3 is the cheapest, but is it best

KingElvis

3 has a good signal in Leeds / Bradford and they give excellent service.

The only thing wrong is the hard to understand call centres.

stdani

hi everyone - first time post so please be gentle with me

i had to write about about the 3 network and the problems i have encountered with them

i have had problems with 3 since i signed up for a contract 5 years, but i kept on it with them because i thought i was getting a good deal with them

i have finally had enough - lack of coverage in my area (st helens), no access to network, connection failure, cant receive or send messages, no facebook/internet usage - it has pushed me over the edge.

no matter how many times i rang i would still get the same response - that the mast was getting repaired and coverage would improve - it didnt

so finally today i have managed to cancel my contract (i had about 8 months left) and as courtesy they have waived their fee

i can honestly say do not use 3 for your phone

overall - 1/10

claregre

Handset: HTC Hero

Most commonly used location: Nottingham

Ease and reliability and connection: great

Any other problems: no

Overall service and rating (out of 10): 9

I might be updating this in a few months but at the moment I've been with 3 for a few days and all is good. I'm in Nottingham and I get a great signal at home. Rubbish signal at work but its something to do with our building - nobody can get a signal on any network!! When I connect to our wi-fi at home, the speed on my phone is quicker than on my laptop? !! Explain that one!

Have had a couple of "no connection" messages but when I do retry its fine.

Just spoken to three customer services which was also fine. I'm an Avon rep and their call centres are in a far flung place so I'm pretty used to that. You just have to let them do their bit and then ask them to confirm what they have just done (which they usually do anyway). They have done everything I asked - changed my direct debit date, capped my bill and set up text messages to let me know when I'm close to my monthly allowance.

Considering how I was expecting three to be from this forum, it is absolutely superb!!

loracan1

Handset: was a G502, didn't like it, reverted to an elderly K800i

Most commonly used location: Bury

Ease and reliability and connection: is okay

Any other problems: 502 was cheap and tacky phone, lied to me about the retention offer

Overall service and rating (out of 10): Finally cancelled today after being cut off on Saturday, tried retaining me with offers including free internet when we'd already established that it isn't any kind of priority to me, 10 free picture mails a month and all costing £3 more than I can get with Vodafone. So no, no longer the cheapest. (she was very nice though) 5/10

tony_baduk

Handset: Nokia E71

Most commonly used location: Birmingham

Ease and reliability and connection: Very good

Any other problems: Poor signal in some indoor areas but people on other networks also have similar issues too

Overall service and rating (out of 10): Been with Three for 15months and looking to upgrade to the HTC Desire. Customer services has been better than anticiapted and very helpful. Reception is better than people suggested - very impressed and happy with my current deal. 8/10.

bubblesmoney

MSE_Martin wrote: »

To try and help others - please report your experiences with the mobile phone company 3. !We already know it is cheapest in many occassions, but is the coverage and connection so dire it's not worth it.

To read notes on Threes tariffs - Pay As You Go click here, contract click here

Please click reply to briefly detail the following

Handset:

Most commonly used location:

Ease and reliability and connection:

Any other problems:

Overall service and rating (out of 10):

i think MSE Martins first post on this thread is long out of date (2004) and does not reflect the situation on the ground anymore. see the latest ofcom coverage maps for 3g. three has the best network coverage as per ofcoms mapping of 3g. O2 has the worst, with others in between. and ofcom maps are for july 2009 and after that three netwrok added another 4000 masts (or will be operational by end 2010 giving 98% coverage for uk for 3g network which no other network can claim to cover). if anyone has a smartphone or internet dongle then data speeds are great too. see https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2581437 for 3g coverage maps of all the networks.

see data speeds of various networks on this thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2603191

Handset: htc desire x 2, previously sony erickson k660i x 2, previously nokia forgot the model numbers x 2

Most commonly used location: leeds / wakefield / dewsbury / pontefract and surrounding areas

Ease and reliability and connection: HSDPA 3g most of the time and good signal in most areas, but with poor connection only in wf1 area. very good data speeds downloads between 2500kbps to 5400kbps and uploads between 540kbps to 1900kbps at most times ping times of 118 to 125millisecs. few networks can claim to offer those download speeds consistently and many dont even give one fifth of those speeds consistently as can be seen from the threads linked above and from other MSE posts on the mobile phones forum on MSE.

Any other problems: poor customer service from upgrades phoneline. upgrades order was repeatedly goofed up with by the upgrades team even after confirmed orders.

Overall service and rating (out of 10): their blog on blog.three.co.uk is good and moderators try to help with customer service issues. i would rate the blog 9/10 for service and their network phone helpline also 9/10 for service on tech support. they gave me 20£ x 2 off when i contacted them about some network issues i am having. i hadnt asked for the discount, they insisted i take the discount.

but upgrades helpline i would rate as 5/10 for customer service because they kept goofing up on my two confirmed orders repeatedly. but they got there in the end and gave me a 100£ discount for their repeated mistakes in handling my confirmed orders.

