26 Mar 2012 - Update Highest Rated Pain Stories Highest Rated Gain Stories Vodafail Local Facebook Page
Dear visitor,

Since its inception Vodafail.com has made a significant contribution towards raising awareness of the problems and issues faced by Vodafone customers.

Vodafone Australia customers have had the opportunity to voice their concerns, their fears and their troubles from every corner of Australia and beyond our borders. You have gathered the courage to stand up for your rights as consumers and to make your voice heard.

Each and every person who shared their story should have a sense of pride in this achievement and the changes that have occurred since the start of Vodafail.com.

More recently, traffic to Vodafail.com has declined significantly. Having achieved the goal of raising awareness and promoting concrete action in early 2011, we have now reached the point of closing Vodafail to new complaints. The site will remain online for as long as possible as a reminder and an example of what is possible when we share our experiences.

It has been a privilege to run this initiative and I'm am forever grateful for the help and support I've received. In particular I would like to thank Melissa, David and Travis for their continued efforts over the past 15 months. I'm also thankful and humbled by the support of ACCAN, Choice magazine and a wide range of media outlets, blogs and websites.

You can still browse existing stories and find out how to file a complaint if you are experiencing problems.

Until next time,

Adam Brimo

Share Your Pain


Vodafail.com is no longer accepting complaints.
Over the past 6 months traffic to Vodafail has declined significantly. Therefore we have closed off Vodafail to new complaints. We think you will find more joy in posting on any one of these fine product / brand review sites.

You can also post directly on the Vodafone community forums.

Other People's Pain


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15703 Someone from SA thinks vodafone is rubbish at 18 Feb 2011 05:06:10 AM
VF is not what it use to be, had a VF contract 2 years ago and all was well, re-signed this month (Fbe) with iPhone 4 and service is rubbish, regularly no calls in or out and poor data. excessive witing times on support centre and after 10 days, they finally ring me back on my complaint email to accept their service is poor and has been for a while (they couldnt answer me why, if this was known, they did not disclose before I entered into a contract) and recommending that I buy a pre-paid phone and transfer calls to it until the network is fixed in 2-3 months time. Idiots!
18 Feb 2011 03:11:00 PM: Same problem as you mate, was the guy below

When I was talking to them they told me that they would waive the monthly amount and told me to go get a pre paid account with another provider while they sorted it

After a heated talk with the cancelations department, I told them no and sent an email to TIO

8 days later, I am a free man :D
18 Feb 2011 09:48:57 PM: and one more thing, I had problems in September and they said the network would be all good in a few days. I called back in a few days when it was still totally f*cked and they said a few mooore days. So there I waited... then it was still f*cked. They say 2-3 months which means whenever the f*ck they feel like it.

cheers

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15701 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is WORST SERVICE EVER!!! at 17 Feb 2011 08:24:48 PM
I am in the Australian Defence Force and when I signed up with vodafone I was reassured that wherever I went I would have full reception. Also that if I had problems that they are very good at fixing problems for Defence members. Ever since I got to my current posting I have very very little reception. Calls and my mobile broadband are continually dropping out as well as being extremely slow. Being in Defence I depend on my mobile reception to keep in contact with famile back home. Every time I have called to fix the problem they either hang up, never answer or never ring back when they say they will only be 5 minutes. I am sick and tired of their poor excuses and bad service I will be leaving vodafone as soon as possible and never going back or recomending them to anyone else.

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15693 Someone from ACT thinks vodafone is Complete CRAP at 17 Feb 2011 03:11:49 PM
Like everyone else had calls dropping out, no reception at times, text messages coming hours later, no data access in the middle of the CBD. Rang up to complain, waited 40 mins for the call back and within 10 seconds he goes technical issues transferring you now, was still on hold 20 mins later, got the sh*ts and hung up. Ported to Telstra and now i find i have a $700 early cancellation fee. Called them up and he goes you should have stayed on the line and called again, even if i had to wait forever.
Vodafone are an utterly useless service provider providing no services at all and then stinging people who go elsewhere to get some basic service.
17 Feb 2011 03:20:53 PM: Have you been to the TIO regarding this matter??

Would suggest you do ASAP.

Vodafail.com Moderation Team

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15691 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is Total fail at 17 Feb 2011 02:05:32 PM
I'm so over calls dropping out and delayed voice mail and sms and poor coverage that in frustration I smashed my phone, have now bought a cheap phone until I go over to another carrier. Last straw today, tried to recharge and are having technical difficulties, and call to customer servive dropped out.

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15690 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is biggest mistake of my life. at 17 Feb 2011 01:55:49 PM
since joining vodaphone i have had endless trouble!!! first my calls were dropping and then i had no service at all. ive been with optus my whole like but i got the iphone 4 on vodaphone because it was on a good deal. biggest mistake of my life!! the coverage is absolute shit!! they told me it was really good when i first got the phone and it has been all lies. i called up many times to try and get through but (surprise surprise) after waiting in the queues for hours, my calls would just drop out!!! which would mean i would have to ring back up and wait for many more hours before actually being able to speak with somebody!! i recently called up asking to cancel and for them to waive the exit fees as i was clearly not recieving a service i was paying for, they suggest a techinal investigation. there investigation came back clear.. saying there was no fault in the system. BULLSHIT! i called up the vodaphone company once more.. and mid conversation the call dropped out. the lady had to call me back. vodaphone THERE IS YOUR PROOF THAT YOUR SERVICE SUCKS!! the man offered me 4 months free.. which i naively took. now 24/7 my phone says NO SERVICE. not once has it come into service int he last two days. i cant call anybody, no one can contact me, i am losing work because of it. if nothing is done asap i am taking vodaphone down!! so fucking sick of it!!
17 Feb 2011 10:30:10 PM: Try turning it off and on (lol). I had "No Service" today on my iPhone 3GS while in the Brisbane CBD, corner of Albert and Mary. That's right in the city CBD and NO SERVICE! Anyway I waited 5 minutes and still no service so turned the phone off and on and then it came back. It will get you up and running until the next vodafail.

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15687 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is ITS A DISASTER at 17 Feb 2011 12:41:15 PM
CALLS GOING STRAIGHT TO VOICEMAIL WITHOUT THE MOBILE EVEN RINGING , NO RECEPTION MOST OF THE TIMES . CANNOT RECHARGE.
17 Feb 2011 01:57:39 PM: Call it the joys of being with vodafone :)

http://blog.vodafone.com.au/blog/news/recharging-with-vodafone-prepaid/

Vodafail.com Moderation Team

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15686 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Zero Coverage at 17 Feb 2011 12:40:39 PM
I signed up with them after being reassured that I would have network coverage.
Not the case and after several attempts at contact via phone, email and a visit to a Vodaphone store I was not given any solutions or reasons. Being on hold for no less than 45 minutes each time and told via email that the case I put to them would have to be dealt with by customer service. Still waiting for a technician to cal and that was over 3 months ago
I have since transferred to another carrier and am now getting billed by Vodaphone with the threat of legal action

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15679 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Very at 17 Feb 2011 10:21:04 AM
Can't get any reception and I'm in the City!!
17 Feb 2011 10:41:32 AM: put in a complaint to the tio and do not settle for anything less when you do give vodafone a flick and move to optus or telsra

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15678 Someone from ACT thinks vodafone is What network??? at 17 Feb 2011 10:12:46 AM
No 3G, No calls unless I reset my network EVERYTIME I want to use my phone then I have a 1 min window before my phone turns into a brick again! Well done Vodafone you've only had a year to sort this crap out...

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15677 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is completely useless at 17 Feb 2011 09:56:57 AM
i'm sick of having no reception... anywhere! i can be standing in the exact same location as someone on another server, and while i have no bars, theirs will be full. i've had it happen in a major city too, where surely there should be coverage... they're useless and something needs to be done!

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15673 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is Big at 17 Feb 2011 09:42:25 AM
No coverage, 1hour wait for help desk on phone, coouldn't call my husbands telstra mobile (it said it was disconnected) for 3 weeks until it was fixed by vodafail. no vodafones could call his telstra number. I tried contacting vodafone 4 times and each time had to wait over 40 min on hold to speak to an operator only to be transferred to another operator and having to wait extended times again.
17 Feb 2011 09:50:02 AM: Vodafail.com needs your waiting times to illustrate the unacceptable and excessive waiting times experienced from Customer Care.

Please use the On Hold Again? located at the top of the page to record your experience.

If you have tried to contact Customer Care without success or not to your satisfaction the next step is to contact the TIO.

The details may be found on the tab How To Complain located at the top of the page.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!!!


