Prepaid

[aaknes]

Hi, 

I have a problem with the charging of my credit. I never knew why I used up my prepaid credit so quickly but today I checked my usage details to find unreasonable $0.01 PKT charges during crazy hours in the morning and throughout the day. I know $0.01 isn't much but just in the lasts 6 days it has charged this over 500 times making it over $5 of credit deducted. 

Here is a photo of some of the record. I have definitely not been making calls at 4am in the morning.

Would someone please give me some explination as to why these fees are being charged and if there is any chance to get my credit back?

[Sarah_C]

Hi aaknes,

This is a little odd, and I'll definitely work with you to find out what is causing these charges.

I never knew why I used up my prepaid credit so quickly but today I checked my usage details to find unreasonable $0.01 PKT charges during crazy hours in the morning and throughout the day.

The charged amount seems to be $0.01 for all usage, and the internet sessions are mainly sitting at 1Kb each. This indicates that there is a program or application running in the background of your phone performing constant updates.

To ensure this does not happen in the future, I'd like to make sure that you have your background data switched off. If you're not sure how to turn this off, can you please let me know what phone you are using so I can run you through the steps.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Regards,

Sarah.

[asinger]

Have received text that have used up 1.5 gb in PKT charges on mobile broadband, also at odd hours. The modem is disconnected from the network on the vodafone software and the computer in sleep mode but it seems to be accessing the network on its own!

[Bruno]

Hi asinger,

asinger wrote:

Have received text that have used up 1.5 gb in PKT charges on mobile broadband, also at odd hours. The modem is disconnected from the network on the vodafone software and the computer in sleep mode but it seems to be accessing the network on its own!

I've just responded to your question in another thread here.

If there is anything else that I can help you with, please let me know.

Cheers,

-Bruno.

[aaknes]

I'm currently using the Samsung wave s8500. I have also read on the internet that others experience the same problem where 3G and packet data is turned off however the phone is using data.

I've currently found a developer code for s8500 which turns off internet as a whole. Hope this will help my situation.

This means it is not a problem of vodafone's?

[James]

Hi aaknes,

aaknes wrote:

I'm currently using the Samsung wave s8500. I have also read on the internet that others experience the same problem where 3G and packet data is turned off however the phone is using data.

Though you are seeing this particular problem online elsewhere, your issue may not be identical , and I would like to further investigate to isolate the exact cause of your data query.

I've currently found a developer code for s8500 which turns off internet as a whole. Hope this will help my situation.

What does the code do once you enter it into your phone, and how did you enter it? This code may have more than one effect on your handset, and may not just disable data use.

This means it is not a problem of vodafone's?

This is definitely something that concerns us, especially if you have been charged for something that you have not chosen to use. 

 I will need to take a look at some details on your account to further determine the cause of this issue. I have sent you a PM with some instructions on how to send your information through to me, and you can access your PM's by clicking this link.

I look forward to speaking with you further.

Kind Regards,

James.

[elsieconnell]

Hi

I've just noticed in the last month that I too have been using up my prepaid $ quicker than normal. I looked at my account and notice that there are pages and pages of pkt charges of $0.01 which add up.

I may use my phone to check the weather on one of my applications once per week, but no more than that. 

Can you please tell me how to stop this from happening.

I have a LG P500 phone.

Thanks kindly

Elsie

PS. I've attached a few examples to show you.

Date	Time	Call Type	Number Called	Call Duration	Call Code	Charged Amount
3/05/2012	3:53:48	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:07	PKT	$0.01
3/05/2012	1:37:10	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:06	PKT	$0.01
3/05/2012	0:07:36	PKT	internet 3Kb	0:05:06	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	23:43:02	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:08	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	23:31:04	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:07	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	23:19:54	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:06	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	23:07:53	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:09	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	22:45:59	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:06	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	22:23:07	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:07	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	22:11:04	PKT	internet 3Kb	0:05:07	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	21:59:01	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:08	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	21:43:05	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:09:12	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	21:20:38	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:10:00	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	21:09:06	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:09	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	20:46:40	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:06	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	20:35:51	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:09	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	20:24:45	PKT	internet 3Kb	0:05:16	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	20:13:22	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:09	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	20:01:25	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:07	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	19:49:40	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:09	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	19:38:12	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:12	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	19:26:22	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:10	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	19:14:46	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:25	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	19:03:09	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:06	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	18:52:30	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:08	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	18:37:18	PKT	internet 49Kb	0:10:41	PKT	$0.10
2/05/2012	18:31:39	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:06	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	18:20:56	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:19	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	18:12:47	PKT	internet 1Kb	0:06:12	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	18:06:48	PKT	internet 27Kb	0:05:58	PKT	$0.06
2/05/2012	17:56:03	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:05:07	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	17:45:08	PKT	internet 3Kb	0:05:06	PKT	$0.01
2/05/2012	17:31:55	PKT	internet 2Kb	0:07:20	PKT	$0.01

[Peter]

Hi Elsie - It does look like something like a weather service.  Why don't you try to track down what's causing it with a data monitor app like 3G Watchdog Pro, as that records usage by various programs.

I read about it in this article from the New York Times.  DataMan and DataMan Pro, Data Usage, 3G Watchdog Pro and NetCounter are pretty good, apparently.  Cost ranges from free to a couple of bucks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/technology/personaltech/mobile-users-get-help-in-monitoring-data-p...

[Jess]

Hey Elsie, 

Thanks for providing the examples with your post. 

---

elsieconnell wrote:

I've just noticed in the last month that I too have been using up my prepaid $ quicker than normal. I looked at my account and notice that there are pages and pages of pkt charges of $0.01 which add up.

 I may use my phone to check the weather on one of my applications once per week, but no more than that. 

 Can you please tell me how to stop this from happening.

As mentioned by Peter it is possible the weather application is automatically pulling information from the website that provides the data. 
Peter has given you a great idea about monitoring the applications but another option is removing the application and seeing if the usage pattern persists. 

You can also disable data on your device if you want to ensure there are no background applications connecting without your knowledge. You can do this by going to Settings -> Wireless & networks -> Mobile networks -> Uncheck 'Data enabled. 
Just repeat the above steps if you want to enable data again.

I am interested to hear how you go with this.

Jess  

[peterparker338]

I have exactly the same problem have you found the problem ?