Telenor is a Norwegian telephone operator. It offers, among other things, Internet services via satellite through its Telenor Maritime offer. Services are provided at prohibitive costs that they are more of a deception than an honest service.
My disastrous experience with Telenor Maritime:
Onboard one of Stena Line ferries to Ireland, in the middle of the Channel, I saw a telephone network available, “Telenor Maritime.” Intrigued, I made the mistake of connecting to it. My only action consisted, during a lapse of time of about 1 minute, to know a little more about this network with the browser of my smartphone.
This operation generated 3.870 MB of data and was billed at the price of 50 €. Fortunately, my operator SOSH has blocked the out-of-plan usage abroad at this level. This allowed me to avoid a bill of several hundred euros or more.
Advice:
Do not activate the Telenor Maritime network (if there is still time). If you are connected by mistake, disconnect as soon as possible and dispute the bill of your telephone operator when you return from your trip.
If your telephone operator does not make a sufficiently significant gesture, send him a formal notice with the following arguments
- Lack of prior consent on the tariff offer,
- Deception on the services,
- Forced subscription,
- Prohibitive rates.
If the operator still does not give you a satisfactory answer, you can request the mediation of electronic communications (in France). And, as the last step, you can bring the dispute before the local court or the court of law.
For my part, I contacted SOSH (french telecom operator) via chat, which granted me, after discussion, a credit of 25 € (50% of the amount) on the overrun. This way, I avoid a dispute, which is always a time-consuming procedure.
And to conclude, when you travel by ferry far from the coast, deactivate the “cellular data“. To date, no telephone operator covers the oceans, which will save you from nasty surprises when you return.
