Stealing Phone Minutes

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
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Probably sounds crazy but is it possible for someone to steal phone minutes. Past few weeks I charge up my Claro phone and the credit just seems to vanish. I had over 800 pesos credit, purchased a one day internet, sent a few text messages and a day later my account was zero. This has happened several times. I surely don't want to get a new phone number but is there something else I need to do?
 

bronzeallspice

Live everyday like it's your last
Mar 26, 2012
11,009
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38
I must say that is strange. I was about to say that minutes or credit expire if not used but it does
give a date of expiration.
 

sayanora

Silver
Feb 22, 2012
1,621
36
48
Probably sounds crazy but is it possible for someone to steal phone minutes. Past few weeks I charge up my Claro phone and the credit just seems to vanish. I had over 800 pesos credit, purchased a one day internet, sent a few text messages and a day later my account was zero. This has happened several times. I surely don't want to get a new phone number but is there something else I need to do?

Call Claro and they can explain what happened.. most of the time it's a data setting or GPS that passively eats away at credit by consuming data.
 

malko

Campesino !! :)
Jan 12, 2013
5,545
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What can happen, but seems unlikely in your case, is that one leaves the data network on and has automatic updates on apps and stuff.
A one day internet with claro is only 100 mb, so if ure phone/tablet has updated a coiple of apps, there goes ure 100mb.
Then, without the internet packet, minutes/credits go very fast......
 
Jul 28, 2014
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What can happen, but seems unlikely in your case, is that one leaves the data network on and has automatic updates on apps and stuff.
A one day internet with claro is only 100 mb, so if ure phone/tablet has updated a coiple of apps, there goes ure 100mb.
Then, without the internet packet, minutes/credits go very fast......


As malko noted, at least on my phone, I have set it only to do updates from Wifi, so MY data is not used. Might wanna see if you can set that and save yourself data usage.
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
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I just buy the one day internet because I am still waiting going on six weeks for Claro to come out and do a house install of TV, internet, and land line phone but that is a completely different story. I can understand my internet MB getting chewed up if my settings are not correct but I just can't understand how my balance can go from 800 pesos to zero in less than a day. Yes, I could give Claro a call but my Spanish if far from fluent and the English speaking customer reps at Claro could really use a few more years of English classes.
 

barker1964

Silver
Apr 1, 2009
3,413
2
38
I just buy the one day internet because I am still waiting going on six weeks for Claro to come out and do a house install of TV, internet, and land line phone but that is a completely different story. I can understand my internet MB getting chewed up if my settings are not correct but I just can't understand how my balance can go from 800 pesos to zero in less than a day. Yes, I could give Claro a call but my Spanish if far from fluent and the English speaking customer reps at Claro could really use a few more years of English classes.

Some apps act like streaming. Always using data for example a music streaming service.
 
Apr 10, 2006
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If you have a phone from the US you need to turn off 'Mobile Data' under settings. Just turn on your wifi and use the wifi around your house or where ever you are. My phone is set to 'update' every 5 mins.

If mobile data is 'on' without purchasing an prepaid internet plan with Claro for your phone it will automatically consume your $$ for the internet.

If you are out and need your internet.... turn on the 'mobile data' for a few mins. and then turn it off again.

I had the same problem. Went thru. several $500 before one of the guys told me I had to keep 'mobile data' off.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
go offline and see what happens. if minutes keep on "disappearing" then call claro. like others are saying above, the phone connected to the internet is active all all times. it updates automatically and uses number of applications. kind of like battery: even when you are not calling and texting the battery discharges.
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
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..............

If mobile data is 'on' without purchasing an prepaid internet plan with Claro for your phone it will automatically consume your $$ for the internet.

If you are out and need your internet.... turn on the 'mobile data' for a few mins. and then turn it off again.

I had the same problem. Went thru. several $500 before one of the guys told me I had to keep 'mobile data' off.

So if my mobile data is on it will chew up my pesos without really my permission?
 

bigbird

Gold
May 1, 2005
7,375
163
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Wow, thanks to all. I was just like how can I have over 800 pesos credit and I don't do a thing but a few minutes surfing the net, a couple of text messages and maybe a phone call or two and less than 24 hours my pesos are gone. I guess time for another uneventful day at the Claro office.............. Uffffffff
 

judypdr

Active member
Jul 23, 2011
558
1
38
73
Costambar
I have the same problem with minutes/pesos purchased disappearing...but I don't have a phone with data access...just a boring, old-time keypad for making phone calls and texts. No internet access possible with it. i don't make calls...or only very rarely, and practically never text, but 500 pesos used to expire before I could use them up and now they just evaporate over a couple of weeks. My spanish is limited and talking with someone at Claro is difficult. Any ideas?
 

Jaime809

Bronze
Aug 23, 2012
1,152
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36
Wow, thanks to all. I was just like how can I have over 800 pesos credit and I don't do a thing but a few minutes surfing the net, a couple of text messages and maybe a phone call or two and less than 24 hours my pesos are gone. I guess time for another uneventful day at the Claro office.............. Uffffffff

This isn't a Claro issue, all smartphones do something similar, Apple and Android alike. Set your Play Store to update on Wifi-only and 90% of your problem is gone. The other 10% is checking for email, you'll want to set that for wifi only also. If you can't set it for wifi-only, set it to download only the message headers, that minimizes that data consumed.
 

redserge

New member
Jan 30, 2011
290
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So if my mobile data is on it will chew up my pesos without really my permission?

yes it will my friend because it is defaulting to data and any app or process that keeps doing push notifications checking for emails etc etc will eat through your data. On Iphone I set mine to use wifi and turn the data off for certain functions.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
I have the same problem with minutes/pesos purchased disappearing...but I don't have a phone with data access...just a boring, old-time keypad for making phone calls and texts. No internet access possible with it. i don't make calls...or only very rarely, and practically never text, but 500 pesos used to expire before I could use them up and now they just evaporate over a couple of weeks. My spanish is limited and talking with someone at Claro is difficult. Any ideas?

do you know your rates (calls and texts)? it may be that legitimately you use the money because you are on a plan that is more expensive.
 

judypdr

Active member
Jul 23, 2011
558
1
38
73
Costambar
do you know your rates (calls and texts)? it may be that legitimately you use the money because you are on a plan that is more expensive.

But I don't have a plan. I just go into the Claro office at La Serina and hand them my 4 year old phone and a 500 peso note and voila! I get a text message confirming the amount added to my phone. Literally, my phone is rarely used and in fact is powered off most of the time. All I receive are incoming junk texts. Sad, but true. Most of my friends and I communicate by email to make plans, etc. and I skype my family in the states...frustrating, truly.