Vodafail.com Moderation Team

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15672 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is The Dark Side... at 17 Feb 2011 09:37:00 AM
After very frustrating and time consuming dealings with this company. After putting up with poor coverage and continuing dropouts, I finally walked away. IT FEELS SOOOO GOOD! Just do it people. I went to a major telco, the smiling, happy, efficient assistant solved all my problems in under 30 min. Just do it prople, get up and walk away. You will love it! Don't give them any more power over you. Ta Ta Vodafone.

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15671 Someone from ACT thinks vodafone is hopeless at 17 Feb 2011 09:32:11 AM
For the third day in a row I don't have a functioning mobile service in the middle of Canberra's CBD. Can't call. Can't receive a call. Can't connect to the Internet. There is full 3G reception but no network capacity.I have called Vodafone more times than I can remember but it's not getting any better. They waived last month's bill for me and they have said they'll charge me only 50% for the next three months but even that is poor value when you genuinely can't make a call. How long can this go on? I think we all need to warn as many people as possible not to get roped into a 24 month contract from Hell. Now, if only I could connect to Facebook to warn them ...

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15668 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Total at 17 Feb 2011 07:57:26 AM
No coverage, then when contract agreed to be cancelled could not get any confirmation in writing. Charged my A/C for monthly usage and am still awaiting a refund. THEN tried to charge me $641 for cancelling contract. I had arranged for direct debit from my CC and have therefore had to cancel my credit card. No way are they getting my money!

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15665 Someone from ACT thinks vodafone is ripping me off at 17 Feb 2011 06:20:48 AM
I've renewed my contract with vodafail twice and have always been with themn. It wasn't until recently that I realised the service I was paying for was supposed to be better than it is.

At least for the last 3 years I've experienced dropped calls, poor reception, inability to connect to 3G data and I always assumed it was the phone or just normal. It takes me anywhere between several minutes to an hour (if I leave it that long) to get my iPhone 4 to connect to the internet in order to retrieve emails or for an app (that's if it'll even connect at all).
Sometimes even if I restart my phone it still won't connect. Meanwhile my friends on other networks have no or little problems with any of this. I've missed calls due to poor reception and haven't got the voicemail until over 24 hours later. The funniest thing is when my phone is in my pocket with reception, a call doesn't come through but a text message from the person does come through moments later saying they tried to call and I haven't moved! WTF?!

So I've reported this to vodafone and haven't heard anything in over 7 days... If I don't get some kind of resolution I'll be requesting my contract be terminated due to a breach under the Trade Practices Act 1974 subsection 58(b) whereby: "a company shall not... accept payment or other consideration for goods or services where, at the time of acceptance... the corporation will not be able to supply the goods or services within the period specified."

I've also joined the Class Action suit to try recoup the money spent on a service not provided to me as promised under contract.
17 Feb 2011 10:37:18 AM: why will you re contract with them when you specificly know they have issue with coverage honestly its like buying home brand over normal brand.
you had an option to go telstra and optus

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15663 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is MEGA FAIL at 17 Feb 2011 05:36:47 AM
I have a prepaid vodafone mobile and sim and a prepaid broadband stick and they are both so SLOWWWW, last night i was trying to use the internet, it works and then cuts out although it says its "connected" but the internet explorer wont load, it is so frustrating!!! Then my mobile does not work properly, had my parents trying to call me, said my phone was off, even though its not, try and call my parents and it wont even ring, the Vodafone coverage is absolutly appaling now and i WILL be changing providers.

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15662 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is appalling at 17 Feb 2011 12:40:55 AM
I am outraged that vodafone charges me more than I have used.
Lara. I don't like your fake, dumb voice.
Reception is the worst.
Details of call amount usage takes too long to update and I get incorrect statistics.

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15660 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is incompetent at 16 Feb 2011 10:28:30 PM
A couple of weeks ago I lost COMPLETE reception: I could not receive any calls and could not make any calls on either my handset or on my wireless modem. Could not even get 2G (GSM) or roaming. Nothing. This went on for the whole day while I was in Parramatta; my suppliers could not contact me and said that "trying to ring you, it is as if your phone number NO LONGER EXISTS" - What does that say about my business and professional reputation as a private industry consultant and project manager? Since then, I have bought an antenna to improve my internet connection which has improved but my handset internet just barely works. I've also lost a contract as I was also supposed to submit a proposal to a very large resources company - that very same day! What (bad) luck!
17 Feb 2011 06:26:52 AM: You can claim losses like your loss of contract by joining the Class Action suit against VF. Just google "Vodafone Class Action" and you'll find it.
17 Feb 2011 08:36:23 AM: As above, or even simpler check out the How To Complain tab at the top of the page.......the details are there!!

Vodafail.com Moderation Team

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15658 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is Data Charge Spike at 16 Feb 2011 09:32:23 PM
Since Oct 2010, I have been getting surges of data which have been spiking my Data Usage. We previously my Data charges were negligible, I am now getting MB spikes which adds up to a few dollars here and then. So my Data charge for the month of Oct 2010 is nearly as much as I spent on voice calls the year before.

I am wondering if anyone else has been getting these problems.

Also reception is now consistently falling to 2 bars compared to much higher signal strength in the past.

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15657 Someone from WA thinks vodafone is at 16 Feb 2011 07:51:18 PM
Where to start?? Firstly they cannot spell my name right - apparently "Elizabeth" was too out of the ordinary. They cannot get my phone number right - I sent it off because it needed to be replaced. 2 months and after numerous calls to Vodafone and the insurance company - They finally realised it wasnt MY fault and that they had written down my number wrong. And the worst FAIL of all - they cannot get my credit card number right, so each month when I get debited, the next month I also get an overdue notice. Ive contacted them so many times I cant remember, wasted numerous hours of my life on hold, as well as many trips in store. Each time I was told that they have updated my details on the system, yet the problem still occurs, even though I always have money in my account. I have given up, and simply pay it as a normal bill. So my credit rating is probably screwed thanks to them and their incompetence. And yes my network coverage is non existent.

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15654 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Zero signal, Inflexable customer service at 16 Feb 2011 06:24:10 PM
Got absolutely no coverage at my place of residence.
Recently I had to reset my password for my online acount. To do this they send a SMS. Only problem is with no signal I don't recieve the SMS with the temporary new password to change my account. Tried explaining this to customer service. They were unable to to send me an e-mail with a new password,they were unable to reset the password for me over the (landline) phone and they were unable yo send it to another mobile number because that number was not a Vodaphone account.
Over the last 3 days I'm still waiting for 6 new passwords to change my account.
Bring on February 2012 so I can transfer to another carrier.
16 Feb 2011 11:06:30 PM: There is no need to stay with this shower for another year.

If you have tried to contact Customer Care without success or not to your satisfaction the next step is to contact the TIO.

The details may be found on the tab How To Complain located at the top of the page.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!!!

Vodafail.com Moderation Team

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15652 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is Wow... now thats bad service. at 16 Feb 2011 06:20:36 PM
16 Feb 2011 07:47:50 PM: I was on hold with vodasnail for 40 minutes yesterday evening, only to be put on hold again.Not good enough you

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15650 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is MOTHER OF ALL FAILURES!!!! at 16 Feb 2011 04:06:30 PM
I am in the middle of regular suburbia (Parkwood) on the Gold Coast, and the Vodafone reception is so shocking..... Need to stand out in a corner of the garden to hear a call clearly, so bad......
Getting out of my contact a month early, called a rival company and they have offered me $200 to come back. Sweet as, good-bye and good riddance Vodafone, you really stink.

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15648 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is epic at 16 Feb 2011 02:48:30 PM
Ok, well this is sort of a win/fail situation.

The irony is that I had a win in regards to a TIO complaint that I lodged, 2 weeks later I recieved the text message stating i'd been released from my voice commitment and to call their customer service number, it also stated I would recieve more info in the mail...

After about 6 calls to the customer service number to discuss my options on leaving and to finalise it all, I am no further than
before I raised the complaint, I can't get through! I have left 5 voicemail messages all stating my name, number, tio complaint number etc... it's now been 8 days, and I still havn't recieved any mail in regards to the contract release.

Customer service call centre in Tas is harder to get hold of than their generic indian line...


All I want to do is rid myself of this network.

Fail.
16 Feb 2011 03:38:09 PM: Go back to the TIO with your original reference number and tell them the story, the TIO can further escalate for you, if I am reading your post correctly the incident level is then increased and presto Vodafail have to pay more dosh......I think you will then see some rapid action from Vodafone.

Vodafail.com Moderation Team
16 Feb 2011 09:14:46 PM: yep def go back to TIO. same thing i did, and vodafone "tried" to call me, but called like 2 times in 3 weeks and both times in the middle of the day on a monday so i was at work and missed it. and then ended up just getting a letter in the mail saying i was released and could port out free of cost. haha.

