Captain's Log: Absurd Internet Charges on Globe Postpaid

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Captain's Log Stardate -313019.4

There have been a lot of fuss lately about Globe's questionable internet charges on postpaid subscribers using the Apple iPhone. I've been receiving a lot of complaints about this, as much as I would like to help, I can't. I will either tell them to completely remove Globe's APN on their phone or redirect them to Globe's official Get Satisfaction page.

If the problem requires immediate attention, I'll endorse it immediately to Globe's CS dept. It's their job anyway. Believe me, I receive dozens of complaints everyday.

Last December, my Aunt complained about her P9000+ internet bill. Not to the Globe CSR, but directly to my face (As if I can do anything about it). Her postpaid account has been charged P9,314.03 in a span of 10 days because of "excessive internet usage". She's using an old Treo 650 without any Globe APN and installed apps that use the internet. This isn't the first time she complained about Globe's absurd billing. Last October 2008, one of her lines reached P11,000+. Funny thing is, both those lines have a P5,000 credit limit.

You may ask, why blog if you can directly tell Globe about this. Well for one, I'm a subscriber myself and I know the feeling my Aunt is going through. Second, this is the second time Globe charged us way beyond our credit limits. They should have fixed this problem last year when we complained but they didn't. Third, my Aunt is one of the first 50 Globe subscribers... well it's of no importance though, she's just using it repeatedly when she rants.

Anyway, let's assume that my aunt did use her phone 24 hours a day for 10 days on the internet. That's P20/hour on the default TIME-base charging of Globe (P5 per 15 minutes). So it's P480 per day or P4800 within 10 days! So why P9314.03?

Well, you see the problem? Her account is still on KB-based charging scheme despite the fact that Globe has sent an SMS blast to all prepaid and postpaid subscribers about their shift of default charging from KB-based to TIME-based.

Remember Jessica Zafra's "Piece of Crap" post? You'll get the idea why they shifted to TIME-based. Apparently, they haven't shifted all subscribers.

This may explain my aunt's huge bill... well, if her phone has internet/APN settings! I removed them myself. I even uninstalled Palm applications that access the internet. But wait, there's more! Both her postpaid lines have a P5,000 credit limit.

If the system can detect your usage, then why send a warning like this if the account already has surpassed the allotted credit limit? The system should have had suspended her account already since P9,000 is way past the P5,000 limit. Credit limits are there for a reason right?

I don't believe that it's Apple and it's iPhone's fault as per Rom's article at the Manila Bulletin. Remember, my Aunt uses a Palm Treo 650 not an iPhone.

So it's either my aunt and the rest of these folks are lying and have been abusing Globe's 3G (trust me it's fast, just wait for our review on GameOPS) for porn and Globe has been screwing them all along or there is a serious problem in Globe's billing system.

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Disclosure: Blog owner is a forum administrator of myGlobe, a website of Globe Telecom.

*Computer end log*

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THERE ARE 4 COMMENT(S) ON THIS POST:

Posted by kinny on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 10:49:00 PM GMT+08:00:
My brother is GPlan 800 and surfed for about three hours for just one day last month. He got a text that his new balance was 4,000+. He dropped his phone in shock! His limit is Php5,000 and his outstanding balance before surfing when he checked was 542 pesos. So The 3k+ was just for surfing. Yup he was told by customer service he was on kb vs. time and to switch to TIME to prevent this from happening again. Of course after they had already ripped the kid off! His end of the month bill? 5,400.

Posted by kinny on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 10:51:00 PM GMT+08:00:
Oh his phone was a Nokia 95 8GB so I agree it may not be an iphone scheme seeing as your aunt uses a Treo.

Posted by luigi on Tuesday, August 3, 2010 9:15:00 PM GMT+08:00:
I’ve been a Globe subscriber for more than 8 years already but I have never experienced a problem this big.

I purchased a Globe tattoo kit knowing internet was only around 5 pesos per 15 minutes or something like that. I thought I could probably use it in Singapore since there was a possibility that I wouldn’t have internet there. BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER.

While I was there, I put my postpaid simcard in the Globe tattoo. It seemed to be working fine also since there was an option whether for it to be postpaid or prepaid. I was only there for only 3 days. I used my internet using it and it worked and had an okay connection. And this was not knowing the charge was PER KB! When I asked globe before and even on the internet all they said was the charge was 5 pesos per 15 minutes! That’s why i decided to buy one!

When I received my bill it amounted to 397,000 pesos!!!!!!!! I was very shocked when I saw this and immediately called globe to complain. All they said was the for every (2000kb) I used (to simply to open my facebook and other sites) charged me 5500 pesos in Singapore! Not even including vat!
IF I KNEW OR WAS EVEN INFORMED ABOUT KB CHARGING, I wouldn’t have used it in the first place! I was so clueless! I expected my bill to go up since I was abroad, but I didn’t expect it to be THIS BIG. I think isn’t just since I had NO IDEA this was going to happen. 400,000 pesos IS A LOT OF MONEY. And I would understand and pay if it was worth it, BUT THIS ISNT WORTH IT AT ALL. I wasn’t informed at all. The only time I was, was the time when they were billing me.

I HAD TO LEARN THE HARD WAY. I was also shocked why both singtel and globe just allowed my bill to shoot up to that amount. Without even cutting my line or atleast informing me way before it reached that limit.

I really don’t know what to do. This is like my worst nightmare.. Do you have any advice on what I should do?

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

luigi_santosss@yahoo.com

Posted by Faust on Thursday, January 27, 2011 11:33:00 PM GMT+08:00:
that's how they make money, is it a common practice for globe to charge double? lets say I have a bill for the month of january 20, 2011 that's equivalent to around Php1,300 and I haven't paid it yet and then on January 27, 2011 it reached P2,600. Does this mean that they're charging in advance for the month of february?

PS: I'm using Globe Tattoo Postpaid unlimited internet with bundled Neo Basic 3357. Regards

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