Click below to
find interesting
information from our
September 2010
newsletter
relating to:
Roaming
Travel
Mobile phones
Roaming
Virgin
SMS cost
Is this the
way roaming
charges will go?
According to its
website, Virgin
Mobile may
charge to
receive
SMS when roaming
(at the same
cost as to send
a roaming SMS).
One of the few
free
communications
in life is no
more (except of
course the
sender always
has to pay) for
Virgin
subscribers.
Let's hope it
doesn't become
widespread among
the other
networks. Is
this the future
of roaming?
We certainly
hope not!
Of course our
vSIM
is free to
receive SMS
with, no matter
where in the
world you are.
Travel
Save
fees and
taxes
Airline
passengers
are
losing
millions
of
dollars
a year
by not
reclaiming
the tax
and duty
paid on
cancelled
flight
tickets.
Airlines,
particularly
some budget
carriers, have
made it
difficult for
passengers to
reclaim the tax
portion of their
ticket in the
event of
cancellation.
Technically, any
passenger who is
unable to board
a flight should
be able to
reclaim the tax
portion of the
ticket cost by
either making it
unduly
complicated to
reclaim or by
charging
administration
fees to do so.
As a result,
many passengers
drop the matter
and forfeit the
money (even more
are unaware and
do not even
attempt to
reclaim the
fees). This is
costly - fees
and taxes for a
trip to London
range from $354
to over $1100
(they vary
widely between
airlines -
mostly depending
on whether a
fuel surcharge
is included in
the ticket price
or the "fees and
taxes" total.
Some airlines
charge an
administration
fee that may
exceed the cost
of the refund.
Administration
charges by
different
airlines have
been quoted as
running to GBP30
(about AUD52) in
the case of
British Airways
and Virgin
Atlantic. Not
all passengers
are aware of
their rights on
the matter – and
those who are
aware often
consider it all
just too much
hassle.
Britain’s APD is
paid upon
booking but not
collected until
an occupied seat
flies. If a
passenger is
unable to fly
they have a
right to claim
the paid tax
back from the
airline.
If travellers
book with travel
agents, in most
cases the taxes
can be refunded
easily, with no
paperwork or
problems and few
fees if any.
Booking direct
with the
airlines and
over many
web-sites leaves
travellers
powerless and
lacking in the
knowledge
required to cope
with refunds or
amendments.
Incidentally,
most airlines
will not refund
fuel surcharges
which can be a
substantial part
of the ticket,
despite that
fact that the
cancelled
passengers have
used no fuel.
Mobile phones
Forgetting
phone numbers
Can you remember
your significant
other's mobile
number? Or those
of your parents?
Or your siblings
mobile numbers?
How about your
best mate? No?
Well, you are
not alone. More
than 50% of
people suffer
from "numerical
amnesia".
A new survey
shows that 38%
of a population
can’t remember
their partner's
mobile number
off by heart,
50% can’t
remember their
best mate's
mobile and 37%
have forgotten
their parents’
mobile numbers.
And things get
worse. An online
memory test,
designed to
assess the
population's
ability to
remember
sequences of
numbers, shows
80% of us
routinely forget
a mobile phone
number after
just five
seconds.
Interestingly,
fixed line
numbers seem to
stay lodged
firmly in the
brain for much
longer. Perhaps
it's the
hard-wiring, but
92% of adults
can remember
their home phone
number and 60%
can even
remember their
parent's
numbers.
Why this mobile
amnesia? Well,
it seems we are
relying more and
more on the
memories
embedded in
mobile devices
to do all that
for us - which
is fine until we
lose them. And,
of course,
mobile owners
are fretting
that they might
lose the
precious data
and numbers they
can't remember
anyway if their
handsets are
lost, stolen or
break.
More than 67% of
respondents to a
survey admitted
to anxiety about
the possible
loss of numbers
and other
details stored
on their
handsets. A mere
18% ever get
round to storing
them on a home
or work
computer. And
what about
simply writing
them down
somewhere? Too
much like hard
work.
People are so
heavily reliant
on their mobile
phones that
they’d be lost
without them.
And even if not
caught in an
emergency
situation,
research shows
that four in 10
people have lost
total contact
with friends
when they’ve had
their phones
stolen or lost.
It highlights
the unthinking
reliance we now
place on
technology. For
example, it
shows that while
the potential
loss of phone
numbers is our
primary concern,
40 per cent of
the
mobile-owning
population also
worry about
losing text
messages. The
answer is
simple: get into
the habit of
backing-up all
this stuff. It's
really not that
hard.
To
subscribe
to our
Newsletter
click
here
