Am thinking of getting my mobile with 3, was wondering if anybody could give insight into what their service is like compared to other networks?
Any information would be much appreciated
Any information would be much appreciated
Information on 3 network?
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The general consensus is that while they had quite a dodgy birth, they've now developed into an excellent network. There's a fine choice of handsets (and the terrible NECs are LONG gone) and the tariffs are fairly nice too (especially PrePay, which mirror Pay Monthly).
They have the greatest 3G coverage at present and have Orange as a 2G partner.
Their internet options are great too.
They have the greatest 3G coverage at present and have Orange as a 2G partner.
Their internet options are great too.
i would recommend them any time they are very good and today i had some of the best service from there customer service they offer so much free and grate tariffs.
Originally Posted by tamasooz:
“Am thinking of getting my mobile with 3, was wondering if anybody could give insight into what their service is like compared to other networks?
Any information would be much appreciated”
“Am thinking of getting my mobile with 3, was wondering if anybody could give insight into what their service is like compared to other networks?
Any information would be much appreciated
”
I had some major problems with them, could not get a mobile reception in some pretty major cities, in Leeds and Manchester there would be times my signal would drop out for ages. I missed a lot of important business calls due to this.
Upon trying to speak to them, be warned all their call centers are in Delhi in India, and they employ locals who can barely speak English, and only give you the pre-scripted responses on the computer screen.
I got incredibly annoyed with them, having telephoned everyday for the best part of two weeks, being put on hold, transferred from department to department, only to be put back to the same person again.
I did manage to eventually cancel my contract after a few months, due to not fulfilling the contract (I couldn't use my phone when I wanted to), they cancelled it, my phone was disconnected and I sent the handset back.. imagine my surprise to find out they kept billing me for months after! I even went to the bank and cancelled the direct debit, they SET IT UP AGAIN!! They actually took an extra 3 months out of my account until I threatened to sue them and put a perminent block on 3 with my bank.
I didn't hear from them again or get the 3 months of bills back, but I just wrote it off as it was becoming bad for my health, all the stress they were causing me.
I'm now with O2 and couldn't be happier. Maybe they have improved in recent years, but personally I could never recommend 3 to anyone and still sleep at night after my experience!
They are cheap, but remember you get what you pay for, 9p Aldi baked beans will do the job, but they're not Heinz
they do speek english and very good to you just need to speek nice to them explain things well and they will sort things. i have had signal in most of manchester and leeds when i go there for football. my family who live there are all on 3 they get top signal to.
Originally Posted by chocolate_boy:
“I had some major problems with them, could not get a mobile reception in some pretty major cities, in Leeds and Manchester there would be times my signal would drop out for ages. I missed a lot of important business calls due to this.
Upon trying to speak to them, be warned all their call centers are in Delhi in India, and they employ locals who can barely speak English, and only give you the pre-scripted responses on the computer screen.
I got incredibly annoyed with them, having telephoned everyday for the best part of two weeks, being put on hold, transferred from department to department, only to be put back to the same person again.
I did manage to eventually cancel my contract after a few months, due to not fulfilling the contract (I couldn't use my phone when I wanted to), they cancelled it, my phone was disconnected and I sent the handset back.. imagine my surprise to find out they kept billing me for months after! I even went to the bank and cancelled the direct debit, they SET IT UP AGAIN!! They actually took an extra 3 months out of my account until I threatened to sue them and put a perminent block on 3 with my bank.
I didn't hear from them again or get the 3 months of bills back, but I just wrote it off as it was becoming bad for my health, all the stress they were causing me.
I'm now with O2 and couldn't be happier. Maybe they have improved in recent years, but personally I could never recommend 3 to anyone and still sleep at night after my experience!
They are cheap, but remember you get what you pay for, 9p Aldi baked beans will do the job, but they're not Heinz”
“I had some major problems with them, could not get a mobile reception in some pretty major cities, in Leeds and Manchester there would be times my signal would drop out for ages. I missed a lot of important business calls due to this.
Upon trying to speak to them, be warned all their call centers are in Delhi in India, and they employ locals who can barely speak English, and only give you the pre-scripted responses on the computer screen.
I got incredibly annoyed with them, having telephoned everyday for the best part of two weeks, being put on hold, transferred from department to department, only to be put back to the same person again.
I did manage to eventually cancel my contract after a few months, due to not fulfilling the contract (I couldn't use my phone when I wanted to), they cancelled it, my phone was disconnected and I sent the handset back.. imagine my surprise to find out they kept billing me for months after! I even went to the bank and cancelled the direct debit, they SET IT UP AGAIN!! They actually took an extra 3 months out of my account until I threatened to sue them and put a perminent block on 3 with my bank.
