Google Voice Fails, Results In $700 Bill

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
This is the first I have heard of this but, since a lot of you guys use Google Voice, I thought I would pass this story on as a precaution.

She uses the Google Voice app on her smartphone to make those calls over the Internets instead of using the T-Mobile network. Except somehow, the Google Voice app failed, and the phone itself placed those calls while making it sound like they went through the Voice app. "Complain to Google about it and give us $700," says T-Mobile. "If the call doesn't show up in your Voice history, it went through the cell network," says Google.
Click to expand...
 
Sounds like it went through the voice app.....so we can tell the difference between programs by sound now? Nice
 
When I've used Google Voice to make calls, a local number calls my phone, and then I'm connected to an outbound call for the number i wanted to call. This doesnt appear to be what happened in this case. Does Google Voice work differently now on Android phones?
 
I read it as:

Google Voice Fails, Results in $700 Billion (loss for Google).
 
How can you possibly talk on the phone long enough to rack up that many minutes?
 
imExcitebike said:
When I've used Google Voice to make calls, a local number calls my phone, and then I'm connected to an outbound call for the number i wanted to call. This doesnt appear to be what happened in this case. Does Google Voice work differently now on Android phones?
Click to expand...
Android has an app for Voice that allows you make calls through the Google Voice service but you must specify which service you want to use (the phone's service or GV) You can also dial through the browser interface and then specify to make the call from your cell phone as well.

This sounds like operator error, honestly.
 
I knew this would be a Consumerist article even before clicking. :p

So she called into GV, and may not have waited for the correct prompt to enter the number so it somehow disconnected from the GV call and then tricked her into dialing directly with T-Mobile. Uh huh.

Or maybe she just forgot to use GV on the international calls and is making excuses now that she's facing a $700 bill.

Either way it's not T-Mobile's problem. It was a 3rd party app with possibly a PEBPAN.
 
I used google voice every day on Android. Basically it calls out over the cell network to a special number. You are not saving your minutes unless you have a fav-five plan and add the outbound number to them.

I have unlimited voice/data and even if I select google voice, it uses the voice network to route me to google voice servers, which then route me off as my google voice number to my destination.

I used to have a fav-5 plan and had google voice in there, but I also noticed that you were not guaranteed to get the same outbound number. It changes by region.
 
[H]ugh_Freak;1037567773 said:
How can you possibly talk on the phone long enough to rack up that many minutes?
Click to expand...

Did you even read the article?
Sophie makes a lot of phone calls to France, so she does the responsible, frugal thing....

The person has two things going against them:
1) A woman on the phone.
2) Calling to France.
 
Bone_Enterprise said:
Did you even read the article?
Sophie makes a lot of phone calls to France, so she does the responsible, frugal thing....

The person has two things going against them:
1) A woman on the phone.
2) Calling to France.
Click to expand...

no i did not since I'm on my cell
 
And this would be why our cell companies warn you on every call. The moment the call will cost you anything when you dial .. a woman's voice comes onto the line saying "Your call is being connected long distance, additional charges will apply" perhaps T-mobile needs to look into this
 
I use google voice almost excusively. I always have it use callback from my google number, or I use talkatone for VOIP calling directly. Then you never get stupid surprises. Google's own app makes you dial some random number each time you make a call. The callback feature is MUCH better but not available in the google app. You need a thrid party app, and they are all better than the real google app. I use gvmobile+
 
pxc said:
I knew this would be a Consumerist article even before clicking. :p

So she called into GV, and may not have waited for the correct prompt to enter the number so it somehow disconnected from the GV call and then tricked her into dialing directly with T-Mobile. Uh huh.

Or maybe she just forgot to use GV on the international calls and is making excuses now that she's facing a $700 bill.

Either way it's not T-Mobile's problem. It was a 3rd party app with possibly a PEBPAN.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my first thought was "Why is T-Mobile supposed to give a crap or accept partial payment?" The problem is either with the user or GV, either way T-Mobile is owed $700 from the user.
 
Guys, My android phone has an option with the google voice app to ask if I want to make the call using google voice through data, instead of the regular cell connection (which burn minutes).

I use this serive to keep my cell minutes down, while I try to take advantage of the unlimited Data while it is still an option for me. Every call I choose to use google voice option, and then I assume that my minutes are not used.

The complaint this person has is justified, how do we know if it is in fact using the data instead of minutes? Up until now I just assumed it worked. I think this article points out that we might not be able to assume that.

While the jokes about user errors and the sex of the user are extremely funny, I think some of us need to be aware that this might be an issue.
 
pxc said:
Either way it's not T-Mobile's problem. It was a 3rd party app with possibly a PEBPAN.
Click to expand...

Not sure what a PEBPAN is, but I agree that I don't quite see how you can blame Tmobile. She acknowledges using her cell phone to place a call to France, she acknowledges that she knows calls to France are expensive, Tmobile connected her call, and she needs to pay Tmobile.

If a friend asks to use your phone for a call long distance, the friend says they'll pay you back, but then they never do can you really expect the phone company to forgive that debt and remove it from your bill just because you thought somebody else other than the phone company would be taking care of it and that other person didn't come through for you?
 
