Free net book with virgin BB

I do not ask for you to slag them off where did I say you should?

anyway we are now no longer posting about netbook pricing

[BenMcr]

Indeed so I am going stop on this thread

[Kymmy]

It seems strange that Ben has defended VM's actions by stating

Originally Posted by BenMcr

Look, Virgin are not the first company to do it and they will not be the last.

That's really worrying as whether or not they're not alone in this practice of charging more for thier "free offers", instead it's more a case of should this practice be happening at all?

well I have to say no it shouldnt but being in a capitalist culture greed is promoted

[popper]

right, so you get 24 GigaBytes of mobile broadband data allowance for your 24 month contract, Before More data charges are billed to your account ? see *

you MUST take the provided (whats the exact brand/model and firmware provided by VM BTW ?) MBB+USB2 3G key at an extra £5 PCM cost to you if you want this so called PR'ed 'FREE' aka subsidised netbook.... we get that....

now...., is the supplyed USB2 3G wireless broadband device locked in ANY WAY to this VM package and mobile tower routers etc.

OR can you go and get any other providers generic 3G mobile broadband SIM and replace the VM MBB SIM card, so you can get a fully working reasonable amount of allotted bandwidth for the price after you use up your VM 1 gigabyte PCM data usage in a day of getting it and plugging it in to the free netbook...

or does your VM 3G mobile broadband data flow just stop after 1 GB PCM?


*how do you know your about to go over your alloted 1 GigaByte (1GB) PCM mobile data allowance ?

what notification rules does Virgin media follow regarding data charging before/after you reach this agreed 1 gigabyte per calender month usage.

and were do we see this, and related notices, costs per megabit excess charges, and the amount of data used realtime updated web page ? etc.

do you charge and or add the data used from internal internal VM servers to this total MBB data used PCM even though its not costing anything to read or supply this data or other VM web pages...

i agree that its unlikely you will miss the £120 over the 24 months and its a very good way to enter into in effect an unofficial '24 month higher purchase' agreement.

the netbook cost seems seasonable for its capabilitys although iv not looked that hard for the real data spec.

however, the mandatory USB MBB stick with its crumby 1GB monthly data allowance, and more so.... its as yet unstated over allowance data rate costs are a concern.

will we (if we see fit to take the offer) be getting a higher VM bill for extra charges if we use more data than the set 1 GB amount PCM because a VM department or automated script did not inform us of reaching our 1 gigbyte limit ?

---------- Post added at 23:33 ---------- Previous post was at 23:27 ----------

i do find it odd though that ben and the posters in all the MBB threads didnt seem to consider any extra data charges VM will make , or ask about any extra charges as relates to this MBB USB stick and allowance since i was gone....

theres always a one off charge with VM bills that VM accounts like to spring on you for this or that, that never seems to be seen until its to late...

good points on the excess data charges. I must say I did not see whilst skipping through the FAQ but I did only skip

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by popper

now...., is the supplyed USB2 3G wireless broadband device locked in ANY WAY to this VM package and mobile tower routers etc

Answered here which is the page linked to when you access the Help section of the Media and Mobile websites

It's locked

or does your VM 3G mobile broadband data flow just stop after 1 GB PCM?

Also answered on the page above. It continues and is charged at 1.46p per MB. This question is also answered on the main Mobile Broadband sales page here

how do you know your about to go over your alloted 1 GigaByte (1GB) PCM mobile data allowance ?

You get a notification text message to the Mobile Broadband software advising you are approaching your monthly limit. The software itself also tracks usage

what notification rules does Virgin media follow regarding data charging before/after you reach this agreed 1 gigabyte per calender month usage, and were do we see this and related notices, costs per megabit exess charges and the amount of data used web page ? etc.

You get a text message after you have exceed your monthly limit, the cost is linked to above, and you can also access your usage within the 'My Account' section on the Virgin Mobile website (as also said in the Mobile Broadband help). You can also see the usage within the Mobile Broadband software

will we (if we see fit to take the offer) be getting a higher VM bill for extra charges if we use more data than the set 1 GB amount PCM because a VM department or automated script did not inform us of reaching our 1 gigbyte limit ?

No because you get fully notified before any extra charges occur, as I've already said

---------- Post added at 23:33 ---------- Previous post was at 23:27 ----------

i do find it odd though that ben and the posters in all the MBB threads didnt seem to consider any extra data charges VM will make , or ask about any extra charges as relates to this MBB USB stick and allowance since i was gone....

