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Vodafone: A very pleasant surprise!
ashnojutsu
Posts: 121 Forumite
in Mobiles
Disclaimer: I neither work for Vodafone, or make any suggestion that my experiences reflect upon or are an accurate representation of other individual's experiences with Vodafone and/or T-mobile.
I was a loyal T-mobile customer for 8 years (!). My phone was stolen, and my contract was ending in that same week. I contacted the upgrades department, and was eventually offered the Nokia 5800 for free and a combi 20 deal - 200 mins and 200 texts for £20. Bear in mind I had been on the flext 20 tariff, so this seemed like a step up. I agreed, and waited anxiously for my new phone. I also had my old handset barred, and requested a new SIM to be sent out.
5 working days later, no sim and no phone. I call up, only to be told the phone is out of stock and they didn't know when the stock was coming in. I also found out my sim had not been ordered. This was strange, as I had been assured by 3 different reps that my phone would arrive anyday soon, and my sim would be with the phone.
I decided that i had waited enough, and requested my PAC code. I was offered some frankly humiliating deals to stay, but I had saw the Nokia 5800 free on a vodafone tariff for:
300 mins
unlimited texts
50p a day flat rate data calls/web access
£20 per month
I spoke to a lovely young lady, and she asked if I would like a free USB broadband dongle as well. I replied in the positive, on the condition that my monthly cost will not increase, she agreed and so my line rental was discounted by 50% and £10 per month was added for the USB dongle (upto 3gb every month, £15 per GB after that). We had a long conversation after , and I stated she was very nice, and I would be very happy to become a vodafone customer.
So i left T-mobile with my PAC code and transferred my number to Vodafone. In the mean time I spotted the following offer on the orange shop online:
400 mins
unlimited texts
upto £1.56 a day flat rate data calls/web access
£19.57 per month
The data is more expensive, but I doubt I'll use it that much, and for 45p less a month I get a 100 extra mins free every month. The USB dongle is handy, but I have 10mb virgin broadband, so it wouldn't be too much of a loss. Might as well sign up to Orange, I'm in my 7 day cooling off period, no cost to send the handset back, so nothing to lose. I talked the orange rep out of the £3.99 delivery charge, and my handset was due to arrive on the following monday. I called up vodafone and asked them to match the deal, but an apologetic-sounding young lady said they couldn't do it. Fair enough, I'll just cancel, but let me weigh up my options first.
Two days later, I called up vodafone again to cancel my contract and return the handset. I spoke to another lovely young lady. She agreed to match the orange offer. I stated since I had already ordered my handset, as well the orange wednesday perk, it was in my best interest to stay with orange.
She said hold on, and after waiting, sad she would increase my minutes to 600. I said fantastic, but what about the data calls? 50p a day is a bit much, that's £15 per month. She said if I was going to be a heavy user, then take out the additional internet package which gives unlimited web access for £5 per month. I said that's too expensive, so she said I'm on a really good offer as it is, considering the USB dongle is thrown in. I said how about i cancel the dongle, and keep the half-price line rental? She said it was part of the deal, so there no better price she could offer. I kept saying that I wanted to take the deal, but the data cost was too high. She eventually said "hold on, i'll ask my supervisor" and came back with a data price of £2.50 per month. I said that's good but on a 24 month contract that works out to £60 for something I may not even use! We had some nice banter going back and forth, eventually she said "tell you what, i'll throw in the data for free!"
She said since it was a saturday, she was going out later, and was in a good mood. I asked what it was like working for Vodafone, she replied it was good, and i said maybe i should work for them too! She agreed, and stated I would make a good retentions rep.
Bear in mind, this conversation lasted almost 45 mins. So my deal was as follows:
600 mins
unlimited texts
unlimited internet
USB mobile broadband dongle with 3gb limit per month
free Nokia 5800 handset
£20 per month 24 month contract
I am very pleased, and have have cancelled my orange contract.
