Out of plan data charges after an app erroneously used 30gb of data in the background

[Jonnyknottsvill]

Hi

Last night I got well and truly screwed over in data charges.

I downloaded a sports streaming app called Poker Go that I thought had some free video content. After installing it I was greeted with a login page and found out it costs a lot of money to view any videos so I thought "nevermind" and I closed the app.

Then I went to bed.

This morning I woke to find out that the app, behind the login page, must have been streaming content invisibly, and it has used 29.5Gb  of data, without the app being on and whilst my phone was locked.

In addition to this I had a load of messages from vodafone. Firstyl stating I'd used my data (I had about 26Gb of data remaining yesterday afternoon), and subsequently telling me I had been charged £6.50 for every 250mb of data that the app had used beyond my allowance. That's £26 per Gb. On top of losing all of my data 25 days before my renewal date.

Now, none of this is realistically the fault of Vodafone, but there should be measures in place to monitor this unusual activity. I have never before in my life used anywhere in the region of 29.5Gb (about 90% of my allowance) in one 5 hour period. Vodafone should have been able to see this was erroneous and cut it off.

This morning I find out that an out of plan data cap exists, but you have to turn it on! And it's fairly obvious that the only point when someone would discover this cap and turn it on is after accruing accidental charges.

I have now had to add 15Gb of data for £20, making for a total of £45 of charges I incurred whilst asleep with my phone locked. The fact I have just bought 15Gb of data does not mean the 250mb charges disappear, they remain.

Is there anything I can realistically do about this? I cannot afford to pay this bill realistically, and all it will lead me to do is considerably reduce my contract/move on to somewhere cheaper when I'm up for renewal in September.

Either way I'd like to know why:

a) The cap isn't enabled by default. Who the hell would ever want to pay £6.50 per 250mb for data when the add on exists. It's extortion.

b) Why the 15gb I have purchased cannot absorb the extra erroneous data somehow.

c) Why Vodafone seemingly have no cap on out of bundle data. In theory I could have spend literally hundereds of pounds because of one erroneous app I was allowed to download on a standard mobile device.

What are my options here?

[SKYMAN513]

Hi buddy bit of a nightmare that one 

It does seem although a mistake on your part,I can't see how you could get away with the charges 

But if you contact Vodafone sooner rather than later,maybe at their discretion they could let you pay it back on top of your monthly bill 

But were I read that and wether it still stands is another question

The data cap has always been as far as I'm aware an option as a lot of people didn't want to be restricted for every 10 who think some thing is a good idea 

I would bet there would be another 10 that think it's bad

Does your device not have some sort of data management were you can monitor your data usage and have it set at 500 mb or 1 gig intervals depending on your allowance

At least that way your device will cut itself off 

The last time I went over my allowance I was warned by text message about the charges but as you were asleep you wouldn't of noticed

It happened on my first contract phone and I had used somebody's Wi-Fi and forgot too turn mobile data off so it used my mobile data so I ended up paying just under 80 quid for a Spotify playlist and that was over 3 years ago

Your best bet is let them know a.s.a.p

I've just read your thread again and the bit that is a bit strange is how it managed too steam data wills your device was asleep or in  stand by

[Jonnyknottsvill]

Yes, make no mistake, this is the fault of the app, and I'm spreading awareness of the issue via their social media etc.

The amount of out of bundle charges has risen now as they hadn't refreshed my account this morning. I now apparently owe £107 in out of bundle data.

My argument is that the £6.50 for 250mb is extortion when applied in such a bulk format, between the hours or 1am and 4am when I'm clearly asleep. It is so blindingly obvious that this isn't intentional data usage that Vodafones failure to stop the data in this circumstance is quite ridiculous. One bundle of 15Gb for £20 would cover the excess data I have used, but in the current format I pay £107 for a momentary indiscretion that I couldn't have ever forseen. I'm a developer and I have no clue how an app can stream 30gb when the phone is locked, the app isn't open, and I never even logged into the damn thing because it costs a subscription fee.

I have spoken with Vodafone and I can potentially attempt to escalate this once my bill is actually formed on August 5th. Until then I have to wait.

Strange one. But whether I stay with Vodafone beyond my renewal date does depend on how they handle it. I'm expecting at least some deduction to put my charge in line with what I would pay for an extra data bundle.

[Makelo]

The problem you have is two fold here. You agree it was an app on your phone that used the data and whilst it's not very obvious how to do so, Vodafone do now provide a way to cap data usage to your bundle limit. It's certainly not easy to find and not on by default but it is there. They slipped it into the Vodafone app quietly around nine months ago. Until you activate it via the Vodafone app, it does not exist in My Vodafone on their website. Once activated it shows up under something like 'Extras' I think. 

Prior to having the ability to cap and having no way to monitor real time data usage (All methods offered by Vodafone are delayed, sometimes by days) it was actually very easy to go over. This is something I moaned about for years, either to give us the ability to cap data usage or the ability to monitor usage in real time because as you point out, the cost of excess data is extortionate.

Despite all that Vodafone were usually very strict with their response "You used the data, pay the bill"  

I really wish you well in trying to negotiate your bill and turn on the data cap now to stop it happening again.

[donnyguy]

Hey,

Do you have proof it was the app that used all that data without your knowledge? If so, then I'd be logging a complaint with them rather than Vodafone. They should be the ones paying your phone bill.

[Yurakokk]

Hi, I'm in a similar situation. £65 of charges for using mobile data overnight without my knowledge. Did you manage to resolve anything or have your charge reduced?

[Tash]

@Yurakokk So we can take a look into this for you, I've sent you a private message with details to contact us. A member of the team will then be in touch as soon as possible.