Vaya invoicing deceptively? Report to Ombudsman?

hahaboy on 13/03/2014 - 14:48
Last edited 13/03/2014 - 20:02

Hi Ozbargain,

Looking for some advice, and understanding on a situation here. Am I correctly understanding the issue and is it reportable?

As maybe a lot of you, I moved across from Live Connected (LC) to Vaya last month after LC's massive price hikes. I signed up to Vaya on $18 plan on 18th Feb and had service connected on 24th Feb. Since then, i've been invoiced for $20 joining/sim fee, which i can see on their site and completely understandable.

As part of joining, there is a deal for the first month: "FIRST MONTH ACCESS FREE" (Link: http://www.vaya.net.au/). The deal is still running and clearly on their front page. When choosing a plan, the T&C outline: "First Month Free Access" means you will have a credit on your account equal to the value of the full monthly access fee of the plan that you choose." Please note there is no mention of one month advance plan access fees!

I was credited $18 as part of this deal -> Awesome! Next thing I know I get invoiced $18 which is not properly outlined on their site. This clears out the balance, and I'm now being charged as per normal -> Not Awesome!

I called up Vaya to inquire about this, and they mention they charge an advance "service fee" for the first month and I am not being charged that anymore as part of the "FIRST month free deal". This is not properly outlined anywhere as part of the deal and when signing up. The help desk directed me to FAQs PAGE 4 to the following link (http://support.vaya.net.au/support/solutions/articles/85292-…). Really? Page 4 in FAQs?

I consider this completely deceptive behavior and unethical under Australian consumer rights. I'm not so much angry about the charges itself, but the dodgy deal they offer, after the whole debacle with LC price hikes etc. I want to know, am I seeing this clearly and can report them to Ombudsman if they are unable to resolve this issue?

If so, I urge others to report Vaya on this incident too, as it's completely unethical and wrong.

Thanks for reading and offering advice.

Regards

Mobile

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Comments

  • twodollah on 13/03/2014 - 15:00
    +5

    Vaya, like many other carriers, charge their monthly fee in advance, and any extra charges in arrears. When you cancel/port to another carrier, the amount owing to you will be credited back. I agree that the Vaya billing system is more complex than it needs to be. However, they're not doing anything wrong.

  • battler on 13/03/2014 - 16:05

    Same reply to your earlier forum post:

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/135018#comment-1860595

  • fruit on 13/03/2014 - 16:14

    Contact:
    TIO, Fair Trading, ACCC and maybe bikies?

    It seems deceptive to me.
    "FIRST MONTH ACCESS FREE" to me means not paying the $18 the first month.

    • battler on 13/03/2014 - 16:31

      waste of everyone's time contacting them. Such a trivial matter.
      A good deal of cost is borne by phone companies responding to pointless TIO disputes…. which in turn drives the cost of providing the service up!
      OP has clearly stated he got first month free.
      His beef is with the not so clear charging of the second month's access on the first bill.

      • hahaboy on 13/03/2014 - 20:00

        Sorry for confusion. No i didn't get the first month free. That's my point.

        I got charged $20 for sim pack…which i'm fine with.
        First month, i'm being charged still cause they charge an additional first month access fee as part of joining, which offests the $18 they credited me with :/

        • twodollah on 13/03/2014 - 21:17
          +1

          They've credited you with $18 to offset the $18 of the 1st month. Hence you got your first month free. If they gave you $18 credit and didn't charge you anything for the 1st month then you would've essentially gotten 2 months free.

        • hahaboy on 13/03/2014 - 22:24

          Hmm, i must not be explaining it properly.

          I signed up on 18th feb. Got connected 24th feb. Same day I got $18 credit adjustment for first month. NEXT DAY, got invoiced $18 for "one month advance plan access fees"….which aren't outlined anywhere when signing up. Hence, why i consider this deceptive.

          Now that the balance is $0. I'm being charged as normal.

          Think of it this way. They are saying, if i signed up without the "deal", i'd pay $20 joining fee, and $18 additional for one month advance. $38 just to sign up? Really?

          My complaint is this "one month advance fee" is not outlined clearly anywhere when signing up. It's in page 4 of FAQs.

        • ozhunter on 13/03/2014 - 23:32

          TPG does the same thing. 1st month minimum charges on TPG no-contract Mobile plans calculated as: $( Mobile monthly charge in first month) + $20 SIM charge + Mobile Prepayment Outside Included Value of $20.*

  • TheAviator on 13/03/2014 - 22:34

    Month 1/February: You sign up, you get the credit, the credit is taken away immediately. This will be used for Month 2.
    Month 2/March: You get a bill for the pro-rata amount for February. So if you signed up Feb 18th, it should be 10/28 of $18. The credit of $18 goes towards Month 2.
    Month 3/April: Your first full payment of $18. This will pay for month 3.

    So yeah, essentially prepaying a month in advance. It's made clear when signing up if you read through everything :)

    • hahaboy on 13/03/2014 - 22:59

      hmmm, you 100% sure "The credit of $18 goes towards Month 2"?

      I'd just imagine it against month 1 (even only the partly used month)

      If that's the case, i got no dramas with the company. I just hate dodgy company practices.

      • TheAviator on 13/03/2014 - 23:19

        Yep, definitely how it works. I've been a customer since around this time last year. Loving the service :)

  • conan2000 on 14/03/2014 - 07:42

    They're charging you in advance. As per the above. You did get the first month free, nothing dodgy about that at all.

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