Any views about the 3 network?
lordoftheflies
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I'm thinking about getting a 3 contract because of the amount of minutes at relatively low prices.
Just wondering if anybody has anything to say about the network.
Just wondering if anybody has anything to say about the network.
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There will be many people on here who will tell you to avoid them but I think that the best thing is to try it for yourself and if it isn't as you expected then send it back within the 14 days.
I have been with them for a while now and have no problems at all. I did find their Indian call centre a little annoying but lately they have been OK. I left Orange for Three and found speaking to India a nuisance but Orange now have an Indian call centre which I have experienced and found them worse than Three.
Their UMTS is thin and woefully poor. Prone to dropped calls on its own and when in poor signal areas it will always drop voice calls when it roams onto 02 as backup.
There is now no need to put up with this 3rd rate cheapie service when decent coverage and seamless voice calls can be had on integrated networks like 02 and Vodafone at prices similar to and better than 3's.
Check out the 02 Talker and Texter deals on their 3G on-line shop site.... much cheaper than 3 and totally relaible. Vodafone with Stop the Clock also offer good alternatives and they don't drop calls because they (like 02) have both types of networks, so no roaming.... no dead air and no constant apologies to contacts like the 3 nightmare experience.
Sarah
Best avoided especially when there are now much better offers around as stated above.
The VAST majority of people who hate three had the original NEC and LG or the crappy budget Moto & Nokia 7600 (A distant memory now).
Take out a trial with one of the new handsets (like the RAZR or Nokia 6280/N70) and if you're not happy send it back.
It's difficult, it seems for every good comment from people, there are two bad comments.
However the service from them is simply diabolical. Firstly they use Indian callcentres which should tell you enough but if not bear in mind their CS is in a country which doesn't understand the 'mobile phone culture'. I don't know if they use VoIP or their staff don't 'get' english very well but when you've said something there's always a second or two pause while they either mentally translate what you've just said or as I mentioned, perhaps they use VoIP.
Most of their Indian staff are poorly-informed, for example in the summer I paid an extra £5 a month to have unlimited download content. As Big Brother was on at the time I asked if that was included and they said yes - I even emailed to ask them and I still have the reply where they again said it was.
When the bill came, guess what. BB content was not included in the deal. OK they admitted their mistake but I still has to pay the bill and they credited the next month. But I should not have had that inconvenience.
Quite simply 3 have the worst customer service I've ever encountered (bearing in mind I've had issues with Orange, ntl and Welcome Finance in the past who are all diabolical too but that's a different story).
Put simply, a 3 contract is fine as long as nothing goes wrong and you don't need to contact them for anything. If you do, see if your handset has a record feature and use it when you speak to them as it's standard practise for their callcentre people to not make any notes on your account unless you ask for something to be changed so they can tell you anything (and usually do) in order to get you off the phone.
Don't forget that Orange have an Indian call centre now and I think it is the future so don't be put off trying Three because of this.
I have been with '3' for a while now and i can only say its probably the best service i have used ( and i've used them all ) I get 500 x network mins and 100 texts a month, No need to use the landline. The handset i use is the Nokia 6630. Give them a go you got nothin to lose.
I used to work at 3, and have seen them grow from a network that had big issues when they started with quality.
The network has always been fairly good, but the quality of the handsets let it down.
the new generation of handsets, the V3x, Nokia 6280/N70 etc are a massive improvement on products that came before.
If you are unsure about how the network will perform where you live, go to www.three.co.uk and check out the coverage maps, they are updated and fairly accurate.
I would take out a 3 handset with no qualms now, as I think they are close enough in quality as a network to the incumbent networks in the Uk.
They are certainly the cheapest around and should save you money on your current bill.
O2 are very competitive as discussed already on this forum, and there are very good deals around on other networks if you look hard enough.
You have to weigh up the advantages of saving money over the occasional inconvenience of a dropped call.
The content and services that 3 provide is still superior to other networks, and could prove to be a major advantage to some when choosing a phone.
The best thing you can do is to go into somewhere like Carphone Warehouse, as they will give you all the information available and let you make up your own mind.
cheers
upnunder
As I said, don't listen to anyone. Try them for yourself, you have nothing to lose.