They used to be per mb/ and for me was the only downside of being with them. Currently on the $18/month, $500 calls, 1.5gb, ultd text and v2v, pretty happy.
Edit: found out by calling up the customer care intending to switch to kb/ billing. They said to expect an email tomorrow announcing that all customers will be switched to kb/ billing free of charge.
Oops I should add that in. I called up the customer care intending to pay the $25, and they told me all customers will receive an email tomorrow announcing the change.
Another one-off fee? I'm already paying a plan freeze fee to keep the KB billing on the $11 plan. Then the $20 deposit fee they charge a couple of months ago.
The one off fee was previously to switch to kb billing, but the from tomorrow all customers will automatically be billed by the kb without a fee which is awesome. And yeah the deposit fee you get back the moment you port out of Vaya.
Ah. Sorry misunderstood you. So no fee as of tomorrow. Wonder if the plans will be getting more expensive
@pifts: Do you mind making the 'Edit' in original post a bit more clear to say that customers don't need to pay anything to switch to KB billing as everyone will be moved (back) to KB billing.
I also received an email from Vaya few minutes back confirming that.
here is the email; nonetheless they have worst customer service, nothing would make a difference until this dodgy company pays my money back they unfairly charged me .
We've got some great news!
As of the 1st May 2015, the data charges on all our Power Plans will be counted in kilobyte increments rather than our existing megabyte increments.
This will mean that your data sessions will no longer be rounded up to the next megabyte, but instead, you will be billed for exactly what you use. This is not just for new customers but for all customers on our Power Plans.And it doesn't stop there!
As of the 1st June 2015, all services connected on Power Plans will have their excess data rate changed from 4c per megabyte to $10 per gigabyte, billed per gigabyte (counted in kilobytes). This will replace our barring system and customers will have the option to opt out of this new feature via My Account from the date of launch.
By opting out, any excess data will be charged at 4c per megabyte in kilobyte increments and barring will occur.You will see the updates on our website tomorrow for further details.
From the Team at Vaya.
I think most have seen it from the two posts eight hours ago…
which post?
Call the TIO - Telephone Industry Ombudsman and they will help you to get the money back if Vaya are in the wrong. I got my $20 deposit back as Vaya didn't want to refund it so I called the TIO :)
awesome news
Too late for me and for most other people who left in droves in the last few months. Worst customer service I've ever encountered.
Vaya feels good only to the point you don't have a need to call their customer service. Once you call their customer service, its start feeling hopeless…
hmmm somewhat true, I've had to call them a few times but despite a wait they did what I wanted.
Kati what you mean worst customer service. I wonder if Vaya even knows the meaning of customer service.
Here's the email, just got it. Very happy with this.
We've got some great news!
As of the 1st May 2015, the data charges on all our Power Plans will be counted in kilobyte increments rather than our existing megabyte increments.
This will mean that your data sessions will no longer be rounded up to the next megabyte, but instead, you will be billed for exactly what you use. This is not just for new customers but for all customers on our Power Plans.
And it doesn't stop there!
As of the 1st June 2015, all services connected on Power Plans will have their excess data rate changed from 4c per megabyte to $10 per gigabyte, billed per gigabyte (counted in kilobytes). This will replace our barring system and customers will have the option to opt out of this new feature via My Account from the date of launch.
By opting out, any excess data will be charged at 4c per megabyte in kilobyte increments and barring will occur.
You will see the updates on our website tomorrow for further details.
From the Team at Vaya.
Thanks for that, but what is barring?
They disable the data service, once your usage is over the Data Usage Limit. For example, if you are on $18 Power Plan and use more than 1.5GB data, your data service (4g/3g) will be automatically disabled for that month (and automatically enabled on the next billing cycle).
Automatic enabling doesn't happen automatically all the time, in such a case you would call their customer care to re-enable it (lift the bar).
Thanks for the explanation; however, the way I'm reading it the two sentences about barring seem contradictory. Will baring be the default once the limit is reached or the excess data at 4c per MB be the default unless you opt out?
I think I need a coffee…
@elektron: I know its confusing.. The barring happens automatically, but normally barring does not happen just after you have used exactly 1536mb of data because of 48 hours delay in 'actual usage' figures from Optus. So any data used after 1536mb and before the barring happens - is charged at 4c per mb. And if you request Vaya to lift up barring, then any data usage after 1536mb and before next billing cycle kicks in, its charged at 4c/mb. I hope it clarifies.
