iPhone: weak Wi-Fi leads to hefty bill.
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@art_of_shred said:
@IRJ said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@IRJ said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@IRJ said:
I believe everyone is at fault here, the son, the father, and AT&T. Everyone already mentioned why the father and son our at fault, but AT&T should have proactive monitors that send out redflags once a data bill hits a certain threshold. Especially if the family's typical phone bill is $150 and all the sudden is $2000. That should send a redflag somewhere and something should be done to ensure the customer really wants to accept the outrageous data charges.
But they did, right?
a single text message
how much hounding does one need. The message was sent and received and they didn't care. I don't see how AT&T has any more responsibility here. They have the status on the phone itself, they have an account status AND a courtesy, but unnecessary, text alert that they were being foolish. How many layers must AT&T do?
I would think an alert at every GB over the limit would be appreciated by customers.
I would think that anyone who cared about their bill would be watching their usage after seeing that warning. Once again, not AT&T's fault. Everyone needs to stop being a victim and take some personal responsibility. For AT&T to send any notification at all is a courtesy to the customer. You know what your terms of service are. You know what the cost is if you go above the limit. That's not their problem. They offer the service and you pay them for what you use. That's where it ends. If you can't be bothered to pay attention and monitor your own use of the service that you alone are responsible to pay for, why is it their job to be your babysitter?
I agree with this in general - the problem I have with this is that in general in our current society, we don't have limits. Your ISP at home, there's no limit for the standard consumer, cable TV, you're not limited on how much TV you can watch (or how long your TV is on), phone calls from landlines - when making local calls there are no limits on how long you can be on the phone.
We're presented with a situation where primarily we are unlimited. The cellular companies use this 'normal' behavior against it's customers to cause ridiculous bills like this.
While I can't think of a specific situation off the top of my head, I'm sure I have been in many situations where there are clear and defined limits, and when you reach them you are stopped, service closes, fails to work until you respond with how you would like to proceed. Thereby preventing you from screwing yourself with a ridiculous bill.
All that said, yes you still need to man up and take personal responsibility for the agreements you get into.
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@dafyre said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@IRJ said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@IRJ said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@IRJ said:
I believe everyone is at fault here, the son, the father, and AT&T. Everyone already mentioned why the father and son our at fault, but AT&T should have proactive monitors that send out redflags once a data bill hits a certain threshold. Especially if the family's typical phone bill is $150 and all the sudden is $2000. That should send a redflag somewhere and something should be done to ensure the customer really wants to accept the outrageous data charges.
But they did, right?
a single text message
how much hounding does one need. The message was sent and received and they didn't care. I don't see how AT&T has any more responsibility here. They have the status on the phone itself, they have an account status AND a courtesy, but unnecessary, text alert that they were being foolish. How many layers must AT&T do?
I would think an alert at every GB over the limit would be appreciated by customers.
I don't think that it would. Maybe some, but only some. And whether or not it would be appreciated doesn't in any way make AT&T at fault.
What I would like to see is companies give their customers the options of what to do when data runs out.
"You have met your data cap What would you like to do?"
- Continue using data (warning, you will be charged per GB of data you use!)
- Upgrade to next tier of data plan
- Disable data until your next billing cycle.
I get text messages from Verizon at 75, 80, and 95%, so that is kinda option 1. They actually offer the upgrade to next data tier option via text message, but not the option to disable my data.
But I can do all of that with my phone now, right? It would be a redundant service?
You can, but with the exception of T-mobile, the rest of the major carriers are shared data plans and your phone only knows about the data that YOUR phone has used.
I want this same system too.
Frankly, from a child perspective, I would like to be able to limit how much data they can use per day.
Really? Even my wireless provider tells me all other phone's usage on the same account. I'm on one of those Wifi carriers.
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@Dashrender my issue with that is that there are capped and there are unlimited plans and the customers get to decide how this works. They can get prepaid and have it just shut off. They can get unlimited (like I do.) They can get soft capped where the speed just drops. They can get "pay for overages" like these people opted to do. They had choices. They CHOSE this plan knowing the risks. No one forced them. They had other options. So that they are used to other things at home (which we don't know is true, my family in Texas has capped plans) doesn't really apply here.
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@BRRABill said:
@art_of_shred said:
Fine. But, if you hand a device to a kid, you just owned the responsibility for whatever they do with it. Of course there are limitations to that statement, but I'm sure you get what I mean.
Have you ever been with a screaming kid in a restaurant?
I'll take the $2K bill.
Or you could discipline your children... needs of the many, bro, needs of the many (the many being everyone else in said restaurant who hates you and your screaming, undisciplined child).
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@RojoLoco said:
Or you could discipline your children... needs of the many, bro, needs of the many (the many being everyone else in said restaurant who hates you and your screaming, undisciplined child).
Giving them the phone is much, much quicker.
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@BRRABill said:
@RojoLoco said:
Or you could discipline your children... needs of the many, bro, needs of the many (the many being everyone else in said restaurant who hates you and your screaming, undisciplined child).
Giving them the phone is much, much quicker.
Do you really not remove your screaming, petulant children from restaurants with great haste??? Glad I don't live in your town. Know that non-breeders despise such behavior.
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@RojoLoco said:
Do you really not remove your screaming, petulant children from restaurants with great haste??? Glad I don't live in your town. Know that non-breeders despise such behavior.
Hey if you are eating dinner at Check E. Cheese, you get what you deserve.
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@BRRABill I eat at good restaurants exclusively.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender my issue with that is that there are capped and there are unlimited plans and the customers get to decide how this works. They can get prepaid and have it just shut off. They can get unlimited (like I do.) They can get soft capped where the speed just drops. They can get "pay for overages" like these people opted to do. They had choices. They CHOSE this plan knowing the risks. No one forced them. They had other options. So that they are used to other things at home (which we don't know is true, my family in Texas has capped plans) doesn't really apply here.
You approach this from a lawyer's point of view. Sure they made the choice, but I'm willing to bet that the carrier (Best Buy flunky, AT&T store flunky, etc) never told them about those other two options. I know I've never been told about an AT&T unlimited option (pretty sure they didn't have one when I signed up with them 2+ years ago), and even if they did have a plan, I put my hand on any deity's book and swear that they never told me about a plan that would put a hard stop to data once I reach my pre agreed upon amount per month.
The sales persons only tell you about the plan they are trying to push. Only if you ask do they offer any additional information.
Now your lawyer side says, well to bad, that's your problem, you were the idiot who didn't research your options, and I have to concede this point. But you mentioned that AT&T has already suffered this bad press - but they keep suffering it. So I have to ask, is AT&T making more money off the overage fees they ARE collecting to overcome the regular bad press vs just making a global change to eradicate this simple to solve problem? I'm going to have to assume YES they are making more than the bad press is taking away. i.e. let's just guess that 5% of customers have overages, but reasonable overages - those customers just pay the bill. Now, if AT&T had a hard stop with a Press her to Pay $10 to continue it's almost assured that those customers would change their habits and those overage fees would go away completely.
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@coliver said:
@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@dafyre said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@IRJ said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@IRJ said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@IRJ said:
I believe everyone is at fault here, the son, the father, and AT&T. Everyone already mentioned why the father and son our at fault, but AT&T should have proactive monitors that send out redflags once a data bill hits a certain threshold. Especially if the family's typical phone bill is $150 and all the sudden is $2000. That should send a redflag somewhere and something should be done to ensure the customer really wants to accept the outrageous data charges.
But they did, right?
a single text message
how much hounding does one need. The message was sent and received and they didn't care. I don't see how AT&T has any more responsibility here. They have the status on the phone itself, they have an account status AND a courtesy, but unnecessary, text alert that they were being foolish. How many layers must AT&T do?
I would think an alert at every GB over the limit would be appreciated by customers.
I don't think that it would. Maybe some, but only some. And whether or not it would be appreciated doesn't in any way make AT&T at fault.
What I would like to see is companies give their customers the options of what to do when data runs out.
"You have met your data cap What would you like to do?"