Moral of the story: Don't undersell yourself, they WANT your money. Always have rival provider's deals to hand in order to strength your position. Try calling on multiple days to negotiate a deal, and ALWAYS be polite and befriend the person on the other end of the phone line- they are only doing their job, and a little niceness goes a long way. Thanks for reading. :A
I was a loyal T-mobile customer for 8 years (!). My phone was stolen, and my contract was ending in that same week. I contacted the upgrades department, and was eventually offered the Nokia 5800 for free and a combi 20 deal - 200 mins and 200 texts for £20. Bear in mind I had been on the flext 20 tariff, so this seemed like a step up. I agreed, and waited anxiously for my new phone. I also had my old handset barred, and requested a new SIM to be sent out.
5 working days later, no sim and no phone. I call up, only to be told the phone is out of stock and they didn't know when the stock was coming in. I also found out my sim had not been ordered. This was strange, as I had been assured by 3 different reps that my phone would arrive anyday soon, and my sim would be with the phone.
I decided that i had waited enough, and requested my PAC code. I was offered some frankly humiliating deals to stay, but I had saw the Nokia 5800 free on a vodafone tariff for:
300 mins
unlimited texts
50p a day flat rate data calls/web access
£20 per month
I spoke to a lovely young lady, and she asked if I would like a free USB broadband dongle as well. I replied in the positive, on the condition that my monthly cost will not increase, she agreed and so my line rental was discounted by 50% and £10 per month was added for the USB dongle (upto 3gb every month, £15 per GB after that). We had a long conversation after , and I stated she was very nice, and I would be very happy to become a vodafone customer.
So i left T-mobile with my PAC code and transferred my number to Vodafone. In the mean time I spotted the following offer on the orange shop online:
400 mins
unlimited texts
upto £1.56 a day flat rate data calls/web access
£19.57 per month
The data is more expensive, but I doubt I'll use it that much, and for 45p less a month I get a 100 extra mins free every month. The USB dongle is handy, but I have 10mb virgin broadband, so it wouldn't be too much of a loss. Might as well sign up to Orange, I'm in my 7 day cooling off period, no cost to send the handset back, so nothing to lose. I talked the orange rep out of the £3.99 delivery charge, and my handset was due to arrive on the following monday. I called up vodafone and asked them to match the deal, but an apologetic-sounding young lady said they couldn't do it. Fair enough, I'll just cancel, but let me weigh up my options first.
Two days later, I called up vodafone again to cancel my contract and return the handset. I spoke to another lovely young lady. She agreed to match the orange offer. I stated since I had already ordered my handset, as well the orange wednesday perk, it was in my best interest to stay with orange.
She said hold on, and after waiting, sad she would increase my minutes to 600. I said fantastic, but what about the data calls? 50p a day is a bit much, that's £15 per month. She said if I was going to be a heavy user, then take out the additional internet package which gives unlimited web access for £5 per month. I said that's too expensive, so she said I'm on a really good offer as it is, considering the USB dongle is thrown in. I said how about i cancel the dongle, and keep the half-price line rental? She said it was part of the deal, so there no better price she could offer. I kept saying that I wanted to take the deal, but the data cost was too high. She eventually said "hold on, i'll ask my supervisor" and came back with a data price of £2.50 per month. I said that's good but on a 24 month contract that works out to £60 for something I may not even use! We had some nice banter going back and forth, eventually she said "tell you what, i'll throw in the data for free!"
She said since it was a saturday, she was going out later, and was in a good mood. I asked what it was like working for Vodafone, she replied it was good, and i said maybe i should work for them too! She agreed, and stated I would make a good retentions rep.
Bear in mind, this conversation lasted almost 45 mins. So my deal was as follows:600 mins
unlimited texts
unlimited internet
USB mobile broadband dongle with 3gb limit per month
free Nokia 5800 handset
£20 per month 24 month contract
I am very pleased, and have have cancelled my orange contract.