That actually makes it pretty compelling for users in the 1.5-3 GB/month space. $18/month with only $10/GB surcharge.
After having a gutsful of Vaya's per MB billing and doing my research, I was about to call Spintel to swap over. That moment an email came through from Vaya saying they were going to KB billing for free!
With Vaya, $18/m will give you $650 calls and 1.5GB 4G data. Given that now includes kilobyte billing, it makes them the best deal out there for an Optus reseller for the usage above. I know, customer service isn't great ra ra, but it'd cost another $10/month from Spintel or Jeenee mobile. Can't go wrong for under 20 bucks!
Email below:
We've got some great news!
As of the 1st May 2015, the data charges on all our Power Plans will be counted in kilobyte increments rather than our existing megabyte increments.
This will mean that your data sessions will no longer be rounded up to the next megabyte, but instead, you will be billed for exactly what you use. This is not just for new customers but for all customers on our Power Plans.
And it doesn't stop there!
As of the 1st June 2015, all services connected on Power Plans will have their excess data rate changed from 4c per megabyte to $10 per gigabyte, billed per gigabyte (counted in kilobytes). This will replace our barring system and customers will have the option to opt out of this new feature via My Account from the date of launch.
By opting out, any excess data will be charged at 4c per megabyte in kilobyte increments and barring will occur.
You will see the updates on our website tomorrow for further details.
From the Team at Vaya.
Hardly makes a different really.. ive been on vaya for couple years now and with MB billing its always been on the mark with my data counter app on my iPhone
Very different experience to me on an LG G3. It's been at least 30% higher than what my phone reports. If I check my itemised usage, 2/3 of the data connections are 1MB. It'll reconnect constantly on the bus on the way home for example. Looking forward to KB billing.
different make / OS could be a factor. All I can suggest its not one size fits all.
Complete opposite to me. Probably due to background services, but I was getting 700mb/month without even using the internet (I stopped playing a particular game so my data needs went to zero. No facebook, no email, no web browsing, literally zero data needs because I cbf).
This meant I almost used my 1gb quota without doing anything.
I immediately hopped off Vaya. In fact, I got so used to having to turn data off on my phone due to per mb billing that I went prepaid and didn't buy a data pack.
I might swap back to Vaya now.
Maybe you are footing the bill for interception…
I've been with LiveConnected (since before Vaya bought them)… haven't had much go wrong touch wood. But it seems when something decides to go wrong it can go downhill really fast. :/
What crap now is 1GB bolt on used to be $7 and now its 10
You can maybe get them for $7 - I still can. It's more they used to cut you off and charge 4c/MB over unless you got a data bolt on. Evidently now they automatically just give you the data bolt on rather than the silly /MB charge.
people are still with vaya?
thought most people jumped ship.
Is there a Vaya equivalent at the moment in the $18/1.5GB price range? I've had friends ask me but everyone else seems to cost more.
No that's probably ppl still with them! LOL
I found the same eug. had a good look and couldn't find anything. Was going to go with Spintel and try to minimise sms's to keep the cost down. Nothing under about $25 unless you have minimal usage.
@booboo: Spintel starts off as same price but for F-all calls and SMS and F-all data. By time u use data and calls ur already Bumped up to over 30 bucks@!
At the moment, no. Histrorically, yes.
@Lukian: Hmm ok. Looks like Vaya's still the one to beat in terms of price. The amount of deep-seated hatred for Vaya on OzB is shocking. It must just be a very vocal few then. I didn't have any problems when I was with them.
@eug:
I'm pretty sure much of the hate stems from the days much of OzBargain were on LiveConnected's (Vaya's sister) plans for $10.99 or less and were then given less than a month's notice that they'd be automatically switched to a plan almost double the price with unbelievably, lowered monthly allowances. Apparently they were only passing on costs but with such short notice and inconsistent details given over the phone they handled it pretty badly (to get a quick response you had to ring Vaya in those days and then explain you're with LiveConnected - this workaround wasn't mentioned officially on their website). The last widespread annoyance was when Vaya charged everyone another deposit. Most people just can't wait to move on from a tested relationship.
Saying that they're still the cheapest option for potential "low-medium"-level users and they're no worse than most resellers . Potential is the key word since most people are paying far more than they should due to the industry's manipulations as a whole. Rather than help low-income earners the system is explicitly designed to force regular low-level users to spend at least ~$18 a month since one urgent phone call for a few hours or getting lost one day and relying on an hour of Google Maps on a pre-paid or allowance-exceeded plan would destroy all of one's cost-cutting endeavors due to completely unreasonable per minute and per MB charges. My biggest gripe is with expiry dates. Although overpriced, Amaysim's 365 day expiry for data (or Vodafone's extras rollover) is a refreshing direction that hopefully more providers will move towards to support low-income families.
