HUGE phone bill

[ayars]

I have recently signed my BB 8800 up on a Telstra $39.95/mth plan which I understood was for unlimited email and internet browsing.
I got the shock of my life when I checked my data usage online and saw a bill for $250+ after only a couple of days .
On examining further I note that I have not been charged for blackberry.net connections but heavily charged for wap.telstra.
Has anyone experienced this and do you know how to disable wap ?

[GaryCutri]

On a BIS plan there is nothing such as an unlimited Blackberry plan on Telstra. All you get for your $39.95 is unlimited email. If you want to use WAP data you will need to have a data plan assigned to your account. If you have been misinformed by a Telstra shop you can contact accounts and request that they back date a data plan onto your account to avoid paying the $250.

When you are on BES you can have unlimited data IF you change the IT Policy item "Enable WAP Config" to FALSE.

[ayars]

thankyou I shall try that

[adam89]

Also, give Telstra a call and let them know that to your understanding internet browsing was free and unlimited...

This happened to me (however for an amount of $1700) and they happily credited my account for $1700 and attached a data plan to my account for me

[CybaCowboy]

Wirelessly posted (RIM BlackBerry Curve 8300: BlackBerry8300/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/122)

Recently I joined Telstra with a RIM BlackBerry Curve 8300 on their $49.95 BlackBerry Individual Solution (BIS) plan, and had the same thing happen to me!





All month I'd be calling-up asking why I was seeing charges on my pre-bill when I was told at the Telstra Shop that I had unlimited Internet access as part of my plan, and all month I got different answers as to whether or not this was actually the case...



At the end of the month, I received a lovely $700 bill for Internet access and after an angry phone call, $700 was credited straight back onto my account - I was also reassured by both customer service AND "second level" technical support that everyone else was wrong, and that Internet access IS included, but only when one uses the BlackBerry (and not the Telstra) access point (Telstra Shop staff at other stores have also reassured me of this since).



I was also put through to "second level" technical support, who went through the settings on my phone to ensure that I was using the correct access point...





Now, here's where it gets interesting - on my second month's pre-bill, I'm seeing charges for Internet access again, though Telstra swear black & blue that they can see no such charges on my pre-bill!



Anyway, my bill is due in a few days and I've told them in no uncertain terms that I WON'T be calling up EVERY month to get a $700 credit 'cause they can't bill me properly; I also told them that should this continue to happen, I WILL have this contract canceled (less the calls/texts I've actually made/sent of course!) at their expense...





Remember - EVERY time you call up, insist that they leave detailed notes on your account.



Also note the date/time of the call and ask for their "Charlie" or "Delta" number (EVERY Telstra employee has this and they are required by Telstra's policies to give it to you if you ask for it) - Telstra record their phone calls and with these details, you have a firm leg to stand on should you have problems down the track...


Update:
Well I got my second bill and sure enough, there were charges for Internet access (despite being told mid-month that no charges were showing); they weren't as much as last month, but they were definately there...

So I get on the phone and do the usual get-shuffled-back-and-forth-between-departments-for-a-few-hours thing, however this time, not one person argued that Internet access was not included (though I did get at least five different reasons as to why I keep getting charged for it)!

Anyway, it was coming up to two hours and I was growing impatient, so I stamped up-and-down until I got a supervisor in their billing department...

I wanted to cancel the contract and switch to a "traditional" phone (I've got five other "traditional" phones on my account, and not once have I had the on-going service and billing-related headaches I've had with my BlackBerry), however after a further half an hour on the phone, I was convinced to give Telstra just one more chance.

I was assured that he will chase-up why I'm getting incorrectly billed each month and rectify it - I'm currently waiting on a call back about this...

By the way, it might be worth noting that one of the Telstra girls claimed that I should ONLY be getting charged for Internet access if I use the "Telstra Business Portal" icon (which I VERY rarely do) - according to her, Internet access is not chargeable when accessed through the BlackBerry Internet Browser (after another argument, she assured me that she had been told this by more than one person, including technical support)!

I'll keep you all posted...

[CybaCowboy]

Wirelessly posted (RIM BlackBerry Curve 8300: BlackBerry8800/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/122)

Purely by accident, I just found something interesting on the Telstra Web site...


"What is BlackBerry®?


Telstra's BlackBerry Solution adds flexibility to your life by keeping you in touch with the people who matter most – by voice, email, SMS or MMS. You get all your personal contact needs in one neat package, which is ideal for when you're out and about.

Your BlackBerry Solution from Telstra gives you:

• email - sent to you automatically
• mobile internet browsing via HTML and BigPond® Mobile Services
• calendar and organiser access
• a mobile phone for voice calls and text messages
• access to applications such as print to a fax, email preview and spell check."


This was copied word-for-word from http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/services/blackberry.html and my understanding of the above statements is that ALL Internet traffic (including the Telstra Business portal, which links directly to Big Pond Mobile) is included in my service plan - the same thing I was originally told when I purchased my BlackBerry Curve 8300!


I have saved the above in case I have future dramas with Telstra, just in case they wanna use the "it's not included" card again...



~ Posted wirelessly from my BlackBerry 8800 (http://wap.blackberryforums.com.au) ~

[Tfer]

Originally Posted by CybaCowboy

Wirelessly posted (RIM BlackBerry Curve 8300: BlackBerry8300/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/122)

By the way, it might be worth noting that one of the Telstra girls claimed that I should ONLY be getting charged for Internet access if I use the "Telstra Business Portal" icon (which I VERY rarely do) - according to her, Internet access is not chargeable when accessed through the BlackBerry Internet Browser (after another argument, she assured me that she had been told this by more than one person, including technical support)!

Thanks for the heads up CybaCowboy.... question, like you, my Curve is the "T BIZ" and the Blackberry Interest Browser is the picture of the world with the arrow going around?

Is there anything else I should be wary / aware of?

Thanks in advance

[CybaCowboy]

Wirelessly posted (RIM BlackBerry Curve 8300: BlackBerry8800/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/122)

You can also remove your service provider's access point (Internet) settings, forcing your device to ONLY use the BlackBerry access point (Internet) settings:

• Menu, Options, Advanced Options, TCP

Remove ALL of the settings from this screen and you shouldn't see any charges for Internet browsing...



~ Posted wirelessly from my BlackBerry 8800 (http://wap.blackberryforums.com.au) ~