Moral of the story: Don't undersell yourself, they WANT your money. Always have rival provider's deals to hand in order to strength your position. Try calling on multiple days to negotiate a deal, and ALWAYS be polite and befriend the person on the other end of the phone line- they are only doing their job, and a little niceness goes a long way. Thanks for reading. :A
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Comments
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You weren't a customer at the time. If they want "WANT" your money, why are there literally dozens of complaints about Vodafone from existing customers on various recent threads on here? Sales are one thing - customer service (or lack of it) is another entirely.0
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mobilejunkie wrote: »You weren't a customer at the time. If they want "WANT" your money, why are there literally dozens of complaints about Vodafone from existing customers on various recent threads on here? Sales are one thing - customer service (or lack of it) is another entirely.
ummm.....the op is reporting a positive experience with vodafone - and passing on how he got a better deal - is he not? he hasn't sought to distinguish between sales and customer service. seems to me that it is a postive experience in both senses for him anyway....
good for you OP0 -
Sounds like a great deal. Out of curiosity, when was this and have you received your first bill yet showing that Vodafone have honoured the deal? There is no part of it that ceases after 9 months is there?
If so, I could be tempted as my O2 contract ends in September.0 -
Deals and experiences like this are akin to finding a needle in a haystack with Vodafone.
Well done.Try to imagine nothing ever existed...0 -
Well, there seem to be lots of anti-vodafone posts today :undecided, I hope that my good experience with vodafone continues into the years to come. Also, I believe it was not just a sales pitch, as by that time I was already a vodafone customer, so it was actually a retentions call.
0 -
Good luck mate. When your first bill comes in youl have a shock (and youe 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc). Overcharging is rife at the moment, i guess they do it because alot of people dont notice and just pay up.Waddle you do eh?0
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ricflairandy wrote: »Good luck mate. When your first bill comes in youl have a shock (and youe 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc). Overcharging is rife at the moment, i guess they do it because alot of people dont notice and just pay up.
No, it happens because there is something very wrong with their systems. The OP would be well advised to keep a close eye on matters - in particular when the welcome letter comes in.
And, another thing - Vodafone automatically add £6.99 pm for their insurance. 1st month is free but they don't tell you it's been added - though they may bury it in the Ts and Cs unlike DAP who hilight this.Behind every great man is a good womanBeside this ordinary man is a great woman£2 savings jar - now at £3.42:rotfl:0 -
Sounds like a great deal. Out of curiosity, when was this and have you received your first bill yet showing that Vodafone have honoured the deal? There is no part of it that ceases after 9 months is there?
If so, I could be tempted as my O2 contract ends in September.
ashnojutsu :- any chance of a reply to my question?0 -
I will be keeping a close eye on my tariff. I initially called up vodafone two days ago when my welcome letter came in, it had my initial tariff before I renegotiated, but I was told by retentions I would probably get two welcome letters as the first had already been sent out (which I have received). The rep repeated the new deal I had, so I am assured I haven't been misled. The welcome letter also said I have the £6ppm coverme insurance, but it has since been removed from my account.Sounds like a great deal. Out of curiosity, when was this and have you received your first bill yet showing that Vodafone have honoured the deal? There is no part of it that ceases after 9 months is there?
If so, I could be tempted as my O2 contract ends in September.
Sorry for the late reply, I haven't received my first bill yet, but see above to see they will honour the verbal agreement. I called up vodafone about two weeks ago, when my t-mobile contract ended.
The mobile broadband USB dongle is an 18 month contract, so I may cancel when it ends, and I have been assured that I will still keep the half price line rental if I do cancel, so I have the option to only pay £9.50 per month for my tariff in 18 months time! 0 -
ashnojutsu wrote: »I will be keeping a close eye on my tariff. I initially called up vodafone two days ago when my welcome letter came in, it had my initial tariff before I renegotiated, but I was told by retentions I would probably get two welcome letters as the first had already been sent out (which I have received). The rep repeated the new deal I had, so I am assured I haven't been misled. The welcome letter also said I have the £6ppm coverme insurance, but it has since been removed from my account.
Sorry for the late reply, I haven't received my first bill yet, but see above to see they will honour the verbal agreement. I called up vodafone about two weeks ago, when my t-mobile contract ended.
The mobile broadband USB dongle is an 18 month contract, so I may cancel when it ends, and I have been assured that I will still keep the half price line rental if I do cancel, so I have the option to only pay £9.50 per month for my tariff in 18 months time!
Dosent sound right to me ALL discounts must have a expire date its in the business rules so check with customer services when this is0
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