Vodafone - Customer Service and Porting Numbers

aliaslotte

I am very, very frustrated...

I have been a Sainsbury's Mobile customer for a while and have always received great service. However, they are ceasing operations effective 15th January 2016, so I have been forced to find an alternative.

I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S6 on a Vodafone pay monthly contract on 15th December. I had a PAC code when I bought the phone, but the website stated to use an online form once I had my Vodafone sim number to arrange the transfer of my old number to the new sim card...

Well, the online form did not work. It kept flashing up, "sorry, there has been a problem."

I tried to call customer services but none of the automated options on the telephone seemed appropriate. I ended up using the Chat Live option on the website instead.

So, on 17th December (the day my phone arrived), I spoke to an advisor who took my details, including the PAC code and the number I wanted to bring with me to my new Vodafone sim. He said it would be transferred "within 24 hours".

Come 19th December, nothing had happened. So, I went onto the live chat again. The agent apologised, we went through everything again (re-submitting the PAC code and the details they requested). This agent said it would "definitely, 100% without fail" transferred within 24 hours and that they were sorry for the delay.

Come 21st December, still nothing! Fed up, I spoke to a customer service agent yet again. By this stage, I must have spent over an hour in these conversations, giving the same details over and over. This agent said that he would put a "priority" label on the account and that it "would be done by this evening" (that night). Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.

So, today, I contacted an agent again. I went through all the details, again. I was left waiting for ages between responses from the woman, with the exchange taking over 25 minutes. She told me that there was a "system problem" and that the earliest they could "port the number" would be the 29th December! :eek: I asked why it hadn't happened on the three previous instances, but she had no answer to that. She just kept repeating that the 29th was the earliest they could manage.

According to Ofcom, this sort of issue should be dealt with within around 24 hours.
So far, it has been 7 days!
Waiting until the 29th will make it 13 days.
I cannot use my phone properly until the number transfers across, as I have to keep my other phone with me so I can be contacted. My first Vodafone payment is actually being taken on the 24th December, before it will be properly up and running.
I'm so, so very annoyed.

I have been lied to by three different Vodafone customer service agents, and now been told that I have to wait a further 6 days with no compensation or even a proper apology for the delay.

I have had my phone number for over 10 years, having moved it from O2 to Talk, and from Talk to Sainsbury's, with no problems whatsoever. It is ridiculous that a company as big as Vodafone cannot compete with Talk and Sainsbury's when it comes to this basic number transfer and good, honest, customer service. :mad: