Overcharged iPhone bill

Telco justifies auto GPRS fees but cancelled service as requested

ONG of Petaling Jaya is exasperated after finding in his phone bill he has been overcharged by DiGi.

"My monthly bill usually comes up to no more than RM47.50. A few months ago, I received a statement from DiGi saying I owed them RM177.21. The following month, it was RM143.10.

"That was shocking news to me because my usual bill always been below RM50."

ONG says she called up DiGi's Customer Service Hotline and was told the billing department would call her in three days.

"After several missed calls and chasing after them, I was told my iPhone automatically connects to GPRS and incurs hefty charges this without me realising it.

"They told me this is apparently one of iPhone's flaws that had yet to be corrected.

"I told them it was not fair to penalise me for a fault that was not mine and to charge me for a service I never used. But DiGi was adamant and won't waive these charges."

ONG claims some of her friends also encountered the same problem.

"If DiGi knows such a fault exists in iPhones, they should warn customers about it and disable the GPRS function. I have since disabled the function but I suspect the telecommunication company is not going to issue any warnings to their customers."

ONG does not want others to go through her experience.

● A SPOKESMAN for DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd says their investigations and records show the data charges are genuine as the customer’s postpaid account has an active GPRS service.

"On iPhone, the customer has the option to switch off the cellular/roaming data service to prevent unwarranted data usage and charges.

"We have since contacted the customer and the matter has been settled. DiGi has also cancelled the GPRS service as requested by the complainant.”