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15643 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is Getting worse than useless at 16 Feb 2011 01:13:08 PM
I'm trying to call customer service, but my calls keep getting dropped. I get errors when I try to use their website for my account. This has been happening since yesterday (14 Feb.). This is in addition to the dreadful phone reception and on-off again internet reception.

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15641 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Extremely at 16 Feb 2011 12:41:48 PM
Poor coverage at home for 3G network. A " case " has been filed and I was supposed to get a call back within 5 days but have heard nothing for 10 days.

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15638 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is epic fail!!! at 16 Feb 2011 12:29:13 PM
i have 3g coverage for the duration of my contract and pre pay before hand, and amazingly once again i have ne access tom it at all, i need my internet connection and am still paying $150 per month for a service they are once again not providing. i have called several times aboutn this issue and have been cold transferred 4 times just today and still no answers! they keep telling me its my SIM or my phone, well, news flash is that its vodafone again. then the girl at the vodafone shop trys to tell me that iphone 3gs never could pick up 3g!!! what a joke!!! ive always been able to access 3g till now, once more, and the bloody phone is named 3Gs??? i am over vodafone, and been loyal to them over the years for a service they dont provide. i am in a 3g accessable area too

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15637 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is PAINFUL! at 16 Feb 2011 12:25:18 PM
I seriously think the network quality has got worse since this whole thing came out. I no longer get 3G capability in Rushcutters Bay or Potts Point - both less then a 5 MINUTE train from the CBD!

Not to mention the standard several minute wait when dialing a number and having to wait for a connection - if you are lucky enough to make one.

Vodafone is truely a pathetic excuse for a service provider.

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15635 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is Extremely at 16 Feb 2011 11:32:34 AM
I purchased an IPhone via Vodafone at the Casino Store in Melbourne in the first week of January 2011, and signed up for their $45 unlimited call plan. I was totally unaware of the network issues that Vodafone was having - was only informed of this by a close friend after I signed up. I didn't see a need to check Vodafone's coverage as I used them years ago and was very happy with their service and coverage. I wish I had. Up until today, 16 Feb I have had serious issues with data downloads (just logging into weatherzone has become an issue - at times it does not load due to network error). My phone drops out and often, calls have not been connecting. In fact, I tried calling home 10 times and after the 11th try - I managed to get through. Not happy at all as I use my phone predominantly for business purposes. I want to get out of the contract - however in the interim, I will join the line of very unhappy customers and will join the suit. The irony of all this, is that I have a 3G Kindle and I get faster connection to the net via this simple e-reader than by Vodafone.
16 Feb 2011 01:46:35 PM: Contact the TIO, I recently got out of my contract,was only with them for 2 months, first ring up vodafail and make a complaint,then go to TIO,they should be able to get you out free of charge, push your way and dont settle for anything less than cancellation from vodafone, if you're losing business they are in breach of contract so you have a right to leave.Goodluck
17 Feb 2011 10:39:20 AM: i did the same thing got my contract canceled and left vodafone went to telstra.

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15634 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Limitless Vodafail - I did not know that this could get so bad! at 16 Feb 2011 11:25:44 AM
For the past 6months I have had on and off reception, where I call people and my calls drop out straight away or in the best scenario the call lats 2mins and then drops out. Also when I was overseas Vodafone would deliver x100 msgs and calls from me, when I would either have a failed call or a msg that did not go through. My troubles do not stop there for months they have been charging me for voicemail, which had been turned off since Septer 2010! (i only found this out today, when I FINALLY got to speak to someone). Vodafone's failures also come to their stores and customer service teams, who constantly hang up during transferral or ping pong you around from department to department. In the last 6months TODAY 16/02/2011 was the 3rd time only in this period that I got to speak to someone, and not only one person but 7!!! I have gotten their names, and some of their extension numbers, which is a joke that there is no 1 department, which can deal with problems. Also only a miniscule part of my issue - the overbilling for phanthom Voicemailcalls (I have voicemail deactivated) we removed from my bill. My biggest problem of network was not solved, and by checking on a computer whether an area has coverage is not an investigation! They also kindly pointed out that I would be liable for every penny (direct speech from Arun) if I chose to sever my contract, yet not much could be done for a customer paying in excess of $1200 a year.

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15632 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Useless at 16 Feb 2011 11:22:37 AM
I have been with vodafone for three years.Very great until Oct 2010.When reception dropped to nothing.Ive in the middle of the Sydney.Have dropouts on both fone & broadband.WHY

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15628 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is my phone keeps dropping out, no reception FRUSTRATING at 16 Feb 2011 10:18:08 AM
I have been a customer of Vodafone now for over 10 years. It used to be great!!!! NOW its terrible I thought it was my iphone but after googling vodafone reception problems i see it is not.
I am on a $79 plan and I am not getting the service I am paying for. I find the customer service staff very helpful.

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15626 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Speechless at 16 Feb 2011 08:52:04 AM
After months of pain and paying $69 for 1GB that I can't use I had enough and called the retention dept. at Vodafone.

Being a few months from the end of the contract I would expect them to be courteous enough to wave the cancellation fee due to the network issues they are facing. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Here is what they offered:

1. Next 3 months for free to prove that their service will get better.
2. Migrate me to 3 networks for free.
3. Pay 50% of the cancellation fee. Approx $125.

I wouldn't have a problem with paying the cancellation fee if I wanted out for my own personal reason but this is a legitimate failure on their part and all the options given were in their benefit. Why would I even consider continuing with them, "even for free" might as well not even have a phone it would be the same thing.

I'm tired of trying to talk to "Lara", waiting for long periods of time, not getting replies to emails, etc.

Called the TIO, filed a complaint and not paying a single bill.

Vodafone, spend less money on advertising and more on customer service.
16 Feb 2011 11:19:02 AM: Yes

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15625 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is Huge at 16 Feb 2011 08:43:34 AM
Data network constantly failing, I have 1500MB a month be lucky if I can use 150MB! (iphone 4) reception going from full signal to nothing and calls dropping out. SMS failing to send and calls going to voicemail!

over it!

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15624 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is Mega Fail at 16 Feb 2011 08:40:59 AM

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15623 Someone from ACT thinks vodafone is total failure at 16 Feb 2011 07:57:12 AM
I would like to share my story with you all in the hope that someone else might also get to escapt this nightmare. Since October last year, my coveage has declined to almost nothing, and I have been dealing the voice mails without the phone ringing, the late SMSs, the time outs on 3G etc. But I did not realise that other people were having the same trouble.
After hearing about this site I decided to stop putting up with the lack of coverage I was experiencing. First I emailed Vodafone with full detials of all the places and times where I could not get cover (I nave no cover during the day and I am nor able to spend hours on hold on the work phone!).
I got an email back from them asking for more info and because of the way it was set up you can only really complain about one location. So I chose my work location as I am within sight of Parliament House in Canberrra but my phone is only useful as an ipod all day.
About a week later I received an SMS giving me a Ref No. and saying that my issues were being investigated.
When I had not hear within another week I then lodged a complaint with the TIO. Yesterday well within the 10 days for response, I received an SMS from Vodafone saying that I can cancel as of today and a letter will follow. I know that there is every chance that the letter will not arrive (given others' experiences) but escape now feels that much closer.
So people don't put up with this dismal excuse for a service provider. Be firm but polite, work through the process and hopefully you too will be able to get out of this VODAHOLE.

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15622 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Extremely at 16 Feb 2011 06:55:12 AM
I continuously not have service especially when I need it! My Iphone needs to be reset almost eveyday to attempt to gain coverage. I call customer service and they blamed me! I visited a store and she changed the sim card and advised someone would call me! Still waiting....................

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15620 Someone from WA thinks vodafone is Complete fail! at 15 Feb 2011 09:38:53 PM
The worst reception I have ever encountered. There are areas close to the city that are complete NO SERVICE and you have to keep resetting your phone and walking around and finally some reception, so you write a text and oh no, the reception is gone before you get a change to send it. I'm tired of missing out on work simply because I was uncontactable or not able to respond. I want OUT of my contract asap.
Oh and I'm also tired of ringing them...you are 4th in the queue, you are 3rd in the queue, you are 2nd in the queue...I'm sorry, the service you have called is currently closed, please call again tomorrow between 8am and 8pm" well the service was open when I tried ringing 2 hours ago!

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15619 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is Useless at 15 Feb 2011 07:45:40 PM
Charged hundreds of dollars incorrectly due to a 'systems error'. The back office staff are attempting to fix the contract issue and the money will be credited to my future accounts. Not much use to me as I'm now stuck with the interest on hundreds of dollars that was taken out of my credit account due to a stuff up on their part.

This on top of the usual useless reception and service.