Because the extra charges are up to the customer. They get plenty of notification before they exceed the limit so it is up to them as to whether they go over or not

[deathtrap3000]

Glad I took this out when all you had to do was pay £50 and sign for a 24 month contract.

[popper]

hmm interesting.....

for instance that very same, and tipical average bloated VM web page design is
384,596 bytes
plus picture, but i dont see or take all the adverts, popups and/or flash inserts into consideration here, even though im downloading them too, so we are looking at around (to be generous to VM), just under 3 average VM web pages of that size per 1.46p on average....

the internal VM google page size
http://search.virginmedia.com/result...h&cr=countryUK

searching on uk only "uk contract law In Good Thaith" is around
156,012 bytes per generic page.

and the real google page for the same search is smaller at
59,946 bytes.

it SOON adds up, and even uploading is counted in the total data transfered it seems, Hmmmm.

also apparently the Calculate your monthly broadband usage http://www.virginmobile.com/vm/gener...tor.page.sm279

says you can get 250 hours of generic http(s) web page browsing (google,facebook,amazon etc) in an average of 0.35 GB per month.

but thats nowere near anything resembling accurate and under estimates by a very long way to Virgin Media's massive finantial benefit if you were to take their official calculator on legal 'fairness' and 'In Good Thaith' Hmmm....

this "FREE" MBB netbook is a rather more involved, some might say intense way to print REAL "Free" money for VM coffers over that very long 2 years consumer contract, UNLESS you keep highly detailed track of ALL the data useage both Up and down to a fine detail on these existing accounts.

or you could have a word with your local friendly county magistrate that also happens to have a VM MBB account perhaps

but OC thats only one potential problem off the top of the head , without looking into it to hard, there could be some very serious hidden problems you didnt take into consideration yet.... and i cant be botherd to spell them out

[BenMcr]

All the points you have just raised apply to every single Mobile Broadband service in the UK

You have also ignored the facts that VM give you as a customer multiple warnings and information about your usage and give you the customer the option of ceasing to use the service before you breach the monthly limit

Also as the Mobile Broadband is in addition to the fixed broadband, any MBB customer can opt to check their usage and/or read the Help information on their home connection without it affecting their mobile usage.

Or are you implying that all customers of Virgin Media are so dumb that they can't read such messages? Nor can they can responsibility for researching, considering and agreeing to a contract without resorting to 'I didn't know what I was doing'?

[popper]

ohh and the average CF page for this very threads page 2 is
550,354 bytes
so you have already run up at least that 1.46p+ by reading upto here

just because "they do it" , "so we can too" doesnt hold much sway to your average users paying the real costs....month on month.... or the local magistrate come to that if theres existing case law, OR they beleave theres a case for in good thaith to be made in a cheap and cheerful 'small claim' court case etc.

you know me by now Ben, ill NEVER ignore the facts if they are known to me at the time... but it will not stop me from looking at something from a very different POV, actively putting yourself in others shoes and seeing things from other perspectives is a very good way to learn new things, and help people, but you know this already.

Originally Posted by BenMcr

All the points you have just raised apply to every single Mobile Broadband service in the UK

You have also ignored the facts that VM give you as a customer multiple warnings and information about your usage and give you the customer the option of ceasing to use the service before you breach the monthly limit

Also as the Mobile Broadband is in addition to the fixed broadband, any MBB customer can opt to check their usage and/or read the Help information on their home connection without it affecting their mobile usage.

Or are you implying that all customers of Virgin Media are so dumb that they can't read such messages? Nor can they can responsibility for researching, considering and agreeing to a contract without resorting to 'I didn't know what I was doing'?

you do know the history of this site? you do know its mainly aimed at Virgin Media customers right? if someone was to ask about someone elses free netbook I am sure we would look into it and say if it appears to be a con. Wipe your nose mate

[Sir John Luke]

Hopefully, something MAY be done about VM (and others) pricing policies.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2009/126-09

complex pricing, where it is difficult for consumers to assess an individual price, for example 'three-for-two' or 'non-inclusive' prices, and

this point from your link. Would deffo cover VMs ludicrous pricing policy

[Sir John Luke]

Exactly.