Three signal deterioration - what are my rights?

mrochester

Hi all

I've been a Three customer for a while now. At my desk at work, although I have always had a reasonably poor 3G signal, it has worked and I have been able to use my phone for texts, Whatsapp, email and internet access. However, in the last couple of weeks, the signal has deteriorated to the point where I can no longer get any data throughput whatsoever other than sporadically and sometimes even basic texts will not send. I have not changed desks or locations at work. The phone will now also occassionally show 'no service'.

Running speedtest, most of the time the test fails due to network communication issues, but I have just managed to perform a test and although the ping was fine (64ms), the download speed was 0.09mbps and the upload 0.76mbps. This is (obviously) unsable.

I'm on a 12 month sim only deal and the minimum term for this ends in January 2016. I am reluctant to change networks as I make use of the 4GB of tethering data reasonably frequently. However, although I understand that networks cannot guarantee signal everywhere, I believe the fact that I previously used to have a usable connection in this location but now don't is a different matter entirely.

I intend to write a letter to Three to express my unhappiness with the deterioration in the service I am receiving. Does anyone know if I am legally entitled to cancel my contract penalty free due to the loss of service in this location?

Many thanks

M

zaax

Are other three users in your office getting the same problem?

mrochester

I don't know anyone else in the office who is on Three.

Jon_01

I think you're only entitled to leave if the signal fails at the address your billed to? As the networks don't guarantee 100% coverage...

Buzby

No, you are not legally entitled to leave - this is asked and answered many times. You are legally required to pay because, as a mobile network, they are unable to guarantee 100% coverage - no network can.

As goodwill they can offer rebates if they have a base station out of service or have relocated one leaving you stranded, but since the network cannot control what your building is made of, or what other building blocks their mast, all you can do is put up with then switch when you can, but then all the other networks cost more, don't they?

Unless the network fails, your options are limited.

grumbler

Buzby wrote: »

No, you are not legally entitled to leave - this is asked and answered many times.

Yes, it is, but the correct answer (not your personal) is that one might be legally entitled to leave.

You are legally required to pay because, as a mobile network, they are unable to guarantee 100% coverage - no network can.

Nobody demands 100%. It's the signal in the same location that is questioned and that is supposed to remain about the same.

Unless the network fails, your options are limited.

Well, how do you know that it doesn't? There is no anything in the OP indicating this.

Marktheshark

The network they use is under decline, they failed to get 4g licence and are as good as a busted flush in my opinion, as the old 3g stuff breaks down, it will just get switched off like the gprs data did.

d123

Marktheshark wrote: »

The network they use is under decline, they failed to get 4g licence and are as good as a busted flush in my opinion, as the old 3g stuff breaks down, it will just get switched off like the gprs data did.

What are you talking about? The OP is on Three and discussing Three, nothing you have written has any relevance.

@mrochester

Contact the Three exec office, being a sim only plan it's quite likely they will offer you an early termination and PAC if the signal has deteriorated.

Frozen_up_north

The OP said the service has been poor for 2 weeks, have you tried phoning them and reporting a problem?

I have had refunds for poor/no service, even in one case no 3G data for 2 hours resulted in a £5 payment.

It is not unusual for site failures to take ages to resolve, all the networks seem to have very poor engineering standards and poor response times to fix faults. A local 3 site to me appears to have no back up battery as every time there is a glitch in the mains electricity it goes off for several minutes.

Marktheshark

d123 wrote: »

What are you talking about? The OP is on Three and discussing Three, nothing you have written has any relevance.

@mrochester

Contact the Three exec office, being a sim only plan it's quite likely they will offer you an early termination and PAC if the signal has deteriorated.

WOOOOOOOSH
That was it going in your one ear and out of the other.

d123

Marktheshark wrote: »

WOOOOOOOSH
That was it going in your one ear and out of the other.

Nope, no idea what you are trying to pretend you meant.

I don't see anything to show you were meaning anything other than what you wrote (you seem to know what a smilie is from the above post).

Marktheshark wrote: »

The network they use is under decline, they failed to get 4g licence and are as good as a busted flush in my opinion, as the old 3g stuff breaks down, it will just get switched off like the gprs data did.

Are you going to pretend your entire post was a joke now?