Maximum savings on the use of mobile communication services become available only after a detailed study of all proposed tariff specifications. Paid incoming MTS is a hot topic among the operator’s subscribers, making this issue still not fully studied. The unclear situation on the market is associated with the entry into force of the antimonopoly law of April 17, which is valid in Russia. In this material we will look at:
- debiting funds in home region and roaming;
- ways to obtain a detailed statement to track expenses;
- additional debiting of funds from incoming calls in third-party regions;
- how to fix the problem and disable the ability to communicate while roaming.
Why did incoming calls to MTS become paid?
MTS introduced such rules as a result of changes in roaming conditions. The practice of paid inboxes was introduced 15 years ago and ended almost immediately. It was canceled, considering it contrary to laws and consumer rights. Now they have resumed in a new format.
To find out whether incoming calls are paid on the tariff:
- Log in and view statements and conditions in your personal user account.
- Read SMS from your mobile operator.
- Contact the manager via short number.
- Visit the branch.
New tariff
The official policy of the telecommunications operator provides for the stable updating of existing TP lines and their optimization. This may be accompanied by a change in the final cost of service, according to the terms of the concluded contract. The client is notified in advance of any changes. To stay up to date with the latest events and updates, we recommend subscribing to our free email newsletter.
Incoming calls to MTS - paid or not?
Yes, incoming calls now cost 5.5 rubles above the tariff plan for an MTS subscriber. The fee is set at this amount for each minute of conversation. Conditions apply temporarily to most tariff plans. If the company does not change course, such paid incoming calls to MTS will appear among MTS clients in the near future.
Now a fee of 5.5 rubles per incoming call is active on MTS “Smart”, “Super MTS”, “Smart Unlimited”, etc. tariffs. You can check your tariff plan using a ussd request, or contact the managers on the hotline.
Cancellation of roaming, the role of FAS
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has been solving the problem of abolishing intranet roaming for several years. As a result, it was only in March 2021 that roaming within one network within the country was finally abolished. The FAS decision most affected the largest mobile operators in the Russian Federation. Their number of clients makes up the vast majority of Russian residents and is distributed as follows:
- MTS has more than 105 million subscribers;
- Megafon has about 70-80 million clients;
- Beeline has more than 56 million subscribers;
- Tele2 has approximately 40 million customers.
Beeline and Tele2 were the first to completely abandon roaming within the country. MTS and Megafon started canceling with the most popular tariffs, then roaming was turned off for less common plans. By September 1, 2021, the FAS demanded that the Big Four operators completely cancel intranet roaming.
The European Union has already dealt with a similar situation. Residents of European countries can use the home tariff throughout the EU. But to implement such a large-scale project, long preparations were carried out. It took several years, since there are several large companies in each country. For Russia, where there are only 4 largest operators, a shorter time frame was needed.
How not to lose your money
Having figured out what the money is being written off for, you should do the following:
- If the operator independently connected you to paid services, then demand a refund from him for the entire time the funds were debited from your account.
- Turn off data transmission on your mobile phone; this will prevent your cell phone from connecting to the network on its own.
- If you need paid services, then carefully read the terms of their connection. Perhaps, in addition to the subscription fee, you will also be charged a one-time payment for connecting to a paid option.
Where to go if scammers have withdrawn money from your phone
First of all, if you have withdrawn money from your phone, you need to contact your mobile operator. As a rule, the claim can be printed and taken to the mobile phone branch in your region. Make a copy as well. It also needs to be marked with the date, the incoming sequence of numbers and a stamp confirming the acceptance of the claim. In the complaint itself, it is better to immediately indicate the following parameters:
- Last name, first name and patronymic of the applicant;
- Contract and mobile phone number with a specific mobile operator;
- A thorough description of the difficulties encountered or the reason why the funds were written off.
The main thing is to file a claim. You will have a chance to return the debited funds back to your account.
Shutdown
It is impossible to disable paid incoming calls on MTS. This tariff plan feature cannot be disabled. Unless you answer calls from an unknown number. For many busy and business people, this method is not acceptable. Users had mixed reactions to such innovations dated April 17, 2021. Most people think that paid inboxes are arrogance.
