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Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:24:03 +0000

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”Consumers overpaying on mobile contracts due to confusion or stupidity”?

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:54:21 +0000

Recently there was an article on BBC news which claimed that consumers are being charged, on average, £200 more than they should be for their mobile contracts – PLEASE NOTE these are the general public NOT Businesses!

If you take this report at face value without any knowledge of the industry one could be easily fall under the impression that the general public are being duped / mis-sold into mobile phone contracts that are not suitable for their requirements and certainly the title of the article ”Consumers overpaying on mobile contracts due to confusion” would lead you to believe this to be the case, however the truth of the matter is this:

Consumer mobile users must take some responsibility for researching their own needs and look at their actual usage rather than what they perceive to be a good deal – for example what is the point in having a tariff which affords unlimited text messages (subject to the networks fair usage policy) when you only send an average of 10 a month – the common answer is that ‘’it was included in the tariff’’ but the reality is that the consumer didn’t look for a tariff to match their text usage and while this might have been included they would have been paying for it somewhere!

However the number one reason that consumers are spending an average of £200 more for their phone contract is because they use their mobile tariff as a finance agreement for their new phone because they do not have the disposable income to contribute towards the cost of the handset and if they do have the disposable income one can only draw the conclusion that these people are not very good at maths!

Here’s an actual example:

Customer using 80 minutes and 750 texts and 250 mb of data recently asked one of my sales advisers for a quote based on a 24 month agreement including the new (at the time) HTC Desire HD, my sales adviser quoted them a £15 per month tariff (including VAT) which provided unlimited texts and 100 minutes per month with 500mb of data, this adequately took care of their needs and provided a buffer in the event that there usage increased (not forgetting that you can always increase your tariff with the network in the advent that your usage rises) because the HTC Desire is an expensive handset he explained that it would not be free of charge with the contract and he would need to charge them £225 for the phone and as a result the if their usage stayed at the present rate the whole package including the charge for the phone would cost them £585 over the 24 months – not a bad deal when the SIM FREE price for the phone was approximately £450 at the time.

So the customer thanks my advisers for the quote but asks what tariff would they need to go on in order to get the handset free of charge, despite my sale person explaining this was a far more expensive option and they would be paying far more than is necessary the customer was insistent that they would like a quote based on the phone being free of charge so they were reluctantly quoted £45 per month for 1200 minutes , 1GB of Data and unlimited texts and the handset was indeed free of charge in terms of no upfront charge but the total cost of this was £1080 over the course of the contract.

And guess which option they went for?

That’s right the £45 a month tariff – now ask your self was this customer mis-sold or duped into the wrong contract? I DON’T THINK SO and yet despite being given all the correct advise they have purchased over 10 times more minutes than they required and 4 times more data than required and when all factors are taken into consideration are now spending £247.50 more per year and will do so for at least 2 years based on their 24 month contract term!

Now ask yourself are ”Consumers overpaying on mobile contracts due to confusion or stupidity”?

At the end of the day you wouldn’t buy a car and agree to purchase a quantity of petrol every month which you knew you didn’t need so why do it with a mobile phone!

Click here for the original BBC article

H-J Kempf

Independent Mobile Specialist.

Mobile Complaints

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:41:55 +0000

Mobile Complaints

Complaining about your mobile provider

Unfortunately not all mobile providers follow the same code of practice as GSM Associates Ltd, if you have a mobile complaint we recommend that you follow the guidelines below, alternatively you can contact us for further advice and details of our mobile complaint handling service
– call 0800 007 6230 or Contact Us.

Click To Enlarge

MOBILE COMPLAINT GUIDELINES

Raise the issue with your service provider

In the first instance you should contact your service provider’s customer services department and explain the problem you are experiencing. If you are unable to speak to the service provider’s customer services team by phone; you may be able to contact them via their website, by email, by letter or by fax. It is in a provider’s own interests to treat its customers fairly and well, and in most cases they will resolve the issue satisfactorily.

Making a Mobile complaint

If your service provider refuses to resolve your concerns – or says there is nothing it can do – then raise a complaint with them. Advise your service provider that your complaint should be reviewed in accordance with their own complaints procedure which is contained within their Complaints Code of Practice. This can normally be found on the provider’s website. If you are unable to find this information, the service provider’s customer service staff should advise you of the process to follow to make a complaint.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes act as an independent middleman between the service provider and the customer. If the ADR scheme agrees with your complaint, it can order the service provider to fix the problem and could potentially make a

Financial award. It is a requirement that all service providers are members of an ADR scheme.

Find out which ADR your service provider is a member of

You should find details of your service provider’s ADR scheme in their Code of Practice or from their customer services staff. Ofcom approves two ADR schemes: Ombudsman Services: Communications (http://www.ombudsman-services.org/communications.html,and CISAS (http://www.cisas.org.uk/).