I didn't hear from them again or get the 3 months of bills back, but I just wrote it off as it was becoming bad for my health, all the stress they were causing me.
I'm now with O2 and couldn't be happier. Maybe they have improved in recent years, but personally I could never recommend 3 to anyone and still sleep at night after my experience!
They are cheap, but remember you get what you pay for, 9p Aldi baked beans will do the job, but they're not Heinz
”
Three has the best network coverage for me. The only network I have tried that works right at the back of my local Asda, every other network fails.
The scripted responses can be annoying, but I was told you could request to be put through to the UK. Never asked for it myself.
I would stay with them, but it depends on what they offer as an upgrade. Personally I would prefer something with a qwerty keyboard but not the E61 (if that is still available).
Look at this thread and you will see all the networks come in for a bashing from someone who has had problems. My partner had difficulty with T-Mobile and couldn't send texts. She's with O2 now and has no problems.
The scripted responses can be annoying, but I was told you could request to be put through to the UK. Never asked for it myself.
I would stay with them, but it depends on what they offer as an upgrade. Personally I would prefer something with a qwerty keyboard but not the E61 (if that is still available).
Look at this thread and you will see all the networks come in for a bashing from someone who has had problems. My partner had difficulty with T-Mobile and couldn't send texts. She's with O2 now and has no problems.
Originally Posted by chocolate_boy:
“Upon trying to speak to them, be warned all their call centers are in Delhi in India, and they employ locals who can barely speak English, and only give you the pre-scripted responses on the computer screen.”
“Upon trying to speak to them, be warned all their call centers are in Delhi in India, and they employ locals who can barely speak English, and only give you the pre-scripted responses on the computer screen.”
I had the same problem, spent almost a month trying to explain my problems. Going round and round and round and round and round.......and round the same people over and over again.
I then wrote to their CEO office and all my problems were sorted within 2 days, and a fair credit for all my issues.
I explained in my letter that i would no longer be dealing with three verbally and asked them to put a note onto my account saying that.
Now when i email them, either to change something, query something etc i get a nice email back, normally the same day. Never have to speak to them again.
Originally Posted by chocolate_boy:
“I had some major problems with them, could not get a mobile reception in some pretty major cities, in Leeds”
“I had some major problems with them, could not get a mobile reception in some pretty major cities, in Leeds”
You must have been with them a very long time ago. I live in Leeds and travel throughout I can confirm that the coverage is far better than T-mobiles and is on every bit as comparable to o2 or Orange.
Very rarely do I not have a 3G signal. For work I travel throughout the UK and I don't recall not have at least a 2G signal. Which is more than I can say for my company phone on T-Mobile.
As for the customer service. I think exageration is an understatement. Yes they do have call centres in India. The staff at the call centres are scripted, but they do have a good grasp of English and certainly are not your average locals. My experience of Three and most other offshore call centres is that as long as you speak to them in a calm proffesional business like manner, you'll be understood. I have never had an issue with Three's call centre. Yes they can be a bit cheesy with there scripts, asking about the weather but so what, it's just patter.
i was on vodafone, never got signal where i lived. changed to 3 and have had nothing but excellence. top signal everywhere, amazing prices. plus, they're not tight. i accidently downloaded a game and it didnt come through properly but it charged me, called them and they immediatly refunded me.
great service, i wont ever leave them now.
great service, i wont ever leave them now.
Originally Posted by thedoguk:
“i was on vodafone, never got signal where i lived. changed to 3 and have had nothing but excellence. top signal everywhere, amazing prices. plus, they're not tight. i accidently downloaded a game and it didnt come through properly but it charged me, called them and they immediatly refunded me.
great service, i wont ever leave them now.”
“i was on vodafone, never got signal where i lived. changed to 3 and have had nothing but excellence. top signal everywhere, amazing prices. plus, they're not tight. i accidently downloaded a game and it didnt come through properly but it charged me, called them and they immediatly refunded me.
great service, i wont ever leave them now.”
I would second most of your comments. Can't comment on Vodafone, because I've never been with them. The only reason I would leave Three is because I don't really need a personal mobile, however If they offer one of their crazy retention deals that I have heard of I might be swayed.
I think the OP should seek more local knowledge on coverage in his / her area from friends and family who actually have a Three phone. There are too many blackspots in all the networks to give a true reflection of the network coverage is actually going to be like for the OP. However for experience of customer service this forum is not to bad if you can see through some of the objective opinions.
