Mobile Data Limits

[ManFromOz]

Am I the only person out here that wants to allow family members (E.g. kids) to have data usage on their handsets without exposing me (the account holder and bill payer) to surprise, large uncontrollable bills?
 
There appears to be no "cap" facility for mobile data usage; just penalty rates for excess over-plan usage (or the new opt-in automatic $10/GB addition when a user exceeds the limit). So it seems that customers in my position have two options: (1) request data/Internet barring on a mobile service, thus not allowing the family member ANY data access, or (2) hope that kids will react responsibly to SMS usage warnings so that I don't get a bill that I can't afford.
 
Surely Telstra could offer mobile plans or options where data usage CEASES once a pre-arranged limit is reached? (Or is slowed down without penalty cost, such as BigPond broadband?)

[ProfessorPhone]

Hello,   If you want you suggestion to get to the marketing department, you can send an email using the link below

https://www.telstra.com.au/webforms/contact-ceo/index.cfm

You can choose which subject and it will go to a senior person in Telstra.  Hope that assists.

[Lunaseruka]

Have  you got the 24x7 app installed? You can monitor every mobile on your account and if they are nearing their data limit you can request a data barring, and then resume again at the start of next bill cycle.

Sadly there is no way to "cap" data.

[ManFromOz]

Thank you ProfessorPhone. I'll try your link, though as mentioned in a different thread's reply to you I had fallen for Telstra's emailed statement that "If you have any suggestions, we'd love to hear them - just let us know on our CrowdSupport forum at telstra.com.au/ideas." Telstra once again doubles my workload.

Thank you also Lunaseruka for your well-intended reply. However there being no way to "cap" data was precisely why I submitted the post (to "Ideas"). As for the app, I'm the odd-man-out in my family in that I prefer to use my phone as a phone and choose to do my online work through my home broadband - easier (for me) and cheaper. I assume that I can achieve similar results using the "My Account" website. However, I object to having to spend time constantly monitoring the data usage of several family mobiles, then having to request data barring each time one approaches its limit, then having to remember to request access resumption at the beginning of each bill cycle. Technology was supposed to make life easier and save us time!

[AnnoyedCust0mer]

This is completely unacceptable. This gentleman is not alone in this issue. I will be making a complaint to the Telcommunications Industry Ombudsman. This is not fair trading. I'm sure there are thousands of parents out there who have phones for their children who would find it very difficult to monitor and call Telstra every month to bar and unbar, particularly given how long it takes to actually get onto customer support.

[Dani39]

Thanks for the input AnnoyedCust0mer

We have a range of tips on how to manage your data usage. You can view these at https://www.telstra.com.au/help/my-account/manage-your-usage/manage-your-data

[SurelyYouCan]

Totally agree and have made a complaint as well. Keep getting told Telstra do not have the tools or ability to do this yet they know when the data limit is used so they can charge for another $10 hit. It is not that they can't do it is just to lucrative. Easy revenue to say they can't and the user should control the data usage themselves.

This to me is another example of the near criminal behaviour of Telstra where they charge you for services you don't want similar or when I had kids on prepaid if you didn't use the credit you had to top up or they would steal the balance. When I set up a regular monthly credit got caught again because their system would only let you pick a date each month and on some occasions this was over the 30 day period so had to go in each month to check and change.

Apparently the leading telecommunications company in Australia but they can turn off someone data when they have used their plan limit and then turn it back on next billing cycle.

All other family me,beers are no longer with Telstra and I would be happy to remove this last remaining person but not prepared to pay the get out of contract fee