Also the network is slow on getting the latest smartphones usually although they seem to be trying to release them at the same time as other networks now but still a bit slower than other networks on this issue. over all i am a happy customer and been with them for more than 4y with two contracts through out. i would gladly renew my contracts with them provided the upgrades phone help line people dont screw up with my orders again. they badly need to sort out the customer service on the upgrades division.

loracan1

loracan1 wrote: »

Handset: was a G502, didn't like it, reverted to an elderly K800i

Most commonly used location: Bury

Ease and reliability and connection: is okay

Any other problems: 502 was cheap and tacky phone, lied to me about the retention offer

Overall service and rating (out of 10): Finally cancelled today after being cut off on Saturday, tried retaining me with offers including free internet when we'd already established that it isn't any kind of priority to me, 10 free picture mails a month and all costing £3 more than I can get with Vodafone. So no, no longer the cheapest. (she was very nice though) 5/10

After cancelling they rang up, I caved in for a LG Viewty at £9/month. Then had second thoughts because low number of texts in the deal. Cancelled today and got offered same phone for £10/month with 100 minutes phone and 5000 texts. Will check on my package when phone arrives to make sure they haven't 'forgotten'. I'm left feeling that I'm on first name terms with most of the retentions team. (Had one on mobile and one on house phone at one point) Very persistent but pleasant with it.

Are they the cheapest? I'd say yes now, but by God I earned it.

thommo41

Handset: iPhone4

Most commonly used location: Burton upon Trent, Staffs

Ease and reliability and connection: See below

Any other problems: 3G signal checked before ordering, full strong coverage in my area. T&C's read regarding 1GB data allowance. NO MENTION OF CONTENT FILTERING. From day 1, app store issues meant I could hardly download anything. I later found out they knew about this problem, and it was aparantly fixed on 11th August. Regardless of that issue, I found downloading anything to be near impossible, even with full 3G signal. Speedtest app says <60kbps. Absolutely unuseable as an internet mobile. Nothing to do with "death grip" problem as I get 4/5 bar signals. Called customer services to report issues, found out content filtering was also blocking certain sites and apps. They said this is to protect children - Im 30!!! They want £5 extra a month for a bolt-on that removes this filter. Unacceptable to me, I tried to cancel after 5 days. They messed me about on the phone for half an hour, before sending me to their technical department to go around in circles. They said I need to call web sales. I did, after being given 3 wrong numbers, and they said I'd used the phone (of course!!!) and they would not allow me to cancel and return because of that. I spoke again to customer services who had no come-back to my complaints, so they frustrated me to near death by sending me back to their tech department. Nothing against Indian call centres if they are useful, but these are not helpful, not on the same page as the customers, and despite stating I WANT TO CANCEL, they wouldn't let me. They said they would work out the issues with me, and call me back Monday (16th Aug). I couldn't get anywhere at all, and after nearly and hour and a half, I had to accept them looking into the issue and calling me back. Still want to cancel, but how can I when they physically won't let me??? Any advice is GREATFULLY RECIEVED!

Overall service and rating (out of 10): 1/10. If I could give a 0.1/10 I would do!

Mollysmum_2

I agree totally with the post above.(1583) I don't know why more isn't made more of the nightmare scenario when you try to leave or cancel a contract with 3.
All the people on the forum talking about handsets and signal issues can have no idea about the fact that it is almost impossible to cancel with 3. I have finally paid my last bill today (haven't use modem since May 14th when I rang to cancel contract so I have paid 3 months for NOTHING ) I have spent about 8 hours on the phone, spoken to 6 or 7 different people who have said all sorts of different things. They did confirm today that it is isn't possible to cancel a contract on a Saturday or Sunday.
They 'lost' the modem I returned despite having a proof of posting certificate.

I implore you, DO NOT enter into a contract with 3. I really think Martin should do a TV programme about them. I have a whole series of letters, the names and I/D numbers of people I have spoken to.
Important people on the forum - give it a go - ring 3 and say you'd like to cancel a contract. If 3 were the only mobile company in the UK, I would go without.

1540phil

Handset: Loads, Nokia E71, E63, N95, LG Viewty, Sony Ericsson W950i

Most commonly used location: Doncaster

Ease and reliability and connection:

At first '3' promised a great service and delivered. I had no loss of signal in any place I visited, much better than my friends on O2, Orange and Vodaphone. Initially the customer services were great. BUT, over the last 2 years things have gone very wrong. There have been 2 occaisons recently where service has been completely lost for 2-3 days. '3' stated it was due to vandalism at one of their masts, but I have never known complete loss of service. There are plenty of masts in an urban town.

I have always found the service plans to be the best around.Top smart phones on not too expensive contracts, with plenty of useage for your money. I have used their £15 contract for my daughter as it came with unlimited texts and internet. It came with a great handset too.

However I have been bitten by the iphone bug, and took a chance with 'orange'. Nothing short of brilliant. They are able to show you their coverage maps by postcode so you can check what your service is gonna be like. The customer services are 10 times better than '3'.

I am glad Igot my iphone before '3' took them on as I may have been tempted to just upgrade.

I have been a customer with '3' for about 5 years now and phoned up to discuss an upgrade for my daughter as she really fancies the xperia x10 mini pro (currently on offer with '3'). I have been told I cannot upgrade onto an 'offer' phone unless I am within 30 days of the end of contract which is in September. The offer runs out at the end of August. Even though this would keep me as a '3' customer for another 18 months they refused to levy the 3 weeks.

I will now be heading over to Orange for my daughters next phone.

Any other problems: Customer services are diabolical!

Overall service and rating (out of 10): Was 8/10, now 3/10