3 years ago this May i left 3 due to faulty handsets all the time and poor customer service. I said i would NEVER go back and i'm sticking to my word
Been with Three for around 3 years. Great coverage, excellent tariffs, cheap data add ons, all in all I'm very happy. As other people have said they do have an Indian call centre which is the only downside, but most of the time they have been good when I've called.
3 are the best service ever i have 2 contracts with them always spoken to a english person and even better are able to speak to them at any time of day if i had any problems.
Originally Posted by dreamypuma:
“You must have been with them a very long time ago. I live in Leeds and travel throughout I can confirm that the coverage is far better than T-mobiles and is on every bit as comparable to o2 or Orange.
Very rarely do I not have a 3G signal. For work I travel throughout the UK and I don't recall not have at least a 2G signal. Which is more than I can say for my company phone on T-Mobile.
As for the customer service. I think exageration is an understatement. Yes they do have call centres in India. The staff at the call centres are scripted, but they do have a good grasp of English and certainly are not your average locals. My experience of Three and most other offshore call centres is that as long as you speak to them in a calm proffesional business like manner, you'll be understood. I have never had an issue with Three's call centre. Yes they can be a bit cheesy with there scripts, asking about the weather but so what, it's just patter.”
“You must have been with them a very long time ago. I live in Leeds and travel throughout I can confirm that the coverage is far better than T-mobiles and is on every bit as comparable to o2 or Orange.
Very rarely do I not have a 3G signal. For work I travel throughout the UK and I don't recall not have at least a 2G signal. Which is more than I can say for my company phone on T-Mobile.
As for the customer service. I think exageration is an understatement. Yes they do have call centres in India. The staff at the call centres are scripted, but they do have a good grasp of English and certainly are not your average locals. My experience of Three and most other offshore call centres is that as long as you speak to them in a calm proffesional business like manner, you'll be understood. I have never had an issue with Three's call centre. Yes they can be a bit cheesy with there scripts, asking about the weather but so what, it's just patter.”
I was with 3 in 2003 so you may class that as a long time ago. Maybe they have improved (probably, couldn't get worse!), I know the old LG handsets are not used now (dreadful), but as I said, after such a bad experience with a company I couldn't sleep at night if I didn't share my bad experiences. It may have been a while ago, but I certainly haven't forgiven them for the way they treated me.
Originally Posted by tn2000:
“Three has the best network coverage for me. The only network I have tried that works right at the back of my local Asda, every other network fails.”
“Three has the best network coverage for me. The only network I have tried that works right at the back of my local Asda, every other network fails.”
Who are you calling round the back of Asda?
Originally Posted by chocolate_boy:
“I was with 3 in 2003 so you may class that as a long time ago. Maybe they have improved (probably, couldn't get worse!), I know the old LG handsets are not used now (dreadful), but as I said, after such a bad experience with a company I couldn't sleep at night if I didn't share my bad experiences. It may have been a while ago, but I certainly haven't forgiven them for the way they treated me.”
“I was with 3 in 2003 so you may class that as a long time ago. Maybe they have improved (probably, couldn't get worse!), I know the old LG handsets are not used now (dreadful), but as I said, after such a bad experience with a company I couldn't sleep at night if I didn't share my bad experiences. It may have been a while ago, but I certainly haven't forgiven them for the way they treated me.”
You were with them shortly after they launched (03.03.03) when the handsets were not great, the customer service was taking a bashing from everyone, and the network coverage was still below par.
I should know, I was working for them throughout this period.
I believe they have improved significantly since then in all areas.
The handsets contributed to many of the problems, especially the lack of signal.
The call centre in India had only just been set up and the staff were all brand new.
The network was still being rolled out, and they were using O2 as a partner, so calls could not be handed over without losing signal.
you should come back i cant see you having problems with them when they only have the top mobiles at there network now they now share with orange and soon t-mobile to get the best signal in the uk.
Originally Posted by DXRulz:
“3 years ago this May i left 3 due to faulty handsets all the time and poor customer service. I said i would NEVER go back and i'm sticking to my word”
“3 years ago this May i left 3 due to faulty handsets all the time and poor customer service. I said i would NEVER go back and i'm sticking to my word
”
Originally Posted by chocolate_boy:
“I was with 3 in 2003 so you may class that as a long time ago. Maybe they have improved (probably, couldn't get worse!), I know the old LG handsets are not used now (dreadful), but as I said, after such a bad experience with a company I couldn't sleep at night if I didn't share my bad experiences. It may have been a while ago, but I certainly haven't forgiven them for the way they treated me.”
