[thebtman]

Since 9am this morning I have had no incoming/outgoing calls on my phone. Neither can I send texts.

I rang Voda customer care (stifles growl) to be very calmly told they would send an email to the relevant department to see if they could fix the fault and my phone should be back on within 24 - 48 hours.

No other company I deal with would get away with such a casual manner. I spend more on Voda payt than I do on BT line rental and calls put together and yet when BT network fails my calls are forwarded foc to a number of my choice.

Vodafone dont offer this. Why? They just dont!

Neither do they treat each case indiviually. We are all just lumped together under the might as well be title of "peasent tarrif" and anytime there is a problem I am reminded of my lowly status by the phrase "well if you were on contract we could do something". Now from my point of view I pay in advance for my calls, my money sits accruuing interest for Vodafone and its shareholders, there is less billing admin and costs and yet here I am without service, without alternatives and without any hint of urgency on Vodafones part. Its about time that payt customers were treated better.

Utterly shocking service from what is supposed to be the best UK network

[dreamypuma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebtman

Since 9am this morning I have had no incoming/outgoing calls on my phone. Neither can I send texts.

I rang Voda customer care (stifles growl) to be very calmly told they would send an email to the relevant department to see if they could fix the fault and my phone should be back on within 24 - 48 hours.

No other company I deal with would get away with such a casual manner. I spend more on Voda payt than I do on BT line rental and calls put together and yet when BT network fails my calls are forwarded foc to a number of my choice.

Vodafone dont offer this. Why? They just dont!

Neither do they treat each case indiviually. We are all just lumped together under the might as well be title of "peasent tarrif" and anytime there is a problem I am reminded of my lowly status by the phrase "well if you were on contract we could do something". Now from my point of view I pay in advance for my calls, my money sits accruuing interest for Vodafone and its shareholders, there is less billing admin and costs and yet here I am without service, without alternatives and without any hint of urgency on Vodafones part. Its about time that payt customers were treated better.

Utterly shocking service from what is supposed to be the best UK network

Do you think that a pay monthly customer would have been treated any differently? The call centre staff have no control over the performance of their network, so I would have hardly expected masked men in black balaclavas, abseiling through the roof with spanners and milk tray.

As for diverting your number to another number, I don't think any network would do this without some kind of charge, even if they did they would probably be even less likely to do this for a PAYT customer than a pay monthly customer.

I'm sure Vodafone aren't overly happy about losing revenue though a fault on a cell site, but hey welcome to the world of business.

If your not happy vote with your feet, you have no real ties, and they contractually don't guarantee you a faultless service.

I personally don't like Vodafone's customer service, so left for a supplier who delivers the service I expect.

[thebtman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamypuma

Do you think that a pay monthly customer would have been treated any differently? The call centre staff have no control over the performance of their network, so I would have hardly expected masked men in black balaclavas, abseiling through the roof with spanners and milk tray.

As for diverting your number to another number, I don't think any network would do this without some kind of charge, even if they did they would probably be even less likely to do this for a PAYT customer than a pay monthly customer.

I'm sure Vodafone aren't overly happy about losing revenue though a fault on a cell site, but hey welcome to the world of business.

If your not happy vote with your feet, you have no real ties, and they contractually don't guarantee you a faultless service.

I personally don't like Vodafone's customer service, so left for a supplier who delivers the service I expect.

You are just repeating what I have already said with added rhetoric.

I already know its not a function provided to payt customers, but it should be and I'll do without the vodafone militia in return for people getting even just my voicemail when they ring. As it is its just unobtainable. Acceptable??!

Where a company is at fault they should have systems in place to reduce the inconvenience for the customer as much as possible, Vodafone dont.

Functions are things that can be added are they not.

Its not a failure of a cell site as I've been into 3 different counties and many different areas today with same result, plus I have of course already spoken to them about this and been informed of the fault.

Lastly, I do not know why you are quoting contractual content for me, I realise the contract doesnt guarantee this, but this isnt a corporate law class (and I dont need anything explaining for me thanks), its a consumer voicing his displeasure at Vodafone inefficiency.

[dreamypuma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebtman

Where a company is at fault they should have systems in place to reduce the inconvenience for the customer as much as possible, Vodafone don't.

Should they, or would it be good if they did? Maybe they do but you just got a crap advisor.

Who knows? With more than 25years of experience I'm sure they know this and have reflected on it. On balance maybe it's not reasonably practicable for them to pamper the PAYT customers.

Needless to say you ultimately control your custom. If your so aggrieved, vote with your feet.

[Lawe13]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamypuma

Needless to say you ultimately control your custom. If your so aggrieved, vote with your feet.

This is why Pay As You Go customers receive less benefits however and to some are deemed "2nd class customers". If you look at the figures operators actually make more profit from a PAYG customer than they do contract, if we were to analyse say a weeks, or maybe even a months worth of usage and I'm talking on average here. However the PAYG customer is free to do as you advised at any point, they can go to another network or simply stop using the phone. An operator is guaranteed business with a contract customer for a set period of time, even if they stopped using the phone they would have to pay for the device all the same.

[thebtman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamypuma

Should they, or would it be good if they did? Maybe they do but you just got a crap advisor.

Who knows? With more than 25years of experience I'm sure they know this and have reflected on it. On balance maybe it's not reasonably practicable for them to pamper the PAYT customers.

Needless to say you ultimately control your custom. If your so aggrieved, vote with your feet.

Its not really pampering to expect that when there is a fault which is down to them they reduce inconvenience as much as possible?

You keep stating the obvious at me like I dont realise that I can leave the network at any time??? Why?

I realise I can leave, but I also realise that companies dont like negative comments and sometimes take more notice when customers speak out this way.

In the meantime, I still have no incoming/outgoing calls and my number is still unobtainable!

[BoBaDoB]

why not try the vodafone eforum? lots of people seem to be getting things sorted on there. Possible problem in your area or a bar has been placed or something worth checking out

[thebtman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoBaDoB

why not try the vodafone eforum? lots of people seem to be getting things sorted on there. Possible problem in your area or a bar has been placed or something worth checking out

Its not a localised problem and no bars.

However, my email to the chairmans office paid off and this morning I had contact and promise of top priority fix.

So a step forward I suppose.

[norbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebtman

Its not a localised problem and no bars.

However, my email to the chairmans office paid off and this morning I had contact and promise of top priority fix.

So a step forward I suppose.

Seeing as you're a self declared "IT & Telecoms Specialist" I trust you've gone through the fault diagnosis routes, trying SIM in different handset, checking if other users are affected etc?
I'd be interested to know what the actual problem was (once you get it sorted of course).
I find the chairmans office email usually speeds things up - we had issues with our BT landline when moving house that no amount of calls to the support lines could get resolved. A couple of emails and letters later and an engineer was sent, problem fixed and account credited with "goodwill gesture".

Cheers
N

[Kirsty_Vodafone]

Hi thebtman

I can certainly understand why you would be frustrated with the service you have received.

I work for the Vodafone eForum Team and we are dedicated to solving customer queries online. I understand that you are already working towards a solution, but would like to offer any help I can to make sure you receive a resolution.

Send me an email from the Conact Us page of our website with a link to this thread and FIT135 in the body of the text (so that you are routed straight to my team) and I'm sure we can resolve this for you.

Speak to you soon!



Kirsty_Vodafone
Vodafone Customer Service
eForum Team

[Paul R]

Well, what happened ?

Are we as quick to praise good service ?

Have they sorted you out ?

[thebtman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul R

Well, what happened ?

Are we as quick to praise good service ?

Have they sorted you out ?

Day 3.

The fault is still present and they are still looking into it.

Technically, its come off something called PAM.

Bloody Pam, worked with a woman called Pam once.....she was a unreliable pain in the **** too

And in answer to the earlier post, yes of course I tried the sim in other phones and a different sim in the phone which isnt working etc etc manual roam select etc etc....however number unobtainable when I ring it, I was not expecting it to be a sim/phone issue anyway....

[thebtman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirsty_Vodafone

Hi thebtman

I can certainly understand why you would be frustrated with the service you have received.

