Is Three really that bad?????

kingaaa

A lad in work got the new Galaxy S 2 free today, s**t load of calls and texts and all the data he could need for €40 a month - they'd want to be VERY bad for a man not to be tempted!!!!!

kingaaa

...And he's just told me he gets free sky sports!!! (streaming) come on, let me hear from some Three customers that are happy with the service.... unfortunatley doesn't seem to be many here

bryaner

I'm with them and no problem.

kingaaa

is that for calls and data Bryaner?

cookie1977

I'm with them and have no problems either. I think they're the best network. As I say (probably ad infinitum ) get a free pre pay three sim from a store or online and test the signal where you live work and play. You want to see nice strong 3g signal before committing.

http://www.three.ie/shop/simonly.html

god's toy

With them about 4 years now and no problems here... lol well a text bug popped up on Friday but they are 'looking into it'

Yep the CS can be a pain to some people but not me, if you take a chill-pill before ringing them you will find them willing, friendly and very helpful, better yet if you do have probs just use the Boards three forum.

OneWayBet

Yeah I'm with 'em a couple of years and they are very good especially if you use a lot of data. Customer Service is mostly based in India and can be difficult to communicate with. The only problem I have with Three is that if you are on prepay (3Pay) they don't give you an itemised statement unless you pay 15 euro for them to send you one in the post.

The Orb

god's toy wrote: »

With them about 4 years now and no problems here... lol well a text bug popped up on Friday but they are 'looking into it'

Yep the CS can be a pain to some people but not me, if you take a chill-pill before ringing them you will find them willing, friendly and very helpful, better yet if you do have probs just use the Boards three forum.

I must disagree, on the boards CS forum Three are spectacularly awful for addressing any issues, in fact they don't address them, at all, ever.
I have the iP4, generally grand, the 3G switching is an issue, not too bad for me , awful for others, read the Thread for the ultimate example of Three CS avoiding an issue. You do get more for your money but there are drawbacks.

srsly78

Yes they are that bad.

gpjordanf1

kingaaa wrote: »

A lad in work got the new Galaxy S 2 free today, s**t load of calls and texts and all the data he could need for €40 a month - they'd want to be VERY bad for a man not to be tempted!!!!!

They are fine, with them years, like everything the road was bumpy at times but generally fine. Customer service is improving and the upgrades section is an Irish call center, so thats good too.

And the bottom line is nobody can touch them for value for money, great plans, I work in the North sometimes and the 3 like home is awesome, staying in a hotel trying to charge you £5 per hour for broadband and I say no thanks. HA! Samsung Galaxy S Mobile Access Point. Did I mention that Rocks! Anyway go for it, some whingers on here will never be happy!

chimpo85

I am currently getting very tempted by the Free Iphone 4, 24 month contract though

Kensington

No complaints here either, iPhone 4 on Three for the past few months. If you are in a good 3G coverage area the deal is unbeatable.
As with all the networks though, you will encounter problem areas with weak/no coverage. Three do roam on the Vodafone network for calls and texts at least, outside of Three "native" coverage. So while data may not be fast, the phone functions will still work.

As cookie says, get yourself a Three SIM, check out coverage in the areas you frequent. It will quickly become apparent if Three is for you. Some people whine about Three but I could name numerous areas where all of the other networks fail.

As for the two year contract - how often do you intend replacing your handset? I bought my iPhone upfront last October but I expect to keep it at the very least another year, may as well be two years at this stage! The iP4 is still quite advanced spec-wise.

kingaaa

what are the prices like for roaming and using data abroad?

Kenny Logins

They do have great deals and offers, I'd still be with them if it wasn't for the awful 2G/3G handover issue, an issue they haven't acknowledged yet.

You might be OK, but for me it rendered the phone (data and sometimes SMS) almost useless.

srsly78

My experience was just as Kenny describes. I also know several people who have quit 3 for the same reasons.

@kingaaa: They are great for roaming and data abroad. Only problem is once you step back into the republic it goes to sh1t

cookie1977

kingaaa wrote: »

what are the prices like for roaming and using data abroad?

In countries where there's a Three network (UK Australia Sweden Italy etc...) You r data and minutes used there come out of your allowance i.e. you've unlimited data when roaming on a Three network abroad. You can also call the UK and use 50% of your flex units so it doesn't cost you money. Very handy indeed.

Tinie

srsly78 wrote: »

Yes they are that bad.

Elaborate please.

srsly78

See Kenny's post above. Also see complaint megathreads: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1367

The_Shotz

I was thinking of moving to three for a while but read a lot of bad stuff about them.

But I took the plunge yesterday, I got the samsung galaxy s2 on the €40 a month for 24months.

Voice calls and text I have no issue with what so ever, so far. Sometimes the internet can be a bit slow, but thats not a huge issue for me.

I'll keep you updated but so far so good and hopefully it will stay like that.

I was also notified that is I had problems with the network within 14 days I could terminate the contract and return the phone.

kingaaa

The_Shotz wrote: »

I was thinking of moving to three for a while but read a lot of bad stuff about them.

But I took the plunge yesterday, I got the samsung galaxy s2 on the €40 a month for 24months.

Voice calls and text I have no issue with what so ever, so far. Sometimes the internet can be a bit slow, but thats not a huge issue for me.

I'll keep you updated but so far so good and hopefully it will stay like that.

I was also notified that is I had problems with the network within 14 days I could terminate the contract and return the phone.

