Techie Help re Samsung phone please!

[PeckhamRose]

Vodafone can't help either on the phone where you pay 25p for the 191 call, and the vodafone shop in lewisham's staff are completely useless too.

I got a Samsung Mini (though I suspect all Samsungs of the range will have a similar system). I am on PAYG and when I top up I get so-called Freebee Reward things. As I am on PAYG (no contract) and Wifi (I use any BT connection or wifi in shops), I opted for my 'rewards' to be free access to the web (which lasts a month).

But when I access the web I am being charged the 75p a day to do so, despite being given it free under the rewards.

Any ideas anyone? (And no, I can't afford nor need to go on a contract - I only need to access the web when I spent time with elderly parents who have no wifi in their street).

Any help gratefully received. And if it works I'll go to vodaphone in lewisham and teach them the answer too!

[ianr]

You've presumably got to the bottom left hand node of the tree at https://rewardz.vodafone.co.uk/#howitworks and selected an Instant Reward.

At that point it seems to be a bloody lottery, with you being offered a choice from a randomly selected four from a pool at least twenty five options, two of which are "2 days free internet" and "Free data for 30 days". What did you manage to choose, did you have to restart the process several times (if it allowed it) until what you wanted turned up in the four choices offered, what feedback did the system give you, and is your phone number definitely linked to the shenanigans on the web page?

[PeckhamRose]

Thanks ianr. But I can't work out on the phone how to access the freebies that I have selected and have been told have been activated...

[ianr]

It sounds like a provider's systems problem rather than anything to do with the phone, given that you say you have been able to access the internet on it.

If you and Vodaphone records agree that you have made a top-up, been given a freebie code, used it, and were given a month's free internet access as a result, the only thing I can think of is that you might have met a lag between the winning and the usability: their FAQ does mention that you may have to wait up to 24 hours for free texts and minutes to become available. If you're short of any definitive record or information as to what transactions have taken place, you could test, with a LOST text, that you have no freebie code still unused. Or you could simply try using the internet again, and see if there's the same or similar charge (I only saw a ?1 a day one on their website) still applied. If you have all the records and are still being charged, you've all you need for a written complaint. If you can't get all the information, ditto.