MTS clients also contact the nearest company office to resolve issues. There you can actually write an application to change the tariff plan.
Changes from February 28 and March 14, 2021
From February 28, 2021, a number of tariff plans (including archived ones) will have a new tariff for minutes, SMS and mobile Internet outside the home region in the MTS network (the same intranet roaming). MTS promises price reductions from two to ten times.
Based on the news, it can be noted that the changes will affect only the “Smart”, “My Unlimited”, “Smart Unlimited”, “Super MTS” and “My Friend” tariff plans. Extremely modest, to be honest. Anyway…
Transfer from MTS to Yota
All Big Four operators are trying to make money from their subscribers: by increasing tariffs, connecting services, etc. But the subscriber can also save a lot.
It's no secret that when you try to switch to another mobile operator, your operator will probably try to keep you.
I have numbers from Big Four operators that have been continuously active for at least a year. And I’ve had a number from Megafon since 2003.
Therefore, I decided to check the loyalty of these operators in the city of Novosibirsk.
Let's go write an application to switch to another operator.
Bilan.
At the salon I was offered to subscribe to the ALLMOYE 2 or Unlim tariff and for switching from another operator they offered a monthly subscription fee of 1 ruble per day. As I later found out, this promotion is for all new subscribers, and not just for defectors. Second and third month with discount.
More about Yota: Yota tariffs Nizhny Novgorod and Nizhny Novgorod region in 2021 for cellular communications
They ask to deposit 300 rubles into the account immediately, but they began to write off the AP from the 8th day.
Tele 2
The only bonus they offered me was that the transition was free (like everyone else). They issue you a SIM with a temporary number, and the subscription fee is charged from the first day.
They ask you to pay the full amount for the chosen rate.
Megaphone
Turned out to be the most loyal!
When writing an application, they give you a SIM without a number and not activated. They do not ask you to pay any money on the spot. After 8 days you need to insert a SIM, pay for the selected tariff and that’s it.
But be careful. Some dealers in salons say that this is not possible. Only with a temporary number. Then say goodbye and go to another salon.
They offer to pay the first month in two installments: half immediately, the second half after 15 days. Next month there will be a full write-off according to the tariff on the first billing day.
This is beneficial for those who come to the city/country for less than a month! That is, you pay for half a month and then leave.
MTS
I have a biased attitude towards them, since they openly tried to scam me out of money several times.
And now they have disappointed me...
For the sake of a more complete experiment, I still wrote an application for transfer through the MTS website.
Some guy called back from the number 78002500505 and asked me to dictate ALL my passport details to verify. I drew the operator’s attention to the fact that dictating PD over the phone to an unknown person is similar to fraud, given that I will still sign the service contract in the salon (I chose pick-up). Despite refusing to dictate the PD, he confirmed my order.
I also asked a direct question: when and how much should I pay, to which he replied: “100 rubles for the transfer and 200 rubles to the account. You can top up immediately when you receive a SIM or after the number is transferred (there is a recording of the conversation, if anyone is interested).
Arriving at the salon, the girl began to demand to pay 300 rubles at once. Even after turning on the conversation with the operator and showing her the SMS, she said, write a complaint against the operator. I didn’t make a fuss and decided to ask the operator on the site.
That is, everyone is connected to Tariffishche by paying 300 rubles. And if you don’t need this tariff, then even more...
Because of this attitude, I decided to refuse to join them. They fulfilled this request immediately...
The transfer is canceled easily and without force.
Using the same scheme, I received a discount for my mother-in-law from Tomsk (175 rubles), but the tariffs there are different. The same “My Online” includes only 300 minutes. But after haggling with the operator, he connected another 400 minutes
Well, unlimited internet itself
Megaphone
I consider this operator to be the most loyal, despite the fact that among their employees there are complete ****s. Or maybe I just got lucky with these ones more often...
The girl who called offered a 50% discount
The discount is not limited in time, but when switching to another tariff, it is disabled.
By the way, in some regions of our country there is a “Blow on Prices” line in which “Turn on! Communicate” costs 290 rubles.
