Guest jbyte Posted May 10, 2003 Report Share Posted May 10, 2003 I am creating this thread for any users of the Tanager on postpaid plan who have found problems regarding their bills. I acquired my Tanager last March 12. I apply it under Plan 1335 and I gave a downpayment of P6500 for the phone. My first bill seems ok except that under "Charges this bill", the Smart Gold Plan (for Period of 3/22/03-4/21/03) indicates an amount of P1,811.79. How could this be? When in fact I apply for Plan 1335. I've just receive my second bill and a one page letter from SMART thanking me for choosing them as my service provider (I believe you have one also). Well, the Smart Gold Plan charge already displays P1335. But that's not the main issue on my second bill. I read that letter that presented me my Mobile ID No., Activation date, credit limit, and the Smart Gold Plan. Lower part displays the Free Airtime = 235 mins., Free Text = 390 mgs., Peak Hours: 7:00am to 9:59 pm (Mon-Sat), and Off-peak Hours: 10:00pm to 6:59am (Mon-Sat, All-day Sun and Reg. Holidays). After evaluating the Call Charges section of the bill, I found that there are several entries that do not conform with the peak and off-peak hours (e.g. Sunday entries which were charged based on normal peak hour rates and calls that falls under off-peak hours charged as normal peak hour rates). There is also some entries that falls on peak-hour range that were charged under off-peak hour rate. Well, this only shows there's an "INCONSISTENCY" on SMART's system on bills (or should I say, a bug on their billing system). Just imagine that for every bill, if there's this kind of inconsistency and there's at least 1 peso difference on what is supposed to be charge, then how much money would be wasted for millions of subscribers in this country. This thread was created to create awareness to not only to smartphone users but also to other phone users who is under postpaid plan. Please, try to look into it and if possible, post any abnormalities on your bill so that I can make a formal complaint to SMART authorities (you can make a formal complaint too on your respective areas). I have not raised any of these problems to SMART people yet. I'm still on the process of gathering some info from other Tanager users here in our locality, and probably from this forum before I do formal complaint. Please help me on the process if you found some inconsistencies on your bill. Thanks in advance. I hope and pray that SMART people will visit this forum and read our problems here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ppcsurfr Posted May 11, 2003 Report Share Posted May 11, 2003 Did you compute for the charges between the time you got your phone (March 12) and the start of the billing cycle (March 22)? I think you shold take this into account... your 10 days are not free. :wink: My billing charges are quite accurate... Better check with a customer care officer though to give you full explanation on your bills. Mabuhay ~ Carlo (ppcsurfr) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dinoalbert Posted May 11, 2003 Report Share Posted May 11, 2003 jbyte, most probably the additional charge you got on top of the basic P1335 is for the period March 12-March 22. But hey if you found inconsistency and you're sure about it (like the Sunday rates), call or talk it out with Smart right away....dont wait for us :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jbyte Posted May 11, 2003 Report Share Posted May 11, 2003 jbyte, most probably the additional charge you got on top of the basic P1335 is for the period March 12-March 22. The P1,811.70 I'm talking about is for the Smart Gold Plan alone. Of course I know the charges on top of my MSF. This is the figure I get on my first bill. But on my second bill, it already reflected P1335, which is the correct amount. Anyway, I'll do what dinoalbert suggested. I'll present the problem to SMART and wait for their justification on this matter. I'll just post here the result of my inquiry. Thanks m8. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dinoalbert Posted May 12, 2003 Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 YES. That P1811.70 is probably for March 12 - April 21. 