Switch to Vodafone means 2 weeks without internet!!!

esuhl · 4 September 2017 at 2:39PM

I'm currently with BT (phone) and Sky Broadband. I recently signed up for a phone/broadband deal with Vodafone.

I got confirmation from Vodafone that my service will go live on 25th September. BT and Sky have confirmed that my service will end on the 13th September leaving me without phone or broadband for nearly two weeks!

I've spent hours this morning phoning Vodafone who said they couldn't help and to phone Sky/BT. BT tell me they have the correct changeover date, but Sky say they will disconnect me early and can't change this.

I've never lost internet access for more than a few hours when switching ISPs before. Is it normal for Vodafone to leave new customers without any service for a few weeks? This is crazy!

I spoke to someone in the Vodafone complaints department who still couldn't quite grasp the problem. I eventually convinced him to get in touch with Sky and try to sort it out.

So far I'm very unimpressed with their customer service. If it wasn't such a cheap deal I'd have cancelled already. But I'm definitely having second thoughts...

Argh! Has anyone else had similar problems switching to Vodafone?

iniltous · 4 September 2017 at 7:31PM

If you pay BT for line rental and Sky for broadband you must be a legacy Sky customer, because for the last few years at least , you can only have Sky broadband if you also take Sky line rental.
Out of curiosity , dial 17070 from your landline ( before you get cut off) does it say 'Hi , I'm Zoe' or something like that, or does it say 'the number is defined as 01*********, BT line test services' ...if it's Zoe it's Sky line rental as well as Sky broadband.

How did you deal with your migration to Vodafone ?, it's a 'gaining provider led' process, so you should only contact the new provider (Vodafone in you case) , normally your old service is effectively ceased by Openreach physically moving your exchange connection to the new providers equipment, done this way the downtime is usually minimal, and you get a 'sorry to see you go' letter from your old landline provider.
If you have not used the correct migration process , but separately contacted Vodafone for 'new' service and you contacted BT/Sky yourself to cease your 'old' service, then there is no link between the cease orders and provide order and a period with no service is inevitable, so did you use the correct migration process ?

esuhl · 4 September 2017 at 7:59PM

iniltous wrote: »

If you pay BT for line rental and Sky for broadband you must be a legacy Sky customer, because for the last few years at least , you can only have Sky broadband if you also take Sky line rental.

I was with O2 when Sky took them over.

iniltous wrote: »

Out of curiosity , dial 17070 from your landline ( before you get cut off) does it say 'Hi , I'm Zoe' or something like that, or does it say 'the number is defined as 01*********, BT line test services' ...if it's Zoe it's Sky line rental as well as Sky broadband.

I'm on BT, so I get, "This circuit is defined as 01....."

iniltous wrote: »

How did you deal with your migration to Vodafone ?, it's a 'gaining provider led' process, so you should only contact the new provider (Vodafone in you case) , normally your old service is effectively ceased by Openreach physically moving your exchange connection to the new providers equipment, done this way the downtime is usually minimal, and you get a 'sorry to see you go' letter from your old landline provider.
If you have not used the correct migration process , but separately contacted Vodafone for 'new' service and you contacted BT/Sky yourself to cease your 'old' service, then there is no link between the cease orders and provide order and a period with no service is inevitable, so did you use the correct migration process ?

I ordered online via the Vodafone website. They said I didn't need to contact my existing providers and that they would take care of it.

iniltous · 4 September 2017 at 8:14PM

Normally a migration takes 10 -14 days, so if you applied to Vodafone at the start of September , then 13th September seems to be in the ballpark, perhaps Vodaphone progressed your order with the usual lead time then realised they had a capacity problem that couldn't be resolved until 25th September , but instead of cancelling the whole shebang and starting again ( that may have involved them asking you to call back around the middle of September ) they are presumably not too bothered about you potentially having no service for a while.

