3, give me back 'data usage', give me a heads up and sort out your FUP as it's FUBAR!

UK mobile operator '3' do so many things right that it really is a shame when they screw up and I feel I have to comment on it.  I currently have an add-on called X-Series Silver.  Click on the link I just provided and you can see it's a pretty sweet deal.  However, the one thing that has always bugged me about the deal was that despite it being advertised as 'unlimited' it's anything but.  There is a limit and it's 1GB.  It would've bugged me more but that limit was far more generous than any other UK operator and far cheaper too.

So, you may be thinking: What's eating Anthony?  Well let me tell you!  3 used to provide a daily update of one's internet usage via their Planet 3 portal.  Each day I could check how much I used and it was accurate.  I could choose to use the service fairly, reining back my usage if need be.  They long ago removed this handy tool (see the bottom picture) for no apparent reason.  Since my last billing cycle I've used two different phones, one of which I had to reset (my latest handset, the N95 8GB).  Therefore I have no accurate log on the phone telling me of my data use and, like I just explained, no way of checking with 3...

Which leads me to the following text message I received in the wee small hours from 3 (it's the picture just below this paragraph).  This jolly note tells me I've reached my allowance and warns me I may be cut off.  One presumes they mean just my internet access and not my whole phone service - but it's not 100% clear!   Why no advance warning, 3?  Maybe a friendly, 'You have 100MB left for the month' or some such thing.  And this 'may' lark - what's that about?

As for that link... guess what happens when you click on it?  It leads you to the My3 homepage (the section of Planet 3 regarding your account).  Despite looking far and wide I came up with no mention of the FUP and, for ships and giggles I decided to check my usage whilst there... Sorry, there is no data usage for this mobile.  ARGH!

By the way, despite the terms on 3's website saying there's a 1GB fair use limit, there actually seems to be a far more generous limit of 2GB (judging by my previous paper bills).

I should point out that I have 3 months free mobile broadband from 3 (3 free 3!) thanks to 3mobilebuzz.  They recently provided me with a dongle (you may have seen the pictures) so I won't be fully off the grid for the next 11 days!  But borrowed, full sized laptops don't fit in one's pockets!