virgin mobile

[murdock]

and just when i thought everything was sorted out...havent heard from them since this thread last year then suddenly out of the blue...i receive a summons today for an outstanding amount of R242.01...first correspondence since july last year...i have been a prepaid customer.

this is why i dont give out banking details...sign any form of document be it an offer to purchase NOTHING.

I get calls from people wanting to verify personel details...I DONT GIVE ANY DETAILS OVER THE PHONE...if they want details no matter what...be it my home address or my home telephone number...if a company like standard bank or who ever a just updating details i go to the bank and fill in the form...so many people are getting caught by these updating details story on your cellphone...i have heard it becomes a legal recording which can be used against you...i might sometimes put the phone down then call the bank on the number i am familiar with then update daetails...or when on the secure bank site fill out my detaill.

and as for virgin...i thought my sh*t was finished with them...i have been using my pay as you go with mtn again...without any problems.

the joys of having millions of customers on your data base...thngs are slow this month and you havent reached your target...just debit everyones account and the ones you have on the sysytem and walla couple million turnover...then see who complains and sort those who complain...i would love to know how much money is moved thru various accounts a month by "mistake" and at the end of the day the only one who always gets the short end of the stick you the customer...time wasted...fees charged etc etc...this is why i dont have any debit orders on any of my accounts...even my HP for my vehicle gets paid by eft...and boy have the bank tried to get this back on debit order.

[tec0]

I had similar trouble with MTN. This is what you do: get your contract printed out “it is on record� or if you have it even better. Then check the dates and make sure that it is expired and paid in full. Go to the bank get statements of all the Virgin Mobile transactions.

Once this is done, contact Virgin mobile on E-mail only!!! This gives a written record of everything they claim. Once that is done go to a “rent a lawyer� and ask him/ her to write a letter claiming fraud. Because that is what it is fraud, also the lawyer will make sure that the letter is delivered.

Give them a set date to respond. After this date has passed and they still want to play, go back to your lawyer and press criminal charges. But I never ever had to go this far. Normally after a letter from your lawyer they fix the problem and pay you your money back.

If the consumer council is not on strike you can register a complaint with them, this just adds to the momentum and it is free.

[flaker]

All these service providers are bl y same.
when i renewed my MTN contract i changed to a per second billing as i was told that this would be cheaper only to find that my month -end bill more than doubled. the F cheek. when i delved further i discovered that the using that airtime that was credited at each month was just about a little less than 3 times telkom charge rate. so when i need to dial a mobile number & as am mostly at home i use the telkom line. any changes i would want to the present MTN contract would be a nightmare. i just know it. my a/c will be debited left,right & centre. you NEVER ever win with these guys.

[murdock]

thats why i cancealed my contract...which wasnt a contract because it was virgin month to month...but it was a contract because i had to pay every motnth for the phone but its not classified as a contract because it is month to month should i go...OK you get the idea...the trick is not to buy an expensive phone unless you can afford to pay it off when you canceal the contract

I save huge amounts of money being on pay as you go...cause i like to talk...as i am sure you have picked up by my long threads which just go on and on...but hey you dont like...dont read...with PAYG the money runs out if you gewt carried away then the person phones back then you can talk as long as their airtime lasts

i agree you never ever win with them...but boy are they making a killing out of us...bearing in mind they have millions os customers...one slip like a million people get over charged 1 rands...its like winning the lotto time and time again...you just keep holding your anckles and hope they use KY...and the goverments not complaining they are reaping the rewards too...hence the hush hush about the call rates

[flaker]

However Murdock,i must tell you that whilst the mobile bill has dropped to previous levels as has the usage as compared to the old free minutes contract,the telkom landline account has gone up a little,well slightly more than a little, but whose complaining. The arrangement in this household has always been that the spouse pays the landline bill .

[tec0]

E-mail on mobile works!! It is all I have to say on the subject. New phones make it easy and you can get a lot of info trough at a fraction of the cost! What I do is l load a small data bundle on my mobile and then I send e-mails rather than SMS because it is less expensive. A 1mb e-mail “Text only� Is massive compared to a R0.40 SMS...

[flaker]

E-mail on mobile works!! It is all I have to say on the subject. New phones make it easy and you can get a lot of info trough at a fraction of the cost! What I do is l load a small data bundle on my mobile and then I send e-mails rather than SMS because it is less expensive. A 1mb e-mail “Text only� Is massive compared to a R0.40 SMS...

forgive my ignorance. are you suggesting that the message can be sent to a mobile number? i would have thought that a message sent via "e-mail" would be sent to an email address.
thanks

[tec0]

flaker
forgive my ignorance. are you suggesting that the message can be sent to a mobile number? i would have thought that a message sent via "e-mail" would be sent to an email address.
thanks

Right, firstly e-mail on handsets is not uncommon anymore. Fact nearly all my friends have e-mail on their phones. So if you know the person and he/she has e-mail capability you can enjoy the service. Secondly if you use MTN E-mail that is available to Pre-paid customers you will get notified if someone sends you an E-mail.

The only drawback is if you don’t use a Data bundle this can become expensive fast AKA R2 per 1MB!!! Data bundles are must to use this service properly.

I think E-mail to phone numbers will be reality one-day but right now there is a mix of free e-mail accounts and so it’s not perfect...

Also if you know the person then getting an e-mail address is as simple as asking. An SMS is faster but sometimes you are limited. E-mail can handle a lot of text so it’s worth doing if you have a lot of information you need to send out.

I know it wasn’t the answer you where looking for but technically it is still early days. Mobile phones are getting better and the technologies are evolving so it is worth contacting technical support and ask what is possible.

[murdock]

i dont mean to be a pest with this but people...

BEWARE OF VIRGIN MOBILE...there accounts department are a few years behind...when they get up to speed you suddenly end up with money being debited from your account for amounts not even they can explain.

i have just been on the line to virgin mobile customer sevices...

what i didnt realise is even if you are a pre paid customer...you have to keep loading air time otherwise they bar your line...my question was then why dont i just get a contract and pay a monthly fee...the whole idea of pre paid is so i dont have to pay a month fee...

the idea of moving over to pre paid was so i wouldnt have to deal with the accounts department...but now reralised they are about 1 to 2 years behind...so even though i have been a prepaid customer i am now being summons for errors which they made more than a year ago...according to their accounts department at the time of transfer...my account was paid up in full before i could make the move...the other problem is nobody can give me a straight answer or produce an invoice...they are requesting that i send them all my documents to prove i dont owe them any money

you live and learn...thank goodness for internet and forums to help us decide who to deal with...before i deal with any company or lay out any money i do a google search on a company then got to hellopeter to check for unhappy customers...then after reading bad pubicity...if i get caught then its my own stupidity...

[IanF]

Murdock
Tell them you are willing to go to court, can they send you the papers they will use to take this to court. Then write to the credit vetting agencies with a copy to Virgin Mobile that this is a dispute which is going to court so they won't list you.
They are the ones who need the paperwork if they are taking the matters forward.
That is my layman's advice.