It may turn out be academic anyway, although Sky give you a date that service will cease, because these dates can slip anyway, you may find that Sky/BT service stays working until whatever date your connection is moved to Vodafone, obviously Sky/BT will charge you for those extra days you are connected to them ( Vodafone should only charge from the date you actually start with them) but that's not a guarantee , you may be left with no service for 2 weeks, so in the words of Dirty Harry, you've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?

esuhl · 4 September 2017 at 8:46PM

iniltous wrote: »

Normally a migration takes 10 -14 days, so if you applied to Vodafone at the start of September , then 13th September seems to be in the ballpark, perhaps Vodaphone progressed your order with the usual lead time then realised they had a capacity problem that couldn't be resolved until 25th September , but instead of cancelling the whole shebang and starting again ( that may have involved them asking you to call back around the middle of September ) they are presumably not too bothered about you potentially having no service for a while.

Hmmm... I applied on 27 August and they instantly gave a provisional date of 13th Sept. They quickly confirmed the date would be the 25th.

iniltous wrote: »

It may turn out be academic anyway, although Sky give you a date that service will cease, because these dates can slip anyway, you may find that Sky/BT service stays working until whatever date your connection is moved to Vodafone, obviously Sky/BT will charge you for those extra days you are connected to them ( Vodafone should only charge from the date you actually start with them) but that's not a guarantee , you may be left with no service for 2 weeks, so in the words of Dirty Harry, you've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?

That is very much the question. But I don't feel like it should be one I should have to ask. Vodafone should be taking care of this.

I don't care when I change over, and I don't care about paying two providers for a month. I just want a (fairly) seamless internet connection. It's not a lot to ask. I don't mind if it drops for a day, but two weeks?!

I'm not impressed with Vodafone's customer service. They should be taking a stronger lead in resolving this. Everyone I spoke to seemed to struggle to understand the problem. It's taken far too many phone calls.

Their "callback" system didn't work (I picked up and it cut me off), and the voice-activated menu system is so tediously time-consuming that it takes at least ten minutes before you can be put in an even longer queue to speak to a human.

Anyway. I await their response. Hopefully they can fill me with confidence and everything will be all right on the night.

macman · 5 September 2017 at 1:41PM

It'll be good practice for what you can expect from Voda CS once you do switch. It's cheap for a reason.
But I don't see how this is really Voda's fault; asking them to manage a switch from two separate providers simultaneously was always going to end in tears.

Vodafone · 5 September 2017 at 1:58PM

Hi esuhl,

I'm sorry to hear that you're not having the best of experiences with us at the moment.

If you still need help with this, email us via the form here.

To access the form you'll need to enter the code EFT195.

As well as stating your query in the question box, please also quote "MSE Forum".

Once sent, you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post it on here and I'll check we've received it.

Kind regards,

Lee

Vodafone Social Media

esuhl · 5 September 2017 at 6:38PM

Thanks, Lee. The person I spoke to in the Complaints department said they would look into this and get back to me within a few days, so I'm currently awaiting a reply.

It was frustrating speaking to the various people in Customer Services. They ALL seemed to think I was unhappy with the switchover date, despite REPEATEDLY saying that I don't care about that and just don't want to be left without internet access for two weeks. No one I spoke to really wanted to take ownership of the problem.

I also found the phone menu system to be infuriating. The voice-recognition didn't work well, and there were far too many steps to get through to a real person. The callback service rang my phone, but cut me off as soon as I answered.

I've used Vodafone mobile, and have always been impressed with the Customer Service staff and the service in general. So I hope I've just been "unlucky" in my experience so far with the broadband/landline side of things.

It's a simple problem. I hope it can be resolved. I'll let you all know when I hear back.

esuhl · 5 September 2017 at 6:40PM

macman wrote: »

But I don't see how this is really Voda's fault; asking them to manage a switch from two separate providers simultaneously was always going to end in tears.

But... This is what they said they'd do!? Surely it's not unusual to have separate landline and broadband providers? It's not rocket science!

Vodafone · 6 September 2017 at 3:04PM

Hi esuhl,

Thanks for the update.

I appreciate that your experience has been frustrating.

Hopefully a resolution can be reached soon.

Kind regards,

Lee

Vodafone Social Media

esuhl · 8 September 2017 at 3:27PM

Vodafone wrote: »

I appreciate that your experience has been frustrating.

It's getting increasingly frustrating. Even after raising a complaint, I have heard NOTHING further from Vodafone. There are only a few days left before the changeover is due.

The only solution I can see at this stage is to cancel the order with Vodafone and warn all my friends and family to avoid them.

What a waste of time.

Switch to Vodafone means 2 weeks without internet!!!

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