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Thread: Internet!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    Internet!!!!!!!!!!!!

    In any event the Internet is becoming more and more a tool but for most of us it is still just a toy. A fancy toy that cost a lot of money. Recently my friend got himself a 3g contract with our most illustrious communications company in South Africa to date; Vodacom.

    It was fast to sign up and he got most of his stuff working within the hour. However after 3 months he requested that his cap be set on an amount so that it doesn’t go over that amount per month. They said everything was fine and he will be cut-off if he goes over his set cap with about a R100 or so.

    Not bad! But then darkness gloomed over my friends face and he was as pale as if someone drained him from all his blood. He informed me that his bill was over R2000. Now according to Vodacom there was something suspect! And they will investigate!

    However the R2000 + was taken from his account. Now one can argue and say “Yes he was careless!” I answer: If someone took time from his work to setup a set cap on his internet and has the responsibility to it properly how can you deem such a person careless?

    So! Now my reason for posting this letter is to ask you... Did something like this ever happened to you or is it an isolated case?

    Thank you for reading

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    The billing rates on out-of-bundle bandwidth is criminal. Unless he did that on in-bundle rates

    What actually went wrong?
    Last edited by Dave A; 21-Feb-09 at 06:43 AM. Reason: syntax

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    Platinum Member SilverNodashi's Avatar
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    This is just a quick warning, Vodacom / MTN / Cell-C won't cutt off your internet access if you reach your CAP, they simply charge out of bundle rates. Try explain an R4800 bill to your wife at the end of the month It happend to my friend a few times. And, since it's so quick (compared to dialup), one tends todo a lot more in the same time span, and quickly uses a lot of bandwidth.

    I have said it before, and will say it again, 3G is EXPENSIVE, very very EXPENSIVE. Get ADSL instead, you pay like 7c per MB, and maybe 10c when you go over your initial CAP.
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    Internet!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Yes indeed what did go wrong? In essence there is more to it than just a cap. The fact is that my friend had a few problems when it came to his billing. The fact is that Vodacom cannot justify the massif amounts but they do... They say “something is wrong and that they will investigate” Then you still end up paying the amount! So we are planning on contacting the consumer counsel. Hopefully they will investigate.

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    The internet!!!! Continued:

    Ah yes!! The monster that you pay for... Let us just say that the consumer council will benefit allot with training. Secondly: quote: “with great power come great responsibilities” Vodacom is a real supper power in this country. But it is not my intention to scare anyone however it is true and I stand to be corrected on this: Vodacom has the legal ability to take large amounts of your money. Also I stand to be corrected but this is how they do it with the 3g: First of your cap is not a fix-cap that will cut you off. No while you are on the internet it will allow you to download as much as possible because when you are done THEN and only THEN does it do it’s calculation thus you will go over your cap if you don’t monitor it closely and I do mean CLOSELY! My only other suggestion is: Use the 3g-net in moderation and completely disconnects it ever 30 minutes. Unplug it from your system! Better yet get the 3g modem cash and only use pre-paid data bundles.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Vodacom 3g does send you SMS messages to tell you how you are going. I've noticed I get an SMS at 50% and 80% of my bundle. I've never pushed it further than that, so I don't know if there are more system generated messages beyond this point.

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    Gold Member twinscythe12332's Avatar
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    normally you get something along the lines of a bundle has been depleted, out of bundle rates apply message. I have a few questions:
    1) does your mate know the associated amount of MB that 100 bucks should give you?
    2) does he download large files on a regular basis.

    the thing is, out of bundle rates, it's 2 rand a meg. so you download a gigabyte file ( 1 gb = 1024MB) and you easily clock in 2 grand.

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    Lightbulb The internet continued: The truth!!!

    To answer: Yes my friend is aware of the cost when it goes out of bundle. And yes the 80% SMS is a clear indicator. I cannot argue that these are the facts. Now that we understand how the set-cap work, it comes down to this it is actually your fault! Or is it? I mean when is too much TOO MUCH? When will the system stop you from downloading continues data streams or large files.

    In the end of the day it appears and again I stand to be corrected that you can download indefinitely. Thus you will end up with R2 per 1MB a DVD of data will cost you R8000.

    Still a credit check was done when you applied for the contract. Vodacom knows what you CAN and CANNOT afford. You can afford R800 per month but you are paying regardless of the credit check about R2000 to R3000 over!!!!

    So it is true when you download large files it is your doing. But the way the cap functions is NOT your doing. The fact that there might not be limitations to what you can go over; IS ALSO NOT YOUR DOING. You have no control over these two aspects. What then was the use of the credit check in the first place if they can still take from you MORE then what you CAN afford! and Vodacom knows what that amount is.

    Point plank it is your fault to go over your set amount because there is systems that warn you. BUT the amount that it goes over is not regulated or so it seems so they can take from you an amount knowing you could not afford that mount in the first place.

    What then is the purpose of set-caps, credit checks also known as “Affordability Control” if they had no intention to stop you from going over.

    Think about...

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    I question the out-of-bundle rate. How does Vodacom justify the huge difference between in-bundle and out-of-bundle rates?

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    Platinum Member SilverNodashi's Avatar
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    Dave, do you really think they offer this is a valued service? The general South African is too ignorant to even know all the terminology used when it comes to anything IT / technical / internet related, and the only thing that really "talks" is the price on the TV ad.

    So, this is just another way for Vodacom to make an extra buck.
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