Hi abbydabs,
Two things....
"I just needed the digital readout just to know if a download is working"
You are going to kick yourself. Bottom right, the network icon, for me a black circle with a green tick, right click, Monitor Network
Next vnstat is ok, its in synaptic with a gui as well. Why not embrace the dark side and use the terminal to configure and run it?
http://humdi.net/vnstat/I seem to remember I got it to work and I had to modify a link. I am no expert. There is a challenge for you.