Screaming at mobile operators

Banjo013

Folks -

There seems to be a lot of posts recently damning the 3G network because it doesn't work, and also handsets that don't work.

The operators are obviously just throwing any old product out on the market these days, apparently using the customers as testers. This is not good enough in my view. I have personal experience - I am at the moment in the middle of a rather large argument with Vodafone because of the service I've been receiving since buying into 3G before Christmas.

Anyway, many voices speak louder. What do people say about forming some kind of lobby group to get at the operators more forcefully ? If they're dealing with just one customer they find it easy to just fob them off. However dealing with a large group of customers wouldn't be so easy. Also it could potentially mean having exposure to the media - I'm more than sure that certain daily papers would like to get wind of a group of people who have come together to scream blue murder with the operators in Ireland.

Alternatively, to keep it more tame, we could just get something like a massive petition together and sent to the operators, just to show the public isn't taking this without a fight.

What are the opinions ? My own is for the former, to come together as a group.

ranDom_tAsk

I think this ia as absoloute great idea which has to be done, for our own sakes aswell as more and more ppl joining on to these networks.

Where do I sign ?

I think "We" the general public should set up a massive petition and send a copy of it into the 3 current networks that are up and running in Ireland. And maybe send a copy into Comreg to see how they can help us as well as comsumer rights.

We should set up a body like MIJAG.

It's about time we got this sorted once and for all.

We are not getting a proper service, it's a joke but it's the operators who are doing the laughing, all the way to the bank with our money.

lomb

Banjo013 wrote:

Folks -

There seems to be a lot of posts recently damning the 3G network because it doesn't work, and also handsets that don't work.

The operators are obviously just throwing any old product out on the market these days, apparently using the customers as testers. This is not good enough in my view. I have personal experience - I am at the moment in the middle of a rather large argument with Vodafone because of the service I've been receiving since buying into 3G before Christmas.

Anyway, many voices speak louder. What do people say about forming some kind of lobby group to get at the operators more forcefully ? If they're dealing with just one customer they find it easy to just fob them off. However dealing with a large group of customers wouldn't be so easy. Also it could potentially mean having exposure to the media - I'm more than sure that certain daily papers would like to get wind of a group of people who have come together to scream blue murder with the operators in Ireland.

Alternatively, to keep it more tame, we could just get something like a massive petition together and sent to the operators, just to show the public isn't taking this without a fight.

What are the opinions ? My own is for the former, to come together as a group.

what problems u havind and which handset do u have? problem is they have hugh investments and need a return and products are being rushed to market without beta testing.

Banjo013

lomb wrote:

what problems u havind and which handset do u have? problem is they have hugh investments and need a return and products are being rushed to market without beta testing.

Yeah I'm aware of the huge investments etc. Point is, the customers should not be the ones to do the beta testing at THEIR OWN expense.

I've got a Motorola V980. Problems are far too many to list but here's a few of the top ones :-

won't dial any numbers
switches itself off in the middle of almost every call
almost non existant coverage
won't switch to 2G if 3G is not available
battery life of less than 12 hours, even if the phone isn't used

Thing that really pi**es me off is that when I went to buy it, the Vodafone salesman in the shop (The Square) did what looked like this big technical and scientific analysis of the tarriff I was on, and came up with this new tarriff which he said would materialise into smaller bills based on my usage patterns. Well - my bills have doubled since then (no exaduration) and I haven't been using it any more than I ever did.

Don't know about anyone else, but in my book that's illegal.

pleba

ranDom_tAsk wrote:

We are not getting a proper service, it's a joke but it's the operators who are doing the laughing, all the way to the bank with our money.

this kind of statement still makes me cringe.
why do we Irish people love to give out at every possible opportunity.
In my opinion you have two choices here.....

1) change Operators
2) stop using a mobile phone altogether

No one forces us to use mobile phones.
I can understand that if you sign up for a service and it's not good enough then fair enough you are entitled to complain, but if you have complained and are still not satisfied then you should take action and choose one of the two options above. It really should be as simple as that. I have seen people posting on here day in day out complaining about the service they are receiving, but these same people never seem to take any action. It appears to be a love of complaining that drives them!

In relation to this specific 3G complaint, there is no point in setting up a body or group to collectively complain (in my opinion), as there is only one operator providing the 3G service. Until such a time as 3 and O2 launch their services there will be nothing to compare Voda's service to. I do believe that by the time the other 2 launch, you will see a vast improvement in quality of the 3G service overall.

