3 signal problems :(

zoesmummy_2006

im on a contract with 3 and they were fine, signal was fine when i took out the contract, i checked the coverage, had friends on 3, all had great signal. few months ago they were booted off the mast they shared with another network and no longer have a mast in the area.

This morning its gone beyond a joke signal wise, i called my friend 5 times because it cut off a minute or so into the conversation every time. I called 3 and was cut off constantly with them too, this was despite being sat in a window like they say to to improve signal. They called me back and after 4 more cut off conversations the advisor told me that yes they no longer have a mast share in the area, that they have no plans to have another one locally and that my phone must be the problem............but suprise suprise my phone is out of warranty!

I called the cancellations department and was told that in order to get out of my contract i have to pay the remaining months of my contract which is 5 months!!! so im going to be paying the next 5 months being unable to make or recieve calls without them being cut off, text messages failing to send and incoming messages being delayed for half an hour or more.

I know this isnt overly relevant but im a single mum with 2 small kids, i went for a mobile over a house phone so that im always contactable for school/playgroup/their dad etc, but what if there was an emergency and i couldnt make a call for help because it constantly cuts off, or school/playgroup/dad needs to contact me about one of the kids, but cant get through because of the signal???

I dont get how they think they're providing me with the service im paying for when they saw themselves my phone constantly cuts off!!! Im lucky to get maybe 2 bars signal strength, mainly its on 0!!!

Does anyone have any advice as to how i can explain to them that they arent providing me with the service I signed up for, surely the fact that they are no longer mast sharing in this area and the subsequent problems ive had signal wise since that happened is a breach of their contract????

grumbler

zoesmummy_2006 wrote: »

... few months ago they were booted off the mast they shared with another network and no longer have a mast in the area.

.... the advisor told me that yes they no longer have a mast share in the area, that they have no plans to have another one locally and that my phone must be the problem......

I don't see any logic behind the disabled mast and blaming the phone.

......but suprise suprise my phone is out of warranty!

What phone is it? The majority have 24 months (except iPhone, LG and Motorolla AFAIK)

I called the cancellations department and was told that in order to get out of my contract i have to pay the remaining months of my contract which is 5 months!!! so im going to be paying the next 5 months being unable to make or recieve calls without them being cut off, text messages failing to send and incoming messages being delayed for half an hour or more.

If they really switched the mast off and this caused the problem, you have every right to cancel without any charges. Complain as high as possible. Search the board for their executive office e-mail address.

robbies_gal

this time it is their fault as grumbler said try to ask for a manger or the ceo address and complain

how is it the phones fault if they cut theyre signal off the mast?

unbelievable

zoesmummy_2006

phone is HTC hero, it was a refurb hence only 1 year warranty apparently.

they say that outside i should get an adequate reception-but why on earth should i have to go outside to use my phone??? especially with this bad weather. Ther service is ok if im in town etc, my main problem is when im at home and both advisors i spoke to had first hand experience of that today!

Im not sure who they were mast sharing with, but they definately arent sharing anymore and have no plans to apparently. He said something about being only 2G not 3G, which I have no idea what that means. I just want to be able to use my phone properly, to not worry that my calls gonna be cutting off constantly mid call, or that im gonna miss calls because of such poor signal.

grumbler

zoesmummy_2006 wrote: »

they say that outside i should get an adequate reception-but why on earth should i have to go outside to use my phone??? especially with this bad weather. Ther service is ok if im in town etc, my main problem is when im at home and both advisors i spoke to had first hand experience of that today!

When complaining and demanding cancellation make it clear that:

• You needed decent reception at home indoors and before making the decision about buying the contract you checked this and the reception was fine.
• It is their fault that they have made changes to their network that resulted in poor reception in the place where it was fine before the changes.

Im not sure who they were mast sharing with,

Orange I think

but they definately arent sharing anymore and have no plans to apparently. He said something about being only 2G not 3G, which I have no idea what that means.

3g an 2g are frequency bands. "Three" is only 3g while other networks offer both 2g and 3g signals. AFAIK Three used to offer and still are offering 2g roaming on Orange network in areas where their 3g signal is poor.

HTC Hero has both 3g and 2g capabilities. I guess it was using 2g Orange's signal before Three disabled roaming it in your area. Now it struggles with the only Three's 3g signal available.

zoesmummy_2006

Grumbler you are amazing and I now understand the 2G/3G stuff lol.

would I be better putting my complaint in writing-since my signal is so poor I cant manage a phone conversation with anyone never mind them, and I refuse to call them from my parents land line and give them anymore money!!

grumbler

Don't waste your time on telephone calls. Follow their formal complaint procedure or, as I said above, email to their executive office.

daleski75

Follow what grumbler said and email their executive office as no way should you have to keep on paying for the remainder of your contract for a fault which is outside of your control.

Don't bother phoning up 3 customer services as they are script monkeys and won't budge and will only quote the coverage checker saying everything is ok and it must be your phone!

Also check out ofcom's site for checking the masts in your area as this may give you an indication of which one they where kicked off.

http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/search

zoesmummy_2006

daleski75, thanks for that link, theres only orange and 02 showing mast wise for my area on there, as grumbler says it was the orange mast tey were kicked off of.

Grumbler, thankyou again, i shall find that email now and get one sent off to them asap! I shal report back when there is an update xx

robbies_gal

good site there daleski-do you know how far or close they say you have to be to get a good signal?

grumbler

[EMAIL="executive.office@three.co.uk"]executive.office@three.co.uk[/EMAIL]