More about Yota: Promised payment from MTS - complete information
And in the Kurgan region you can get unlimited Internet for 130 rubles!
But the Internet does not work in modems at all. There isn't even a paid option. But the modified HiLink saves the day.
By the way, you can also use Megafon’s number from a computer through the eMotion/Multifon service.
Beeline
The operator offered me a 70% discount on the “EVERYTHING!” line tariff. for one year. But without unlimited internet.
I asked for a discount on my old tariff “#possible_4G”. The discount on the old tariff was only 60% with a limitation for a year.
The operator also informed me that I could ask to apply such discounts to the numbers of my relatives. To do this, he sent me an SMS with an e-mail asking me to provide the numbers and names of the relatives for whom I wish to receive a discount.
In terms of the quality of the Internet in Novosibirsk, it is practically not inferior to Megafon. Distribution on my archive tariff - without restrictions. There are restrictions on the new tariffs.
MTS
Despite my biased attitude, I had one SIM from them with the “Unlimited” tariff from 2021.
The first call from the operator was interrupted after the question “Why are you leaving?”... My phone decided to reboot on this call.
After some time, I received an SMS with a 50% discount for one year.
I tried to call this number, but ended up with an autoinformer that doesn’t know about any discounts... I called 0890 and left a request, saying that I might like to stay, but the system does not allow this.
The next day I received a call from a live operator. I explained that without unlimited internet, a 50% discount for a year would not work for me...
But the operator made an offer that I couldn’t refuse: “What if we give you a 70% discount forever?” That is, you can also bargain with them.
Moreover, the discount is eternal and is returned even if the tariff is changed.
3 GB of traffic is available for distribution. Internet quality sucks. Worse than Tele2. And it’s the same in the center of Novosibirsk or on the outskirts.
Yota
Nobody believed that they would call... And they didn’t call.
Hence the conclusion: Yota doesn’t care about customers.
Even if we compare only public tariffs, Yota loses significantly.
For example, for 280 rubles in Yota we get 100 minutes and 10 GB of Internet, and in Tele2 for the same money we get 500 minutes, 15 GB and unlimited messaging.
Yota belongs to Megafon and I dare to suggest that Megafon is merging Yota. Now the dissatisfied will scatter to other operators, and the “silent ones” will eventually be transferred to Megafon. Still, they are not indignant...
The quality of the Internet shows artificial delays, in which the speed test shows a lot, and images from sites are loaded with a noticeable delay.
The quality of the Internet, of course, depends on a huge number of factors. I evaluated it using Xiaomi Redmi 5 plus (LTE cat.6), Honor p8 lite (LTE cat.4) phones; modems Huawei E3372 (LTE cat.4) and Zyxel LTE3316-M604 (LTE cat.6).
Almost all operators try to retain their regular customers. And it’s reasonable, if it’s clear that a person is constantly bringing money into the company’s budget, then why lose him just because a competitor has more “tasty” conditions.
More about Yota: How to check the remaining traffic on Yota?. How to find out the remaining traffic on Yota. An article on how to check the remaining traffic on your Yota account
Therefore, if you don’t like the conditions of your current operator, then you should try your luck and bargain with him for more favorable conditions when switching.
But keep in mind that they are not trying to keep everyone. Megafon never called my colleague.
Good luck to you!
Option "World Online"
For those who like to travel and post reports about their tours, bloggers, and business representatives, the “Online World” option can help. You can travel around 78 countries with unlimited internet in your pocket. What does the option do?
- Possibility of unlimited use of the Internet;
- Upload videos without restrictions;
- Search for information about objects (cafes, restaurants, entertainment, shops);
- Listen to music on the road, watch movies.
The cost of the service is 649 rubles per day. Connection does not require payment. The service continues until it is disconnected. There are no traffic restrictions.
Do not forget about turning off the service when returning to Russia. You need to go to your personal account or dial *136# and call. Disabling can be done by sending an SMS with the text “STOP” to the number 05001190.
Users
After reading the indignation of many MTS clients on forums and social platforms, it became clear that the problem looks like this:
- The user has left his region.
