Hello,
For years, I have had a family plan with 5 lines, and 10 GB of data with no issues. starting 2 months ago, we went over the 10 GBs and were over charged. It was only 1 extra GB, and didn't think too much about it. The next month, it said that we had already used 90% of our data after 3-4 days. Almost all of the 9 GBs after those few days came from my phone. The entire month we scrambled to figure out what it was, and in the end we never figured out a solution. We ended up being charged for 5 extra GBs by the end of the month ($75 extra on our bill). Throughout the month, I talked with Verizon support 3 different times, and apple support once. I spent hours troubleshooting. I REFUSE to call them again. They ask the same questions and the problem clearly lies much deeper than the simple surface level questions they ask you. Yes, my wifi assist is off. Yes, I turned off my data to all of my apps other than the few that are essential (Phone). I am connected to the internet over 90% of my day, I should be using almost no data. I hardly use my phone when it's not connected to the internet. I close all of my apps when I am done using them. Each Verizon support person I talked to tried to get us to upgrade to unlimited data. WE DON'T NEED OR WANT UNLIMITED DATA. Our plan has worked perfectly for us for years and we have no intention of upping our plan now. I don't know what to do other than cancel our plan and find a new company. And I certainly feel entitled to the $75 we lost last month and $15 the month before that we lost, because non of the support teams can figure out my issue. The reason I am posting this now, as well, is that we are only a few days into the new month and the same thing is happening again. We again will be charged at least $75 more, nothing is working to stop this issue, and no one can help. Meanwhile, Verizon is stealing money from me. Probably designed to do so to get everyone to upgrade to unlimited data. I have been very patient and calm throughout this whole process but I am now starting to get very frustrated.
Broprice, I do appreciate all your time and efforts to correct this data usage concern and want to ensure we can work towards funneling down the root cause of this data spike. $90+ dollars in overages is a lot of money to me as well and I wouldn't exactly be content with paying that amount if I could help prevent it.
I can assure you this is not a ploy to have you switch to an Unlimited Plan or steal money away from you. We take these accusations seriously and it would be completely illegal to bill anyone for data they never actually used. The consumer will always be responsible for managing and adjusting their data settings and apps as they see fit, as we have no control over that. Since you mention you're always connected to Wi-Fi the majority of the time, do you ever notice that your connection drops or that you're not connected to Wi-Fi? By default, anytime you're connected to any Wi-Fi source, our mobile network is disabled so you can't run on two separate connections at once.
I would be upset to lose you as a longtime customer and want to help determine why this has become an issue. To better assist, I have sent you a Direct Message via this forum so that I may follow up with you directly. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
AlanS_VZW
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I to am going through the same problem. For years I have used 4.0 to 4.5 gb every month with a 8 gb total. When I retired last year a Verizon rep talked me into lowering my gb to 8 gb because I wasn't using all of what I had and would save money. Last month I was charged an extra $10 for going over even though my Verizon account did not show I was over. Now this month I am already close to going over again with 16 days left. So half the month I can't use my phone when I am not at home because of the possibility of an overage. If this problem persists when my contract is up I will change carriers. I think Verizon is overcharging for most of it's services and it's getting out of control. All of the other carriers are working hard to provide better services at a lower cost. Maybe Verizon need to have more people change to other carriers so they will start trying to keep their customers not over charge them.
I have seen the past few months go into overages in data but no change in habits on line. This moth being the worst with 19 days left and im out of data. Something fishy here. I was looking at replacing phone, but with this overage charges, it will not be with Verizon , I can’t afford this overage and a phone. I will go back to a flip / basic phone and dump the smart phone all together.
ANDPIE6, going to Settings > Cellular and scrolling down should give a good indication how the data is being used. Also it's a good idea each month when the new data period begins, is to" Reset Statistics" at the bottom of the page to get a good accuracy. Have you looked into these settings?
Has Personal Hotspot been turned on? If that gets connected up to a computer it can go through gig's of data very quickly, especially when the computer starts pulling updates.
I'm at around $400 in data overage for my last billing cycle and $300 before that which I paid
Weird that it happened to both of us in the last couple of months. I was very happy with my plan prior to this and never went over on my data. My cell phone usage habits haven't changed so it's suspicious to say the least.
there is no way I racked up that much in data overage fees. Also, I stopped receiving texts notifying me that I was over my data usage limit. All I got this month was a jaw droppingly high bill
sorry to hear of your situation and your complaints are all valid and I hope they are handled appropriately
Molo122,
I know it can be concerning getting a bill that is higher than usual because of overage. I’m here to look into this for you. You provided me with a lot of information. Can you please tell me just a bit more. What kind of iPhone do you have? You stated that you have an iOS phone. Have you checked to make sure that Wi-Fi assist is not turned on https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-206983/? Also when it comes to your notifications from us has there been any adjustment made for when they are sent out to you? If there is more than one person on your account, are they going over on their data at all?
JenniferL_VZW
@Molo122 wrote:I'm at around $400 in data overage for my last billing cycle and $300 before that which I paid
Weird that it happened to both of us in the last couple of months. I was very happy with my plan prior to this and never went over on my data. My cell phone usage habits haven't changed so it's suspicious to say the least.
there is no way I racked up that much in data overage fees. Also, I stopped receiving texts notifying me that I was over my data usage limit. All I got this month was a jaw droppingly high bill
sorry to hear of your situation and your complaints are all valid and I hope they are handled appropriately
Go by what your device says and also look at My Verizon instead of waiting for notifications. So that is on you. Also Verizon has offered Safety Mode for a few years now that would have avoided overages and it's free. Once again that is on you for not using it. Verizon is not trtying to add data to your plan. You used it. instead of accusing maybe figured out HOW you used it.
I can tell you a few things of my experience over the last year or so with iphones and Verizon data usage.
I have observed on multiple occasions where Verizon billed for more data than was indicated by the iphone usage. Verizon gave me some free data for a month or two but never explained why it occurred. They never responded to the technical ticket that was opened on the subject. In recent months, it appears that the problem is no longer occuring.
Additionally I have seen data usage on multiple phones at times when the phones are on wi-fi and the user is asleep. Bear in mind all the settings such as wi-fi assist, no background app refresh etc. are in the correct postion. The only fix that has worked to date is turning off cellular when we go to bed.
@freddurst321 wrote:I can tell you a few things of my experience over the last year or so with iphones and Verizon data usage.
I have observed on multiple occasions where Verizon billed for more data than was indicated by the iphone usage. Verizon gave me some free data for a month or two but never explained why it occurred. They never responded to the technical ticket that was opened on the subject. In recent months, it appears that the problem is no longer occuring.
Additionally I have seen data usage on multiple phones at times when the phones are on wi-fi and the user is asleep. Bear in mind all the settings such as wi-fi assist, no background app refresh etc. are in the correct postion. The only fix that has worked to date is turning off cellular when we go to bed.
Verizon does not add data. The data report time stamps are when the data is reported from the tower to Verizon not when the data is used. Also keep in mind Appple think it's in your best interest to not have wi-fi on if you're not using the phone to save on battery. So when you set the phone down at night with wi-fi on as soon as soon as your phone goes idle iOS will auto turn off the wi-fi. And if you don't believe me you can go look it up.
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