So we were warned: Cheap NO Good, Good NO Cheap
So they charged us an additional 5.5Gb for an extra $55+ !!!
Here is the thing: On Wed, Sep 30, 11:46 PM (6 days ago) they emailed us to indicate that we have used our 100% data allocation.
Can we actually use up 3GB bill shock protection plus 5.5Gb in 14 min with 4G?
Our Glasswire monitor also says 100Gb
Actually we joined up 27th September
AND they actually rapid fired off 4 email notifications: 50% 80% 90% and 100% within 1 min so there is NO delay
What your total bill amount due on 20th? The 20th is my due date.
Something like $78
was on the $18 for 120gb /mo (they charged $3 for the 3 days??!!)
@[Deactivated]: Since you are on $18/mth plan for 5 days in Sep, you should be charged for $3. Maybe your data usage should be only 20GB for that 5 days.
I am on another plan that 80GB is considered as an add-on, not subject to pro-rata.
@[Deactivated]: FYI, I activated my plan on 2 Sep with initial data 99.3 GB shown in the APP.
700MB(maybe 667MB) for one day lost in Sep, which is 1/30 of 20GB.
@Neoika: they straight up gave me the 100Gb bonus, so i was licking me chops at trying to use all that with NFL games streaming LOL
Hi Neoika! Kindly drop us a message so we can further check your data allocation and usage. Thank you.
"So they charged us an additional $55 for an extra 5.5GB !!!." Fixed.
Its actually $56.67
Hi Nutrino! If you have already used up your data allowance for the month, you will be charged $0.01 per MB if there is no Add-ons purchased.
So the Question is: can you use up 8.5Gb of data in 15min on 4G?
Yes, that works out to be roughly 9.4mb/s which is possible on 4G.
i have never hit 2mB/s on 4G which is 3Gb per hour
It is around 78 Mbps, child's play in a normal LTE connection. Check whether there was a Windows update etc. I was able to always stop at bill shock protection when I had Circles.Life. Also there was a option for $10 for 20 GB or something like that.
So why bother with NBN? never had more than 1mBs on exetel
@[Deactivated]: Is it 1 Mbps or 1 MBps ? I even get 1.5 Mbps with Telstra $5 per month unlimited sim
@[Deactivated]: Network speeds are typically measured in bits per sec. Highest I got on Optus Network was ~200 Mbps. Can't remember whether it was with Circles.Life or Catch Connect though. When it was good, typical speed was ~30-40 Mbps with Circles.Life but later it got really bad due to congestion in my area. I don't know about NBN because I have never used it.
@[Deactivated]: 8.5 GB = 8704 MB
15 min = 900 seconds
So, it is possible if your speed is ~9.67 MBps = ~78 Mbps
Also, I think we are getting that email with a delay. I used to check the usage meter manually when I was about the exceed the limit. That can be the actual reason. I think better to contact their customer service center and explain your situation. May be they will be able to wave-off that excess charge as this is your first bill.
@[Deactivated]: Please provide your scientific rationale for thinking 5g causes cancer.
It's fine. I'll wait.
@[Deactivated]: Huh? Because NBN plans are unlimited data with just about every plan, latency is around 1 fifth of 4G, and you can get up to 1000Mbps (depending on your technology).
4G is no substitute for a fixed-line service unless all you do is web browsing and emailing.
Just did a speed test on Boost (Telstra 4G):
D: 110 Mbps U: 41 Mbps
So, not hard to download 8.5Gb in 15 min.
You need 11.3 minutes to transfer 8.5G at 100Mbps.
So it wont be hard for them to provide proof of usage then?
It shouldn't be hard. I think that's a fair and reasonable request.
@this is us: Someone woke up in a bad mood and is directing negative votes to show how having negative votes can impact our lives…
That's fine if this person thinks this is NOT a reasonable request to ask for proof of usage, but the previous comment is just maths… One must be extremely frustrated to challenge basic maths…
Hi ollie2012. There are a few factors why your device uses a large amount of mobile data such as:
ā¢ GPS position usage for applications is turned on
ā¢ Mobile data usage for applications is turned on. Background data is data that your apps are constantly using, it could be when your phone is in your pocket or even when you are asleep.
ā¢ Automatic update of apps via mobile network is turned on. Your apps might be updating over cellular data, which can burn through your allotment pretty quickly. Turn off automatic app updates under the iTunes and App Store settings.
ā¢ Notifications are turned on
We suggest try turning off data for some apps then monitor after a few hours on the Circles.Life app so we can get a clear picture of which app might have been using much data. You can monitor your data usages through the Circles.Life app.
Puhlease !!!! Tell us how we used 8.5GB in 15min from 11:45 to midnight….on the night of Monthly Reset?
Stop the Ruse, Sidetracking and Confusing people will useless nonsense!!!
This just means that whatever Circles.Life has quoted you, you need to deduct 10Gb just to be on the safe side
Do they charge their data per mb or kb? If its per mb, then your data will sink very very quickly
Oof. No wonder they give you 100gb. That will run out very quickly.
Eg, your mail app syncs and only take 50kb, that's 1mb. I'd imagine people have set their sync setting as 'when received'. That means 5 emails in quick successions will be 5mb.
What about all those other notifications (Facebook etcetc). Each time an app syncs, boom 1mb.
Avoid like the plagueeee
The thing is we shut off usage at 100Gb knowing we had 3GB buffer for grace
Multiple posts about how terrible circles is. Op still gets it. Gets a terrible result.
You know what they say about playing stupid games?
Was doing community service to experience what consumers might
Lots of people have already shared that it's a rubbish service. You read that it was rubbish and still went ahead.
Some people are still surfing with shark warnings.
Well it was "How bad could they actually be"? heheh
I think what happened was that the Mobile App reset the 120GB monthly allowance but the backend system kept recording over usage (Next time wait an hour after midnight)
Lets see what they say? (Silent for 3 days now)
But Where is the section in their App to cancel the Service?
I'm a little confused. Circles first month is changed to be however much is left in that month. So for 3 days you would definitely not be allowed your whole 100GB. You would also only be charged 3 days worth which should be added to the second (actual first) bill. How much data did you actually use over the 3 days?
I also think those emails are very delayed. The fact they all came together is probably because you used all the data at once.
I am on the 20GB plan with 100GB bonus
For the 4 days, they did not give me the pro-rata'ed portion of the 20GB, they straight up gave me the 100GB bonus
Hi Holty07!. Your first bill is higher because it includes two months of charges ( charge for the first month and advance charge for the second month). The data and the cost is prorated on the month of activation. You can monitor your data usage through the Circles.Life app.
Most, maybe all data usage meters are not real time, this means that by the time you get your 100% notification, it is often too late.
All phones have data usage tools built in, why not use that?
We are using their mobile app plus also glasswire to prove our case, but they have NOT responded after 3 days
Their mobile app won't be real time.
Why are you using glasswire? Why not the built in data in your phone?
Also as mentioned, its in 1MB increments.
Android 6 so glasswire is more accurate
We used 25GB x 4 days but i doubt we can use 8.5 GB in 15min
Btw, if their mobile App is not accurate then thats their problem, not ours
Problems with communication…. what are you talking about?
If your plan states 3gig data, then anything over that amount is usually charged at $10 per gig.
Who gets a 3gig data plan these days?
Up your plan.
I pay $49per month and receive 100gigs
Keep up with the Joneses, Sunshine
It s a 20GB plan with 100GB bonus, and a 3GB buffer for over limit
Same happened to me - the notifications were delayed last month and didn't check app until it was past the 3gb buffer. Got whacked with 2 gb over usage for @20.88.
I never read the reviews about Circles before purchasing but now I can see how bad they are.
I did a quick search and found you can download your usage log. Why don't you analyse that to see how they are calculating the data charges?
https://circlesaustraliasupport.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articleā¦
Any company worth their salt would have detailed charges including date/time/size/cost
Waiting for them to reply, instead of doing all that hard work
Read and weep
OMFG lol from 12noon to 23:23 we used up 9GB data and we were never notified LOL
Edit: whats all that? They double dipped all over the place
They aren't required to notify you in real time.
So whats the use of their mobile App….
And they had 12 hours to notify of 9 GB…I call it BeeEss
@[Deactivated]: Other providers have the same issue.
