Vodafone complaints

winnie81

Hi guys, Has anyone else had appalling signal issues with Vodafone? My husband had a Blackberry on 24mth contract which would only have a signal a small % of the time and would lose the small signal it did have if the phone moved millimeters! He put up with it thinking it was the Blackberry causing this so upgraded early to a HD Desire only for the same to be happening :mad: He can barely make calls/texts/Wifi etc and its almost impssible to get hold of him on the damn network :mad:

If that wasn't bad enogh the memory card that came with the Desire deal has died a death after using it for approx 3weeks :mad: No phone or pc/laptop recognise it so can't format it etc

We are getting incredibly fed up now as I need to be able to get hold of him ue to my auto-immune issues, kids etc and its so unreliable. I wish he'd just changed operator like we were going to :mad:

He's tried to get in contact with call centre but don't have the time to sit for hours on phone and no replies to emails :mad:

I think I shall try the CEO email address and give that ago as we cannot keep paying for a service he barely gets - Wish we'd ditched Vodafone

divingtesky

Does anyone have any experience in dealing with vodafone??

I have finally got through to vodafone tonight as I have found out that the price plan I have been on for the last 9 months has not included the agreed discount. The call centre person said there is nothing They can do as the contract is verbal at the time of agreeing.

Now for some background;

I have been a vodafone pay monthly customer for well over 10years

When I upgraded 9months ago I was paying less then half the current price plan and upgraded to a phone that was not top of the range. My priority was cost when I upgraded as I was on maternity leave and needed to keep the costs down. I haggled with vodafone in order to do this.

I moved house 19 months ago and informed vodafone of this. However they sent my new phone to my old address. I called them and told them this and they said they updated all records.

However, until tonight they still had my old address down as my current address despite informing them 3times. This meant I have never received my contract documentation as it went to my old address. The email confirming my upgrade was never sent by them so until I called today I had no confirmation of the upgrade.

In the 9months I tried to go online countless times but it never worked so eventually I had to pay for itemized billing just to get some knowledge of why my bills were soo high.

I now realise that when I upgraded they never applied the discount they should have done. Because they screwed up my address so many times I had no chance to find out what the upgrade was until now. Normally, I would have phoned sooner but with complications in pregnancy and afterwards it didn't happen.

I'm really upset by vodafone as I have been so loyal but the phone representative tonight said nothing could be done and he would not even give me his name or his managers name. He said that if I cancel my direct debit I would end up with a court order. It was a very offensive conversation which ended with him saying nothing could be done.

All I tried to do was get a better deal for my contract and in over 10years have never missed a payment. If anyone has any ideas on what I can do pls let me know as I feel very cornered by vodafone as it's my word against theirs. I'm happy to take it further, just need to know the best route.

Many thanks

HiddenIdentity

emeraldbugle wrote: »

Hi,

Also what are 'long texts'? I've been charged for some of these and I have unlimited texts.

Thanks

Hi,
A normal SMS message contains 180 characters and you can do a normal text for up to 540 characters, after this it will convert into a 'Long Text' as an MMS. This doesn't apply on all handsets, some will send them out as separate messages but handsets such as the iPhone and some Android phones will convert them to long texts.
This applies to all networks unfortunately and for Vodafone it has a charge of 12p.

baldelectrician

divingtesky wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience in dealing with vodafone??

I have finally got through to vodafone tonight as I have found out that the price plan I have been on for the last 9 months has not included the agreed discount. The call centre person said there is nothing They can do as the contract is verbal at the time of agreeing.

Now for some background;

I have been a vodafone pay monthly customer for well over 10years

When I upgraded 9months ago I was paying less then half the current price plan and upgraded to a phone that was not top of the range. My priority was cost when I upgraded as I was on maternity leave and needed to keep the costs down. I haggled with vodafone in order to do this.

I moved house 19 months ago and informed vodafone of this. However they sent my new phone to my old address. I called them and told them this and they said they updated all records.

However, until tonight they still had my old address down as my current address despite informing them 3times. This meant I have never received my contract documentation as it went to my old address. The email confirming my upgrade was never sent by them so until I called today I had no confirmation of the upgrade.

In the 9months I tried to go online countless times but it never worked so eventually I had to pay for itemized billing just to get some knowledge of why my bills were soo high.