- Continue using data (warning, you will be charged per GB of data you use!)
- Upgrade to next tier of data plan
- Disable data until your next billing cycle.
I get text messages from Verizon at 75, 80, and 95%, so that is kinda option 1. They actually offer the upgrade to next data tier option via text message, but not the option to disable my data.
But I can do all of that with my phone now, right? It would be a redundant service?
You can, but with the exception of T-mobile, the rest of the major carriers are shared data plans and your phone only knows about the data that YOUR phone has used.
I want this same system too.
Frankly, from a child perspective, I would like to be able to limit how much data they can use per day.
Really? Even my wireless provider tells me all other phone's usage on the same account. I'm on one of those Wifi carriers.
I'm on AT&T, I don't have that option on my phone - at least not in the Phone's built in software. Are you talking about an app from the vendor tells you that? and you can set that app to restrict or kill your access to Cellular data when you've reached the cap?
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@RojoLoco said:
@BRRABill I eat at good restaurants exclusively.
Then you will be safe from me and my brood.
If they don't have a person making balloon animals where you are, chances are we're not there.
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@Dashrender said:
I'm on AT&T, I don't have that option on my phone - at least not in the Phone's built in software. Are you talking about an app from the vendor tells you that? and you can set that app to restrict or kill your access to Cellular data when you've reached the cap?
My AT&T account I can look up all the other users. Though the only one with data other than me (my wife) calls me in anger because she is very careful about using data. (She is still on the 200MB plan.)
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@BRRABill said:
@RojoLoco said:
Or you could discipline your children... needs of the many, bro, needs of the many (the many being everyone else in said restaurant who hates you and your screaming, undisciplined child).
Giving them the phone is much, much quicker.
I'm sorry I have no empathy for you - I have to agree with RojoLoco here. If your child is that poorly misbehaved, why are you even going into public? (the rants of a childless adult).
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@BRRABill said:
@RojoLoco said:
Do you really not remove your screaming, petulant children from restaurants with great haste??? Glad I don't live in your town. Know that non-breeders despise such behavior.
Hey if you are eating dinner at Check E. Cheese, you get what you deserve.
Like Rojo - I'm not talking kiddy places, I'm talking casual dining places, like Red Robin, or Applebee's, etc. Kids shouldn't be screaming in those restaurants.
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@Dashrender said:
(the rants of a childless adult).
In all seriousness, we are not like that, personally. It always drove me nuts. There mere noise and I'm walking the kid around.
But sometimes they just make noise. Childless people think it's as easy as just leaving, but in reality it isn't most of the time.
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@Dashrender Rant on... childless adults are the ones who get shit done, all while having free time and disposable income. And far fewer gray hairs or baldness. Yep, @Dashrender, we win this round.
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@Dashrender said:
Like Rojo - I'm not talking kiddy places, I'm talking casual dining places, like Red Robin, or Applebee's, etc. Kids shouldn't be screaming in those restaurants.
I would consider Red Robin a kid's restaurant. If you don't like screaming kids I'd stay away From Red Robin.
At least the ones near us. The closest one to us is next to Sesame Place. You should go there some summer night after kids are tired and have been in the sun all day. You've never heard such screaming.
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@RojoLoco said:
@Dashrender Rant on... childless adults are the ones who get shit done, all while having free time and disposable income. And far fewer gray hairs or baldness. Yep, @Dashrender, we win this round.
Yeah but what do you win?
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@BRRABill said:
@Dashrender said:
I'm on AT&T, I don't have that option on my phone - at least not in the Phone's built in software. Are you talking about an app from the vendor tells you that? and you can set that app to restrict or kill your access to Cellular data when you've reached the cap?
My AT&T account I can look up all the other users. Though the only one with data other than me (my wife) calls me in anger because she is very careful about using data. (She is still on the 200MB plan.)
You're not on a shared family plan?
Sure I can see the usage of all of the phones on the carrier's website, but that's not the point.
In my case I have three phones on my account. We all share 10 (now 15 AT&T raised it) GB of data. My phone, the phone itself, has no clue how much data has been used by the other two phones on the shared plan.
