PREPAID MOBILE PHONE PLAN - very low user
A few years ago I changed from Virgin Mobile (prepaid) to Vodafone (prepaid) given I forgot my password and Virgin had no system in place to get around this problem. No amount of ID, receipts etc would satisfy them that I was the owner of the phone. That meant I could do diddly squat about changing plans, asking for help etc.
Until this year Vodafone was OK. I say “OK” because I am gobsmacked it costs $0.20 per min to call a number in Sydney, but I can call a friend in the US for under $0.04 per minute. With no flag fall hooey that Telstra is famous for.
With Vodafone for some time I was on a 180 day plan which cost from $30 (voice only no data). Anytime I topped it up, the expiry date AND the credit balance would BOTH roll over.
In FEB this year I established that my $11 credit balance will expire in APR.
At a Vodafone shop 2 weeks ago I spun a yarn about different plans I may want to move to and as I handed over the dosh for a top up, I asked “so now I will have $41. When will that expire”?
I was appalled at the response: “Once you pay you’ll have $30 balance as we no longer roll over or as some say ‘carry forward’ the existing balance”.
Needless to say, I yanked back my credit card and declined to top up my a/c, opting to wait closer to when I exhaust my credit balance.
Smells like a nasty tactic by Vodafone. I have not investigated if Optus and Telstra are doing the same, which in my opinion is akin to “cheating customers” and wonder if the point behind this is to prod prepaid customers to move to post paid or to leave Vodafone, so it
can close down the prepaid division.