You should do proper research on how things work before you buy something.
@samfisher5986: Listen, Ma'at
I dont have a problem with Optus, Kogan, Amaysim, Exetel
This is the first time on this grand scale….
they dumped the whole overusage in the last minute to pad the bill, thanks but NO thanks
Read and weep.
I'm don't particularly care what your result is mate, I am just trying to provide a helpful suggestion. Perhaps you should look at your attitude and how you come across (examples all over this thread, calling people 'sunshine' and 'ma'at'). If that's your standard demeanour when interacting with people, I wish you luck getting it resolved.
Listen Sunshine Ma'at, this is a public service public interest exercise to help YOU with consumer laws
You should thank me Sunshine
@[Deactivated]: I hope you are forced to pay the whole bill for your bad attitude and low intelligence.
@[Deactivated]: I'm not stupid enough to play silly games to waste my time to make myself feel like an internet bigshot. When plenty of people say the company sucks, I don't need to go try it for myself champ.
I don't see any consumer laws being mentioned here (to be fair, there is a lot of dross you've spouted so it could be buried in that), I just see someone whinging and trying to make themselves sound important.
@aragornelessar: You should be concerned, Ma'at
This is an elderly gentleman, i am helping !!!
You should care more for Aussies than crappy wannabe corporations
From 29-SEP 23:01:30 to 29-SEP 23:27:30, you used 21,800 MB data. Far quicker than 5.5GB in 14 min you claimed.
OMFG lol from 12noon to 23:23 we used up 9GB data and we were never notified LOL
Edit: whats all that? They double dipped all over the place
Not sure what you are referring to in regards to double dipping… I don't see anything like that in what you have shown.
You should have a look at the ACCC page in regards to mobile data usage, they cite there that:
* Whilst providers are required to notify you when you've used up portions of your data, including an alert at 100% used, these alerts may be delayed by 48 hours.
* There can be a delay in data usage reporting in mobile providers apps or websites.
Both of these points others in this thread have pointed out to you. The ACCC also take pains to point them out. There are real logistical reasons why its not possible for data reporting to be 100% up to date.
Now, this doesn't explain why the glasswire usage is so different to what the ISP is reporting. You said you stopped at 100GB, whereas the ISP counted this as 109GB. This could be:
* Differences between whether glasswire/ISP count uploaded data
* Dropped & retransmitted data sent by the ISP but never received by your device & therefore not counted by glasswire
* A difference between the glasswire/ISP definition of GB, i.e. 100GB is 107,374,127,424bytes, which some ISPs will call and charge as 107GB
* A combination of the above
You said yourself that you were trying to use up all the data by streaming NFL games right up to the 100GB limit. Might be time to admit that you were just pushing it too close to the limit and got caught out.
BeeEss, Circles.Life says 2hr in their App….
The ACCC actually says 48 hr? Thats Aiding, Abetting, Authorising these Rogue Traders
Also they charged $4 for 4 days and still refused to pro-rata the 20GB allowance which is around 2.5GB
If they wanna play hard ball they wont be getting their full 5.5GB extra dipping, and we will make them prove every kb
The discrepancy will be caused by how itās billed. Circles bills per MB, whilst data tracking apps go by the KB.
So when a 50KB push notification comes through, Circles docks 1MB, whilst the tracking apps log 50KB. Add that up over the course of time, and youāll likely find the 9GB.
i have their own mobile app, updated every 2hr or so it says, glasswire and the phone's internal recording, so if they do not prove usage, they wont get paid
Four days now and they have NOT replied
We are in lockdown so there is plenty of time to deal with this, and since it is credit card, what do you smartasses think about bank credit reversal?
Why would you ruin your reputation for pittance?
Credit card reversals are for when fees are charged to your card that you didn't agree to. These charges, whilst disputed by you, are charged under the terms of the contract that you signed up to. Your correct avenue is to take it up with Circles.Life, and if they don't respond, then to escalate to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. You can escalate the complaint to the TIO whenever you wish, but given that they allow the company 10 days to respond to a complaint, I would think it appropriate to wait 10 days before you escalate.
They clearly do not care about reputation if you read feedback.
