I call people and I get nothing at the other end. They don't get me calling them and it just hangs with nothing. This can happen 3 or 4 times before it connects and this can happen about 20% of calls that i make.

Data? I though my slow painful data stream was the norm until I used my friends iPhone 3gs on another network and it was loading pages within seconds. It can take anything from 90 secs to 4 mins plus to load a page on the internet. On a game like bejewelled blitz i might connect once a day if i'm lucky, get connection error or no network the rest of the time. Apps or itunes is a big no no it just takes too long... all this time my battery life is dying. If i need to get emails it takes about 3 or 4 mins to download my emails. generally i use my iphone as a glorified ipod and a txt machine, so disappointing.

The trouble is calling vodafone is a joke. Lara is a nightmare and if you do manage to get put through to the right people she then tells you there is an hours plus wait. I don't have an hour to waste, I don't have an hours battery life pretty much because of the rubbish signal that i get. I rung the other day to find out how much it would cost to get out of my contract, I have been with vodafone for 5 years, 3.5 on a contract and still have 10 months left of this one, I was asked 3 times why I wanted to leave. I told him 3 times that the reception and data availability is not acceptable he acted surprised all 3 times and clearly wasn't listening.

I don't know what happened. I never had a problem until i got my iphone and i know its not that. Its almost like they didn't upgrade the infrastructure to deal with the new technology. Brand is not enough these days. I will be leaving when it doesn't cost me $680

I hate speaking to 'Lara' - tried every topic I could think of, but none of them took me through to a person on the line, I miss the people on the other end of the line at 3!
Reception is lousy and now my apps aren't working on the HTC - 'network failure'. Not happy.

No service for 24 hours, dropped out Friday afternoon of all days! Would get a second of service and I would receive a message that was sent hours before then would drop back out so I couldn't even reply or call. This happened all over town where I usually get full service.

Can not stand Lara!! They send you around in circles when all you want to do is speak to a REAL person!

After moving to a town from a city not realizing that the data would cost more I received an extremely large bill I called one week before it was due asking if I could pay it off $50.00 a week. I was told I must pay $100.00 a week off and if I did not agree to this they would immediately stop all my outgoing calls and messages from that phone call not from the date the bill was due or overdue...you try and do the right thing! I have been with Vodafone for 10 years and have always paid my bills on time and could not help me this once! Not once did he mention that I could change my plan to better suit my new living situation and a few more large bills arrived and lots of tears to customer service workers before a random non-vodafone worker mentioned this to me.

I am counting down the months till my plan is over and I am out of there grasp!

get rid of silly lara

Phone calls dropping out. No reception in areas where mobile phone indicates full reception. Unable to check phone usage on website, website times out. Phone usage from Lara is 4 - 5 days behind, therefor bills are overdue apparently.

Tried to register pre paid sim. Used LARA service, registered the sim by voice recognition. So far so good. Lara says sim will be active within 30 minutes. Try to recharge an hour later and sim not registered. Lara voice recording says this can take up to 12 hours now due to technical issues. Half a day later I try to recharge, phone sim still not active. Lara transfers me to a customer service rep who takes my details again over the phone. ( Surprisingly did not wait long for a customer service rep ). Rep take down all the details again as given to Lara 14 hours ago and says Lara sometimes does not work. Rep activates the service manually and says to turn off the phone and wait 30 minutes.

I turn on the phone 30 minutes later and go to put funds on the phone. Back to square one - phone still not activated and has taken me back to the initial Lara service wanting to take my details again.

What a joke. They can't even register pre paid sim cards correctly anymore. I am left with a pre paid sim that I still cannot activate after 2 days. Figure if I try registering by the Lara service again the same will occur.

Completely lost, will use prepaid sim from another provider.

i am a business owner and i do over 60 hours of talk time a month. i am a victim of Lara!!!!. I managed to cancel my contract after speaking to TIO.

after cancelling the contract i have been asked to send the phone back to them, however i realised that this shouldnt be the case as you are paying for the phone part of your plan. I straightaway called back and after another argument the fee was $244 (based that i had 8 month left on my 24 month contract on $99 unlimited cap).
When i asked them to break down the figuire they changed their mind and advised me that my payout fiqure to keep my iphone 3GS 32MB is $46.

Moved to Telsta only to find out my phone is locked. vodafone customer service said to me "sorry for the inconvenience" as it will take 10 working days to unlock my phone and will cost me $25

they are a joke of a company. I have been a 10 year loyal client but will never give vodafail my business ever again.

