

[Snaps]

Just received this after emailing Guy Laurence, UK Vod CEO...

"Guy Laurence has passed your email to me as I am responsible for investigating matters raised with him.

Last week we sent an incorrect test message in error to a small number of customers informing them that they are coming up to the top end of the bundle and they would be charged if they went over. This has caused some confusion so we want to set the record straight and clarify what we're doing.

We are launching a free service on June 1st by alerting those customers who consistently use more than their data allowance. This alert will say we will review your spend and if you continue to use more data than your allowance consistently over the coming months, we'll contact you to have a chat about your usage and offer an alternative data plan to avoid incurring out of bundle charges. That means you will be able to manage your usage more effectively. We're also giving clarity to what these data rates are, for out of bundle charges.

Given you are already reaching your allowance and in some cases are over, from June 1st, you will start to receive an alert to say you've gone over your allowance. We will be tracking your usage, and in the following months if your usage continues to be over your data allowance, we will contact you to discuss alternatives (including for example, upgrading to one of our mobile broadband plans) and that you could incur charges.

As you know we have a Fair Usage Policy and for the vast majority of customers, they do not use more than their data allowance. This Fair Usage Policy has always formed part of your price plan Terms and Conditions and due to this we are not in a position to allow you to cancel your contract without penalty

I trust this clarifies Vodafone's position."

She makes no reference to my request to cancel my contract as i wrote in my original email.

They are still changing my contract though as stated above right so i am within my rights to cancel?

It doesnt looks like you can! Thats the problem, because what they are saying now is they have not changed your contract!

[sajman]

Just because I haven't used 500mb this month, or last month, does not mean I may not want to be able to in the remainder of my 24 month contract without charge like I originally paid for, putting me at a significant disadvantage and thus giving me the right to terminate my contract.

good point made off eforum

[Snaps]

Just because I haven't used 500mb this month, or last month, does not mean I may not want to be able to in the remainder of my 24 month contract without charge like I originally paid for, putting me at a significant disadvantage and thus giving me the right to terminate my contract.

good point made off eforum

It puts me in that category :)

[Odeh]

i used Vodafone many years ago, i hate it :(

[luflux]

Update Here;

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/vodafone-won-t-charge-for-going-over-mobile-data-limit-688548

[mr_bridger]

We have unfortunately become the victims of our own undoing.....

If none of these threads and arguments on blogs ect were here, voda would have done the change and we could have cancelled our contracts.

by making them realise how many people would have been aware of cancelling, they are back-pedalling quicktime, and just (re)enforcing the rules that were already here, only not as strict.

oh well.... best wait and see what happens

[Snaps]

Hmm Not looking good. This was posted on eforums

The Fair Usage Policy will remain.
No changes to T&Cs
You will get a free text message as you approach your limit
If you use excessive data over a 3month period, ie, 1Gb instead of 3 then they will look to ask you to sign upto a Mobile Broadband Package
This is fairer as apparently now you won't be charged if you go over, you will get a text message
Previously if you did go over apparently you would be billed
No you cannot cancel under the 11d para 4

[matts76]

Sounds to me like they are still going ahead with the change but not enforcing it at the moment, however when they do we will be well outside our time period for canceling.
If i recieve the proposed text message i will be canceling, its not about weather they will charge me, but that they will have the right to in future if we agree to the new terms by not canceling within 14 days of receiving of the change in the T&C's

We will have to see what the text actualy says

[Snaps]

sounds as tho vodafone have backed off their plans to change the terms but rather give u 3 months so they can look at your useage, if you continue to use over 500mb after the 3rd month u will get charged, think they know by changing terms it would give us the chance to leave, this i think now closes that chance, i might be wrong but it looks like that way,

[matts76]

"were changing your contract so we can charge you if you go over your data alowance, but dont worry were only gonna enforce it on the really bad ones who go over on a regular bascis (for now)"

F*ck you vodafone, any attempt to change my T&C's will result in cancelation.

They are trying to take us for fools, any change to the way we are charged for our data is a change to our T&C's, end of

[benj5386]

It will be interesting to see at what data usage vf decide to send out the 'slapped wrists' text.

I think they will be on a sticky wicket if its just over the 500meg mark seeing as the majority of us here signed up to 'unlimited' internet.

[kevinm2k]

Still aren't we covered under the 11.2 term? If they do what they say, even if it is in 3 months from now, my bill will increase my more than 10%.

Just because they aren't doing it instantly doesn't mean its not being done, i'm confused of what the next course of action is really. I would be happy if they just gave me a 1gig allowance, as I only just go over and I'm sure I can reduce it that little bit, but 500mb is useless.

Kev

[dbs11]

i agree with a previous post whereby we are giving VF too much ammunition to re-work the announcement so instead of a change to T&C's its simply a chance in semantics.
i wish everyone would just calm down and give it a couple of days; let VF release the announcement so we actually know the facts of the change, and everyone can begin to discuss the facts that affect us consumers. Then we can take it from there...

[benj5386]

i agree with a previous post whereby we are giving VF too much ammunition to re-work the announcement so instead of a change to T&C's its simply a chance in semantics.
i wish everyone would just calm down and give it a couple of days; let VF release the announcement so we actually know the facts of the change, and everyone can begin to discuss the facts that affect us consumers. Then we can take it from there...

No, you've got it all wrong. None of this namby pamby wait and see cobblers......

LIGHT THE TORCHES AND SHARPEN THE PITCHFORKS.

Who's with me?

[kevinm2k]

he had to give his phone back tho by looks of it

[kevinm2k]

His choice though apparently.

Do u think he had much choice though? They probably said on phone, you can cancel but you must return phone. If he rejected that they may have rejected cancelling the contract for him.

[kyllerbuzcut]

Looks like too many people rang up vodafone asking to terminate their contracts before they had even done anything. The big boss people then obviously thought 'oh- wait a minute, a lot of people might be able to cancel through this'.
If everyone just sticks to trying to work out what will work first, before trying to do it then vodafone wont know about it until it is too late and we can all use the method that works. At the moment if a few people DO manage to get out vodafone can just work on closing that loophole before the deadline comes.
We NEED to wait for the text/letter to come from them and then the legal minded people can get out the magnifying glass and examine every dotted i and crossed t to work out how we might all be able to get out of the contract.

[kevinm2k]

Looks like too many people rang up vodafone asking to terminate their contracts before they had even done anything. The big boss people then obviously thought 'oh- wait a minute, a lot of people might be able to cancel through this'.
If everyone just sticks to trying to work out what will work first, before trying to do it then vodafone wont know about it until it is too late and we can all use the method that works. At the moment if a few people DO manage to get out vodafone can just work on closing that loophole before the deadline comes.
We NEED to wait for the text/letter to come from them and then the legal minded people can get out the magnifying glass and examine every dotted i and crossed t to work out how we might all be able to get out of the contract.

Agreed! Until we get that text there is nowt we can do as they can change it as much as they like.

[kyllerbuzcut]

Anyone up for starting a bogus thread saying how much we all love vodafone, and we think people should be charged for going over the lim it? lol
Maybe that will be noticed too and the bosses will take notice of THAT one?

Somehow I don't really think so

[UNderworld]

Dear Mr xxxxxxx

Guy Laurence has passed your email to me as I am responsible for investigating matters raised with him.

Firstly let me offer my apologies for the experience you have had, whilst trying to obtain some clarity on this matter. I can assure you that this will be addressed internally.

Last week we sent an incorrect test message in error to a small number of customers informing them that they are coming up to the top end of the bundle and they would be charged if they went over. This has caused some confusion so we want to set the record straight and clarify what we're doing.



We are launching a free service on June 1st by alerting those customers who consistently use more than their data allowance. This alert will say we will review your spend and if you continue to use more data than your allowance consistently over the coming months, we'll contact you to have a chat about your usage and offer an alternative data plan to avoid incurring out of bundle charges. That means you will be able to manage your usage more effectively. We're also giving clarity to what these data rates are, for out of bundle charges.



Given you are already reaching your allowance and in some cases are over, from June 1st, you will start to receive an alert to say you've gone over your allowance. We will be tracking your usage, and in the following months if your usage continues to be over your data allowance, we will contact you to discuss alternatives (including for example, upgrading to one of our mobile broadband plans) and that you could incur charges.



As you know we have a Fair Usage Policy and for the vast majority of customers, they do not use more than their data allowance. This Fair Usage Policy has always formed part of your price plan Terms and Conditions and due to this we are not in a position to allow you to cancel your contract without penalty



I trust this clarifies Vodafone's position.



Kind regards

[smartieroadie]

Hmmm....I got a similar email from the directors office, however mine said "I appreciate you were told that you had a price plan with unlimited data allowance, what we're doing is clarifying exactly what we mean by unlimited data allowance (500 Mb)".

Sent a "nice" response to this with the Oxford English Dictionaries definition of Unlimited too.

Still insisting I terminate my contract with no penalty and copied in the CEO's again as well.

They will love me :p

[TommiTMX]

Dear Mr xxxxxxx

Guy Laurence has passed your email to me as I am responsible for investigating matters raised with him.

Firstly let me offer my apologies for the experience you have had, whilst trying to obtain some clarity on this matter. I can assure you that this will be addressed internally.

Last week we sent an incorrect test message in error to a small number of customers informing them that they are coming up to the top end of the bundle and they would be charged if they went over. This has caused some confusion so we want to set the record straight and clarify what we're doing.



