@CTRLALTDEL98 wrote:
But is that supposed to happen? Do you generally get £10 credit and the bundle or just initially pay for the bundle and have no credit spare, that's really what I'm trying to get my head around.
Well, yes, that is how the BVBs are set up - you initially pay for it, and you have no credit spare unless you have topped up by an extra amount. I think a lot of people put a "spare" £5 on, to pay for the things that aren't covered by the BVB, like calls to 191 CS, which cost a flat 25p if you speak to an adviser, or texts to short code numbers such as to find out when the next bus is due at your stop, or I found I had sent a couple of texts to a Jersey mobile, outside the UK charging areas so not covered.
I think that what you wre probably expecting was something more akin to the Freebies, but they only cover one aspect of the three core aspects of modern mobiles. A freebie which covered all three aspects would only be an economic proposition if the allowances for all three were so low that the combined deal probably wouldn't be worth having in the context of most modern use of smartphones.
I have to say that I'm not entirely comfortable that a fair number of customers don't really understand how the BVB will work until it comes up and wallops them at the end of the first 30 days! But I also accept that Vodafone had opted for this because previously a lot of newcomers to smartphones were finding that all their initial top-up had gone on data in the first few days, before they had figured out that they needed to keep mobile data off except when they were using it.
Also I do think that Vodafone tries to explain how it's going to work, as in BoB1's initial link, but that there are so many different perceptions of what PAYG is, that it isn't always understood. I spent a while last year trying to understand how the other networks had their PAYG offerings set up, and I ended up totally bewildered by it all! Though no doubt each network's plans make perfect sense once you've got the hang of them.
I guess that the underlying problem is that the mobile phone market has grown over the years from very simple beginnings into something quite unrecognisable, and that there is simply no way of making one size fit all. So the various networks offer a few starting points, and then, once you have found out what will work best for your situation, you adjust your plan to your requirements.
Sorry, this is all a bit waffly and nebulous, but I hope it helps a bit to understand the situation.
As I said in my previous post, you need to figure out what you want from your phone and your plan, and then either go on with a BVB of some value, or opt out and then choose a Freebie in its place. But do opt out and select your new Freebie before you top up, or you'll find that you've bought your next BVB, whether you wanted it or not!
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