Pathetic.

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15614 Someone from WA thinks vodafone is very at 15 Feb 2011 06:17:32 PM
Calls drop out all the time. Have to stand in one spot to make a call if I move I lose coverage. Since I live in the city and vodafone assure me that there is coverage, where is it? Can't get out of my contract. Have to carry another mobile from a different company. It is ridiculous.

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15611 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is Massive Fail at 15 Feb 2011 05:01:39 PM
I am constantly coping it from relatives and friends who say i "ignore their calls" when i actually NEVER recieve or had missed calls! My internet barely works, and i live in a built up area, im not out in the sticks somewhere!

I got a iphone 4 in my new plan which i was so excited about, but i am willing to just give back the phone and get rid of this plan!

I thought vodafone were awesome because i had like 2GB's of internet! ummmm.... i cannot even use MY INTERNET !!!!!! :( im so over it!

I had a plan with vodafone before this new plan, however i lived in a more remote place, so i stayed with vodafone for my new plan, thinking that now i live in a 'city' the reception would be awesome... WRONG!

I moved away from my home town for uni, i struggle financially, and it makes me so upset that i cannot even talk to my family as much as i would like, yet i still have to PAY for this horrible service!!!

its so not fair, and it makes me feel so angry and upset, its like they just take advantage of me. Im just a poor little nursing student! I just wanna talk to my family back home!

- Sarah

P.S - After ringing and waiting for AGES, i finally got onto a real human, and it cut out. I rang again, waited forever, and it cut out. A THIRD TIME i rang and it CUT OUT. There is now a beautiful big CRACK ON my screen as i PEGGED It at my wall at a great speed, and it actually got stuck into my wall. we had to bog up the wall when we moved out! damn vodafone should pay for that repair! ;)

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15602 Someone from SA thinks vodafone is poor at 15 Feb 2011 02:48:49 PM
cnr west terrace and franklin streets ,St marys College when school is out ( 315)
no coverage - no voice no sms , no web. Phone shows 5 bars but nothing

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15600 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is criminal at 15 Feb 2011 01:18:04 PM
According to Voda's coverage maps, I'm blanketed by 3G coverage - by at least 10km in every direction. Yet I often can't get a signal at all (not even 2G), even when outside, with no tall buildings in sight.

Vodafone's website is all but useless. When trying to log in to My Vodafone, four times out of five I get an error message (I'm CERTAIN my details are correct). If I do successfully log in, clicking on any of the links within My Vodafone (e.g. to check my usage) usually just sends me back to the login page!


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15599 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Excruciating at 15 Feb 2011 12:50:35 PM
Vodafone customers are expected to find a spot of reception and not dare to move a muscle. Travelling is not option for customers, the device you are using is not intended for communication, that's an optional extra but whether it works or not is not an option. This is purely ridiculous.

Calls dropped, dials failed, internet service access pathetic. Why aren't we told when we sign up? Because Vodafone Australia would not exist.

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15596 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Completely at 15 Feb 2011 12:05:31 PM
I lose coverage in my apartment! From the kitchen to the living room - it is insane. My calls drop out, my internet stops working... I am locked into a contract having to pay monthly for an unreliable service I don't even get all the time.

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15593 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Lost Cause at 15 Feb 2011 10:36:28 AM
Thank God I don't have one of their phones! Wireless Broadband is the biggest joke. We are using it on a stationary computer in a good coverage area and the dropouts are driving us mad. Have gone to another major supplier, service is great, coverage fantastic, no more problems. It obviously is not hard. Bye Bye Vodafone.

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15592 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Seriously at 15 Feb 2011 10:29:57 AM
in addition to poor coverage, drop-outs and failure to receive vcoice messages for sometimes days, sending email from iPhones on the Vodafone network has not been possible for Bigpond email accounts for several months. this has bene known to Vodafone, but did they contact customers to let them know THEY had the problem? No. After 40 minutes on the phone with a helpful yojng man to set u pa gmail account form which to send mail, I now find I receive all emails twice (once from the incoming mail acocunt and once from Gmail, and can only send from the Gmail account, hence now confusing senders even more with additional addresses. Do they stil lcharge the same for email services? Yes. Do they still charge the same for data that often doesn't download? Yes. Sorry, Vodafone, after years of being a loyal and happy customer, you have lost me. I'm looking for another non-Vodafone alternative. And i won't pay out my contract.

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15589 Someone from WA thinks vodafone is poor reception at 15 Feb 2011 10:14:22 AM
vodafone reception has gradually gotten worse.
Firstly I have poor reception at home but top reception of telstra!
Secondly I'm constantly reseting the phone to find reception.
Thirdly I fly alot and when I get off the plane in perth and turn on the phone, I'll loose reception three to four times while travelling o teh great eastern highway to fremantle.

15 Feb 2011 08:58:54 PM: argh! im in WA too and am also CONSTANTLY resetting my phone to find reception. I have nothing in Maylands, which is close to the city, and barely anything in Tuart Hill which is also close to the city. When I lived in Scarborough I had to go upstairs to get reception. Total crap...11 months of contract to go...

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15586 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is poorly crap at 15 Feb 2011 08:44:32 AM
I joined vodafone 3 months ago they told me they have the footprint of telstras coverage i was with telstra for 7 years i left them becuase the prices were expensive biggest regret i ever did. i was in geelong and had an car accident i could not even contact mum to say i am in strife.
i put a complaint in and got my contract waived. i have moved back to telstra best thing i ever did.
It took them 7 days of calling to end the contract
3 hours a day to speak to customer service they never follow up with my calls
it made me so angry.

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15584 Someone from ACT thinks vodafone is internet at 15 Feb 2011 08:32:32 AM
on my phone i can have full "coverage" on 3g and yet the internet still has no response and connection interrupted errors almost every-time.
15 Feb 2011 08:35:59 AM: I'm in Canberra too. Centre of the CBD. My phone has full 3G strength but I can't currently make a call, receive a call or connect to the Internet. I can't be too unhappy though because I was able to send a text message. Hooray!

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15583 Someone from SA thinks vodafone is Very at 15 Feb 2011 08:12:32 AM
Network not working (voice or data) in Adelaide CBD near Currie St, King William St. Has been down for much of the past couple of weeks.
15 Feb 2011 08:40:06 AM: put in a complaint to the tio i did and left vodafone to go telstra. best thing you will ever do
15 Feb 2011 09:00:26 PM: what's the TIO? were you in contract?
16 Feb 2011 02:55:34 AM: Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman 1800 062 058

They'll get you out of your contract obligations penalty free!!
They know all too well about Vodafone's disloyalty at the moment.


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15581 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Failtastic at 15 Feb 2011 07:30:44 AM
Outages in my area for 2 days.. on the back of constant low reception in my own home in a main suburban area. I constantly miss phone calls or experience long delays in recieving voice messages. When i ring to report this they cannot log a complaint until the network coverage is restored meaning i have to wait longer to get out of my frustrating contract..

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15576 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is at 14 Feb 2011 08:50:53 PM
today my town wagga wagga and surronding towns lost all recpetion, its the 1st problem i have had apart from when i was in qld with the floods which i fully understood why my phone wasnt working its best with coverage, but this is plan stupid, im unable to contact anyone and no one can contact me, pick up your game, im going back to optus at the end of my contract
15 Feb 2011 06:36:05 AM: And its still down, no service at all for at least 25+ hours and counting.

What a joke.
15 Feb 2011 07:32:18 AM: i was told on the phone today that there may be another 48 hours till resolution.. GO figure!
15 Feb 2011 09:49:24 AM: any idea what the go is? im in wagga too and have no reception AGAIN today. when i rang vodafone, the fella said it would be resolved within the next 24hours, and that i should not panic because my handset is fine. i explained to him that i don't care about my handset, instead that i RELY on my phone for work purposes! so he said, "turn your phone off and on and it will work for you".....what a load of rubbish. of course that didn't fix the problem. think i should just pay out my contract and move on...
15 Feb 2011 11:44:25 AM: yep, i posted that comment up the top, it works in town, but as soon as i go past wagga high nothing, its a joke
15 Feb 2011 12:48:36 PM: I live in Tumut and still nothing. Pissin me off.

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15571 Someone from WA thinks vodafone is VERY FAIL at 14 Feb 2011 05:05:31 PM
From December 2010 when I churned from Telstra (to Crazy Johns) I have had the following issues:
1) Little or no service in all areas of Perth
2) Cant make or receive calls in my house even though it shows full 3G coverage
3) SMS delayed by hours/days/weeks
4) "Network busy" or "Connection Error" messages on nearly every call I make
5) Calls lasting about 30 seconds then dropping out (in full 3g service)
6) Middle of the CBD showing 2 bars, non 3G
7) People call me but it goes straight to Voice Mail. VM SMS is delayed by hours/days/week
8) Customer service is crap. All I get it "turn the phone off" "turn it back on" or "please be wiping the sim card".
9) On hold to technical support for over 90 minutes (had to hang up eventually)
10) Can not understand the customer service person (speak english please...)
11) Days go past where I can not make calls (phone shows full service and full battery).
11) My wifes Vodafone phone has excatly the same problems so it is not my phone.