- I noticed that money began to disappear from my account.
- I looked at the account statements and found out about incoming payments.
Such transformations occurred due to tariff changes introduced by MTS. Thus, it canceled roaming in Russia. As a result:
- outgoing calls between regions in Russia have become free;
- incoming calls are paid.
Example: subscriber N lives in Smolensk, and he needs to go to the Moscow region. Then roaming will be activated, and the subscriber from Smolensk or any region (except for Moscow) will not pay the fee for the call to subscriber N. Subscriber N himself will pay for it.
This is how the new rules of mobile operators look schematically. But many clients do not understand why such changes are necessary.
What is detailing
The service allows users to control the costs of servicing an MTS mobile number. In the printout received upon request, the client can always see for the period of interest:
- To whom outgoing calls were made at what time, indicating the exact time, region, duration and cost;
- The same data for incoming calls;
- Data on received and sent SMS notifications indicating the subscriber number (content not available);
- Number of package services (minutes, messages and gigabytes), depending on the connected contract;
- Current cash balance.
You can receive data electronically in a file, SMS message, in a special section of the website or application, and also, if necessary, on paper.
Reasons why funds are written off
If you notice that money has begun to disappear from your balance, then:
- Contact your operator at 0890. Find out what paid services you have connected to. It is possible that MTS connected your services to you independently. In this case, request that they be turned off.
- In addition, it is advisable to order call details to ensure that the funds were written off specifically for services.
- The operator might offer you a free new option. You happily agree, and then you begin to notice that as a bonus to the free option, there are also paid services, because of which they take money from you.
- You can activate a free option, and the operator will not notify you that a monthly subscription fee will be charged for it.
- If you use your mobile phone only to make calls, then you should disable all additional options.
- You can contact any MTS communication salon and ask a specialist to provide you with a printout of your number. In the same salon you can disable all services that you do not need and for which you are charged money.
- Sometimes the cell phone itself is to blame for money disappearing from a mobile phone. If you have automatic updating, then the phone can go online on its own, which is why your funds are written off.
Benefits of this business idea
The undeniable advantages of using telephone numbers paid for by an English operator are beyond doubt. There are seven positive aspects in total:
- Clients call you on a regular number, not a paid number, and, accordingly, do not overpay a single ruble above the tariff set by their operator.
- You can receive calls not only from mobile and landline phones, but also from Skype and VoIP telephony devices from any country.
- There is no need to legally register a telephone number as calls are private and non-commercial.
- You are not required to pay taxes on this income, since it does not fall under any of the types of commercial activities described in OKVED. Essentially, you just receive a bonus from your mobile operator.
- The number can be connected by a citizen of any country via the Internet. Bonuses are paid regularly (usually twice a month) to a bank account or e-wallet.
- You will never have a shortage of calls - you just need to regularly scour the Internet in search of companies whose managers call clients back upon the first request. Believe me, there should be no problems with the search!
- You can connect an answering machine! Yes, yes, it’s not at all necessary to always answer calls yourself - a set of template phrases on an answering machine can take on the lion’s share of the work.
Operators' reaction to the cancellation of roaming
The abolition of roaming within one network dragged on for several years due to the fact that operators found new arguments to maintain tariffs at the same level. There is common sense in increased prices for mobile communication services in different regions. Competing operators had to pay extra for their infrastructure in order to continue providing connectivity to their customers. But the antimonopoly service carried out calculations and consistently proved that there are no compelling reasons for maintaining such high tariffs.
After this, the Big Four operators did not provide any information about the cancellation of roaming. But subscribers have new concerns that operators will find ways to compensate for losses. On-network roaming brought in about 3% of profit; in total, for the country’s 4 main operators this income amounted to approximately 35 billion rubles. In fact, operators began to prepare for the loss of such income six months before the actual abolition of roaming.
At the beginning of 2021, MTS, Megafon, Beeline and Tele2 raised the cost of their tariffs. Due to this, the companies plan to compensate for losses. In the future, we should also expect an increase in the cost of mobile communications in Russia. Operators motivate this pricing by the fact that Russian communication services are already among the cheapest in the world.
