Meteor is bloody pain!

cojomo2

Hi,

Signed up to meteor recently, I know that I cant roam unless I wait till I have paid 2 bills (3 months), or pay a deposit. Not great but fair enuf.

At the weekend, I was meeting up with some Swedes..I was running late, so couldnt find them when I got there so took out my phone to give them a quick call(swedish mobile no.)...to get sum poxy recording saying that i cant!

What a pain in the hole..there was no way I was ringing meteor to ask them what the story was, last time was on hold for 31 mins..

Dankoozy

there are loads of networks you cant call or text from meteor. no satellite phones either

Sam Vimes

Dankoozy wrote: »

there are loads of networks you cant call or text from meteor.

Like what?

Dankoozy wrote: »

no satellite phones either

http://meteor.ie/plans/pay_as_you_go/intl_calls/anytime_xtra_etc/

They have a price for it

chrislad

Until you have paid two bills, you cannot roam, dial premium numbers and call internationally. Even then, you need to call to request the bars to be removed. I don't think an explanation as to why they do it is needed, in all honesty.

ardmacha

Firstly people with no record of mischief should not be treated as potential criminals. But even if this is to happen when roaming there could be a delay in the the bills coming back, but while making calls on Meteor itself they should be capable of allowing a few intl or premium calls up to a credit limit.

chrislad

Meteor do not have access to any records to say you haven't paid bills. It's an internal credit score. All it takes for you to have both services is to pay 120 up front which is NOT a deposit. It comes off your bill straight away.

ardmacha

That may as well be. However it makes no more sense for Meteor to prevent you calling a Swedish number than calling a Vodafone Ireland number.

Cabaal

ardmacha wrote: »

That may as well be. However it makes no more sense for Meteor to prevent you calling a Swedish number than calling a Vodafone Ireland number.

Yes it does, costs are higher meteor is entitled to protect itself against potential fraud.

to be honest its no different to the ESB, Gord Gais etc looking for a deposit for a new connection if you don't pay via direct debit, its their policy and if you don't like it then don't use them.

They are not treating you like a criminal so don't try to big something up thats meaningless by saying they are :rolleyes:

ardmacha

Yes it does, costs are higher meteor is entitled to protect itself against potential fraud.

Like how much higher exactly. What are the interconnect rates in Sweden versus those in Ireland?

They are not treating you like a criminal so don't try to big something up thats meaningless by saying they are

Well they are not exactly customer friendly either.
A customer friendly approach would say something like "no more than €10 of Intl calls can be made each month for the first 3 months".

Dankoozy

Sam Vimes wrote: »

Like what?


http://meteor.ie/plans/pay_as_you_go/intl_calls/anytime_xtra_etc/

They have a price for it

must be just Inmarsat then. can't call or text Thuraya and Iridium. there was some mobile network in Belarus? someone was recently telling me they couldn't text and a few others I can't remember right now

i also called them up where they 'unblocked' calls to certain numbers but they still say "We're sorry, the number you've dialed cannot be reached at this time"

chrislad

ardmacha wrote: »

Like how much higher exactly. What are the interconnect rates in Sweden versus those in Ireland?



Well they are not exactly customer friendly either.
A customer friendly approach would say something like "no more than €10 of Intl calls can be made each month for the first 3 months".

It's not just a simple click of the fingers. You need to have a system in place for that. Systems costs money to run, build, train etc. In fact, they just spent 3 years putting in a new one! What you are asking for might be possible in the future, but with their older system, it wasn't. Kinda like asking why an 088 phone couldn't send texts, or why a Sharp GX10 doesn't support Video Calling.

Rory B

i think were off the subject here. If you read the t&c's of the contract you signed it clearly states you need to pay a deposit for your international calls bar or roaming bar to be lifted. People should read things before they sign them!

Dankoozy

Rory B wrote: »

i think were off the subject here. If you read the t&c's of the contract you signed it clearly states you need to pay a deposit for your international calls bar or roaming bar to be lifted. People should read things before they sign them!

that still doesn't make it any less crap. just because they put that stupid rule in the contract doesn't mean it should actually be there

when i signed up to bill pay lite they asked me if i needed roaming or international calls for 2 months and i said no in order to avoid paying a deposit. international calls always worked though, but roaming didn't.

sdanseo

Sign up to a proper company next time :rolleyes:

Rsaeire

sdonn wrote: »

Sign up to a proper company next time :rolleyes:

And by a "proper company", are you referring to O2, who require iPhone users to sign-up to ridiculously priced tariffs, or possibly Vodafone, who love having secret clauses in their contracts, or perhaps 3, who make it more difficult than any other Irish mobile operator to unlock a customer's handset?

OP, while deposits, money up front/off your next bill, or whatever way companies try ensure they don't lose money from new customers, are annoying, it seems to be something you, currently, will have to deal with. In saying that, you could always write a letter to Meteor detailing your issue and see what their response is.

Dankoozy

you cant negotiate a mobile phone contract, they are written by the phone company for the phone company.

they also realise nobody reads them and therefore there is no competition between the networks for who provides the contract that is best for the customer so all mobile phone contracts are eternally doomed to suck.

scooby123

I signed up to Meteor Bill Pay two weeks ago. I got the Tocco Ultra for €29.99, which I thought was a great deal. I'm having two problems since:
1) No reception even though I live 3 miles from Limerick City
2) The Tocco Ultra battery is crap, getting less than 24 hours and has to be fully recharged.

Can I opt out of this contract, is there some law where the consumer can opt of a contract within 30 days of signing.

Mitch Connor

scooby123 wrote: »

I signed up to Meteor Bill Pay two weeks ago. I got the Tocco Ultra for €29.99, which I thought was a great deal. I'm having two problems since:
1) No reception even though I live 3 miles from Limerick City
2) The Tocco Ultra battery is crap, getting less than 24 hours and has to be fully recharged.

Can I opt out of this contract, is there some law where the consumer can opt of a contract within 30 days of signing.

1. I think you could get out of your contract if they are providing you no service (no reception where you live). I have read about this happening before.
2. Not meteor's problem, doubt you could get out of the contract be pointing to a poor battery life on the phone. Best you could hope for in this case would be a replacement battery or phone, assuming either one is broken (and I am not saying either is broken)

Walkman

scooby123 wrote: »

I signed up to Meteor Bill Pay two weeks ago. I got the Tocco Ultra for €29.99, which I thought was a great deal. I'm having two problems since:
1) No reception even though I live 3 miles from Limerick City
2) The Tocco Ultra battery is crap, getting less than 24 hours and has to be fully recharged.

Can I opt out of this contract, is there some law where the consumer can opt of a contract within 30 days of signing.

You will need to contact Meteor in relation to the coverage problem and give them the chance to see if it is a network issue and rectify it. as for the battery this is normal for the Tocco Ultra, I used one for a couple of day's and the battery was the same, I used to need to charge it when I returned from work every day.

Tarakiwa

100% - if you have no coverage you should be let out of your contract.
That said, I am sure that you will have to give them the chance to check the coverage in your area for themselves!

scooby123

Thanks guys for your help, I'm going back to the shop on Monday. I'll let you know how I get on.

b28

Meteor are a good network!i
I've had a few problems with my voicemail i.e people from other networks can't get through to my voicemail when my phone if off! but other than that, meteor are grand.

Mr E

Its funny that they're running an annoying ad announcing 97% coverage of the country.... I'd have expect that 3% to be north Donegal or west Kerry, not 3 miles from Limerick.