I now realise that when I upgraded they never applied the discount they should have done. Because they screwed up my address so many times I had no chance to find out what the upgrade was until now. Normally, I would have phoned sooner but with complications in pregnancy and afterwards it didn't happen.

I'm really upset by vodafone as I have been so loyal but the phone representative tonight said nothing could be done and he would not even give me his name or his managers name. He said that if I cancel my direct debit I would end up with a court order. It was a very offensive conversation which ended with him saying nothing could be done.

All I tried to do was get a better deal for my contract and in over 10years have never missed a payment. If anyone has any ideas on what I can do pls let me know as I feel very cornered by vodafone as it's my word against theirs. I'm happy to take it further, just need to know the best route.

Many thanks

I had this issue with VF, but I have call recording so could prove the csr said what I said they did

You can ask for a SAR (subject access request and specifically ask for a copy of the upgrade call in question)

They can't take you to court and win if they can't prove who said what during the upgrade

The SAR should also give you details of all the notes on your account

Vodafone

Hi Charliedg

Thank you for posting a copy of the letter that you have recently sent to us. I can see why this has been frustrating for you, and I would certainly like to help where possible to answer these questions for you if they have not already been answered.

If you would like us to take a look at this for you, please e-mail us directly at webrelations@vodafone.com with a link to your thread, and we’ll be more than happy to take this on for you.

Kind Regards

Simon
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

Vodafone

Hi emeraldbugle

Thanks for posting your query.

So that I can check the exact price plan details, please could you e-mail us via the Contact Us page on the Vodafone website, using WRT135 as the subject, and a link to this thread, and I can confirm your exact costs.

I’d also like to check your charges for long texts. A long text is when your text message exceeds 160 characters, however these are normally only charged where there is no text bundle on your account and you pay for texts separately.

I look forward to your hearing from you.

Kind Regards

Simon
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

li4mp4rry

I would just like to say that I stumbled upon this thread last night whilst I was very angry with Vodafone customer services and emailed the C.E.O.

What a fantastic response, I received a phone call from the CEO office this afternoon, within 5 working hours of sending the email and the representative (a very polite man called Guy Cunningham) sorted my problem out completely - he cancelled the remaining 6 months of my contract and gave me my PAC code because "there's better things to do in some situations, not just force you to see out your contract".

Still not impressed with the actual customer services but a brilliant response from higher up. I may well consider returning to Vodafone if the rest of the business takes a leaf out of the management's book!

Vodafone

Hi Divingtesky,

I am sorry to hear that you haven't had the plan you expected to from your upgrade. I would like to help get a resolution on this for you.

So that I can take a look into this for you, can you send an email to us here. Make sure that you put WRT135 in the subject so that it reaches our team.

Many thanks,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

davidtb

Does anyone know how I can complain in writing to Vodafone in the UK? I am somewhere between disillusionment and incandescent rage with them right now and once my contract's up in 6 months time I intend to move to another provider.

I bought their Business Insurance a few years ago and pay 6 pounds a month for the privilege. I'm in the Army and have kit insurance for which I could insure my phone for free but I purchased their insurance because it was labelled as an instant replacement service. That is specifically how the representative sold it to me at the time.

I've claimed before without fuss about 18 months ago, when I damaged my phone and it was replaced instantly in store. Having dropped it last week and despite it being in its case and not even being scratched, this unfortunately resulted in a broken screen. I went into the store and assumed I would be able to get my instant replacement and was put through on the phone to their claims department (I've since discovered this is subcontracted out by Vodafone). I was rather impolitely told that there is no such thing as instant replacement and that it would have to be sent away to be repaired and that this would take 7 days. As my contacts are all backed up using the Blackberry software and whilst Vodafone kindly lent me a barely functioning phone which doesn't get signal anywhere, I now have no access to my contacts or my e-mail – particularly painful given the nature of my job and how often I am away from access to a computer. What left me even more annoyed was the way the woman on the phone spoke to me as though I am some kind of idiot and virtually accused me of lying about having had an instant replacement in the past, despite me pointing out that I wouldn't have signed up for their insurance otherwise, given I can insure it for free elsewhere. The in-store agent told me afterwards that they did used to replace insured phones there and then but that this had ceased 12 months previously when Vodafone changed insurance companies – at no time have Vodafone written to inform me!

