Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Boston MA
Posts: 16

Vstream always bills Vphone data minutes wrong

Anyone else have this problem?

I've had my Visorphone (on Voicestream) for 2 billing cycles now. I got the lowest-price voice plan (75 minutes for 19.99) and added DataStream (1500 data-only minutes) because I'm primarily using it for wireless data via Blazer, One-touch email, Avantgo sync, etc.

Technically it works fine - I dial up to my ISP, log in, get online. But each bill I get shows some 600 or so voice minutes and zero data minutes - even though I've made maybe only 15 minutes of voice calls on the thing. Everything else has been dialup data to the ISP.

Last month, after getting a $252 bill when I expected about $53 ($20 voice base + $30 datastream + tax) I had to call up Voicestream. After a long call with several "hold on while I check with someone" delays, they did fully adjust my bill to move all the calls to my ISP over to the data buckets. Supposedly they also did something to fix my account. The next day, I did receive a SIM Update SMS, which I assumed was whatever reprogramming was needed.

But this month, I'm waiting for my bill to arrive by mail and I check their website - and my new bill is about $180. So clearly they did it again - counted all the data as voice, even though I have Datastream just for this purpose.

Obviously I'm going to call Vstream again once I get the hardcopy bill. But has anyone else who is using Visorphone with Voicestream with DataStream had this problem? Has anyone had it permanently solved? I really don't want to be calling these people up every month to correct my bill.

Any tips (other than "call them up")? Is there some "magic phrase" like "you need to set up an xxxyyz on my account" that I should know? Is there a hardware incompatibility with Visorphone that prevents it somehow from informing the system that this is a "data call"?

Thanks,
Mark

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

Don't all phone companies bill incorrectly?

I thought that was par for the course.

__________________
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Registered: Mar 2001
Location: pittsburgh, pa
Posts: 72

We have had Voicestream since December {we purchased a one year contract} and there has only been ONE MONTH that we did NOT have to call to have our bill adjusted.... It is absolutely insane and the print is so small that you need a magnifying glass to see what you have actually been charged for. Our last bill was $164.00 when in reality we owed $29.99. I can't wait to unload them.

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Boston MA
Posts: 16

What a shame about the Voicestream billing errors. The service has been great otherwise. The voice quality, for the few calls I make on it as my "backup" cell, is much better than my AT&T or my wife's Cingular TDMA phones.

I guess they need to pay big bucks to get Jamie Lee Curtis