If you havent moved to Vodafone/Crazy John's and are thinking about it...
STAY AWAY
Go with someone else, Vodafone/Crazy John's are the worst provider ever!

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15569 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Terrible at 14 Feb 2011 04:58:09 PM
No coverage, and on hold for too long. When you file a complain they tell you that it will take 10 business days to get back to us. WTF??? My company's probably losing money over this terrible service as well.

Congratulations, Vodafone.

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15562 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is epic at 14 Feb 2011 02:16:17 PM
Rubbish 3G. Webpages wont load, apps drop connectivity, calls drop out - all with full reception. Only solution is to restart phone.

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15557 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is whale fail at 14 Feb 2011 11:49:39 AM
Im am about to move to a new house that i am unable to recieve any coverage from Vodafone even tho on their website it says that there is service in that area. Now they are wanting me to pay $760 to get out of my contract.
15 Feb 2011 06:59:34 AM: I so agree with that.

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15551 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is A Nightmare at 14 Feb 2011 09:04:20 AM
I connected with Vodafone via Crazy Johns on the 4th of February, 2011. Every day since then I have not been able to access the internet without sometimes up to 50 attempts due to not receiving a strong enough signal even though I was assured by the Salesperson that the reception in Oakleigh was quote "excellent". They were not interested in helping me and said I have to ring Vodafone directly. After ringing Vodafone directly on the 7th of February, 2011 I ended up speaking to someone in Mumbai, India. They told me that they would run tests and contact me within 3 to 5 days. Well it is now 7 days and I have not been contacted with any explanation as to why I am paying for a service that is completely useless. Yesterday it took me 4 hours to access my emails because the system constantly times out due to the poor signal. Oh, by the way I have a WiFi pocket modem. Maybe that is the problem. Very, Very poor customer service in my opinion.
15 Feb 2011 08:33:56 AM:
15 Feb 2011 08:35:35 AM: and this is happening now vodafone can't even get a 3g network going?????

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15550 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Reception and Lack of phone support at 14 Feb 2011 08:58:28 AM
They are just hopeless, Friday night no reception or service what so ever for 8 hrs WTF. . . . . . then get on the phone to them to be only told that the department i need to talk too only works 8am-8pm third compliant in less then 3 weeks, they need to get there act together I am so over it I am loosing Business now because of their incompetence

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15547 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is Sad at 14 Feb 2011 06:08:20 AM
I have 2 phones on contract and no reception at home. I phoned Vodafone and was told to wait another 2 months whilst they improve their network. I am counting the days until the end of my contract, so that I can use my phone at home with a new provider.

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15546 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is Just lately - VERY! at 14 Feb 2011 05:49:34 AM
I have been a Vodafone customer since they started out in Australia - quite a few years, I had always been happy with the service provided. However, since I obtained my iPhone 3 some twelve months ago, I have had nothing but problems with Vodafone. Calls drop out, reception goes at anytime and in places that you wouldn't expect, SMS messages don't arrive or arrive two days later - same with voicemail messages. The most frustrating thing is when reception fails and I am with people who use other carriers and their reception is fine! Time now to switch to another carrier I think - am so over Vodafone!

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15545 Someone from ACT thinks vodafone is 3G, Poor reception, Dropped calls at 14 Feb 2011 05:12:52 AM
I must start with saying that the customer service staff at the new Pitt street mall Vodaphone store were very good and this in no way is an issue with them.
After recieving my HTC Desire HD(Vodaphone) on boxing day i have had nothing but problems with the network . Constant dropped calls in the Sydney CDB,Hurstville & Pennant hills areas.
To add to this the 3G network works when it feels like , my phone constantly either drops calls or has such poor reception that i can barely make out what the person is saying .
I have started highlighting my bill with the dropped calls and noting the times that my 3G fails & the sms's dont send however i am not sure what to do next . I also have a Telstra Iphone 4 ( Work phone ) which works at all times and is super quick while the Vodaphone network is down which makes the issue even worse

If i have two more years of this i

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15543 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is Superfail at 14 Feb 2011 04:31:47 AM
I am going to telstra today !!!!!!!!! Hurray !!!!!!!!!!!! bye bye vodafone ..... the absolutely pathetic customer service / no reception mobile company / no network at all since the past 6 months.

Finally I will live a life with network converge wherever I Go .......... Telstra "That's how we should connect"

Can't wait to get it today.
15 Feb 2011 08:37:37 AM: i did it today and left vodafone to telstra never in my life have is seen quick and relaible coverage

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15541 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is epicI'm at 13 Feb 2011 08:06:34 PM
I have been with Vodafone since September 2010. Signed up for a 2 year contract... $49 cap, 1.5 g download a month.. First 12 months was a $10 month discount and an extra gig download a month totalling 2.5... It's now Feb 2011 and I haven't received 1 correct bill, have spent a total of 6 hours on hold to vodafone... and am still not receiving correct bills let alone reception or internet usage..

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15531 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is No service, call dropping at 13 Feb 2011 08:10:16 AM
I joined Vodafone service the day before yesterday. From on that day, my mobile often have lost signial, sometimes it took about 45 minutes to recover the reception. During the network failure, i called Voda customer service, first time, they said my mobile has not been activated. I said I have already made a call and recived a call then they said it is hand-set problem. So i I said i change my hand-set(i have 2 spare mobile), they were working good and the the call was disconnected even if i have waited for 45 minutes until the voda support man answer. In the meantime, my mobile has recovered the reception due to the unknow reason. This morining I have a same problem. I have record my mobile showing no service state and simultaneoulsy i called voda, they gave me bullshit explaination like activation, sim fault and hand-set. I was very upset because I tested my sim card and hand-set. Finally they said my area is currently upgrading 3G network so I will have this problem. Why do i have to waste so many time until i receive outrageous excuse. On top of that, i can check their upgrade status on their website but i will have this problem until the end of March. So they recommand me to disable 3G service. Why they did not send me a text message in regarding this issue?
i would like to threw away this bloody voda service. I will put on video clip on Youtube. I will disconnect the shit service.
13 Feb 2011 09:35:14 AM: You wouldn't be the only one :)

http://vodafail.com/single.php?p=10970

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15529 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Very at 13 Feb 2011 06:39:25 AM
So i have same faults as every one else, mostly my problem is no reception t home (parramatta)..

So i call up vodafone, make a complaint they say there lodging a tech form thing to see if there is a fault and will call me back in 5 days, no phone call and 8 days later i call them back and they say yeah we have a problem with the tower in parramatta and it wont be fixed too 31st of march..
I say ok wait am i meant to do till then and they say get a prepaid sim with another carrier too then........ WHAT A JOKE
I speak to the manager and get my contract canceled, last bill waived, just have to return my phone.

WIN.. Already got a new phone from telstra hasn't missed a beat :)
13 Feb 2011 11:02:58 AM: what a fucking joke. its like yeah get a predpaid sim but you still have to pay the friggen vodafone bill till then!

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15526 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is BIG FAIL! at 12 Feb 2011 07:23:40 PM
Dropped calls, Calls not connecting, reception bars going up and down like a yo yo! FIX IT UP PLEASE! my phone is vital for my small business!
12 Feb 2011 08:22:25 PM: Bars mean nothing with these clowns, fone shows coverage yet nework overloaded and calls fail, data slower than dial up. Dont wait for them to fix it, they tell lies, I finally went to telstra, my business is no longer suffering while vodacrap deny any problem, or when the problem was undeniable, spent 8 weeks promising to "fix it by tomorow"

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15525 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Quite fail at 12 Feb 2011 07:12:32 PM
No coverage anywhere, even in the Sydney CBD! Internet almost never works and they are so unhelpful when it comes to fixing anything. Customer service is something that they should read up on.

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15523 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is 0/10 at 12 Feb 2011 06:09:26 PM
transfer of ownership - second hand phone.

3 will not change the registered owner if you buy a phone from 3. this means they will not accept it for repair. If you buy a locked phone and the seller does not notify 3 and provide their pin - you cannot unlock it from the network because you are not seen as the owner - even though you can provide a Paypal receipt.

They say they will never change the name of the owner of the phone on their database. The second hand buyer is denied rights to the phone.
12 Feb 2011 10:57:27 PM: That is not true. You need to perform a "Transfer of Service". To do that, the original account holder needs to call Customer Care and provide authorisation. The prospective/new account holder will then need to call back to perform a credit check. Once this is approved, the transfer of service is generally complete within 24 hours.

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15521 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is Reception Issue at 12 Feb 2011 05:44:13 PM

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15519 Someone from TAS thinks vodafone is Honestly hopeless, even dishonest at 12 Feb 2011 05:02:13 PM
Well, almost two and a half years ago I signed up for Vodafails mobile "broadband" in Hobart, Tasmania. I was on a $39 / month for 5gb plan. (I Think).
Once I set up I discovered that there was no reception at my house, and even when I connected in the CBD it would only ever connect via 2g. No 3g towers had been switched on apparently. Anyway I rang customer service telling them that without 3g they can't possibly class it as broadband and it was even too slow to log on to my account to pay any bills.
Vodafail agreed to cancel the contract and said they'd send me a mail sachet to post the modem back to them. No sachet ever came and no phone calls etc so I left it at that. I wasn't going to sit on hold for hours just to ask why they didn't want their modem back.
Anyhow, over two years of hearing nothing, and much wonderful service with Virgin and Telstra I receive a text message stating that my bill of $1009.50 was due. I couldn't beleive it and went straight into a Vodafail store (calling is useless) and find out that they hadn't actually cancelled my account and just left it building up a debt.
After explaining everything to a very helpful employee he contacted 'someone' whom organised to post out another sachet and said my account would be cancelled straight away. This time the sachet actually came. I posted it away and hoped that was the end of my dealings with this rubbish company.
Anyway....less than a month later I receive a text message saying that my bill of $39.43 is ready. The following month I get another one.
I then went back into the store, a different employee looked up the details and said he couldn't see anything on the system and it appeared my account was cancelled with $0.00 owing. Maybe this was the end of my dealings with them now?
NOPE. Today I checked my phone and had a message left by a Vodafail rep stating that I am owing $119.30 on my account and to give her a call back. Called back and no-one answered. This was at 6pm though. I will call tomorrow and if a supervisor can't sort it I will lodge a complaint through the TIO.
CRAZY, CRAZY, CRAZY.

Just a side note, I have read a few times on Whirlpool forum that people have posted their USB Dongle back to Vodafail in their supplied postage bag and it had gone "missing". Is this just a scam / convenient way for them to leave the account active? I honestly do smell a rat!

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15518 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Total CRAP!!! at 12 Feb 2011 04:15:35 PM
I'm totally sick of Lara telling me to "Hang in there, we'll be with you really soon". BTW Beware of her definition of "really soon" - it's anywhere between 20 to 70 minutes!
Vodafone is an absolute joke. Their network is garbage, their service is poor and their website experiences more technical difficulties than Apollo 13!!
Deifinitely not renewing my contract with them which expires in a few days.
16 Feb 2011 02:48:06 AM: LOL @ apollo 13 joke....nice!

In total agreement with you. My problems keep growing. Was just no coverage and service and all not being able to call/send sms. Now its everything under the sun!

I've had to chase them so long and wait on hold and listen to idiot machine talking Lara that I've almost memorised everything she ever says!

Thankgod for TIO! They're apparently getting people out of contract obligations penalty free.

Off to another phone company we go (yn).

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15514 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Hardcore FAIL at 12 Feb 2011 02:00:39 PM
My friend calls me and it always goes to voicemail even when I have full Iphone 3Gs - reception. Safari take forever and even times out, again at full reception with 3G coverage. Facebook FAIL all the time, not loading pages and even to load a comment it times out 99% of the time.

The calls will drop out at full reception even when I have been stationary for 30 minutes.

I feel like there is someone pushing a big red FAIL button everytime it happens.

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15513 Someone from WA thinks vodafone is Very bad at 12 Feb 2011 12:50:55 PM
I have been signed up to vodafone for 3 days now and the service network bar will not be more than two bars. Constant dropouts to no network etc. The other day i couldnt even call VOICEMAIL because there was no network.

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15510 Someone from SA thinks vodafone is VERY at 12 Feb 2011 10:28:29 AM
Disgusted with the vodafone service and VERY frustrated with the following network related issues:

message send failure
unable to contact people via telephone and unable to be contacted!
could not activate mobile data network
searching for network
unable to load network list
network lost: your selected mobile network is no longer available. You can choose a different network in settings.
no carrier.

I live in the Adelaide CBD area and the network drop outs happen all the time.

SUGGESTION: i'm taking a screenshot picture of everytime i experience problems. perhaps walking into a vodafone store with 83 photos of various netowkr message fail messages on my iphone 4 will prove to vodafone that it's not the phone its the network.

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15509 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Very at 12 Feb 2011 09:35:12 AM
Working for two months in Marulan South and Vodfone's coverage maps claim that I should have 100% talk and text coverage, with regional broadband. However, reality is somewhat different. Where I am staying, which is 4km off the Hume highway, has no phone coverage of any kind what so ever - let alone internet. So I cannot call my wife, at all, nor send her any emails. The only solution was to buy a T SIM card and they have full coverage on 3G that never drops out.

So now I'm paying $80 a month for nothing...

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15508 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is Painfully Slow at 12 Feb 2011 09:16:56 AM
I have broadband with vodafone and its terrible. Sometimes it runs in bps not even kbps. I find the more reception bars it shows the worse it is. Also have vodafone for my iphone 4. Completely pointless to have internet on your phone when it takes over 20 mins just to load google. Calls constantly drop out and always loses coverage. Especially in the city or at home (Derrimut). Most frustrating thing is the delay the website shows your usage. I check my usage often on the website. Last month for example, checked the website 4 days before the end of the billing month. Said another 800mb left. I did not use the internet again for 2 days and checked - still saying 800mb. I checked my banking and stayed at my friends house for 2 days. Receive my bill for $30 more than my plan. Apparently I went over my usage. A delay of 4 days are you serious. Its really ripping people on contract off. If you are on prepay it would show your remaining balance immediately and stop the second it run out. Seems ridiculous
14 Feb 2011 09:16:40 AM: I live in Oakleigh and have exactly the same problem trying to log onto google or any internet site. How can the salespeople blatantly lie to your face when you ask them what the reception is like. They are as bad, if not worse the the company they are employed by.

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15503 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is Very at 11 Feb 2011 05:27:57 PM
Live in Townsville, where they have 3G. When it works. i have vodafone internet and phone and both have dead spots all over Townsville! Certain places i go dont get coverage and i have to wait for call to come in or move around the house to get internet connection!

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15501 Someone from WA thinks vodafone is at 11 Feb 2011 04:46:34 PM
In wa the 3G network has gone down hill badly. From no reception to dropped calls. This is only on the 3G network. I have forced my phone into 2g mode otherwise I would keep missing about 50percent of my calls. Of which my voicemail may alert me to this 48 hours afterwards. I'm even paying $10 per month for data that is useless.

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15498 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Useless at 11 Feb 2011 02:56:04 PM
So a couple of months ago my Oct/Nov bill came to 320 bucks! Every other bill has always been in line with my $79 cap and never over and I definitely didn't use it more that month than any other... It was however the month that my phone started dropping calls, losing signal and generally being totally unreliable.
I've contacted customer services a number of times about the billing issues - which they say are not their issue but mine and clearly that's what I spent... It's ridiculous.
Anyway yesterday I finally had enough and rang customer services to cancel my contract because of that and the constant drop outs - they basically tried to say that it was obviously that I lived in a poor coverage area! Paddington in Sydney - I tried to make the point that the drop outs are TOTALLY RANDOM and occur for no apparent reason, I can be with other Vodafail customers and they'll have signal or vice versa but they didn't really believe it.
Anyway they're now doing an investigation - which I think is a total waste of time. they need to admit that there's a problem with individual phones dropping off the network not just the network coverage.
They also need to sort out my ridiculous bill and stop denying that also!!!
I totally agree with complaint 15280:
In short: Billing problem; dropped calls; incorrect advice/ promise by vodafone staff; on-hold for too long; overcharged; poor customer services....
11 Feb 2011 10:35:25 PM: so stupid. my phone is also going under investigation. ridiculous. ten working days the guy told me. thats two weeks.
17 Feb 2011 09:41:50 AM: Just go to the TIO and end the pain. They told me they were 'investigating' it. I really believe the only way it will be sorted out is to use the TIO. I found them extremely helpful. 10 emails to VF..k over issue and phone calls and visits to store didn't.

