Vodafone PAYG Broadband Dongle with NO time limit

[CupraR]

Hello.

Approximately two years ago I purchased a Vodafone Dongle to be able to go onto the internet via my Laptop on the few occasions I am away from my Home Router.

It was purchased from Argos and for £15 I got 3GB of Data, which didn't run out except for a time limit of 270days.

I have now gone to top it up and I see a message I'll only get 1GB for £15???

What's going on, have I read the wrong thing?? Certainly hope so, I have had no literature from Vodafone with regards this.

Please put me out of my misery!!!

[drj]

For me - to reiterate - the best option was a smartphone that allowed tethering. For the same price as a monthly Vodafone Mobile Broadband SIM I get a full monthly's use of a smart phone with the same amount of data, and loads of inclusive calls and texts. I suspect for most people the mobile dongle is now an obsolete option providing they source the right phone contract.

[Drud77]

Just a quick post to let anyone still in this position know you can get your money back but it requires persistence and use of the ombudsman. I have been trying since April and have just had a refund after the ombudsman ruled in my favour.

On my initial contact with Vodafone I would have been quite happy with a refund of my credit but because they made life so difficult my ombudsman claim included an amount to cover some of the inconvenience and hassle I had encountered – this more than covered the original cost of the dongle.

You need something in writing for the ombudsman so the best bet is a transcript of a web chat rather than contacting them by voice.

Best tip is just to be more persistent than they are obstructive.

As drj has said, nowadays for occasional use a mobile phone/contract that allows tethering seems to me to be much better value than any of the Vodafone data packs.

It will come as no surprise that my mobile phone is not on the Vodafone network.

For a communications company in my experience the customer service has been nothing short of appalling.

[Anthonytutt]

Tech Dave

You said:

"Whilst it is possible that top ups on an old dongle will not expire after 30 days, the allowances available and the cost of these is the same for all customers."

So you seem to be saying that if I top up my K3565 with £5 for 250 megabytes out of the credit I have been allocated, I might see the 250 megabytes remain available for up to six months.

Also the debate has circulated around dongles.

What happens if a sim card is transferred from the K3565 into a 3g tablet?

Is the up to 6months availability determined by the dongle or the sim card that was allocated to the dongle?

[tinribz]

i've just tried using my K3565 dongle and can't get to any websites other than vodafone. i get the top up page first.

i have £14.23 credit left, the dongle shows as active but i can't use it anywhere.

you just had to use it within 6 months or so to keep it active.

it was topped up by a £15 voucher last year, to keep it within the terms and conditions agreed.

whats happened? i've had no notification of the end of service. how do i get the dongle back to how it was. its used occasionaly when i'm away and only have that option for net access. i always make sure i connect during the time period allowed, and that it could only be topped up with a £15 voucher.

[jimmiley]

My problem too!  According to my account £9.27 left.....   not sure what's happening.....

[tinribz]

i've logged into my account online, it just gives me this information

active

credit remaining £14.23

plan - mobile broadband price plan

type - payg

[jimmiley]

same as me (different balance of course) - don't really want to top up with £15 as I might not use it this month and it will just be wasted - don''t know what the problem is with providing a definitive answer..........

[tinribz]

it seems a few of us are getting the same problem now, so hopefully an answer will come.

i had topped mine up sometime last year when there was about a couple of quid left on the original £15 allowance. i had been using it occasionally since top up. it was only when i came to use it yesterday i found out he problem.

as these were ideal for the 'occasional user' and were bought 4-5 years ago, i'm sure they'll be plenty who haven't noticed yet

[jimmiley]

Think you are probably right many people haven't noticed yet. Probably reason many people bought them was because they were only occasional users as you describe. Fingers crossed we get some clarification.........

[jimmiley]

Could you just confirm then that this dongle is not locked to Vodafone or that you can unlock this for me as I have found a great data only pack with another provider.
Many thanks.