How to block all chargeable usage

[NFH]

We have two users on a Vodafone business account, who every month manage to incur all kinds of chargeable usage outside the allowances of their monthly plan. This chargeable usage includes calls to 084 and 087 numbers, MMS picture messages, international calls from the UK and international SMS from the UK. Most recently one of them spent over an hour on a call to the United States at a whopping price of £3 per minute (£180 per hour).

Although Vodafone's price for calls from the UK to the US of £3 per minute is unreasonable, calling an international number without first checking the price is akin to going into a restaurant and ordering a botle of Champagne without reading the menu. We need to find a way to prevent this highly-priced usage.

Is it possible to block, ideally temporarily, all chargeable usage outside monthly allowances while always allowing all non-chargeable usage?

Non-chargebale usage includes:

• Calls and SMS from the UK to UK landlines and UK mobiles
• Calls and SMS while roaming in the EEA to EEA landlines and EEA mobiles
• Calls to free numbers, e.g. 080 numbers
• Data usage anywhere in the EEA within the monthly data allowance
• Incoming calls in the EEA

[NFH]

We have two users on a Vodafone business account, who every month manage to incur all kinds of chargeable usage outside the allowances of their monthly plan. This chargeable usage includes calls to 084 and 087 numbers, MMS picture messages, international calls from the UK and international SMS from the UK. Most recently one of them spent over an hour on a call to the United States at a whopping price of £3 per minute (£180 per hour).

Although Vodafone's price for calls from the UK to the US of £3 per minute is unreasonable, calling an international number without first checking the price is akin to going into a restaurant and ordering a botle of Champagne without reading the menu. We need to find a way to prevent this highly-priced usage.

Is it possible to prevent all chargeable usage outside monthly allowances while allowing all non-chargeable usage?

Non-chargebale usage includes:

• Calls and SMS from the UK to UK landlines and UK mobiles
• Calls and SMS while roaming in the EEA to EEA landlines and EEA mobiles
• Calls to free numbers, e.g. 080 numbers
• Data usage anywhere in the EEA within the monthly data allowance
• Incoming calls in the EEA

[BandOfBrothers]

Have you looked in your myvodafone @NFH  which may help. Caps etc 

Also some phones have settings like parental controls.

However another option is to bring the people inline with not using the allowances as they are or if viable take the sim cards away and replace them with Payg or make them pay any out of allowances charges would be my possible choice.

[NFH]

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@BandOfBrothers wrote:

make them pay any out of allowances charges would be my possible choice.

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That's difficult when the charge is business-related, albeit incurred negligently.

[BandOfBrothers]

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@NFH wrote:

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@BandOfBrothers wrote:

make them pay any out of allowances charges would be my possible choice.

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That's difficult when the charge is business-related, albeit incurred negligently.

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Then I wish you all the best on however you decide to move forward with this and the people that are not towing the line.

[AnnS · Accepted solution]

Hi @NFH 

If you are the Communications Manager for the company and have access to the online account, I would recommend restricting the account spending limits on the numbers, this way the employees responsible will only be able to use the phones for essential business allowances. 

If you refer to this link this will give the information you need:  How can I change my spending limit? 

Not sure if business accounts provide the same barring restrictions through the online account the same way as consumer accounts and this will also be something to take up with Customer Services.

[NFH]

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@AnnS wrote:

Hi @NFH 

If you are the Communications Manager for the company and have access to the online account, I would recommend restricting the account spending limits on the numbers, this way the employees responsible will only be able to use the phones for essential business allowances. 

If you refer to this link this will give the information you need:  How can I change my spending limit? 

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Thanks. In Account manager, Spend manager, I've now set the Spend limit for out-of-plan charges to zero. Hopefully this will fix the problem.