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15497 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is very fail at 11 Feb 2011 02:51:59 PM
POOR DATA
NO COVERAGE
CALLS FAILED
MMS & SMD FAILED
lack of reception
delayed voicmails
delayed texts- if even recieve texts at all

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15493 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is No Reception at 11 Feb 2011 02:38:24 PM
Over the last 4 months I've really began to notice the lack of reception with Vodafone in Metropolitan Melbourne. I found it hilarious that last Saturday night I was standing in the line at Hoyts Cinemas at Chadstone Shopping Centre and I had no reception. It has to be at most 20km from the CBD and the busiest shopping centre in Melbourne and possibly Australia.

I am waiting for the next generation of dual core smart phones to arrive in May/June and when they do, it's goodbye Vodafail and hello Telstra!


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15492 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Totally at 11 Feb 2011 02:20:38 PM
When I first started with Vodafone they disconnected my old service and then sent me my phone and USB - however they neglected to send any sim cards. After many phone calls and several attempts I finally received them - in the meantime I was 4 days without any service at all.

I have been with Vodafone for several months and have an ongoing frustration of calls failing, calls dropping out or no coverage at all. I also on occassion haven't received calls but much later have been notified of a missed call. I do not have a land line and wouldn't want to depend on this service if ever I had an emergency. I want out out of my contract as I am paying for a service that is virtually non-existant.

I also have a USB Modem (part of a combo plan) for the internet and have always had Poor or very poor signal when I have used it from my home. For the last 10 days I haven't been able to connect to the internet from home and have to go to the local library for several hours each day to use their internet. My USB Modem also works when I am at the library. I'm doing more work from home now and I have no internet service.

I phoned this morning to lodge my complaint with technical difficulties and was advised they could only help me if I had another phone I could use so they could call me back on that while they guide me through "trouble shooting" with my phone. My phone is the only one in the home and its a huge inconvenience to have to go and find someone elses to use. Surely there must be a better way of sorting it out. I was also told I could go to a local Vodafone store and they could phone me there!


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15491 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is ridiculous promotion fail at 11 Feb 2011 02:18:03 PM
Have been with 3 for a number of years, and off contract for a few months. Just moved house and 3 reception was consistently poor to non-existent. Tested a friend's Vodafone sim and got much better reception, and despite my better judgement (being well aware of Vodafone's "issues"), went into a 3 store to migrate to Vodafone. I signed up for a SIM only $35 cap with 500MB data (month-to-month, not a contract). The salesman tried to select this plan which appears on the current brochure and the Vodafone website, but could only see one called "SIM Only $35 Cap 6Mths". He checked the details and it said 0 month term, but said to come into the store if there was a problem.

First problem, I tried to register for the My Vodafone online portal. Entered my phone number and was told a temporary password had been sent by SMS to my phone to confirm my identity. The password SMS arrived sure enough... 32 hours later. Obviously it had expired by then. I tried about 5-6 times before I finally got it within a minute and successfully registered.

Once logged into My Vodafone, I checked my data usage, and was surprised to see that I had 250MB data quota on the account. I assumed it was a pro rata amount based on my remaining quota from 3 and waited for the billing cycle to roll over. Nope, 250MB again. I rang VF Customer Care, told a very bored sounding woman my details and the problem twice, and was then told that the call centre did not have access to the plan and that I was on a 6 month contract plan with 250MB data.

So I went back to the store, and spoke to a very helpful staff member. He said the call centre have more access then them so being told to go back to the store was rubbish, but he called Customer Care on my behalf. He actually had to scan the brochure to show the call centre that 500MB was part of the plan. After being on hold for ages, he was told that the "6Mths" on the plan name was part of a "promotion", where I pay half-price for six months. That's the good news. The bad news is for those six months my data quota is also halved. I said, "That's a pretty shithouse "promotion". If I wanted to pay less for less data, I would have gone on a lower plan, don't you think? And also, for a "promotion", it wasn't actually promoted any where!" He reckoned the plan shouldn't have been on the system, and I shouldn't have been put on it. Luckily I'm not on contract so I can cancel this plan or change to a different one if needed (or go to a decent carrier), but seriously, what is the point of advertising a particular plan and then putting users on a lesser plan than the one they asked for? How is that in any way an incentive? Nice to pay less but if I want 500MB I wanted 500MB, not to arbitrarily halve it and charge me less!
21 Feb 2011 10:07:45 AM: Just a follow up on this: I got my bill and of course it wasn't "half price" at all. I've called Customer Care three times about this issue and was told something completely different each time. One of the operators thanked me for being so calm and polite, as she was used to copping abuse from angry customers all day! The last CSR I spoke to said it was a "system error" due to Vodafone increasing the quota in their plans recently (doubtful as they've had this plan for ages), and she said she would increase the quota on my plan to 500MB. She didn't. It seems like they'll tell you anything to get you off the phone! It's also annoying that the CSRs never seem to leave memos/notes on your account about previous calls or complaints - every time you call, you have to tell them the whole story again, and they seem to have no clue what others have told you as none of it seems to be logged. It reminded me of that episode of "The Simpsons" where Chief Wiggum was saying to a caller "Yes, Mr Jackass, I'll just type it up on my invisible typewriter..."
20 Aug 2011 02:16:25 PM: Hi - very similar story for me. I rang a while ago to upgrade my data usage from the measly 50MB I was on. I was upgraded to the $35 SIM only Cap, having been told this included 250MB - plenty for me. Lately I have had some larger bills, and on closer inspection my data plan is still only 50MB! When I called the operator told me that a 50MB plan was the only plan available at the time! Bollocks!

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15490 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is at 11 Feb 2011 01:55:00 PM
Vodafone are useless, and they know it, call 1555 and speak to someone who cant talk proper english, they need to hire professionals.
so many people i know have walked out of vodafone, there going to be in for such a shock!
POOR DATA
NO COVERAGE
CALLS FAILED
MMS & SMD FAILED
This has been going on since last November!! 2010 wake the hell up!

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15489 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is at 11 Feb 2011 01:49:40 PM
Vodafone are pure and utter garbage!
They smsmed me i was about to go to another network then end up charging me for 3 months that i had no network, wake up VODAFONE!
You are losing 1000's of customers, you will go down!

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15488 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is EXTREME FAIL at 11 Feb 2011 01:27:18 PM
The data network rarely ever works and the call quality is awful. WTF are you doing vodafail? I just ported from Optus a few months ago because I thought their data network was awful in peak times. Vodafail's network is just shit all the time.

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15487 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is EXTREMELY at 11 Feb 2011 01:03:15 PM
I have not been able to send a simple text message from my iPhone4 since 10am this morning, according to the error..."Cannot activate Cellular data network" What a VODAFAIL!!!!!!

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15486 Someone from WA thinks vodafone is Extreme!! at 11 Feb 2011 01:01:35 PM
These are the emails I sent to Vodafone at the end of January trying to explain my frustrations with having no service... me not having service on my phone ended up being a danger for my life!!

"I am writing to inform you of my frustration with having limited or no service on my phone for the past few weeks or more.

I can not make a call, when I can it drops off part way through the conversation and I can't call back because the service doesn't return.

I can't send a text as is aways goes to my outbox telling me it'll try again later. It never ends up sending because it never get service long enough to do so.

I still live at the same place, I still work at the same job, so the location has not changed but for some reason, my phone is not getting signal and I am feed up.

I have tried turning my phone off, taking out battery, looking at the network in my phone. NOTHING seems to work!

I went to a Vodafone store yesterday and the lady gave me a new sim card. I changed the sim card when I got back to work, only to discover that I still had no signal. I went there again today and they said there is nothing they can do as they think it's that network itself!!

What I'm I suppose to do with a phone I can not use when I need to use it due it not having service!!!??? It is SO frustrating!!

I don't see why I should be paying for a service I am NOT getting!

Please contact me with help to resolve this urgently."


My reply back to Vodafone after they offered 1 month free access:

Thank you for your reply and thank you for offering 1 month free access but I can't explain how frustrating it is to not have service on my phone. Over the weekend I had none apart from tiny windows of service returning to my phone only that when I quickly tried to use my phone to call or text that it would drop out again.

How long am I *not* going to be able to use my phone for?

I live by myself and it's nice to know I can use my mobile (as I don't have a land line) at any time to call someone if I need too. Not having my phone working freaks me out *a lot!!*"

After sending that last email in January, I had someone break into my house while I was sleeping - at home alone!! Buy time I woke up a realised someone had been through the house I discovered my phone had NO SERVICE to call for help!!!!!
I sat up freaking out thinking they could still be in the house or come back until I finally got service on my phone to finally call the police!!! Anything could have happened to me!

Thank god they left me alone but not having a phone I can use in an emergency is a very scary thing and I can not sleep easy at night!!!

This needs to be sorted ASAP! The only thing that was keeping me with Vodafone was that I didn't want a new number and their prices are good but I have found out since I can keep my number a move to a new provider. Think I might have to do that from a safety point of view.