1811.70 minus 1335.00 = P476 = is probably for March 12 - March 22. Thats why on your next bill, its back to normal...P1335 = March 22- April 22 In other words, they billed you a monthly fixed charge for March 12 - 22......... they're supposed to bill you 1335 but since it didnt cover one whole month (Feb 22- March 22) it only add up to about P476....try to confirm also with Smart cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mlkanapi Posted May 12, 2003 Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 Hi to all! I'm not sure how Smart is billing me for GPRS. Didn't they advertise it as .25 PhP per Byte? I got my SAP last March 7 at the Podium and got only partial billing since the billing cut-off was on the 22nd. I did not pay anything for this first bill. In this first bill, GPRS billing was listed as such: PhP 560.45 for 190 bytes. I got the second bill for the period March 23 to April 22, 2003 and I used a lot of GPRS time so that the GPRS billing was listed as: PhP 6,503.60 for 6639260 bytes. I went to the Smart Center in Ayala this afternoon and the Customer Service Rep xeroxed my 2 bills and will try to check on how I was billed. I just hope it doesn't get any bigger! I was promised a reply in a few days. I'll post future developments re this matter. Regards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dinoalbert Posted May 12, 2003 Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 Pls do so.... will wait for your post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jbyte Posted May 15, 2003 Report Share Posted May 15, 2003 YES. That P1811.70 is probably for March 12 - April 21. 1811.70 minus 1335.00 = P476 = is probably for March 12 - March 22. Thats why on your next bill, its back to normal...P1335 = March 22- April 22 In other words, they billed you a monthly fixed charge for March 12 - 22......... they're supposed to bill you 1335 but since it didnt cover one whole month (Feb 22- March 22) it only add up to about P476....try to confirm also with Smart cheers You're precisely correct on that , m8. I have known it yesterday when we (me and my friend) presented the bill to SMART and let them explain regarding that. Well, they get us an explanation which is exactly the same as yours. Thanks for comfirming that! :) Btw, if you review my first post, I mentioned about invalid entries on my second bill. I presented that one to SMART and was also confused or even shocked on what they have seen. :? There's also invalid entries on my friend's bill when we check it. :x They admit that there are some subscribers (definitely not here on our place since we are the first one who presented this kind of problem here. They just heard it probably from other branch) who presented the same problem. So, in short, they can't give us a clear explanation regarding that particular problem. :x We have heard from them, so we have come to a conclusion that there's really a problem on their billing statement program. No matter who have an advantage on that error, the main issue is there exists an inconsistency on the billing statement that we received and therefore a lot of money will be wasted if they will not act on this one ASAP. Note: The error is very evident on our bills! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ppcsurfr Posted May 15, 2003 Report Share Posted May 15, 2003 @jbyte: Tings like this happen. Particularly to newer subscribers. Something about their switches not being properly... switched. Anyway I had the same experience way back in 1999 when I got my SMART Gold Account... but after the first 3 months, everything was sorted out. Now I'm quite happy with the service... and I wouldn't dare give up my account... I have the 3000 Consumable... Mabuhay ~ Carlo (ppcsurfr) President Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jbyte Posted May 15, 2003 Report Share Posted May 15, 2003 Alright! Looking forward to set our switches properly. Thanks for that, ppcsurfr. :) :( :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mlkanapi Posted May 15, 2003 Report Share Posted May 15, 2003 Hi to all! I was supposed to get a fax from the customer representative of Smart today when I followed up my query on the GPRS billing by texting him but he said he was out of the office and would do so later... I'll let you know if they can shed some light on this matter. Regards to all! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mlkanapi Posted May 20, 2003 Report Share Posted May 20, 2003 Here's the latest on my Smart Bill- Still no satisfactory answer from the Smart Customer Representative re my GPRS billing. It has been more than a week since I first went to Smart Wireless Center in Ayala with my concern about possible overbilling. Even the Customer Rep is puzzled by what he saw. The Billing section sent a 50 page list of my Data access report with a corresponding charge computed at 0.25 pesos. It works out fine at that level. However if we apply the same computation on my bill: 6639260bytes should only cost Php 1659.80. The Customer Representative said that adjustments might be made in my succeeding billing statements. If this erroneous computation is built in the system, then what about all of you who may be wrongly billed? Do we just accept an adjustment on those accounts that we ourselves uncover? Please check your GPRS usage computation. If there is a discrepancy, let us know. Who knows we might have discoverered some kind of hidden charges ala PPA! I