I work for the Vodafone eForum Team and we are dedicated to solving customer queries online. I understand that you are already working towards a solution, but would like to offer any help I can to make sure you receive a resolution.

Send me an email from the Conact Us page of our website with a link to this thread and FIT135 in the body of the text (so that you are routed straight to my team) and I'm sure we can resolve this for you.

Speak to you soon!



Kirsty_Vodafone
Vodafone Customer Service
eForum Team

Not so easy to delete my thread here is it?

You know, I posted this fault 3 times in your forum (the identical text contained in post 1 of this thread), and 3 times it was deleted.

Perhaps, seeing as my fault is being rectified, you can explain why posts within your forum are removed when they are not complimentary of the Vodafone network?

According to your team its for my benefit!

I shall certainly be seeking an answer from the Directors office on this too.

[thebtman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul R

Are we as quick to praise good service ?

What good service?

Day 3 and still no incoming/outgoing....

Yes I'll be glad when they resolve it, but that doesnt deserve praise as it would have been better had it never happened and 3 days [and counting] isnt a speedy fix imo.

How long would it have been had I not contacted the Directors office??

The customer service at normal level is unreliable, slow and patronising. Key departments which should be contactable by voice are not, even by internal staff. There is no clear escalation process for a customer dissatisfied with the way a call is being handled and if one does get to speak with a supervisor they too seem tied down by the same procedures and restrictions which made the request to speak to a supervisor necessary in the first place.

[Kirsty_Vodafone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebtman

Not so easy to delete my thread here is it?

You know, I posted this fault 3 times in your forum (the identical text contained in post 1 of this thread), and 3 times it was deleted.

Perhaps, seeing as my fault is being rectified, you can explain why posts within your forum are removed when they are not complimentary of the Vodafone network?

According to your team its for my benefit!

I shall certainly be seeking an answer from the Directors office on this too.

Hi There

I can understand you confusion.

Believe me - it would be far easier to leave posts on the forum! (Admin behind the scenes can be time consuming! )

Our eForum is a technical help channel. It doesn’t require any account details to register.

On the forum we can take customers through diagnostics to either resolve their problem or find out where it lies so that it can be fixed.

For data protection reasons we can't deal with anything account specific on the forum (because then the world could see your personal details).

Quote:

I rang Voda customer care (stifles growl) to be very calmly told they would send an email to the relevant department to see if they could fix the fault and my phone should be back on within 24 - 48 hours.

In your case you had already gone through the diagnostics by speaking with customer services over the phone. They had identified a network problem and send the details for it to fix.

Quote:

And in answer to the earlier post, yes of course I tried the sim in other phones and a different sim in the phone which isnt working etc etc manual roam select etc etc....however number unobtainable when I ring it, I was not expecting it to be a sim/phone issue anyway....

For this reason there was nothing that we could do for you on the forum - any diagnostics would be pointless as the issue had already been identified.

Your post was removed from the forum as it was account specific and there was nothing that we could do on the forum to help you or to benefit other users.

As soon as it was removed you were sent an email to explain in detail why and to request more details so that we could still investigate this for you and offer assistance. The alternative would be to leave it on the forum and for you to wait for a response on a first come first served basis.

We would never turn anyone away who is asking for help - but we can reroute you so that you get a resolution in the fastest possible way.

I'm glad I could clear this up for you.



Kirsty_Vodafone
Vodafone Customer Services
eForum Team

[thebtman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirsty_Vodafone

Hi There

I can understand you confusion.

Believe me - it would be far easier to leave posts on the forum! (Admin behind the scenes can be time consuming! )

Our eForum is a technical help channel. It doesn’t require any account details to register.

On the forum we can take customers through diagnostics to either resolve their problem or find out where it lies so that it can be fixed.

For data protection reasons we can't deal with anything account specific on the forum (because then the world could see your personal details).



In your case you had already gone through the diagnostics by speaking with customer services over the phone. They had identified a network problem and send the details for it to fix.



For this reason there was nothing that we could do for you on the forum - any diagnostics would be pointless as the issue had already been identified.

