[Fozzy2011]

Although I am very much at home with PCs, mobile phones are a new departure for me. I was put off mobiles from the outset by the outrageous phone charges (as much as 25p a minute if you please) compared to landlines. It seemed liked a sleazy corporate racket and a self-indulgent drain on finances.

However, I was recently given a Blackberry Pearl 8120 by a family member. I used it as an mp3 player, camera and wi-fi browser via my home router for the first couple of months. It is great little device. But I was unenthusiastic about using it as a phone. I finally got talked into getting a PAYG SIM but have not yet made a call with it. Instead I've been texting, getting used to using the keyboard and surfing via the wi-fi hotspot browser

Which brings me to my problem. Before I got the SIM, the question of data charges while surfing the web via wi-fi did not arise. I have my own broadband ISP and I connected via my wireless router. Since getting the SIM, I have been hit with several hefty data charges while surfing using the wi-fi hotspot browser--even with the 02 network switched off on the phone. These appear to have been incurred while I was away from home using open wi-fi hotspots--just for a few minutes experimenting with getting online.

I had gained the impression from reading around on the web that wi-fi browsing, either at home or away from home, would not run up data charges if the carrier network was switched off on the phone. A chat with 02 customer services revealed that I would be charged when away from home, but not while using my home router. I am not sure why or how this can occur if the carrier network is switched off

Can anyone shed any light on this? Has anyone had a similar experience?