Quantitative research report
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- Unexpected costs
- Aspects of phone use that led to excess charges
Key findingsOne-half of post-paid bill-payers had received an unexpectedly high bill on their current or previous 3G plan while 44 per cent of prepaid bill-payers had run out of credit faster than expected on their current or previous 3G plan. When comparing differences across groups, 3G feature users and bill-payers aged under 35 were more likely than other groups to have received an unexpectedly high bill. For bill-payers, voice calls were the main reason for exceeding normal usage. Internet usage was a relatively minor factor. 3G feature users (19 per cent) were more likely than non-3G users (11 per cent) to exceed their normal usage due to international calls. A total of 15 per cent of 3G feature users exceeded their normal usage due to internet usage. 3G bill-payers who received an unexpectedly high bill were slightly less confident about their understanding of excess usage charges than those who did not, suggesting that this may have been a contributing factor. There was also evidence to suggest that gaps in understanding of data allowance and excess data usage increased the likelihood of 3G feature users receiving an unexpectedly high bill. Despite this, voice calls and SMS were the main aspects of phone use that contributed to this group receiving higher than expected bills. Unexpected costsReceiving a higher than expected bill or running out of credit sooner than expectedAmong post-paid 3G bill-payers, 50 per cent had received a higher than expected bill since being on a 3G plan, including their current plan or a previous 3G plan. Just over half of post-paid bill payers who received a higher than expected bill indicated that this happened on their current plan (52 per cent). Among prepaid 3G bill-payers, 44 per cent experienced running out of credit sooner than expected, on either their current plan or a previous 3G plan. Of those who had experienced running out of credit sooner than expected, 77 per cent indicated that this happened on their current plan. The main reasons for receiving a higher than expected bill or running out of credit sooner than expected are outlined in the ‘Phone usage’ section later in this chapter. A consideration of unexpected bill costs among different groups shows that post-paid bill-payers who use 3G features were more likely to have received a higher than expected bill than non-3G feature users. Similarly, prepaid 3G feature users (53 per cent) were considerably more likely to have experienced running out of credit sooner than expected than were non-3G feature users (37 per cent). Across age groups of post-paid 3G bill-payers, there is less likelihood for older people to be surprised by their mobile bill. Younger bill-payers are more likely to have overrun their budget, with 60 per cent of 25–34 year olds having received a higher than expected bill compared to only 34 per cent of those aged 55 and over. To a large extent, these trends are closely related, with 3G feature users younger on average than non-3G feature users.
Aspects of phone use that led to excess chargesAmong bill-payers from fixed-line households, 56 per cent exceeded their normal usage on national voice calls, 22 per cent on messaging/SMS and 15 per cent on international voice calls. Only 10 per cent of this group reported that internet usage contributed to the unexpectedly high bill (Figure 19). A comparison of 3G feature users and non-3G feature users shows that voice calls were the most common cause of unexpectedly high bills for both groups, followed by messaging/SMS. Overall, 3G feature users (19 per cent) were more likely to cite international voice calls as the cause than non-3G feature users (11 per cent). Another 15 per cent of 3G feature users received an unexpectedly high bill due to internet usage.
Case study—voice call-related bill shock The following case study highlights the experience of one customer who received an unexpectedly high bill due to voice calls. Information is based on qualitative interviews undertaken with 3G bill-payers in May 2010. Jan* lives in Melbourne with her partner Jarrad*. Jan has an iPhone, which she has had for 18 months and ‘can’t live without’. Jan is on a $79 monthly cap, which includes $500 worth of calls and unlimited SMS. Jan also pays $4 to cover the cost of the handset and $12 for insurance, so her minimum monthly commitment is $95. Jan doesn’t have a fixed-line at home, so she makes all of her voice calls using her mobile. Jan is also a heavy 3G feature user, frequently using email, internet browsing, maps (especially when out and about), weather and Facebook, and downloading apps. Jan was surprised that the internet on her iPhone didn’t cost more, as she uses it for at least two hours every day. Jan’s monthly bills are typically $100 to $120 and, while this means that she is going over her cap, she recognises that she uses her phone a lot and doesn’t mind ‘paying that extra bit. Jan considers anywhere from $20 to $30 over her cap to be acceptable. Jan was recently on holidays within Australia, and when she got home received a bill for $200. Jan was surprised by this bill and couldn’t understand why it was so high, as she didn’t recall using her phone that much while she was away. Jan looked over her bill to see if she had been overcharged and noticed a few long phone calls. She realised that these had added up pretty quickly and this was why the bill was so much higher than she expected. Jan had made 320 calls for the month, at a total cost of $644, which was well above the $500 of calls included in her cap. Jan compared this to another recent month, where her bill was around $100, and noticed that she made only 195 calls in that month, at a cost of $300, which is well within her cap. Jan checked for any excess internet usage charges, but these were as expected. Jan understands her charging and billing arrangements well, and accepts that she was charged correctly for her usage. Jan will continue to monitor her monthly bill amount and, if necessary, will look at moving to a higher cap to ensure that she can effectively manage her expenditure and doesn’t receive unexpected bills like this in the future. *name changed Directory: media media -> Applications to Drill media -> Unicef voices of Youth Chat Theme: Children and aids nigeria and Zimbabwe 13 October 2006 Background media -> Tsunami Terror Alert: Voices of Youth media -> Biblical Eschatology Presentation by: D. Paul Beck May 4, 2016 Ground Rules media -> Guide to completing the collection using the Omnibus system media -> The milk carton kids media -> Events Date and Location media -> The Gilded Age: The First Generation of Historians by H. Wayne Morgan University of Oklahoma, April 18, 1997 media -> Analysis of Law in the United Kingdom pertaining to Cross-Border Disaster Relief Prepared by: For the 30 June 2010 Foreword media -> Cuba fieldcourse 2010 Download 498.14 Kb. Share with your friends:
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Denotes significantly different at the 95% confidence level, comparison among delineated groups.