When to take your dispute / Mobile Complaint to ADR

If you have gone through the service provider’s complaints Procedure and your concerns still aren’t resolved, the next thing to try is the service provider’s ADR scheme. You do not pay any Costs for using an ADR service. The only costs you might have to pay are photocopying or postage costs. ADR schemes are meant to Supplement, not replace, a service provider’s own complaints Procedure, so you can only use its ADR scheme if:

You have tried to make a complaint to the provider and had no Success AND 8 weeks or more has passed since you first complained to the company OR; your provider has written to you to say they’re not going to do anything else about your complaint – known as a “deadlock” letter. For updates on your complaint to an ADR scheme, you should contact the ADR scheme directly.

Let the Ofcom Advisory Team know if your service provider is not a member of an ADR

Service providers are breaking important consumer protection rules if they don’t belong to an ADR scheme. So if your provider doesn’t belong to an ADR scheme, we need to know, so we can investigate further. Contact Ofcom on 0300 123 3333.

Useful contact details

Ombudsman Services: Communications: 0330 440 1614

Cisas: 020 7520 3827

Ofcom Advisory Team: 0300 123 3333

Ofcom Advisory Team

Phone: +44 (0)300 123 3333

Facsimile: +44 (0)300 123 0811

Text phone: +44 (0)300 123 2024

Welsh Line: +44 (0)300 123 2023 www.ofcom.org.uk

BlackBerry Desktop Software

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:07:46 +0000

Blackberry Desktop Software:

What is this?

The Blackberry Desktop software will enable you to do the following:

* Synchronise your Calendar Contacts, Tasks and Notes

* Backup and restore your Blackberry

* Load Applications onto your Blackberry

* Download music and photos from your Blackberry

* Upload music and photos from your Blackberry

Why do I need this?

The most important use for the Blackberry Desktop software is the ability to Backup and restore your information to ensure that all your contacts are never lost.

Easily transfer all your contacts, calendar entries, tasks and notes from Outlook straight onto your Blackberry handheld.

What does the software cost?

Most Blackberry will have a copy of the software on disc in the box when you purchased your handset however if you don’t have this it can be downloaded free of charge.

- View the BalckBerry Desktop Manger User Manual online.

Health and Mobile Phones

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:37:32 +0000

Health and Mobile Phones:

Mobile Health Risk

Each GSM handset has a radio transmitter and receiver in order to operate in the wireless GSM network. That transceiver is manufactured so that when used next to the ear and when worn on the belt, it won’t exceed the limits for exposure to radio frequency energy set by the authorities. SAR (specific absorption rate) is a measurement of how much electromagnetic radiation is absorbed by body tissue whilst using a mobile phone.

The higher the SAR the more radiation is absorbed. In Europe, the European Union Council has adopted the recommendations made by the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP Guidelines 1998). These recommendations set a SAR limit of 2.0 W/kg in 10g of tissue. The UK Government has endorsed this limit (following a report by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones) and the five mobile phone network operators have agreed to voluntarily adopt the ICNIRP guidelines for public exposure. All mobile phones on sale in the UK comply with this limit. In the United States, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) requires all cell phones to comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) SAR limit of 1.6 W/kg in 1g of tissue.

How to reduce your exposure to phone radiation?

* Do not use your phone more than necessary and keep your calls short

* Send a text instead of making a call

* Try to avoid using your phone if the signal strength is low – find a better location to make a call

* Try to use the phone outdoors rather than inside, or move close to a window to make a call * Keep the phone (and particularly the aerial) as far as possible from your head

* Avoid touching the aerial while the phone is turned on, and keep the phone away from areas of the body such as eyes, testicles, breasts and internal organs * Limit usage as much as possible if pregnant

* Switch off your phone when not in use You should be aware that if the phone is receiving a very strong signal from a base station, then power output can be reduced by up to 1000 times compared with when the phone has a poor signal.

SAR Values:

It is possible to measure how much radio waves energy your body receives from each model of mobile phone, this is called the specific absorption rate or SAR.

From 2001 there will be a European standard method of measuring SAR this information will be provided to consumers for each model of mobile phone sold in the UK from this time.

Users may wish to take out these relative SAR values into consideration when choosing a mobile phone. All models sold in the UK already meet international exposure guidelines.

How do I check the SAR rating of my mobile phone? Go to www.gsmarena.com select your handset model and go to the bottom of the page which details the features and functions of the device and under the ‘MISC’ catorory you will see the SAR rating for the US and Europe.

The limit in Europe is 2.0 W/Kg in 10g of tissue and in the US it is 1.6 W/Kg in 1g of tissue.

For more information on SAR values for please contact our customer services team on:
0800 007 6230 or Contact Us.