Thanks shotz, I'd be very interested to know how you get on.

muingwee

Hi this is a warning messasge for you all not to use the three mobile phone service well not if you want to keep your job ! I have been with three mobile phone for a year wanted to upgrade to a new iphone went to the shop in Tralee to do so, I had to sign a new contract with a new phone number so I could do it in the three shop because I just cant be bothered with the Indian call centre. That was fine, till the phone went wrong the shop didnt really want to know and i was left without a phone during a night shift because it came up with restore. Anyway after much arguement got a new iphone that was fine until it came up for swopping over to the other sim card. I phoned the Indian call centre the a few days before said that no matter what I couldnt be cut off I was working that night ( I work for an emergency service and do on call which means I need my mobile phone to be dispatched onto 999 calls in the night) woke up this morning my control room had been trying to contact me but my phone said NO SIGNAL I had been cut off. This is a sackable offence in my job this was not good news, spoke to the three customer service well my husband did because i would have lost the plot with India and they wont even switch my phone over or speak to me until 9am cos there is no superviser on duty. PLEASE PLEASE think before ever getting involved with 3 I could have lost my job over this last night despite reassurances that all was well I didnt even want another sim card and number for a month but the three shop insisted (think it must involve commision) and if you do have a problem the Indian call centre are terrible and thats if you can get to speak to someone you can understand.

OneWayBet

All networks have blackspots. I find Three's network very good, anyway the bottom line is that if someone is interested in Three's offers they should do a test run with a prepay sim to see if they are happy with the service before committing to a contract, same goes for any other network.

muingwee

Hi already did that with a pre pay sim good coverage in our area issue is with call centre in India who cut me off in the night without warning despite promises that all was okay and they would sort it out today. Most people in my service have the iphone not with three and have had no issues

kingaaa

srsly78 wrote: »

See Kenny's post above. Also see complaint megathreads: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1367

Wow!!! just been looking at this forum - there are some horror stories over there!! Im not only worrying about call and internet reception now - this Indian call-centre seems to be outrageously bad??

Paparazzo

I was with them before.
Basically couldn't send or receive texts for the first 2 months. 2 poxy months to sort it, onto their pòxy customer service every couple of days. I was on a contract and threatened to quit cos I'm not getting the service I signed up to. They told me part of the contract was that if they were making an effort to fix the problem, it wasn't a valid reason and I'd be in breach of contract.
Never offered me a penny off the bill for compensation. I had pleasure of telling them to fùck off at the end of the year. I use texts all the time, so it was like having no phone for 2 months.
Now when I'm changing networks I don't even consider 3 as an option.

cookie1977

Paparazzo wrote: »

I was with them before.
Basically couldn't send or receive texts for the first 2 months. 2 poxy months to sort it, onto their pòxy customer service every couple of days. I was on a contract and threatened to quit cos I'm not getting the service I signed up to. They told me part of the contract was that if they were making an effort to fix the problem, it wasn't a valid reason and I'd be in breach of contract.
Never offered me a penny off the bill for compensation. I had pleasure of telling them to fùck off at the end of the year. I use texts all the time, so it was like having no phone for 2 months.
Now when I'm changing networks I don't even consider 3 as an option.

I'm thinking now that the more that don't join the more stable the unlimited data service will be

But seriously. All networks have their issues. There's horror stories everywhere. For everyone that blasts three there's someone else who appreciates them (as with allnetworks). Seems to me if you test the network in adavnce of moving and you pay your bills on time you'll have few if any problems. I do appreciate thought that some people do have problems and that three's collection techniques need adjusting but for me they're the cheapest fastest network I've ever been on.

kingaaa

cookie1977 wrote: »

I'm thinking now that the more that don't join the more stable the unlimited data service will be

But seriously. All networks have their issues. There's horror stories everywhere. For everyone that blasts three there's someone else who appreciates them (as with allnetworks). Seems to me if you test the network in adavnce of moving and you pay your bills on time you'll have few if any problems. I do appreciate thought that some people do have problems and that three's collection techniques need adjusting but for me they're the cheapest fastest network I've ever been on.

I have ordered a free sim, but I dont have a smartphone, so how can I test the data coverage?

OneWayBet

Three is a bit like Ryan Air, cheap and great as long as everything goes well (as it does for many people including me), but if things go bad no doubt they are the worst network to fix things up.

3Pay data is incredible value, you can get 500MB bundles for 5 euro per month - great if you don't make many calls as nowhere else can you get data on such a miserly monthly spend.

cookie1977

kingaaa wrote: »

I have ordered a free sim, but I dont have a smartphone, so how can I test the data coverage?

What phone have you? Is it a 3G phone? If so you just want to see good strong signal on 3G. If you can borrow a friends unlocked mobile you could test it on theirs.

cookie1977

OneWayBet wrote: »

Three is a bit like Ryan Air, cheap and great as long as everything goes well (as it does for many people including me), but if things go bad no doubt they are the worst network to fix things up.

3Pay data is incredible value, you can get 500MB bundles for 5 euro per month - great if you don't make many calls as nowhere else can you get data on such a miserly monthly spend.

I prefer the analogy to marmite. You either love them or hate them.

kingaaa

cookie1977 wrote: »

What phone have you? Is it a 3G phone? If so you just want to see good strong signal on 3G. If you can borrow a friends unlocked mobile you could test it on theirs.

I have a sony/erricsson w995 - I also have an old nokia n95 (the silver one)