Bill Shock On The Today Show

Bill Shock is when you exceed your SMS/Phone call/Data limit on your mobile phone by an extra ordinary amount.

Sometimes you don’t realise how much data you have downloaded or how long your calls have been until you get the horrendous bill.

Remedies/What to look out for

  • When signing up, make sure you know exactly what your plan includes with regard to calls, texts and data usage
  • Some vendors – such as Optus and Telstra – have services or apps that will tell you when you are near your limit or have reached it.
  • Be aware that free apps cost. Some Vendors offer unlimited access to social network sites. While it is free to look at these sites, when you upload or download messages or pictures it comes off your data allowance3 Shacks Out Of 5.
  • A cap plan will stop you going over your limit because as soon as you reach the limit you either have to top it up or your service is stopped.

Best Plans

Optus

  • $34 PER MONTH
  • $0 upfront
  • $550 included value
  • 1.5 GB Mobile Internet
  • Unlimited mobile access within Australia3 to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace, eBay and Foursquare.

Telstra

  • $59 Freedom Connect Plan
  • $550 for calls and MMS
  • Unlimited SMS
  • 1.5GB data
  • Text to standard Australian numbers = Unlimited
  • MMS to standard Australian numbers = 50c

AmaySIM

  • $39.90 a month plan
  • Unlimited standard national calls and text,
  • MMS and voicemail access – Australia-wide
  • Includes calls to 13 and 18 (plus 1300 and 1800) numbers
  • Unlimited access to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter
  • 4GB of data

Vodafone

  • $30 per month for max. 12 months
  • $550 value included value
  • 1GB Data per month
  • Infinite Vodafone to Vodafone & 3 standard national voice calls
  • Infinite text to personal mobile numbers from Australia