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15485 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is poor at 11 Feb 2011 12:54:36 PM
During the Burrill lake bushfires we suddenly got top reception the type we used to have some years ago. Bushfire out and signal drops out again.

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15479 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is Optus 2009 level fail at 11 Feb 2011 06:34:36 AM
Switched to Vodafone from 3 about four or five months ago. I thought 3 was notorious for bad reception - but nope! At least you know where it works and where it doesn't. Vodafone gives me "reception" everywhere and yet data works hardly ever. It's constantly failing over to GPRS - in the middle of the city! - or just refuses to open anything.
I'd go back to 3, but my money's on them using Voda's infrastructure soon enough. Pleast let it be vice versa!

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15477 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Epic Fail at 10 Feb 2011 11:22:36 PM
No reception when i just joined Vodafone a month ago. At first i thought it was my new phone but i realised it wasn't at all.
I get no reception everywhere. Network is lost all the damn time.
Im really sick of it. Ive been on this service for a month and already want to leave!!

11 Feb 2011 09:50:32 AM: i just called them up and they said its going to take TEN WORKING DAYS to investigate my account and coverage. im really NOT HAPPY. do i contact TIO now?
11 Feb 2011 10:34:48 AM: Basically, if you want to achieve anything with Vodafone you have to go through the TIO, and you can't go through the TIO until you've tried to resolve your problem with Vodafone. If Vodafone told you they'd take 10 working days to fix your problem, then that means you've tried to resolve things with them, so you can definitely go to the TIO.

The TIO complain takes 5 mins to lodge online, and means that Vodafone have 10 days to settle the dispute with you. If they don't, and you let the TIO know, then Vodafone are fined.

The good thing about going to the TIO is it means that Vodafone have to chase you, not the other way around - you could save hours this way.

Hope this helps! Good luck - epic journey ahead!

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15471 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is 8/10 Fail at 10 Feb 2011 08:40:59 PM
My iPhone data simply does not work after updating my 3gs on OS 3.1.3 to OS 4.0.1.
I thought it was just my phone and then i noticed that NONE of my friends who have iPhone's (all of them lol) have working cellular data on the 3G network. VODAFAIL

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15468 Someone from SA thinks vodafone is No reception at 10 Feb 2011 07:00:48 PM
11 Feb 2011 08:47:46 AM: Yes, service around the City West area has been non-existent for weeks now. Try switching off 3G if your phone supports it. This seems to fix the problem, but is just NOT good enough! The phone reports everything to be working, but no calls come or go, no SMS's and no data. Just poor form. I haven't had problems in other parts of the city (other than the widespread outage that happened the other week in all locations). It's useless!!
11 Feb 2011 04:48:35 PM: That actually worked! Switching my iPhone to 2G has allowed me to make phone calls, thanks for the info!
I don't understand why Vodafone couldn't provide me this information any one of the many times I contacted them? They really are hopeless.

I received a text from Vodafone cutomer care saying:
Hi Vodafone has agreed to your request re TIO Complaint to waive your Voice commitment due to: coverage issues.
Letter to follow with full details however you may port out / cancel as of today. Kind Regards Vodafone Resolutions.

Good Bye Forever Vodafail!

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15466 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is RE. Dear Vodafail..ex employee comment at 10 Feb 2011 04:52:00 PM
mate you missed the boat.
people arent complaining about their PIN or signing up with just a credit card....people are complaining about service being paid for and not provided.
I am complaining because they dont call back, poor record keeping in call centre notes, fraudulent sales (selling a connection to someone in an uncovered area- and then telling the customer it was their job to check coverage- hmm let me lick my finger, stick it in the air and test for coverage!)and Calls dropping out yet the call time ticking over and eating into your paid allowance.
Sure people could check out Optus and Telstra, but the reason we are posting here is because we are Vodafone customers and not being listened to by Vodafone.
Vodafone is looking as efficient as a government department in my books.
Oh and good work on becoming an ex-employee- its bad enough the existing lack of service without your merry go round essay without a point.

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15464 Someone from WA thinks vodafone is EXTREME at 10 Feb 2011 04:28:24 PM
No Reception for the fourth day in a row in South Perth. Have been told it's because Optus has locked the network in this area. We are a business based in South Perth so basically this week has been a right-off.

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15462 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is Reception at 10 Feb 2011 04:00:54 PM
Scince the 5th of February no one has had any phone or Internet service it is now the 10th and still got no phone or Internet coverage

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15461 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is bad at 10 Feb 2011 03:41:21 PM
my coverage keeps dropping out, was terrible in adelaide and not so good in brisbane, i have trouble using data on my iphone in brisbane aswell. I have 9 months left on my contract and I went in to vodafone yesterday wanting to upgrade to iphone 4 and was told i have to pay my existing contract out befor i could sign a new contract. It probably states this in the terms n agreements but who really...who reads the contract??? thought they would've wanted to retain as many customers as possible since theyre going to lose them all.....bring on the class action!!!!!

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15457 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is Major fail at 10 Feb 2011 03:05:55 PM
I have been with 3 (now part of Vodafone) for several years and had no problems, until I moved to Melbourne ... before applying for a rental property I went into the 3/Vodafone store to ask about coverage and was informed there was full coverage (for mobile and mobile broadband) where I wanted to move to. Of course, when I actually arrived in my new city, alone and overwhelmed, I found that I had next to no coverage for either my phone or internet. Going back into the store was no help and I then spent many phone calls backwards and forwards with 3 "Customer Care", being transferred from one department to the next with long hold periods between.

Finally they agreed to release me from my 3 contracts if I agreed to try Vodafone first. I stated that I did not want to do this as I had been a Vodafone customer several years ago and had been very dissatisfied with the service and reception - Only to be told that the network had been 'significantly' improved. I was given a credit on my account of $30 to enable me to purchase Vodafone prepaid SIMs to trial.

It took 1 hour instore to get signed up for the SIMs which ended up costing over $50 (once any data allowance was included) - for which I refused to pay and made the staff call 3 Customer Care to sort it out themselves.

In short, the Vodafone reception was, as I knew it would be, even worse than 3's! So I rang Vodafone to ask for this to be recorded on my account so that I would have all the documentation required to be released from my 3 account. The person I talked to kept telling me that there should be adequate reception where I lived and that it must be a handset fault (despite it working perfectly prior to my move) - he kept insisting that the only way he could help me was if I called back on an alternate number. No matter how many times I explained that I was alone in a new city with only a mobile phone and no alternate to use, he kept telling me the same thing. I ended up in tears on the phone and even when I told him that I couldn't even have a conversation with my mum without it dropping out, and that I was worried that if I needed to call an ambulance or the police that I wouldn't be able to, he just kept telling me to call back on an alternate number. In the end, I hung up in tears.

3 had also tried the 'alternate number' sham for the purposes of running 'handset checks' but had at least understood when I told them (for the 10th time) that there was no alternate number.

So, 3 finally agreed to let me out of my contract for the mobile and internet, without the cancellation fees. But they were unable to stop the cancellation fees from appearing and told me I would have to call back after my bill arrived to get the cancellation fees removed. I am also told that I am required to pay out the remaining handset installments on my phone (some $450).

A bill arrived and I rang 3 today to confirm if my direct debit was still active (given that they've cancelled my online access to my account details) and in the process found that they had NOT cancelled my internet account in January as I had asked, and been told had occurred. And they were expecting me to pay whatever pro-rata charges there were since this time.

I refused and spent quite some time outlining to the representative I spoke with that it was not my fault the previous person I had spoken to was obviously incompetent and had not done the job they said they would or made notes that this is what had been discussed. And highlighting that I intended to take this matter (and the overall completely horrific service received from 3 and Vodafone) to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman - at which point they agreed to 'make an exception' for me and waive the pro-rata fees on my internet account.

The distress this has caused me - in terms of having to justify myself and make my position clear to people who keep reinterpreting it and choosing to only focus on one aspect of my story, as well as having to repeat the whole, convoluted tale each and every time I have been transferred to a new department - the isolation I have felt all alone in a new city - and the waste of time this has all been has convinced me to make a complaint to the TIO and to never trust Vodafone again (Optus wasn't much better either - their reception was also substandard and the 3 hours I spent standing in their store on hold to their customer care team left me in tears and with a migraine - all to access their 30 day reception guarantee a mere 3 days after signing up).

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15454 Someone from QLD thinks vodafone is connection/reception at 10 Feb 2011 01:49:31 PM
Most of the time I cant get any signal in Brisbane metro area
10 Feb 2011 03:12:39 PM: I got four bars in the Valley. It worked for me there. Data never works well no matter where I try it. Oh well at least I will never receive excess data charges.