What really got my blood boiling was when I rang their complaints line to be a told by a disinterested agent to put my complaint in writing via their website. I did this only to receive a reply from a customer service agent whose first language is most certainly not English, informing me that he was sorry but that the replacement is not instant and then he told me how to put in a claim, thus missing my point entirely! He then stated that he assumed that he had been of some help.

I quickly wrote back to inform him that he hadn't been of any help and that my complaint was that if they had changed this insurance product, then I have been missold it for the previous 12 months. I also complained that I was appalled at being treated so badly. I also explained that the reason I have always stayed with Vodafone despite cheaper alternatives was because my family are on Vodafone and that because I believed you pay for the quality of service. Now with Vodafone being the third largest UK provider, it being irrelevant these days what network your family and friends are on and having been treated so badly I intend to move elsewhere upon expiration of my contract.

Imagine my further anger only to receive another reply from another agent saying that he was sorry that his colleague hadn't helped me and then going on to say exactly the same thing, telling me how to make a claim!!

I am absolutely livid! If anyone has any advice as to who I should write to next I would really appreciate it, otherwise I have a mind to refer them to the Ombudsman as they are not even capable of grasping the reason behind my complaint, never mind providing a satisfactory answer!

grumbler

davidtb wrote: »

Does anyone know how I can complain in writing to Vodafone in the UK?...
I bought their Business Insurance a few years ago

Vodafone Business Insurance terms and conditions

h. What to do if you’re not happy with us

ACE is dedicated to providing you with a high quality service, and wants to maintain this at all times. If you feel that you have not been offered a first class service or you wish to make an enquiry regarding this insurance, please contact the Administrator of the scheme on 0333 3043345* or write to them at:

Lifestyle Services Group Limited
PO Box 395
CREWE
CW1 6WT

The Administrator will try to resolve your concerns within 24 hours. If this is not possible they will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days of receipt and provide a response within 4 weeks. If you are still not satisfied, please contact ACE directly by writing to: Vodafone Business Insurance Coordinator, ACE European Group Ltd 100 Leadenhall Street, London EC3A 3BP.

ACE is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service (the FOS) who can be approached for assistance should you remain dissatisfied. The FOS’s contact details are South Quay, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR. Tel. 0845 080 1800* e-mail: [EMAIL="enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk"]enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk[/EMAIL]

Customer Complaints Code

Customer Complaints Code

This code sets out how to make a complaint and your rights to refer a dispute to an independent ombudsman.
If you’re not happy with our service and would like to make a complaint, please contact us first by calling 191 from your Vodafone mobile. This is free on pay monthly or 25p a call from pay as you go (this charge only applies if you speak to an advisor). From a landline, dial 0870 070 0191 for pay monthly customers or 0870 077 6655 for pay as you go customers.
Or you can write to us at:
Customer Relations Manager
Vodafone Limited
The Connection
Newbury
Berkshire RG14 2FN
You can also send us an email via our website – go to www.vodafone.co.uk/contact
We aim to resolve all issues on first contact, but if we cannot we will escalate your call to a team manager. If the team manager cannot resolve the issue we will refer it to our dedicated customer relations team. In any event we will endeavour to resolve any complaint within one week. If we are unable to do so, we will notify you and provide weekly updates on progress.
If after eight weeks we still can’t resolve the complaint you can refer the issue to the independent Alternative Dispute Resolution service provided by the ombudsman Otelo. Provided your complaint is in their remit, they will investigate your complaint free of charge.
You can find out more on their website at www.otelo.org.uk,[EMAIL="enquiries@otelo.org.uk"]enquiries@otelo.org.uk[/EMAIL] or call them on 01925 430 059.
Alternatively you can write to:
Otelo
PO Box 730
Warrington WA4 6HL
You can request that your complaint goes to Otelo before eight weeks, though we have the right to insist that our process is followed if we’re taking steps to resolve your complaint and expect it to be resolved in a timely manner. Referral to Otelo can be refused if the complaint is malicious or outside their remit. email them at

Having said that I wish they introduced something like NCD to stop people dropping their mobiles every year or so and claiming instant replacement.