Losing money unnecessarily due to GPRS

(Baonghean.vn) - Even while using normal phone services, or having canceled monthly internet packages to save money, customers still experience a sudden surge in phone bills because they have been "tricked" by network providers into accessing GPRS services unintentionally...

Being pickpocketed without knowing it.

Recently, many Vinaphone subscribers in Nghe An have complained about their phone bills suddenly increasing by 3-4 times. Many, due to work commitments, only found out months later when they went to the VNPT Nghe An Business Center (which provides Vinaphone network services) to inquire about the issue, that their phones had automatically accessed GPRS data packages!

It is noteworthy that during this period of sudden increases in GPRS access charges, customers received no advice from their monthly billing staff or from their mobile network provider.

A colleague of ours said that his Vinaphone subscription previously included an internet service package costing 70,000 VND per month. After 4G became available, he asked the billing staff how to cancel this service to switch to 4G. He was advised to send a text message "huy max" to 888 to cancel the package.

Having a 4G SIM card provides faster and more convenient internet access compared to the previous 70,000 VND package, and with Wi-Fi available at home, at work, or at cafes, he feels comfortable and convenient reading news and checking Facebook on his phone.

For the first month, his bill was normal, even down by 70,000 VND compared to his previous internet package. However, about two months later, he was surprised to receive a bill from his mobile network provider stating that his subscription fee was three times higher than the previous month, without any clear reason.

After making the effort to visit the VNPT Nghe An Business Center at 1 Ho Tung Mau Street, Vinh City, he was informed by staff that the sudden increase in charges was due to his phone automatically accessing GPRS data, costing over 500,000 VND per month. Further checking revealed that in just over 10 days of November 2017, he had already incurred over 500,000 VND in GPRS data charges!

VNPT Nghe An Business Center - a provider of Vinaphone services. Photo: Duc Dung

When I asked the customer service representative why I was still being charged for internet access even though I had canceled my 70,000 VND/month internet package, the representative explained that if a customer cancels the 70,000 VND/month package, the network provider will automatically switch to a GPRS package that charges based on data usage. If I don't want to use GPRS, I have to send a text message to cancel the service.

It's worth noting that, in reality, almost no customers are advised to cancel the GPRS service via text message. They only find out how to cancel the service when they notice a sudden increase in phone charges due to their phone automatically accessing GPRS, and they go to a VNPT agent to inquire.

Besides failing to advise mobile phone users on how to stop using GPRS services after canceling their monthly internet subscription packages, to prevent customers from losing money unnecessarily, VNPT also "traps" customers by automatically accessing the most expensive GPRS package. While Vinaphone's normal access package only costs 70,000 VND/month, if customers accidentally leave GPRS automatically enabled for a few days, they can lose hundreds of thousands of VND, even though the service quality is not as good as the 70,000 VND/month package.

For example, our colleague was upset because he uses Wi-Fi at home and at work, and only uses his phone to read news and use Facebook, but somehow VNPT Nghe An charged him over 500,000 VND for GPRS access in just over 10 days—tens of times more expensive than his 70,000 VND/month package—even though he had no knowledge of using GPRS!

Customers must protect themselves.

Speaking with a technician at a mobile phone store, he stated that when customers use their services, the network providers (in this case, VNPT Nghe An - the provider of Vinaphone services) should provide specific advice to customers. Especially for services with automatic access like GPRS at such high prices, the network providers should warn customers, rather than "trapping" them in this way.

Not only are people being unfairly ripped off by being automatically charged the most expensive GPRS service package, but during our investigation, we also learned that thousands of mobile phone users in our province are being scammed day and night by advertising messages. When customers open these messages, they can immediately lose tens of thousands of dong because the messages are automatically sent or automatically use GPRS to access the internet, download, and send data!

A Vinaphone customer's bill for unwanted GPRS access. Photo: Duc Dung

However, very few people realize they are being cheated out of money in this way. Only those who use postpaid subscriptions and notice their monthly bill suddenly skyrocketing will investigate and discover they've been ripped off without realizing it. Only then will they frantically try to stop this kind of scam.

Many people report that when questions or complaints arise, customers insist they never registered for the service, while the network provider often claims the customer may have accidentally activated the service. If so, this is essentially a trap for customers, especially when compared to service providers like Yahoo, Gmail, and Facebook, where customers must complete a series of steps and make commitments before using their services.

The practice of customers being unfairly ripped off has been going on for a long time, but with the ambiguity and lack of professionalism of mobile network operators, many more customers will unknowingly use GPRS services or advertising messages and become easy targets, losing millions, or even tens of millions of dong, if they are on business trips abroad.

Currently, most phones on the market from brands like iPhone, HTC, Samsung, Nokia, etc., are smartphones, and these phones usually have GPRS data access enabled by default. To avoid unnecessary expenses and frustration, mobile phone users should be familiar with the syntax for checking their mobile network's service availability and regularly check and cancel any services they haven't subscribed to.

Duc Nghia