John Campbell was booted from Kogan Mobile's service for allegedly violating its "personal use" contract stipulation. Source: Supplied
ONLINE retailer and telco reseller Kogan Mobile has been accused of kicking a customer with high internet usage off its mobile phone plan.
Kogan Mobile offers unlimited calls and texts and 6GB of data for $29 on its prepaid mobile plan which launched in December.
However, yesterday, it pulled the plug on Brisbane customer Joel Campbell claiming in an email - which has been viewed by news.com.au - that he was not using the mobile service for "personal use" and gave him 90 days to find a new phone service.
Section 1.1 of Kogan Mobile's terms of service state that its network must be used for "personal use only".
The seven-page document, outlining the terms of service, does not state that heavy users will be barred from the service.
Mr Campbel told news.com.au that he was a retail store manager. "I have no reason to need a business phone," he said.
Mr Campbell admitted he was a heavy user, that he accessed the internet on his phone a lot during the day, but said he didn't feel that the cancellation of his service was "warranted".
"I'm paying for it," he said. "At the end of the day if I want more, I'll pay for more. It’s not a loss to them."
Mr Campbell has lodged a complaint with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, who is investigating the incident.
Kogan Mobile cancelled Joel Campbell's pre-paid mobile service because he used his phone too much. Source: Supplied
Kogan reserves the right to change its terms and conditions with 14 days notice. It also doesn't allow users to top up their data balance between usage periods.
Ruslan Kogan, CEO and founder of the online retailer-turned telco, told news.com.au that Kogan Mobile was not to blame.
"Kogan Mobile procures and on-sells an Unlimited Plan with 6GB/month data from Telstra's partner," he said.
"Telstra's partner is under significant pressure to restrict excess usage on the Telstra Network. This pressure is not being applied by Kogan Mobile.
"It is not Kogan Mobile, but Telstra's partner, that administers the Acceptable Use Policy.
"While it is clear that certain users of Kogan Mobile have exceeded the normal usage of an ordinary person - some average over 14 hours of continuous calls per day and some have used over 40GB of data per month - it is also true that Telstra's partner has acted without Kogan Mobile's authority in preventing certain users from extending their access after their initial access period had expired.
"Although Telstra's partner acted without authority from Kogan Mobile, any affected users still received all of the services they had paid for.
"There are a very small number of users that attempt to use the network in a way that breaches the Acceptable Use Policy. As with any other telco, we need to ensure the network is only used for personal use, to ensure the 99 per cent-plus of people can continue to get a fantastic network at a great price.
"We have nearly 100,000 very happy Australians enjoying the best value mobile phone plan in Australia, in what has been one of the biggest migrations in Australian telecommunications history. We love technology and we want everyone in the world to have access to it."
Telstra said it does not have a commercial relationship with Kogan. The telco provides wholesale access to its 3G network to providers who then on-sell to Kogan Mobile and others.
Mr Campbell told news.com.au that he decided to switch to Kogan Mobile when it launched last December to save some money in anticipation of the birth of his first child.
"When it's working it's a really great service. It's the best that I can find. I'm having a baby soon so I was going for the best value prepaid plan I could find to try to save some money for the baby," he said.
"I don't want anything extra. I just want what they're offering. I just want to be allowed to use the service."
Most telcos have a fair or "acceptable use" policy that gives them the right to cancel the service if customers exceed what is deemed acceptable use. But the policy is not strictly enforced.
The TIO told news.com.au that it does not comment on individual complaints.
Telstra has been contacted for comment.
Have you had a problem with unlimited prepaid mobile plans? Let us know in the comment section below or email news@news.com.au.
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