Of course Vaya realised that by charging $10/GB they'll make even more money now from victims that go a few megabytes over the limit. What would have cost someone 40 cents for exceeding their limit by 10 MB will now instantly cost $10 more. Why not just lower the per MB rate? Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't you always just buy a data bolt with Vaya even AFTER you exceeded your limits?
tl;dr - if I pay bottom dollar, I shouldn't expect top-shelf service.
I'm pretty sure much of the hate stems from the days much of OzBargain were on LiveConnected's (Vaya's sister) plans for $10.99 or less and were then given less than a month's notice that they'd be automatically switched to a plan almost double the price with unbelievably, lowered monthly allowances.
Hmm… I was on that $10.99 LiveConnected plan. When they changed the plan in Jan 2014, I switched to Vaya's $11 flexiplan with the same 1.5GB allowance.
I left when they implemented the plan freeze fee as my usage changed and I didn't need the plan any more. The one month warning was more than enough for me to port the number over to Aldi Mobile to keep.
The way I see it is, if I'm paying rock-bottom prices, I shouldn't expect top-shelf customer service - something has to give.
I didn't mind LC/Vaya's price hikes as I believe Optus was the one who raised wholesale prices. I'm not sure how much notice LC/Vaya had from Optus anyway.
A lot of people have complained about the extra $20 deposit. Vaya says it's because of some customers who don't pay their bills. Seeing that they still seem to be the cheapest around, I wouldn't mind paying the extra deposit - they would have saved me a lot of money over the years anyway.
I could just take my business elsewhere - but it looks like I'll lose out in the end as I'd be paying more.
It's interesting how some people demand discounts from telcos for loyalty like it's a right, but when it comes to a low-cost telco asking for a $20 deposit so they can keep prices low, the internet explodes with anger.
Rather than help low-income earners the system is explicitly designed to force regular low-level users to spend at least ~$18 a month
Well to be fair, they're all commercial businesses, not charities. No one is being forced to pay any amount, and no one really needs mobile data - it's just something nice to have. Plenty of people get by fine with voice and SMS.
Although overpriced, Amaysim's 365 day expiry for data (or Vodafone's extras rollover) is a refreshing direction that hopefully more providers will move towards to support low-income families.
That sounds more suited to Jeenee and BetterLife's business model, than any of the commercial telcos/MVNOs who need to rake in money.
Of course Vaya realised that by charging $10/GB they'll make even more money now from victims that go a few megabytes over the limit.
Coincidentally, Telstra is doing exactly that too. They'll now automatically charge you $10 for a GB if you go over your quota. They have discontinued their add-on data packs too.
@eug: Thanks for the tip about Jeenee and Betterlife. Not that competitive now but they might be more promising in the future (or at least open to suggestions). Cheers.
@eug:
A lot of people have complained about the extra $20 deposit. Vaya says it's because of some customers who don't pay their bills. Seeing that they still seem to be the cheapest around, I wouldn't mind paying the extra deposit - they would have saved me a lot of money over the years anyway.
They didn't send me an email about it.. I only found out about it AFTER seeing it on whirlpool and email forwarded from my friend.
Also their sudden and seemingly forced request of $20 deposit was just added on with less than 2 weeks notice - that screams "vaya is desperate to raise money.. for something"
And the $20 deposit was added in right after I signed up for vaya at the start of the year.
Their Customer Service has been alright, that is.. if you get through to them (Support hotline disconnects you after a set amount of time), FB messaging them seems to work, however in times of large amounts of vaya customers being swamped with issues, they may take up to one week to reply to your query on their facebook messaging account.
Never had a problem with them and show me a 4G service anywhere that gets close to the $18 Vaya plan. Even better now with kb billing. Jumping ship over a one off $20 charge?
Me, my wife and daughter all on Vaya for a total of $54 per month, that will do me. I used to pay $50 per month on my own for exactly the same service and data allowance from Optus.
<Jumping ship over a one off $20 charge?>
It's more than just that by a long way. That's great you haven't had a problem with them. Wait until you leave and they charge you and extra month and half, or even more and not return your security deposit.
A quick skim through here http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2393287 will show you only a fraction of the woes.