Az Syndicate said:
Guys, My android phone has an option with the google voice app to ask if I want to make the call using google voice through data, instead of the regular cell connection (which burn minutes).

I use this serive to keep my cell minutes down, while I try to take advantage of the unlimited Data while it is still an option for me. Every call I choose to use google voice option, and then I assume that my minutes are not used.

The complaint this person has is justified, how do we know if it is in fact using the data instead of minutes? Up until now I just assumed it worked. I think this article points out that we might not be able to assume that.

While the jokes about user errors and the sex of the user are extremely funny, I think some of us need to be aware that this might be an issue.
Click to expand...

You have to select every call which one to use, if you used voice instead of data then A) it was user error, B) you selected the wrong one (user error), or C) it was user error.

The phone does not have dialing plans built into it, it does not say oh damn I couldn't connect to google voice even tho they selected google voice.. so i'll use regular cell instead. There is no possible way if the user selected gvoice, that they used minutes.

On the flip side, your using a 3rd party program to make calls for cheap / free ... why should your cell provider care if you or the app screw up and rack up $700 in fee's? they didn't make you install the app and try using it.
 
This woman obviously uses the phone WAY too much. Just using an app to try to bypass paying so much is not a solution to the problem. She need to get off the freaking phone and talk to people in person.

I hate it when people want to talk to me on the phone frequently and for long periods. My arm gets tired holding the stupid phone up to my ear so much. I've gotten to the point that I hate talking on the phone.

Email is far superior for getting large amounts of information to people. (It allows people to reference back to the information rather than trying to remember it.) Talking in person is far superior for social interaction. (It's rude to just talk on the phone to people. it misses all the body language and actual company.) Texting is far superior for getting small bits of info to people. (Calling someone to tell them "meet me here" causes them to have to pause whatever they're doing and deal with a conversation for 30-45 seconds. A text allows them to finish what they're doing and take 3 seconds to read it.) Phones are only best for brief conversations and trying to arrange meetings. Use the right tool for the right purposes.
 
dgingeri said:
She need to get off the freaking phone and talk to people in person.


Email is far superior for getting large amounts of information to people. ... Talking in person is far superior for social interaction. (It's rude to just talk on the phone to people. it misses all the body language and actual company.) Texting is far superior for getting small bits of info to people. ....
Click to expand...

Sorry but you are wrong on email and txt being superior. I have to constantly tell my employees to call the person and talk to them. Email is great for documenting deliverable Txt is great for a quick update. But to get a good feel on what our customer wants it is better to talk on the phone. Would I love to do it in person? Absolutely, but being a global company, no way I am sending people on plane rides for cost and time reasons when a phone call can work.
 
dgingeri said:
This woman obviously uses the phone WAY too much. Just using an app to try to bypass paying so much is not a solution to the problem. She need to get off the freaking phone and talk to people in person.

I hate it when people want to talk to me on the phone frequently and for long periods. My arm gets tired holding the stupid phone up to my ear so much. I've gotten to the point that I hate talking on the phone.

Email is far superior for getting large amounts of information to people. (It allows people to reference back to the information rather than trying to remember it.) Talking in person is far superior for social interaction. (It's rude to just talk on the phone to people. it misses all the body language and actual company.) Texting is far superior for getting small bits of info to people. (Calling someone to tell them "meet me here" causes them to have to pause whatever they're doing and deal with a conversation for 30-45 seconds. A text allows them to finish what they're doing and take 3 seconds to read it.) Phones are only best for brief conversations and trying to arrange meetings. Use the right tool for the right purposes.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you're right, the woman should clearly take an transatlantic flight every time she wants to talk to someone in France.
 
ok i have some dumb semi-related questions...
1)when you make a regular call through GV app where it looks like you are calling some random number... is that using your cell phone carrier minutes?
2)when you have GV call your GV number and then connect you to the person you are trying to call...is that using your cell phone carrier minutes?
3)if you setup GV to display your GV number whenever someone calls your GV number, does that person's phone number get tracked on your cellphone records or will it just show up as if your GV number called you?
this is all for on a iphone4 btw
 
eon said:
ok i have some dumb semi-related questions...
1)when you make a regular call through GV app where it looks like you are calling some random number... is that using your cell phone carrier minutes?
2)when you have GV call your GV number and then connect you to the person you are trying to call...is that using your cell phone carrier minutes?
3)if you setup GV to display your GV number whenever someone calls your GV number, does that person's phone number get tracked on your cellphone records or will it just show up as if your GV number called you?
this is all for on a iphone4 btw
Click to expand...

GV should work the same on all platforms.

What you have to do is:

1. setup your GV number.
2. Add your GV number to your fav list on your cell phone plan.
3. Install the GV callback app.
4. Setup the GV call back app to either use GV callback al the time or let you select each time. I select each time and then use GV to call numbers that would normally cost me minutes... (not on Verizon's network or in my favs list).
5. If you want to save minutes for people calling you and they are not on your favs list or using the same cell provider, give them your GV number. Since it is on your favs list, then it will not cost you any minutes for them to call you.