We are launching a free service on June 1st by alerting those customers who consistently use more than their data allowance. This alert will say we will review your spend and if you continue to use more data than your allowance consistently over the coming months, we'll contact you to have a chat about your usage and offer an alternative data plan to avoid incurring out of bundle charges. That means you will be able to manage your usage more effectively. We're also giving clarity to what these data rates are, for out of bundle charges.



Given you are already reaching your allowance and in some cases are over, from June 1st, you will start to receive an alert to say you've gone over your allowance. We will be tracking your usage, and in the following months if your usage continues to be over your data allowance, we will contact you to discuss alternatives (including for example, upgrading to one of our mobile broadband plans) and that you could incur charges.



As you know we have a Fair Usage Policy and for the vast majority of customers, they do not use more than their data allowance. This Fair Usage Policy has always formed part of your price plan Terms and Conditions and due to this we are not in a position to allow you to cancel your contract without penalty



I trust this clarifies Vodafone's position.



Kind regards

The wording on that seems different than previously announced.

This guy is saying that if you consistently go over the 500MB soft-limit they will start charging the £5 per 500MB where as in previous posts (on their Forums by representatives) they say that it will be in effect for everyone who goes over 500MB.

Wonder who is telling the truth.

[mr_bridger]

Grrrr... this is doing my head in. if 97% of users dont go near the 500mb limit. what is the problem with the other 3% using a bit more....?

in another way to look at it..... what if everyone used exacly 500mb? that would really feck up their bandwidth.... other networks dont have a problem with it, why voda?

[sajman]

I just rang vodafone to confirm my data usage so far this month, 346mb since the 20th of april and last 48 hours missing. (10 days left)

He told me to be careful of the 500mb limit. Yes LIMIT....

I asked how much i will get charged to go over my 500mb fup softcap and he said it would cost 1£ per MB

seriously... are they on crack.

At first it was 5£ for an extra 500mb, or is it the texts i received in error....

40506: You are reacing the end of your data allowance. You will be charged another £0.50 (inc VAT) for the next 5mb. We will nofify you again before you reach the next charging point. To stop these messages test STOP to 40506. keep tract of internet charges with Vodafone. SENT may@15:42

I received this 4 times in one day and i wasn't even using the phone.....

then i got the apology...

"vodafone: we sent a test in error re. out of bundle charges. Very sorry, please be assured you have not been charged. For more info. Click free http://live.vodafone.com/zr/sa1"


i told the mofo i need clarification on the policy as there was nothing on the contract about charges or my limit on the contract and emails Vodafone sent me when i signed up online for this phone. he told me to go to Vodafone.co.uk and look for the help section. Told him i will be rining back once i have my contract, terms and conditions in-front of me.

[Neegs]

im still going to try my best to get out of this. I really dont like Vodafone any more and i have only been with them 3 months!

First i find out im not on the latest firmware and now this, its a complete joke.

[sajman]

Posted Today, 08:18 AM
Hi sajman,

I'm sorry for the information you were given over the phone. Confirmation of exactly what's happening can be found here.

I know it's frustrating for you to get different and unclear information when contacting us, and to combat this we're doing all we can to spread the correct information as quickly as possible.


Reply from eforum mod

also rang them again and was quoted 50p per 25mb....

[kevinm2k]

Im still confused...

I have used the following data:

Jan - 1.1gb
Feb - 1.2gb
Mar - 1.1gb
Apr - 670mb

I use my device normally and I haven't been charged anything for going over the FUP so far, (I don't know what i've used so far in May)

so lets say this trend continues, so:

May - 1.1gb
June - 1.2gb
July - 1.3gb

Will by bill go up or not???

[Neegs]

Vodafail that made me chuckle

[sajman]

Im still confused...

I have used the following data:

Jan - 1.1gb
Feb - 1.2gb
Mar - 1.1gb
Apr - 670mb

I use my device normally and I haven't been charged anything for going over the FUP so far, (I don't know what i've used so far in May)

so lets say this trend continues, so:

May - 1.1gb
June - 1.2gb
July - 1.3gb

Will by bill go up or not???

technically yes, 50p per 25mb a day. you do the math.

but this hasnt been officially released yet, just an official person releasing info on eforums about pricing structures. They never enforced these charges before so why start now? they are increasig your bill by over 10% so you have rights. read your terms and conditions....

[adamFsmith]

I sent my letter of cancellation yesterday. I've told them straight that i'm going to cancel my direct debit immediately after this month's payment is withdrawn.
Fingers crossed...

[matts76]

I sent my letter of cancellation yesterday. I've told them straight that i'm going to cancel my direct debit immediately after this month's payment is withdrawn.
Fingers crossed...

Too early, they haven't made any changes yet, so how can you quote them in a cancelation letter, if you cancel your direct debit you wont have a leg to stand on.