Thank you again everyone, its good to find a nice helpful forum!!

My contract with 3 ended a month or so ago. The only real problem I had with them was that they wouldnt take no for an answer. I would ring up asking for information about the end of my contract and they would not give it me, choosing to launch into yet another offer for m, even when I flat out said "I'm not doing that over the phone now, just please gove me the information I have asked for" they would start offering offers again.

You (not you personally) really do have to be firm with them, as the one thing they really seem to be well trained at is launching into their second hand car dealer-like spiel, with the ultimate aim of locking you into another long term contract which maximises value for them whilst often leaving you with a fairly crappy phone and deal. They also try to pry info out of you about which network you're going to, and then subtly denigrate that network/plant seeds of doubt in your head about your decision. In that sense they really are quite nastily manipulative.

When I left them I ended up having to say 'I want a PAC code' 18 times (I kept a tally) before the guy I was speaking with gave in, with very bad grace, then ran through the PAC code script with me at top speed before hanging up on me!

Dealing with Three never seems to be a nice, or an honourable experience, the flipside of that being, of course, that it must be absolutely hideous to work in the environment of Three customer service on a day to day basis given that those are the company values.