I’ve been on prepaid since I got a mobile phone ten years ago. The only time I was convince to get into a postpaid plan was when I got an iPhone 3G subscription plan from Globe. And for the last 12 months, I thought it was well worth it.
Not until this month when I got my last bill. I’m subscribed on the basic iPhone Plan 1599 and ever since I had it, I never once exceeded my monthly allocation. I don’t text a lot or make calls (and I have 2 other active prepaid numbers) and despite being a heavy mobile internet user, I still am not able to consume all the 40 hours a month allocation (mainly because I got wifi at home and have both SmartBro and Globe Tattoo accounts).
So it was a huge surprise to learn that last month, my bill went beyond Php6,000 (there’s another Php3,700 spill-over internet charges for this month). During that time, I actually monitor my account getting charged about Php400 every day. So I reported it, made screenshots, documented and asked some clarifications. I got a lot of possible answers:
- Push Email was set to ON and the iPhone could be connecting to 3G all the time. In the last 12 months of having GMail and Yahoo on my iPhone, I never set it to ON and it’s OFF until now. Fetch is also set to OFF/Manual.
- iPhone Apps that connect to the net in the background. Been regularly downloading new apps (including Yahoo Messenger, TruPhone and Skype). I thought no iPhone Apps can run in the background? Apple specifically disabled this feature as it hogs resources, battery life and slows down performance. I don’t think there’s an app that runs on the background. To be sure, I restarted/rebooted the iPhone several times during the day.
- iPhone OS 3.0 reset some settings/configurations. However, I did the upgrade in June so I should have experienced this problem much earlier.
The timing is also suspicious as at least 2 other friends on an iPhone plan have racked up Php17,000 and Php20,000 on their bills this same month. I’ve already filed a dispute/report and so have my other friends.
This isn’t the first time this type of incident has happened. I’ve actually helped a couple of people (both on iPhone and Nokia phones) resolve their sky-high 3G internet charges before.
The quick-fix — disable the APN. That way, the iPhone won’t be able to connect even if it tried to.
It’s irritating though that I need to edit my APN every time I want to connect online. It ruins the experience. Now, I’m always afraid to use my iPhone to connect online. If that’s the case, the iPhone looks crippled — might as well ditch it. Apple needs to look into this.
My only gripe si that I only have a Php2,500 credit limit. I assume that when I reach that amount/charge before end of the month, my account gets suspended, which it should be. So, I wonder why my fees go way beyond Php2,500.
My solution?
- Switch to Globe Prepaid. But that doesn’t solve the problem that my credits/load could get drained overnight.
- Jailbreak the iPhone and use my other existing Smart Prepaid SIM.
- Sell the iPhone 3G and get an openline HTC Magic or Nokia E72 for my Globe subscription.
But before that, I need to settle my unpaid and long-overdue bills first. 
Twitter: villaemmanuel
says:
Well, the question is did Globe fix this problem? Other countries telco’s like singtel (SG) have bill caps on data usage that even if u exceeded the 12GB free, you wont be charged beyond $30.
I believe this is more of serv provider and infrastracture rather than the phone model itself.
Something funny is going on. I’m a tech-savvy person who writes tech for a living. I know how to turn my Internet usage off. I have compiled photos of this on my Facebook account and I can even make a video to prove that I CANNOT use Globe’s data services even if I wanted to.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=202913&id=649539840
Globe is doing something unfair and quite possibly illegal to its consumers. If you have a Globe story about unfair charges, kindly PM me on Facebook or send me e-mail at zach AT yonzon.com. I’m compiling data for an article and possibly a formal complaint to be lodged against the company.
Zack they didn’t fix the issue,
what globe did is introduce a new service called superfurf which for 1200 pesos monthly allows you to surf unlimited.
http://site.globe.com.ph/iphone/fullyloaded/?sid=TKLGjcuxpRcAAHxn3DoAAAAXe
this is a free item on plan 3799.
If you’re on a different plan, you will have to avail it manually.
This is not happening only on Iphone users. Me and my friends are using Samsung phones and we are encountering the same problem, EXCESSIVE CHARGING!It is very clear that this is a form of scam. This must be brought up to the public and to NTC.
Twitter: Jurvee
says:
I’ve been an iPhone user for two years without a problem. I always change my apn and switching off 3G and internet data after each use. Though very inconvenient it’s still ok cuz globe is not overcharging me then with internet usages. How come they’re overcharging me now? To think that I even upgraded my plan from 1599 to 1799?! Grrr..
i’m using samsung galaxy mini on plan 999. nung una, may problema sa supersurf registration nila- nung dinedeactivate ko thru txt kasi malapit na matapos ung 30 days, ang reply sakin e invalid keyword. i called up customer service, they said they’ll deactivate it manually sa kanilang pc. but still, i got a txt message saying registered ulit ako since.i did not deactivate it. i called cust srv again and they said i.disregard lang coz deactivated na talaga.
The most surprising part is i got a txt mssge ryt now bout my unbilled charges- it is whooping 34,436.00!! imagine that? after my supersurf, i deacvtivated packet data para di na talaga makagamit ng net. well, i turned it on for a while to check my mail and some google article viewing, but 34k??? it is too much. anyway, unbilled pa naman pero nakakatakot talaga ung amount.hope maayos to
I was charged 30k+ din at hindi ako natutuwa, hindi ko naman kasi ginagamit yung mobile net palagi, tapos sobrang bagal pa ng internet, imposible talaga umabot ng 30k ang bill ko, hindi naman nagloload yung page pag inexit ko yung browser ko, tapos hindi ko naman magamit yung applications sa phone ko (kasi sobrang BAGAL nga ng net sakin), tsaka pumapasok ako, natutulog naman ako no, there’s something fishy talaga! hahaha,
Same problem here, even on prepaid, load gets sucked out. Ive turned everything off and I had to manually change the APN each time i want to disconnect. too much of a hassle but I think the main problem here is the credit limit.
From what I know, I think the credit limit of a subscriber is based on kung ano lang ang kayang bayaran ng customer. So parang tanga naman na sila ang nag sabi na ang kaya mo lang bayaran is P2500 and gave you that credit limit, tapos hahayaan nila umabot ng 30k yung bill mo diba? nakakinis ang Globe