View online the Department of Health PDF:

Orange Answer Phone

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:16:51 +0000

The Orange Answer Phone / Voicemail Service allow callers to leave a message when you are busy, out of coverage or if your handset is switched off. This is a standard service provided by the Orange Network although it is not compulsory and can be switched off.

Callers can be greeted by the standard Orange network message, your name or a full personalised greeting.

To set a personalised greeting simply call through to your Orange Answer phone service / voicemail by dialling 123 from your handset, pressing and holding the number 1 key or dialling the full Orange Answer Phone service / voicemail number ‘07973 100 123’, when you get through to your voicemail select option 3 from the menu which will guide you through the process of setting up a personalised answer phone / voicemail message, once set this is the message your callers will be greeted by when they reached your Orange Answer Phone Service / Voicemail.

Q & A

Can I access my Orange Answer Phone Service / Voicemail whilst abroad?

Yes but make sure you set up a security PIN number prior to leaving the UK by dialling through to your Orange Answer Phone service / Voicemail and selecting option 3 from the menu and then follow the prompts to set up a PIN. Once set you will be able to dial through to your Orange Answer phone service / voicemail whilst abroad but before you can retrieve your messages you will be prompted for your full Orange mobile number and the PIN that you have set up, once entered your Orange Answer Phone Service / voicemail will work as normal.

I can’t access my Orange Answer Phone / Voicemail?

If you are unable to access your Orange Answer Phone Service / voicemail the most likely cause will be that you have accidently deleted your Orange Answer Phone Voicemail number, the location of this varies depending on the type of handset you are using but it can normally be found under the settings menu > Phone Setting > Voicemail setting, your voicemail number should be set to +447973100123, make sure the number is correct and save the settings, if this doesn’t work call Orange directly and ask them to reset your Orange Answer Phone Service / voicemail, call through on one of the following numbers:

Orange Consumer Customer Services – Dial 150 from your Orange handset or 07973 100 150 from a UK Landline.

Orange Business Customer Services – Dial 345 from your Orange handset or 07973 100 345 from a UK landline

Orange Corporate Customer Services – Dial 158 from your Orange handset of 07973 100 158 from a UK Landline.

If you are a GSM Associate’s Business Client simply dial 0800 007 6230

If you are unsure of your Orange customer service number it should be detailed in the top right hand corner of the first page of your monthly invoice, if you don’t have this to hand take an educated guess on one of the above numbers and if you get the wrong department I am sure they will advise you accordingly or even transfer you!

How do I know when I have a Voicemail message?

Your phone will automatically alert you with a text message and visual alert on the screen of your phone which looks like a mini envelope.

I don’t have any new voicemail messages but the envelope is still present on the screen of my phone?

Dial through to your Orange Answer Phone Service / Voicemail and make sure you have listened to all your messages and deleted them, once complete switch your phone on and off, if this still doesn’t clear the envelope call Orange directly and ask them to manually clear your mail box or if you are a GSM Associates Business client call our customer service department on 0800 007 6230.

What does it cost to retrieve my voicemail messages?

Most Business tariffs are free to retrieve your Orange voicemail messages whilst in the UK but always check this before using the service with either your connecting dealer or Orange Direct on any of the contact numbers listed on my blog or if you are a GSM Associates’ customer call us directly on 0800 007 6230 or check your original quotation.

What does it cost to retrieve my Orange Answer phone messages / voicemail whilst abroad?

These calls will normally always be charged and will vary dependant on the country that you are roaming in, always check with your Dealer or Orange direct before travelling.

If I have a PIN on my Orange Answer Phone / Voicemail will I have to enter my full Orange mobile number and PIN every time I want to retrieve my messages?

How much does it cost to leave a personalised greeting on my voicemail?

This is charged at your standard Orange Answer phone retrieval / Voicemail rate and as stated the service is free on most Orange Business Tariffs if dialled from the UK.

Tips and Tricks

If you want to access your voicemail but don’t have your mobile with you simply dial 07973 100 123 and providing you have set up a PIN number (see instructions do this within my Blog) you will be able to retrieve your Orange Answer Phone / Voicemail messages and have access to the full functionality of your Orange Answer Phone / voicemail service, the charge for doing this is the same as dialling a standard Orange mobile number.
Where possible do NOT select the option to return a call from your Orange Answer Phone / Voicemail message as this will be charged as a standard alone call at a higher rate and will not decrement any inclusive minute bundle or free calling option you may have with your tariff.
You can forward a copy of one of your Orange Answer Phone / Voicemail messages, simply follow the prompts within the menu and enter the number that you would like to send the message to.

I hope you have found the information within my Blog useful, all details are correct as of the date of this post, if you would like further information on Orange Answer Phone / voicemail retrieval or indeed on any business mobile product or Service with any of the UK mobile networks please email me directly at hj@gsmassociates.com