Your post was removed from the forum as it was account specific and there was nothing that we could do on the forum to help you or to benefit other users.

As soon as it was removed you were sent an email to explain in detail why and to request more details so that we could still investigate this for you and offer assistance. The alternative would be to leave it on the forum and for you to wait for a response on a first come first served basis.

We would never turn anyone away who is asking for help - but we can reroute you so that you get a resolution in the fastest possible way.

I'm glad I could clear this up for you.



Kirsty_Vodafone
Vodafone Customer Services
eForum Team

I am most definitely not confused, I just dont trust Vodafone. And so far I've been proven right.

Nonsense in my opinion.

You could simply reply saying I should check my email, you dont have to reply disclosing account details or anything personal or deal with the issue in public.

Instead the whole thread is removed....and the reason given is simply justification, NOT a really reason in my opinion.

Oh and by the way....I STILL have no service.

[thebtman]

Just to confirm, at day 4:

1) I still have no outgoing calls
2) I still have no incoming calls
3) I still have no outgoing texts
4) I still have no incoming texts
5) My number, if dialled from another phone is still unobtainable.

I have also been infomed by customer service that if I port out my number I must use up any remaining credit. This of course is impossible, as I cannot use my phone at the moment!

4 days to fix a database fault??!?!!!

[Mrs Doodles]

I have never been a fan of vodafone i think 02 are much better.

[thebtman]

I am porting out.

Having waited 4 days already (and nothing seems to have changed) I cannot chance it taking another 4 days.

Networks better give better service. As from Sept 09 its only gonna take 2 hours to port a number out to another [maybe better] network, so no whining or waiting necessary, we will just up and leave to something better as and when we need to.

[iRuss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebtman

I am porting out.

Having waited 4 days already (and nothing seems to have changed) I cannot chance it taking another 4 days.

Networks better give better service. As from Sept 09 its only gonna take 2 hours to port a number out to another [maybe better] network, so no whining or waiting necessary, we will just up and leave to something better as and when we need to.

If you're wondering why your posts keep disappearing from Voda's eforum, they are under strict instruction to remove any which are deemed 'too critical' of vodafone even if it means that customer doesn't get their issue solved.

Kirsty will know this and although she isn't high level enough to make the decision to remove posts, she will be aware of it.

[flagpole]

http://www.otelo.org.uk/ vodafone's independent arbitrator are very good.

i don't know if they are open on the weekend but they will advise you as to what you can and can not do.

i would have thought thought that if there is some sort of database error around your number you would be in danger of the port not working either.

[thebtman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flagpole

http://www.otelo.org.uk/ vodafone's independent arbitrator are very good.

i don't know if they are open on the weekend but they will advise you as to what you can and can not do.

i would have thought thought that if there is some sort of database error around your number you would be in danger of the port not working either.

In which case I will involve OFCOM.

I did a lookup at http://www.numberportabilitylookup.com and my number is not assigned to a carrier, which I guess, explains the current service issues.

[flagpole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebtman

In which case I will involve OFCOM.

I did a lookup at http://www.numberportabilitylookup.com and my number is not assigned to a carrier, which I guess, explains the current service issues.

ofcom wont help you they don't really deal with consumer complaints in that way. they would refer you to otelo.

but that's all well and good. it a bit like having a car accident that's someone else's fault. it's still better to try and avoid a car accident at all.

when i say there will possibly be a problem i'm really thinking of the best way for you to get your phone working. not about the stink you can cause afterwards.

[stud u like]

I find your thread strange. Have you emptied your in boxes? That is the only way I find that could be blocking you from getting no calls or texts.

I love vodafone and have always had good service from them on PAYG.

[thebtman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iRuss

If you're wondering why your posts keep disappearing from Voda's eforum, they are under strict instruction to remove any which are deemed 'too critical' of vodafone even if it means that customer doesn't get their issue solved.

Kirsty will know this and although she isn't high level enough to make the decision to remove posts, she will be aware of it.

I suspected this.

As I said earlier, with the 2 hour port to be implemented by all networks by Sept 09, it will make it much easier for payg customers to leave networks which fail to perform.

I have to say I have lost faith in Vodafone.