suggested to the Customer rep to elevate this concern to whoever it takes to clear this up. Regards to all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jabez Posted May 21, 2003 Report Share Posted May 21, 2003 I think SMART should come out with a very clear description/explanation of their billing methods. So many of my friends and acquaintances are shocked with their bills, some amounting to Php6000+. These are people who availed of the Smart Reigns and Addict Mobile Launch promos. What's worse is that many of them are simple "rank-and-file" employees who would really be burdened with such big phone bills. The assumption is that the bill won't get that big, that they could keep it with the limits of the plan. They think the P0.25 per kilobyte won't really hurt that much. But the SHOCK sets it when they see the totals. Question: Why would a bill reach P6000+ ? I thought that the account/line will be "redirected" when it reaches P3000? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mlkanapi Posted May 21, 2003 Report Share Posted May 21, 2003 Regarding your question of the credit limit, Smart gives a fixed limit of 3000 PhP for starters. I got tired of getting reminders that I have exceeded half of my credit limit and paid partial payments twice just to increase the available credits. Later I requested for an increase on the limit. But it is a real concern how we are being charged for GPRS. I am inviting all of you SAP users to check your bills and let us know through this forum if you have the same problem. :!: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jbyte Posted May 21, 2003 Report Share Posted May 21, 2003 I got the second bill for the period March 23 to April 22, 2003 and I used a lot of GPRS time so that the GPRS billing was listed as: PhP 6,503.60 for 6639260 bytes. Php6500+ for 6.33MB? :shock: Now, that's really shocking! As for my second bill, I consumed 4799356 bytes which cost me Php1,171.98. Well, it seems that it's accurate based on 0.25cents/kb computation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mlkanapi Posted May 26, 2003 Report Share Posted May 26, 2003 Hi to all, Still no explanation for my GPRS billing. It is now 2 weeks since I first told Smart about it. I have received more than 5 return calls from *888 Smart customer service after I got tired of talking to the guy at the Ayala Wireless service. At least they have discontinued the text reminders that my bill has been unpaid up to this time. I told them that it is by choice that I have not paid my bill under protest. I am trying to think of other ways to get to the bottom of this. Any suggestions? If this problem came out in the official billing statement, the problem might be in the billing SYSTEM and I am surely not the only one affected. Please check your bills and post me feedback or similar problems. I'll keep you posted... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pyke Posted June 3, 2003 Report Share Posted June 3, 2003 inconsistency of the billing system of smart is so damn true.i never erase my sent folder so i can monitor the number of texts sent.but there was never a time na nag-tama.laging mas mataas ang nasa bill.problem is,text messages sent arent logged in the bill.total text messages sent lang ang nakalagay.as a subscriber, we deserve to have a precise breakdown of what we are being billed for,di ba? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mlkanapi Posted June 3, 2003 Report Share Posted June 3, 2003 Would you believe that up to now they have not been able to provide any answer to my question of why I was billed the equivalent of 0.90 pesos per KB? That's why I was being billed > 6T pesos for GPRS use. :!: I have not been posting anything for a while now primarily because there is no progress to report. If we can get a bandwagon going here regarding other subscribers with complaints, I'm sure we can get their attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eric73ph Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 It's not only true for SAP users. Using GPRS in the Philippines is like pissing your money away. Addict is supposed to make things cheaper but I wonder.... I get even better deals by just dialing up to an ISP and get charged normal air time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jbyte Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 At last, my GKNB bill was already approved by SMART for adjustment. :lol: They are going to adjust the whole amount for my one and only GKNB entry which cost me P1550 :evil: . The problem regarding this was posted by me on this thread http://smartphone.modaco.com/viewtopic.php...er=asc&start=45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jbyte Posted June 5, 2003 Report Share Posted June 5, 2003 At last, my GKNB bill was already approved by SMART for adjustment. :lol: They are going to adjust the whole amount for my one and only GKNB entry which cost me P1550 :evil: . The problem regarding this was posted by me on this thread http://smartphone.modaco.com/viewtopic.php...er=asc&start=45 As of this time, there's no advice from SMART yet if sending of entry(ies) to GKNB using the Tanager is a OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jhongcat Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 hmm...i have the same GPRS billing issue. In my previous billing statement, I was charged P1,000 for GPRS usage. This means that I have downloaded a total of 4,000kb or 4mb of web pages (I only use GPRS for browsing and not for downloading mp3's :wink: ). My phone has only 2mb of available memory so 4mb of download is, well - impossible. So I went to the Smart wireless center (again) last 6/6 and wasted one hour of my time (again). I was asked to write a letter requesting the details GPRS access...duh...isnt this supposed to be part of the billing statement? It's been two days now, so far no feedback from SMART. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ppcsurfr Posted June 8, 2003 Report Share Posted June 8, 2003 It's not only true for SAP users. Using GPRS in the Philippines is like pissing your money away. Addict is supposed to make things cheaper but I wonder.... I get even better deals by just dialing up to an ISP and get charged normal air time. GPRS and CSD are charged differently, that is why even from the beginning I've always said that CSD is cheaper for email than GPRS... same goes for internet browsing. GPRS is actually good for long stand-by logons like MSN Messenger which also only sends out text as opposed to HTML code or graphic images. I did a test on this and I actually showed it to SMART. They were claiming that GPRS was cheaper than CSD... I proved to them otherwise. Well, it used to be PhP 0.50 per KB now it's down to PhP 0.25 per KB... hopefully we can een move it a bit lower to a flat rate of PhP 0.15 per KB... so keep your fingers crossed. Mabuhay ~ Carlo (ppcsurfr) President Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pumpkini boo Posted June 9, 2003 Report Share Posted June 9, 2003 hello everybody i hope you guys won't mind if won't acknowledge all of your names though i've read most of your messages posted here. i've recently availed of the P1335 plan on the addict mobile subscription. i'm quite worried about my billing statement which is due on july 8 (if my computations are correct). my subscription was activated last june 2 and so far i've been amazed on the wonders the smart amazing phone. since i got my phone last june 2, i kept calling family, friends and several overseas calls (all below one minute) because my aunt died. i also surfed the net frequently because i was told that surfing charges are pegged at .25 cents per kb. it sounds affordable. today is june 9 and my unbilled amount is already pegged at P1,456.87 for a plan allowance of P1,335 at a credit limit of P1,500. the advisory says that i still have available credit of P2,713.13. now when i've subscribed with smart they offered me a credit limit of P3,000. but i declined and aranged for a credit limit amounting to P1,500 only. i asked the smart personnel if a P1,500 credit limit would mean that once my bill reaches P1,500, i would then be unable to use my account for practical purposes. she said yes. but that's not actually my problem. my problem is that with the total undue bill i'ved incurred, i don't know which calls were deducted from my 210 minutes free and which text messages were deducted from my P550 free text messages? i must admit i'm not really that good in math and i really have a hard time understanding billing statements. all i'm good at is using the phone. hehehe. please pardon the stupidity. i've been informed that international calls would not be covered by my 210 free minutes. but that's okay because all the calls i've made were under one minute. so if i made four calls at 40 cents then i've spent like P25 to P30 per call. (i told you my math is very poor). i'm just wondering how smart came up with the total unbilled amount considering i only got my phone last june 2. i suspect that my bill grew to such lengths because of my constant surfing of the net. if my suspicions are correct then the .25 centavos per kb is quite expensive. the sites i've entered are mainly yahoo, msn, and google. i hope you can help me understand these billing queries. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jhongcat Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 Your billing statement should show a separate entry for GPRS consumption. Be sure to check the amount because you might also be over charged :lol:. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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