iPhone bill shock hits Optus

By Suzanne Tindal on 21 August 2008

Like Vodafone, Optus has started to receive complaints about iPhone billing problems relating to excess data charges.

Yesterday Vodafone revealed a number of customers had been hit with larger than expected bills after the carrier had not correctly transitioned them onto a new plan when they purchased an Apple iPhone.

Today one Optus customer told ZDNet.com.au that he had received a $693 bill with large data excess charges, despite the fact that he was on a $79 monthly iPhone plan with a 700MB allowance per month, of which he had used under 100MB.

The customer called the Optus call centre, where the operator tried to explain the extra charges away with pro-rata data limits. The theory was that because he had only been billed for part of the month he only had a portion of his 700MB allowance.

However, the bill covered around two thirds of the month, which meant that the under 100MB usage the customer had clocked up would have been within the allowed data usage.

After a second call, Optus discovered that he was still on his previous GPRS data plan, having not been correctly migrated, although the voice plan had been. His bill was reduced to just under $90.

However almost $130 was charged to his bank account when the time came to pay, which he has not yet sorted out. The customer speculated that with the bedlam on the day of signing up, human error could have caused him to have not been migrated to the correct data plan.

Optus declined to comment on how widespread the issue was.

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Topics: optus, iphone, mobile, vodafone, bill, data, plan, optu, customer, 100mb

Comments (23)

Shadowulf commented on 23/06/2009 12:52 Report abuse

I know! optus doesnt train their people! i mean they dont belive i can use wifi on my iphone! i get $300 bill when all my data was based on WIFI! i mean this is stupidity .
haydz commented on 12/06/2009 23:57 Report abuse

I think ive just been stung by another optus usage stuff up ( thanks to myself ???). As i am a new customer I have been on the net on my iphone and had just decided to register for online billing ( lucky thing ) as I just looked at my bill and its half way through my billing month and it says the amount due $305.. im hoping there is a mistake somewhere or im reading it wrong? but I dont think this is the case. Im on the $49 cap but I have pumped the 250 mb as I have just noticed and am going to be having a huge bill. Just because I didnt have a clue how much usage I was racking up.. has anyone else found themselves in this situation?
Dweebette commented on 09/06/2009 16:42 Report abuse

I just got back from NZ and encountered the excessive data charges. I don't consider myself ignorant but gee I am stuck with a rather large bill equivalent to my airfare, hotel bill and meals. I could have taken my partner with me for the same cost of keeping in contact with me. When I did check the costs it was too late I had already sucked up the charges. Two cents a kb works out to $20 a MB so 20 MB is $400. However, you have to know what usage is to check emails or check facebook and that's no easy for a non tech person. Also there are no warnings, "this will cost you hundreds of dollars a day" no sms advising you of charges when you access dataroaming. So the upshot is never data roam your iphone, because one mistake ruins you. You learn a lesson and Optus gets the cash. I've put in a complaint and I'm going to take it as far as I can but it is a nasty lesson and ruined my holiday. I would not have willingly and knowlingly incurred those charges.
ell commented on 08/05/2009 20:28 Report abuse

Can anyone actually make sense of their Optus iPhone bill - reads like Swahili to me.
DC commented on 28/04/2009 19:35 Report abuse

I went on a business plan with Optus for 2 Iphones, an 8gb and a 16gb. So on the morning they were meant to be delivered I stayed at the office to wait for them to arrive, when the courier got there at 3pm he gave me the box all was well, it was a big box i naturally assumed that there were 2 phones in it. Wrong. Just one 8 gb phone. So after spending 20min on hold i got on to customer service and they transferred me to shipping. They told me there was a "Computer problem" and they would get there IT department to look in to it, this would take 3 days. 5 days later the currier came to the door again, so finally i had my second iphone, but no it was another 8Gb. Back on the phone, seems there was another computer error. We’ll send you the 16gb in 3 more days, which will probably mean a week, oh and if you wouldn't mind taking the 8gb to an Optus store in the mean time. Do you think this is grounds to cancel the contract?
melon commented on 27/04/2009 23:21 Report abuse

It amazes me that some of us seem never to have heard about "buyer beware" or "ignorance is not an excuse". How, with the months of media attention surrounding the iPhone release and continual ‘excess data’ warnings from the ACCC and industry watchdogs - even the Telco’s themselves advised caution - can anyone claim ignorance? Take responsibility for your stupidity, lack of forethought and technological incompetence.
anmarie commented on 26/04/2009 10:52 Report abuse

optus is mony hungry and has poor customer service but telstra is just as bad trust me.
fconnery commented on 01/04/2009 18:39 Report abuse

Optus make me sick! I have just returned from a budget holiday in New Zealand after losing my job. I didn't use the phone for calls. I used it for text messages, checking my email and the very occasional internet search for information. I have just received a bill for over $1,400!!!!! I rang up customer service, who just fobbed me off. Because I am a new customer on a $59 cap they made me pay my monthly fee upfront and warned that the service may be suspended for excessive use %u2013 I thought, "fine by me, I don't want to be charged for excessive use." I am aghast that Optus would think that a person signed up for a $59 cap would think that $1,419.31 is reasonable! They are clearly charging an excessive amount for data oversea. This clearly a massive rip-off!!! I will be telling everyone I know not to use Optus. I promise!
me commented on 01/12/2008 04:03 Report abuse

Optus !!!.....i have had a billing problem since i signed up for my plan...they connect me to overseas customer service who dont have a clue of what is going on here!!! Alwayys recieve wrong information!....I had odered for a new phone..they promised me that it would be delivered on the 20th first...then i waited the whole day...i called them ...and they said 28th....i belived them...and the phone never turned up!!!...i wasted my time!!!.....i had very important work to do!....AS IF THEY CARE!!! soo rude that they couldnt call and inform me regarding this!!...i m really loosing hope and dont like the way i get treated!!... ALL my friends who are optus customers are planing to change their service providers.....good luck optus!!!!
bandit28 commented on 03/11/2008 19:42 Report abuse

Guys i work for Optus and im the first to admit we get things wrong but honestly they have one of the best if not THE best iphone plans out and if there is ever an issue an Optus store is always willing to help cause we understand the problems that occur also you can check your data usage online you just have to sign up for it go to www.optus.com.au and then click on the register button have your bill handy too....

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