PAYG Data Balance Cost Doesn't Increase or Change

[Hala123]

Hi,

I hope that someone may be able to explain the following.

I purchased a 10GB PAYG Data Pack which I used without any issues for a month. I was aware that I had to renew the pack after a month otherwise any credits would be lost, however, as there was little data used over the month I decided not to use the Data Pack any longer.

As I am only using the SIM for a small amount of data on my phone every week (I'm using a card reader app), I  made the decision to top up (£10) using the cash credit as that doesn't expire at the end of the month.

All fine so far ....however, after using the credit card app today when I use either the Three app or the web site to check my balance it shows that for data, there has been 13.32MB used - but the charge is £0.00.

I was expecting an appropriate charge to be listed against the data used.  I called 333 (and 444) and my balance is still £10.

Is the balance only updated every 24hours, if not, can someone explain why the charge is not incrementing.

Thanks

[Hala123]

So today the app reports that I have now used some data.....2.78MB and I've been charged 10p. I may be wrong, but the information  I've seen on the web states that its 10p per MB - so why is the charge not  30p ?  Anyway, I have no idea what this charge is for (apart from data) - so probaby email or some underlying app.  I used the card reader app extensively over the past 3 days using approx 16MB of data - but again, no charge is showing.

[JonathanB]

Hey @Hala123,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Some data can be zero rated on the network. It doesn't tend to make much difference over larger amounts though, but it is quite a lot on that scale if you didn't get charged for two thirds of the data.

We've been working on a few issues with PAYG charging lately, and this has largely been resolved. Are you still seeing similar issues more recently?

Thanks,
Jonathan

[Hala123]

Update: I went into my local Three store to see if they could help. They suggested calling 444 (which I had done already) ...however, if you wait for the full message to complete it basically states that there is a fault with the system - and it's been like this for about a month now. So since that didn't work I was asked to message Live Chat as they'll be able to give me an answer.

Well, would you believe it if I told you that after messaging them I am still no further forward.

After spending about 5 minutes just trying to explain what I was looking for (no, I don't have a data pack and I don't want one)....I was given a suggestion that I must be using WiFi or using some of the free data that Three provide. I know for certain that most of the data would have been transmitted using 4G not WiFi....as for the free data - where does that come from if I'm using a cash top up ?

I honestly cannot believe that such a simple feature is not available  - all that I'm looking for is the ability to see how much credit I have left. Yes, I can add up all the data used and divide it by 10p (as its 10p per Mb) - so not exactly rocket science but to not have something like this is unbelievable.

I thought it might be a phone (h/w) issue as it is a very old iPhone (iPhone 6 Plus)  but I would have thought that someone either in the Three shop or Live Chat would have mentioned that previously

Has anybody else had this issue with their PAYG SIM ?

[JonathanB]

Hi @Hala123,

Sorry for the delay in picking up your post, generally there shouldn't be a huge delay in the credit balance updating. I'd normally expect this to be within a few minutes and within a few hours at most. 

When you initially top up, my understanding is we add a little data for free, to stop the credit being used up if you're in the middle of converting this to one of the monthly packs or add ons. Is your more recent data usage reflecting correctly against the balance?

Thanks,
Jonathan

[Hala123]

Hi Jonathan,

I honestly don't know the answer to that. When I dial 444 it states that my current balance is £10. When I then press 2 to check my balance and remaining  allowances it just says there is a problem - and its been like this since I started to use the SIM. The only way of checking is for me to add up all the data used then x10 (as its 10p/MB).

By my reckoning I think I've got about £2.00 available....but I honestly cannot believe that I'm unable to check how much credit I have left on a  PAYG SIM. Maybe I've a bottomless SIM 🙂

Thanks for your assistance.