That's not a deal. Right now it's $7 for an add on 1gb. In the past if you went over, so long you added on the data as a slap on package before your invoice got sent (check it once a month), it'd just be charged at $7 per gb.
deleted
Been on Vaya for almost a year and I think they have done really well.
…wait for it.
Has anyone been with LC and moved to Vaya? how hard is it?
I'd like to know the answer to this too….
I'm also currently with LC and wanted to switch, called their helpdesk and asked if it was as simple as a plan change in their accounting software?
They said no, I must sign up for a new account with Vaya and request that my number be ported over, they will send out a new SIM and finalise the switch.
Basically the same process as if you're coming from any other provider.
I noticed the $20 SIM package mailout fee wasn't charged to me, even though I went for the month to month option as opposed to the 24 month contract, YRMV.
Like yamumma says, it's like porting to a new provider. I ported across from LC to Vaya last month and wasn't charged the $20 SIM fee either. There was a promo for free mailout, but that was supposed to end in March… guess they continued it
Yep, have to close LC account and signup for new Vaya account. I also got the free sim deal from last month too. Number porting took 3 hours. LC refunded my $20 deposit. SO far, so good!
catch: you have to be with vaya.
This isn't a bargain, it's a ripoff in disguise - par for the course with vaya/LC.
The price looks good, but their business ethics are beyond a joke, which is why I left. Expect them to introduce more fees without warning, and intentionally overcharge you regularly with no intention to rectify without intervention from the TIO. Even if it were $2 a month I wouldn't give it to this mob because it'd still end up costing me more in time spent just to keep the bastards honest.
make sure to check your invoices too. I got double charged for no reason and it took 30 mins for them to agree that they were wrong over the phone.
ONLY 30 MINUTES!?
Granted that was to get them to agree that there was an error on their side.
How long did it (is it) taking to get the double charge removed or refunded?
It took me over a month (and 12 emails) to get Vaya to finally conceded to their billing error. I am still waiting for the credit.
@A3Australia: wow, they straight away applied it as credit to my account (not to bank).
I don't know, I thought moving from live connected to Vaya was going to be a better choice since Vaya owns LC and all… I was totally wrong haha
Vaya as a company cannot be trusted. Usually things are fine, but I don't like having my credit card details with a company who think it's OK to charge you extra fees without notice, and then effectively hold you ransom to that extra fee. Not gonna neg the OP, but Vaya can go jump.
I didn't like the $20 fee a couple of months back, but it wasn't charged without notice. Still miles cheaper than alternatives and I notice no difference in the service from when I was with Optus.
I agree with those saying Vaya are fine. My wife and I have been with Vaya for 3 years or something now. No real issues other than the odd inconvenience with customer support. Has saved us a fortune - still no one under $20 a month for $650 / 1.5GB / free SMS.
Same.. Sometime they switch ur data off for no reason and u have to call customer service to get it back on but that's only happened a couple times. Frustrating but then I look at my bill and its all sweet.
Same..
Same Same.
Sometime they switch ur data off for no reason and u have to call customer service to get it back on but that's only happened a couple times. Frustrating but then I look at my bill and its all sweet.
Same again! Called them up and they sorted it out pretty quickly (although I have 2 phones with them and they only re-enabled one, so had to call them back again.)
Edit: Wonder why people's data is randomly turning off…
so that power plus plan i paid extra for 2 months ago is now made redundant.
Without repeating the comments from other deals - this is not a company that you want to be dealing with.
Yes, true while it works it is good and cheap etc… but once they mess you around, they are incredibly difficult to deal with.
They have taken money without authorisation from myself and many others and it is easier to give up and try and port out (if you can) than try and recover the money - and then they charge you more anyway.
Occasionally they will also invent new fees to charge you too - eg. the $10 'Plan freeze' fee.
Sorry OP, but I don't see this as a deal as there is a strong risk paying more than in the long run - time or money or usually both.
See negs and comments from the other Vaya deals: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/vaya.net.au
And, according to the OzBargain blog, it was the most neg'd deal from last year http://blog.ozbargain.com.au
this turd of a company called me up pretending to be optus trying to get me to sign up for a new contract. asked them when my current one expires as i don't need 2 contracts or am i being given an early upgrade they said they don't know and can't check, suddenly they're not optus anymore and the operator even spelt out the name vaya for me. when i confronted them about lying to me at the start of the conversation trying to convince me they were optus reps, they hung up on me.
dodgy business tactics. don't let this deter your opinion of this deal, but id neg the crap out of these guys based on business ethics.