As for your questions:
1. It is NOT a random number, it is the GV number you chose when you setup your GV account. It will use your minutes UNLESS you add that number to your fav list on your cell account.
2. Yes, UNLESS you have your GV number added to your favs list on your cell phone account.
3.It just shows up as your GV number calling you. You should be able to see who actually called you if you log in to your GV account.
 
eon said:
ok i have some dumb semi-related questions...
1)when you make a regular call through GV app where it looks like you are calling some random number... is that using your cell phone carrier minutes?
2)when you have GV call your GV number and then connect you to the person you are trying to call...is that using your cell phone carrier minutes?
3)if you setup GV to display your GV number whenever someone calls your GV number, does that person's phone number get tracked on your cellphone records or will it just show up as if your GV number called you?
this is all for on a iphone4 btw
Click to expand...

1) Yes. You can add a VOIP provider of your own (SIP protocol) when on Android (not on the iPhone app), but the default configuration is to use the cellular network and your cellular plan's minutes. When you call somebody it calls a Google number, which then forwards you to the number you wanted to reach - that way they see your Google Voice number instead of your cell phone's number. That still uses your minutes from your phone company though.

2) Yes.

3) It shows as the person's phone number on your phone, not the GV number.

The idea behind Google Voice is being able to give out one number to everybody, and configure it to reach you however you want. No porting numbers, if I want that phone number I give you to call my cell phone and home phone at the same time I can.

If you're a telemarketer I can go onto the Google Voice site and mark your call as 'SPAM' and have your number blocked. It just offers you a lot more freedom to do what you want with your phone - it isn't intended to get around the cellular plan minutes though for any calls inside the US. Now, if you're calling another country what it does is it calls a local phone number (so still using plan minutes, but not international minutes), plays a message letting you know Google will charge you their rates for international minutes, and then connects you to the other number.
 
LordCalin said:
You have to select every call which one to use, if you used voice instead of data then A) it was user error, B) you selected the wrong one (user error), or C) it was user error.

The phone does not have dialing plans built into it, it does not say oh damn I couldn't connect to google voice even tho they selected google voice.. so i'll use regular cell instead. There is no possible way if the user selected gvoice, that they used minutes.

On the flip side, your using a 3rd party program to make calls for cheap / free ... why should your cell provider care if you or the app screw up and rack up $700 in fee's? they didn't make you install the app and try using it.
Click to expand...


Google Voice does not use data.

When you make a call using Google Voice, it dials out to Google Voice and then connects you to the number you are calling to. Your phone minutes still get used because you phone is still making a phone call.

The savings here in this womans case would be to use Google Voice to make the connection to France at $.02 or $.15 a minute vs $1.45 that T-Mobile would charge.

She screwed up when she selected which option to make the call with....
 
You don't have to select which one to use on every call as mentioned above. You can set it up to always use GV, never use GV, or ask every time. She obviously had it set up to use GV for all calls and didn't know it or didn't understand how it works. She burned herself.

On another note GV does use data for texts placed and received via GV. I use my GV number exclusively for texting, since I have unlimited data, I have free unlimited texting. The calls however even on Verizon get routed through the cell network and billed accordingly.
 
The app has some problems with conflicts in software like MotoBlur. I have to make my phone calls a little weird, otherwise MotoBlur blocks google voice from making the call and then the phone makes the call instead.

You need to be very careful with it.
 
User error on the woman's part and user error on The Consumerist's part. Two total fails make one epic win?
 
Pay the nice folks and double-check what you're doing moving forward. You can't shirk responsibility just because you're careless.
 
Vashypooh said:
The app has some problems with conflicts in software like MotoBlur. I have to make my phone calls a little weird, otherwise MotoBlur blocks google voice from making the call and then the phone makes the call instead.

You need to be very careful with it.
Click to expand...

Replace Motoblur

Profit
 
Met-AL said:
Google Voice does not use data.

When you make a call using Google Voice, it dials out to Google Voice and then connects you to the number you are calling to. Your phone minutes still get used because you phone is still making a phone call.
Click to expand...

Depends on how you set it up, my google voice is 100% data both mobile and at home. I don't get calls from google to answer, I just dial out like normal, and it goes through data to google and out from there using the XMPP protocal.
 
[H]ugh_Freak;1037567854 said:
Also Google Voice charges for international calls. $.02 for landlines and $.15 to mobiles in France. Her complete fault.
Click to expand...
The article said she heard the GV prompt about $.02 and that is why she was surprised to see a $700 bill from T-mobile. ;)
 
LordCalin said:
Depends on how you set it up, my google voice is 100% data both mobile and at home. I don't get calls from google to answer, I just dial out like normal, and it goes through data to google and out from there using the XMPP protocal.
Click to expand...

I would like to know how and what carrier. I know on Verizon they will pick up on the use of Google voice to make a call and automatically route it through their phone service, deducting minutes like normal. Of course any incoming calls made to your GV number are counted against your cell minutes as well. There are a couple ways to set up some sort of VOIP calling but its a somewhat involving process involving SIP and there are tons of people who claim poor service, voice delays, etch...its what people use to get free calling on Android tablets that have no cellular radios like the Asus Transformer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top