When this month’s China Mobile bill came out, I noticed an extra 20 yuan.
Looking through the charge details, I found two added data packages: a 10 GB monthly add-on priced at 30 yuan, and a 2 GB daily add-on priced at 5 yuan. The 30-yuan package had a 15-yuan discount applied, which is why the total extra charge showed up as 20 yuan.
I was certain I had not activated either package.
So I called 10086 and asked to speak to customer service. After I explained the situation, the representative checked the record and told me both data packages had been processed through the web, and that both were activated at 4:01 PM on August 31.
I told him plainly: I didn’t sign up for them.
He replied that it might have been done from my own phone.
I pointed out that even if it were done on my phone, there should still have to be a verification code or service password involved.
His explanation was that if it was done on the phone itself, then just clicking a link might have been enough to activate the package.
That made no sense to me for two reasons.
First, I normally have unused mobile data left over every month, so I had no reason to buy extra traffic in the first place.
Second, even if I had wanted an add-on, I would never have chosen to activate it on the very last day of the month.
In the end, customer service said they would accept my explanation this time, cancel the packages, and refund the charge within 24 hours.
I agreed to that solution, mainly because there was not much else I could do. At least on the surface, the matter was resolved.
Later, I noticed that the data packages were only valid for three months. That means the charges would have continued for those three months and then stopped on their own. If I had not checked my bill during that period, I might never have noticed.
Worse, the mobile app only lets users view bills from the past six months. So if too much time had passed, even the billing records for those charges would eventually have become harder to verify. In practice, that would have meant quietly losing money for three months for something I never ordered.
I mentioned the incident to a coworker. His reaction was blunt: this kind of thing happens with China Mobile all the time. If the customer does not notice, the carrier keeps the money. If the customer does notice, the worst outcome is simply issuing a refund.
That is the most frustrating part. Faced with this kind of behavior, ordinary users do not have many effective ways to fight back. The only realistic defense is to keep a close eye on your account, review the deduction details regularly, and check your monthly bill carefully so these charges do not slip through unnoticed.