“I was with 3 in 2003 so you may class that as a long time ago. Maybe they have improved (probably, couldn't get worse!), I know the old LG handsets are not used now (dreadful), but as I said, after such a bad experience with a company I couldn't sleep at night if I didn't share my bad experiences. It may have been a while ago, but I certainly haven't forgiven them for the way they treated me.”
Hi Chocolate_boy. I can understand how frustrated you must have felt, I was with one2one when they first started and I had similar issues, (maybe without the sleepless nights though)
Three's network is radically different now as are the handsets. This is a big plus, alongside there fantastic price plans. The call centre's aren't quite "Class leading" but in my opinion quite acceptable.
I know after your bad experience, it may be difficult to ever try them again, however I am sure you would be very surprised at the change. They can be a very strong contender in this market if they can turn around some of the old opinions. I'm afraid it's the "Skoda" effect.
Originally Posted by chocolate_boy:
“Who are you calling round the back of Asda?”
“Who are you calling round the back of Asda?
”
When I go shopping with my partner, I go look at other stuff, then she phones when she's ready (or I'm fed up)!!!!
Well the only time i would use 3 now is maybe buy a cheap 3 phone second hand and put a 3 payg sim in it as a 2nd phone.
Good god. do not go with them. I could not be out of my contract fast enough !!!
I may end up buying my way out of the contract so I dont have to put up with the worst network in the world.
The customer support is shite. The service is good yes, but vodafone are better (7.2Mbps vs 1.8Mbps, you carnt even compare the two !).
I used to think that I couldnt care less about the support when the contract is cheap and you get a decent mobile - and many people on here still think that way - but my experiences with this network have changed my mind completely, you just wait untill you have billing errors that they think a £5 "goodwill credit" will fix - when they have overcharged me several hundred pounds ! FFS, do they have any concept of money ?
-Chris
I may end up buying my way out of the contract so I dont have to put up with the worst network in the world.
The customer support is shite. The service is good yes, but vodafone are better (7.2Mbps vs 1.8Mbps, you carnt even compare the two !).
I used to think that I couldnt care less about the support when the contract is cheap and you get a decent mobile - and many people on here still think that way - but my experiences with this network have changed my mind completely, you just wait untill you have billing errors that they think a £5 "goodwill credit" will fix - when they have overcharged me several hundred pounds ! FFS, do they have any concept of money ?
-Chris
The only place you going to get the full 7.2 mbs is in London or in a Vodafone shop if youre lucky
And vodafone are expensive when it comes to wireless internet
And vodafone are expensive when it comes to wireless internet
3 has transformed itself from dodgy nec and lg handsets to a proper mobile phoen network with stylish fones.
not only cuz i work for 3 but in comparison to other networks, the tariffs and free planet3 and internet content allows new customers to be surprised as to what these fones can do. once you start using the 3g services the other network handsets on 2.5g just seem boring with txt and voice only! as the integration with tmobile 3g happens in 08-09 it will be the number one network..... if only more customers looked ahead at what they are like now rather than 3 years ago!
not only cuz i work for 3 but in comparison to other networks, the tariffs and free planet3 and internet content allows new customers to be surprised as to what these fones can do. once you start using the 3g services the other network handsets on 2.5g just seem boring with txt and voice only! as the integration with tmobile 3g happens in 08-09 it will be the number one network..... if only more customers looked ahead at what they are like now rather than 3 years ago!
Originally Posted by riaz:
“as the integration with tmobile 3g happens in 08-09 it will be the number one network..... if only more customers looked ahead at what they are like now rather than 3 years ago!”
“as the integration with tmobile 3g happens in 08-09 it will be the number one network..... if only more customers looked ahead at what they are like now rather than 3 years ago!”
All well and good saying that, but 3 years is not a long time, and the awful service I had from them, and then stealing almost £300 out of my bank account without my permission, is still fresh in my mind... I shall never ever be going back to that dreadful company.
It's the same as saying, someone robbed my house and stabbed me in my sleep, then they turn up 3 years later and you want me to be their best friend, not a chance.
I accept some people now may have a different experience, and they may have ironed out some of the problems I had, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I ever go to 3 again, considering I had to go to a solicitor and threaten court action, probably not the best for me legally either.
Besides I'm not more happy than I've ever been with a network on O2 with with the revolutionary iPhone.
i guess some scars are deep! but only 3 can give you the broadband speeds when using mobile internet.. iphone great but features outdated
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