But please, whilst we all love a good moan and complain, there are other options out there.

TCP/IP

I have just sold my V800 3g phone as the coverage and quality of service was very poor its a shame really as I really like the goals on my phone, but it is more important to be able to make and recieve calls in my opinion ha ha

The Corinthian

pleba wrote:

No one forces us to use mobile phones.

No one forces us to use email or electricity either, but in this day and age try getting being in business without it.

I can understand that if you sign up for a service and it's not good enough then fair enough you are entitled to complain, but if you have complained and are still not satisfied then you should take action and choose one of the two options above.

Actually you could possibly also sue and get your money back, maybe even adding damages. Ultimately no number of disclaimers will protect a company if they fail to even come close to providing a service that you’re paying for.

In relation to this specific 3G complaint, there is no point in setting up a body or group to collectively complain (in my opinion), as there is only one operator providing the 3G service.

Actually there is as Vodafone undertook certain obligations with ComReg when it applied for the 3G licence. Additionally, if Vodafone or any other operator is failing to supply the services that they are charging for, then consumer law will most likely cover the matter and customers may be able to demand or sue for a refund. If this were the case, such a consumer group would be worthwhile regardless of how many 3G networks are out there.

But please, whilst we all love a good moan and complain, there are other options out there.

I certainly would feel that a good moan and complaint alone is not what this forum is for. There have been threads in the past where people have complained about the quality of some of the operator Web sites (specifically their free Web SMS). I’ve objected to such complaints in part because these are free services and not part of any paid subscription, but principally because these threads have been nothing but whining sessions that contributed little to the community.

Of course, while I’m presently giving this thread the benefit of the doubt that is not to say that anything will come of it. People in these situations are always open to subscribing to such a consumer group, as long as they don’t actually have to do any work. So if something positive for the community comes of this, well and good, if this thread simply degenerates into another meaningless bitching session then I’ll close it down and suggest that posters take their whining to the After Hours board.

Banjo013

The Corinthian wrote:

if this thread simply degenerates into another meaningless bitching session then I’ll close it down and suggest that posters take their whining to the After Hours board.

Well said.

Never wanted this thread to be a moaning session. I asked a fairly simple question really ... and I'm surprised that despite all the bitching and moaning people are willing to do, look how many are actually willing to lift a finger to actually do anything about it.

As the originator of the thread, I'm happy for you to close it down right now. Was a waste of my time at the end of the day.

Thanks.

The Corinthian

Banjo013 wrote:

As the originator of the thread, I'm happy for you to close it down right now. Was a waste of my time at the end of the day.

I said I am giving it the benefit of the doubt. If people are willing to set up such a consumer group I will happily help; if not then fair enough and this thread will peter out naturally. I’ll only close the thread if it becomes another pointless whining session.

Shrimp

Last summer, I was on vodafone, I heard about meteors "free texts" so I moved down to meteor.

I had to phone them up loads, and this one time I was on the phone to them, and the girl said, hold on I will put you on to my superviser, because I had asked for him. *Oh, and btw, I'm calling them from the vodafone shop on grafton street.* Anyway, he came to the phone, out of breath, shouting and sounding disgruntled; maybe I had woke him from his mid-day nap, who knows; thats just how unprofessional they are.

He was asking me what the problem was, and so I told him. He continued to shout, for some unknown reason, this was beginning to annoy me *note that the lady in the vodafone shop was listening to this phone call aswell, it was regaurding my network switch so it was needed that she knew what was going on* so I asked him why he was shouting at me, and that is was very lax of him. *this is the most idiotic excuse I ever heard* he said it was because he could not here me................*yes he actually said that*..... I paused, me and the sales assistant in the shop just looked at eachother, she rolled her eyes to heaven and began laughing. All we could here from the other end was him panting deeply. So I said, well sir, If the problem is that you cannot here me, then if anything I should be the one shouting, not you...... * he didn't answer that he must of been offened by the laughter of the people in the shop, it was on loudspeaker btw*

After this I had not had any dealings with there customer service, they are by far the worst "company" I have ever had to deal with.

All I can say is:

DO NOT BE A METEOR CUSTOMER

bibibobo

my golden rule i exercise is NEVER buy into new technology. wait until it gets settled into the market and cheaper otherwise you will be fustrated by being used as a guinea pig. always buy one or two steps back from the most recent technology. e.g. buying a 2 year old car, standard GSM, Pentium 4's etc....

Shrimp

*chough*Amish*chough*