I had a 5 month free trial with them and for 4 months they tried to charge me.
Stay right away from this mob.
TL;DR Op having a whinge because they went over their allocated data and getting charged extra. OP blames Circles Life for not providing "timely" information about how much data they used.
Pushing the limit and getting caught out š¤£
Yeah that s like the Gas and Electricity Companies just doctoring the meters and double dipping on usage….
Circles.Life usage monitoring is vaporware fraud…
This is NOT the first customer and surely wont be the last BUT if you are affected, DO NOT be afraid to stand up for your rights
Aussies want to know if Tis OK to be White, Black, Brown, Yellow, Red or Rainbow
Mod: Removed inflammatory statement.
ITT: OP doesnāt understand their phone service and is childishly defensive when this is pointed out
I kind of miss dealing with numpties like you in my telco days.
I wish i could deal with a clown like you!!!
I will cancel the credit card or tell my bank to reverse the charges
EDIT: It's ONLY $60 extra, no skin off my nose, but who knows it might be for others
Need something to do during Lockdown anyways
For the TL;DR, Recalcitrants, Rednecks heh….
If you put a mobile App up, consumers expect it to be up to date, and if you list the app as accurate to 2hrs, consumers expect it to be up to date within 2hrs.
Or else we will be yelling False Advertisement!!!
5 days and no replies from these clowns, and if they look at the DOB of the client and think they can get away with fleecing the Elderly, they better think again!!! The Elderly may have relatives who will kick your ass!!!!
Still havent heard back from them, and no deduction from CC
So vindicated
UPDATE:
Dear Circles.Life,
These Clowns are still NOT responding, would you believe it?
I might sue them for False Advertising
Daily Free Advertising for the Fraudulent Circles.Life
You may have our Number but you will never ever have our business AGAIN
8.5GB in 15min…dont BeeEss us about KB or MB
@Neoika Thats NOT their job, we demand the billing/accounting department, which have been missing in the Politicians' #Porkbarrelling of late
Daily Free Advertising for the Fraudulent Circles.Life
You may have our Number but you will never ever have our business AGAIN
8.5GB in 15minā¦dont BeeEss us about KB or MB
Still No response regarding this fraud, they took 8.5Gb on the day the monthly turn over occurred.
So we gave notice of cancelling, will they comply or will be be charged for non-contract
Daily Free Advertising for the Fraudulent Circles.Life
8.5GB in 15minā¦dont BeeEss us about KB or MB
Still No response regarding this fraud, they took 8.5Gb on the day the monthly turn over occurred then overcharged us.
So we gave notice of cancelling, will they comply or will be be charged for non-contract
Yes, they were notified of cancellation ages ago to comply with their 30-day notice….
No reply from them so if they dont cancel, we will use the data ;)
Trumpian Farce: Senior Customer Happiness Expert, Kate (Circles.Life)
Finally, got a reply from Circles.Life, not only that but we got the Senior Customer Happiness Expert, Kate
<block-quote> Kate (Circles.Life)
3 Nov 2020, 7:32 pm AEDT
Hi (ā¦ā¦ā¦..),
I hope this email finds you well.
I do apologize for the delay in our response but rest assured that since you have me here, I will be more than happy to assist you and check your account.
Kindly confirm your complete name and mobile number so we can bring up your account and assist you with your bill.
Hope to hear back from you soon.
Your Senior Customer Happiness Expert,
Kate"
</block-quote>
Trumpian Farce in the making
Will Kate, Senior Customer Happiness Expert, provide a Happy Ending? Along with the Rub and Tug heh
Daily Free Advertising for the Frauds at Circles.Life
So after a month and a half, Senior Customer Happiness Expert, Kate (Circles.Life) finally contacted us and says she is forwarding to their billing department
Totally useless
EDIT: They are VERY VERY VERY FAST to sign you up, the SIM is couriered the next day!!!
BUT for issues arising they are nowhere to be found!!!!
3GB bill shock protection kicks in after your 100GB runs out. I only used less than 100MB of 3GB last month, no extra charge.
Email notification could be delayed. I received 100%-used-up email @ 11.45pm (almost same as you) and I think I already used it up before then.
BTW, your 1st bill should include whole Oct standard usage.