vodafone non customer service

dgmunro

Rant time....i phoned vodafone today to see if they could offer me any upgrade deals (as i had been informed previously by vodafone my contract expires on 26/06/11) on the samsung galaxy s II and was basically told by the upgrade team member that they couldnt offer me anything DECENT cos i dont spent enough each month.

So i made a passing comment that i will be cancelling, to which he said that i couldnt cancel until the expiry date of 26/07/11, a month after the date on a couple of emails i had stating the date of 26/06/11. I queried this to which his response was that i spoke to a customer service person on 4th may about upgrades (which i did but there offer was rubbish) but apparently i wasnt entitled to an upgrade yet as i wasnt inside of the 70 days of contract ending. i wasnt at any point told this at the time, but apparently the guy i had spoken to in May took a month off my contract expiry to try and see what i could get and never put the month back on!!!! at no point did he say he was doing this. so on all communications with vodafone since they have informed me my expiry is 26/06/10 (i emailed them about how to go about cancelling a contract, no of days notice etc)

So this bloke i spoke to today kept saying that the fella that did this was doing it for MY BENEFIT - ha, thats a joke cos all they offered me was what i could get on the web site anyway.

Needless to say that vodafone wont be getting 2 contracts renewed (my wifes contract is up with them soon). The guy i spoke with today did very little to try and keep me happy, in fact when talking to him about the S II he said thats a dear phone he wont be able to offer me anything as i dont spend enough. I wouldnt mind but i've been a Vodafone customer for nearly 10 years....so much for customer loyalty

Rant over :mad:

Jon_01

The days of any network caring about customer loyalty are long gone, if you make them no profit they'll happy wave you goodbye.

simax

dgmunro wrote: »

cos all they offered me was what i could get on the web site anyway.

And what exactly makes you think you should get a better deal than everyone else who pays the advertised price?

Guys_Dad

There's a saying that "No business is better than bad business".

Giving away an expensive mobile when the return is not high enough is bad business, no matter how long the customer has been a customer. By all means try another network to see if you get a better deal - that's your right.

Turning to "loyalty", it seems to be one way traffic with many MSE members. Their loyalty is based upon their current supplier being the cheapest or giving the best handset.

Now I have no loyalty, as such, to a faceless business. If they have been fair with me, then I will always give them a chance to match a better deal I have been offered. My loyalty, if that's how you describe it, is based upon the basis that if my current supplier can offer me as good a deal as anyone else, then I will stick to my current supplier.

That is sensible business, but I would not expect my car insurer, for example, to offer to insure my 3 litre car for the same price as a Ford Ka simply because I had been with them for 10 years.

dgmunro

simax wrote: »

And what exactly makes you think you should get a better deal than everyone else who pays the advertised price?

why shouldn't i try and barter too get a better price, especially when other providers are doing the same phone for cheaper monthly tariffs, the mobile phone market is renowned for people to barter a better deal on.....i never paid the 'advertised price for my car, my house or my holiday..

Guys_Dad

dgmunro wrote: »

why shouldn't i try and barter too get a better price, especially when other providers are doing the same phone for cheaper monthly tariffs, the mobile phone market is renowned for people to barter a better deal on.....i never paid the 'advertised price for my car, my house or my holiday..

If you are offered a better deal elsewhere - and reception is ok - then you are a mug not to take it. But if your current network has done the sums and reckons it isn't profitable for them to undercut their offer, then no need to play the "loyalty card", just say "Fair enough - maybe I will move this time but check you out again in 2 years"

TwistedPsycho

The fact that they have removed a month from your contract tie-in could be seen as a bit of a benefit. If you decided to leave Vodafone at the first opportunity you will have cost them a months line rental and costs. It should be noted however that so far you do not appear to have actually requested your PAC code, which is the point that Vodafone (et al) start to contact you with a better offer than you are on at the moment.

Not knowing what sort of figures we are looking at for your current contract though, obviously we could not suggest what they would offer

I have taken a look however at Vodafone for you as I am due an upgrade myself. I am just "out of contract" with them on £30 a month for 900mins/unlim texts/500mb Web. I have been with them in excess of 10 years. For me to get a S2 for free, I would have to take a 2 year contract out at £40 a month for 1200mins/unlim texts/750mb web (or the same at £45 a month for a year and a half).

I am now going to get complicated slightly; so bare with me. I will use the real figures provided by Vodafone to offer a comparison and sticking with my current price plan; 900 minutes; unlim texts; 500 mb.

With Vodafone: 24 months at £35pm and £49 handset cost - total £889
Buying the phone Sim-Free: 12 months at £15pm (sim free offer from cs) and £520 from Amazon (sim-free) - total £730

There are ways around the long tie-ins and large handset costs, if you ask.

Vodafone

Hi dgmunro,

I am sorry to hear that you have been disappointed with the service you have received and that some of the information given to you wasn't very clear.

So that I can help and take a look at your account, can you drop me an email to the address shown on our profile page here. You will need to include WRT135 FAO Heidi in the subject to make sure it reaches me directly.

Many thanks,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK