I just received my mobile phone bill today and what a SHOCK I got!

My bill amounted to PHP-24.85, meaning I don’t have to pay for anything this month AND I have P24.5 credit, haha! Amazing!

You might be thinking, “How the HECK did that happen?!”

Well, I downgraded my account a few weeks ago to a much, much lower plan. I realized that I never get to fully use up my plan. I never get to consume my free minutes and free texts.

I’m always at home, therefore most of my messages are sent via WhatsApp or I just get in touch with people via Skype, Facebook or email.

I don’t make calls using my mobile phone either, since I can use our landline, and people usually call me up anyway.

So hence the downgrade. I probably paid too much last month that it carried over and actually paid for this month’s bill, too, haha! So FUNNY!

Have you ever gotten into a similar situation? Or are you the type to always go into “bill shock” every month because your phone bill is obscenely high?

(I actually have a friend who goes in bill shock every month. I know because my Facebook and Twitter is always filled with obscenities and curses directed at his telco provider on why she has to pay P20,000+ for mobile phone bill, bwahaha!)

If you are one of those unfortunate people who always get a heart attack every month because of their mobile phone bill, here are a few tips to avoid “bill shock”:

1. Check your Wi-Fi settings and be familiar with the icons of your phone.
2. Be mindful when opening widgets.
3. Check your email sync settings
4. Subscribe to a data package that best suits your needs

(Read more tips on the SMART Website: Tips to maximize your mobile internet browsing)

For SMART subscribers, SMART has recently announced their anti-bill shock capping feature. Smart Postpaid plans are now “shock-proof”.

Basically, once you’ve exceeded your plan’s free data allocation, you will be charged P10/30 minutes. Charges are continuous until your reach your anti-bill shock cap and is subject to your plan’s credit limit.

An important note though, the anti-bill shock feature does not cover charges for call and text. Only data charges.

Here are the caps for each plan:

Anti-bill shock feature needs no registration and has no expiry.

To learn more about SMART’s anti-bill shock capping feature, click here or follow SMART on Facebook or Twitter.

P.S. Smart Broadband subscribers can now enjoy even more exclusive discounts on Travel, Health & Wellness, Food & a lot more from Smart & Groupon with the Smart Rewards Supreme Blow out for Smart Broadband Subscribers!