Wow that's pretty bad. Giving Lyca a bit of competition in that regard!
These guys are MEGA dodgey. If you have a problem you are up the creek. Customer service is non existent. BUT you get what you pay for,
19$ for 1.5gb data and 600mins calls is a pretty good deal. The question is, is it worth the hassle.
All I can say is I have been with them about 2 years with no problems.
Received the email too, although it does not make any difference to my usage. I've never had a problem with Vaya for the 1.5 years I'm with them, I guess commonsense restricted me from screwing up.
Honestly, customer service is non-existent. But, it's pretty cheap. So, can't really complain. Don't go over your data, pay your bill on time with right credit card details and they won't hit you with a million $10 dishonour fees!
Vaya are shocking, I was with them for 1 year and it was a nightmare. Constantly getting data cut off for no reason, double charges on my credit card, customer service is like talking to a brick wall and they are completely rude. Better off with someone like Telechoice in my opinion.
Telechoice only Telstra 3G, no 4G
Is it good enough?
It is for me, I haven't noticed any speed difference since switching to Telechoice. I do notice that the reception is better though being Telstra.
Thanks. That's what I would suspect on Telstra
but previous rumours stated Telstra stop expanding 3G?
I used to be with Vaya, when I changed over to Telechoice they had already charged me the next months bill, and told me I was in debit!! After a few emails they finally gave me back part of my money, lot's of people woudln't have realised vaya owed them money.
LiveConnected charged me an extra day pro-rata (at least…) when I switched to Vaya (which charged me for that day again) so out of principle I rang them to get my 50 cents back. Probably a system bug that affected everyone but I don't know if fixed since over a year ago. Check your bill when you leave so you can have your Macca's ice cream cone.
They charged me a whole month, and didn't give it back without numerous emails. The first reply told me I was in debit, second told me I had $5 and third finally agreed $11 was due
Does anyone know that VAYA does the referral credit anymore?
Rock bottom, per usual. Lot of blood money lost however from softened metering.
No frills as usual. Time will tell if it precipitate further revision.
I think they still owe me/my wife the deposit of $200, which hasnt been refund for enabling global roaming.
If you like to lose your time and money feel free.
My time and money is better spent on a company not charging hidden or ridiculous fees for services that should be free.
I've been hung up on 3-4 times when calling them about issues. That's great customer service right there.
To those who think they have ONLY paid $20 deposit fee and it is refundable, you are very wrong.
First of all don't forget that it's pro rata, they already have one month of your payment post paid!
I literally had to fight for 20+18 to be sent back to my account. It took themore then 2 months. Two of my other family members have not received it yet. and when I asked them why do I need to follow up to get my deposit back, they told me that is the standard…
Can't say I had issues with them when I was with them (no billing issues or anything) but the $20 deposit and my fight to get it back really put me off them. Not to mention the fact I never had reception with optus network (and no I have a quad band 3G phone so the frequencies are supported).
Just so you guys are aware, Vaya to Vaya is no longer included.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/191677#comment-2710743
Sneaky. They say they sent an email to everyone stating this and miraculously no-one got the email.
Yeah, I never got an email but my usage meter says I've used some V2V for last month so I guess it's still available for those who signed up with it. Still, I'll be keeping an eye on it over coming months.
They say they sent an email to everyone stating this
My a** they did! I have every e-mail they've ever sent me from the start (2 1/2 years.)
Dodgy buggers.
I have not got that email either. I did get the KB billing email yesterday. I have two connections, one with Vaya and one with LC. Calls between them are free at the moment. Which is a big plus.
Also Vaya's current $18 plans is exactly the same now as $19.99 LC's plan. As they are owned by the same company, is it worthwhile to move both connections to Vaya?
Same boat. Weighing up the $1.90 saving vs paying $20 deposit fee. Tough decision
Opsiee Daisy. Did not realise that. Will leave it as it is then.
"A Leopard Never Changes Its Spots"
just saying…
The Optus $2 day deal still seems like the plan I'm going to switch to. Was thinking Boost as well, but considering I spend a lot of time at home (uni) and probably won't use my $2 some days… Optus seems better. Vaya sound like a nightmare, thanks for warnings.
$10 if you go over data? It would be better to get barring back so it's only 4c/MB excess.
Cool stuff, been with vaya for nearly 2 years with no issues or data problems. Just icing on the cake for me.
Never got my free one months campaign they ran. Only after mentioning TIO was it backdated.
Too late.