BT Mobile data usage

[PaulAM]

Be interested to know if you have the same experience as me when downloading a 512MB file from this trusted test page 

http://xcal1.vodafone.co.uk/

It cost me 1.7GB of data when my phones data usage monitor showed I had only used 560MB

It's a simple test 

Appreciate your feedback

[kojowusu]

I wouldn’t risk it

[PaulAM]

It's a low risk zip file you don't need to open it. Try your own reliable file download and see if you experience similar discrepancies

[Lesley3]

I don't intend too.

[M-raged]

Has anyone had a satisfactory answer to this issue?

I received an e-mail last night at 8:54pm saying that I had used 802MB of my 1000MB allowance which was odd, as my usual data consumption is rarely over 400MB.

I turned off Mobile Data and planned to check it out the next day. Overnight I received three further e-mails stating that I had used all my mobile data allowance, then that I had racked up £80 excess charges and then I had reached my monthly overspend limit of £100 for using 1.2GB of data on the 1st of August and 200MB in the early hours of the 2nd August.

BT have stated blankly that I have used the Data and therefore the charges are valid. Apart from being hugely frustrating that I am being asked to pay £100 for something I have not used and derived no benefit from it seems very difficult for me to prove. My phone says I used 43MB Mobile Data between 1st and 2nd of August. My only recourse was to raise a complaint and will have to query my bill when it is issued later this month.

[Lesley3]

I never received a satisfactory answer when it happened to me in May & June, no spikes in July but lo & behold it happened again on 2/8/23. I supposedly used nearly 4GB of data over a 2 day period. Called BT up again, advisor read previous notes and had to agree that these steep hikes in usage were not consistent with my normal usage, last month I used only 1.25GB, since it happened in May & June I've been constantly checking my data is off and checking my data usage on phone and BT. I even screen shot it so I can see history. So BT are saying I've used just short of 5GB this billing cycle, runs from 25th of each month. I said to them I did not have data on for at least 23 hours of the 2 day period when spike occurred. What was more interesting was they say its You Tube usage again, this has been previous story, I said I find that unbelievable as You Tube is disabled and I even have a screen shot showing "disabled" beside the app. The advisor spoke to the tech team who said they were aware of some phones causing this problem, in other words nothing to do with BT. Yesterday I moved to a new phone so I'm gonna see if this happens again. Also while they say I've used just short of 5GB, my phone says 679MB. None of this makes sense and strange that it is happening to BT Mobile customers, the ones they want to move to costlier EE. 

[PaulAM]

After all my attempts to get EE to look at their systems I asked them if they could carry out the simple 500MB file download test, see my earlier post above.

They said they were unable to do this 

That says it all !

[Lesley3]

Further to my earlier reply, just re-read yours and my excess data also occurred overnight between 1st & 2nd August too. I only know this as I went to bed around 11;30 and when I switched off my sound, I also checked data was off and I didn't receive the warning email until 1:34pm on 2/8/23

[M-raged]

Interesting.

I have raised a complaint, as the Agent I was talking to at BT Mobile was unable or unwilling to report a fault or pass me to the tech team and his manager was unwilling to accept an escalation (I used to be a BT Manager and I can't believe this attitude). Apparently, I cannot dispute the charges until the bill is issued on the 24th (although I will be disputing it as soon as). I cannot change my excess charge limit until the next billing cycle. My data cycle is on the 14th so I risk another excess charge of up to £100 if the problem occurs again between the 14th and 24th of August so I have swapped the service to EE in the hope that at least I will not be clobbered again this month.

I will update this post if I get any useful information.

[Lesley3]

I'm like yourself a former employee of BT for nearly 48 years. I'm also disgusted at their lack in interest in investigating this issue. I asked the advisor I spoke to on the 2/8/23 to get someone to look at the BT Community Forum as I am not a one off customer this has happened too. He said the threads are read but not sure if any action is ever taken. BTW did BT say what your data usage was for, as nearly everyone who has had this issue has been told its You Tube.