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CTRLALTDEL98
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

I bought this phone around a month ago and paid for a £10 top-up with it. I hadn't used all of my free minutes or data and got unlimited texts. I also hadn't used any of the £10 credit so I should've still got it, but I had received a message saying that with that £10 credit left it had automatically bought me another £10 pack. Then I also redeemed my reward points. I then received another text saying that they tried taking £10 credit for the value bundle but I apparently didn't have enough credit, even though I know I did. Now it's a day later and I still haven't received my value bundle and I haven't got any credit because it actually was taken out. I have never been with Vodafone before and I'm quite annoyed at the moment.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Annie_N
Community Champion (Retired)
Community Champion (Retired)

@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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8 REPLIES 8

BandOfBrothers
17: Community Champion
17: Community Champion

Bundles last 30 days and will auto renew and take available credit to refresh the new set of bundles for another 30 days. Sometimes it can take a short while for the allowances to show. 

 

In this link http://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/bundles-and-sims/pay-as-you-go-plans/ it explains the Stages on how it works. 

 

Check with your Myvodafone app / myvodafone online. 

 

If you get stuck perhaps try using Live Chat from a computer or 191 customer service at 25p per call if connected to an agent. 

Current Phone  >

Samsung Galaxy s²³ Ultra 512gb Phantom Black.

 

 

Annie_N
Community Champion (Retired)
Community Champion (Retired)

Hi @CTRLALTDEL98

 

You've probably now worked it out from @BandOfBrothers's link, but the Big Value Bundle is a product which you buy, so your initial £10 was taken to pay for it.

 

If, as it sounds, you aren't a particularly heavy user of your phone, it could be that you would be better suited by one of the Freebies - see the Freebies tab on the same link. Then you get a 30-day allowance of one of data, minutes or texts, your top-up is credited to your balance, and you pay out-of-bundle prices from your balance for your other usage - see the PAYG tab here. Do bear in mind that the OOB charge for data is a minimum of £2 per day, so you'd use up the whole of your £10 in 5 days of data connection, if you had say the Freebie Texts.

 

There would also be the possibility of using £5 out of your £10 to buy one of the PAYG Extras, but then it all gets very elaborate and needs a bit of managing. I have a Freebie and an Extra, but tbh life would be easier if I admitted defeat and went for a BVB instead!

 

You need to have a think about how you want to use your phone, and arrive at a policy to suit you. You can always change your options later if your initial decision isn't the best fit.

CTRLALTDEL98
2: Seeker
2: Seeker
So the £10 I had put on was taken for the first big value bundle?

Yes it sounds like it. 

 

 

Current Phone  >

Samsung Galaxy s²³ Ultra 512gb Phantom Black.

 

 

CTRLALTDEL98
2: Seeker
2: Seeker
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.

A person has a anniversary date for when the allowances of minutes, text and data refresh. This is every 30 days. 

 

When the anniversary arrives the amount of money is taken from the available credit from your account to pay for the new minutes,texts and dats. 

 

If their isnt enough credit on the Payg account to pay for the new allowances a person drops onto the standard charges until they top up again.

 

The link I added earlier has the information in it.  

Current Phone  >

Samsung Galaxy s²³ Ultra 512gb Phantom Black.

 

 

Annie_N
Community Champion (Retired)
Community Champion (Retired)

@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!

CTRLALTDEL98
2: Seeker
2: Seeker
Right I understand it now. Thank you very much