Where to start? Network is slow and drops out most of the time...especially in my area (Rothwell QLD). The texts I receive from Voda offering free calls and text messages and what not, but as soon as I top up I don't receive anything. I thought it was just my number but my partner is also with Vodafone and he has the exact same problem. Everytime I contact Vodafone service, not only is Lara annoying but the hold time is ridiculous. The last time I rang, it took me 2 days to get through. My friends and family are never able to contact me because when they call, it goes straight to voicemail even though the phone is not switched off. My mobile broadband was a waste of money as it's extreeeeeeeeeemely slow and I have to be sitting in a certain area in order for it to work. I have had it up to my eyeballs with Vodafone, it's definitely made me consider changing to another network.

Vodafone WAS a great service and over 10 years ago I went with them as the best alternative over the bigger telcos. Ever 12 months for a few years due to my spend I would get a call asking if I would like a new phone, which at the time I was out of contract and didnt have to resign just continue paying bill month to month. Happy days

Flash forward to last few years no longer speaking to those great original call centre employees, sometimes not ever speaking to a person at all....gotta love LARA who will only put you through to an operator if you swear at her. Or calling and being on hold for 50 minutes just for the privlidge of asking for international roaming to be placed on phone.

Sort it out Vodafone...yes I know I can go to other providers but fingers crossed you get your house in order

My reception is very poor. I have to go outside my house and move around the yard to use my phone, even then it my drop out. I have tried many other phones and they all do the same. If you use another provider the phone can be used inside the house no worries with out drop out.
I have been with Vodafone for about 12yrs this problem just seems to be getting worse over the last couple of years.

The customer service is shocking. If you manage to get past that machine named Lara all you get is "please hold, I'll pass you over to someone else, unfortunately bla bla bla......"your call is valuable to us". yeah right.

Just got a new contract late last year hope they get better or as soon as its up im out.

The mess im in is like worse than spewing after a night out on the drink!!!
Get it together vodafone and employ real people not answering talk back machines!! Lara needs to be booted!!! So does the CEO!!!!

Okay here we go. These guys are total tools. Sign up for a contract, says first 6 months are half price. Yeah cool, right. Get the bill and I am charged at the full rate. Now this is where the fun begins. Spend one hour on hold with that Lara saying "Hang in there, we will be with you soon". How damn Soon Lara??????? Then I call them back in the morning, another 30 minutes on hold before I give up. Then I send them a email. Have they responded? No. Now Im pushing about another 30 minutes on hold. FFS Voda, get it together. Heres Lara saying Hang in there, we will be with you really soon. And they want me to get a Mobile phone of them on Contract as well? Idiots, thats the only words I can use to describe them right now. Absolutely appalling customer service to spend this long on hold when there damn sales lines go straight through.

Half my keypad went kaputt. This meant I couldn't dial the number to most people, or complete a comprehensible SMS. After the usual circus with Lara, her friends in the Philippines, and many other symphonies from the Vodafone and Nokia muzak selections, I took an afternoon off work to visit my local Westfield to activate my "extended warranty" at a Voda shop in person.
Instead of any attempt to help when I explained my phone's plight to the young "gentle"men in the booth, I received in return, a barrage of demands, ranging from personal ID, proof of purchase, proof of contract etc.etc...Ultimately, they issued an ultimatum - NO job number (from Lara's telephone hotline) NO repair......"but she didn't give me one...but they kept putting me on hold.....but the overseas operator wasn't authorised to issue any numbers...." I pleaded. They were adamant, and to get me off their backs, they explained that they were "only" a private contractor for Vodafone. They sell their products, but don't deal with their problems. So my only chance is to go to the Voda shop...which strangely exists in the same shopping mall only 50 metres away????
So I repeated the same performance 2 minutes later, and unsurprisingly the same unhelpful responses and denial of responsibility.
Their first response at this shop was not so much an apology for the inconveniences, but more akin to a threat: "This is gonna cost you $100 just for an inspection...."
"But isn't the extended warranty which I have unfailingly paid for the past 22 months..."
"No!" he cuts me off..."You STILL have to pay the excess"...
"Alright then", I replied and started thinking about joining my wife's new iPhone 4 plan from a rival telco. "Since I only have 2 months left, what's the cost of paying out my contract?"
He became elusive, and started typing madly, hunched over his computer as if trying to hide my own details from me. Never offering me a seat, he finally barked, "If you want a new phone, you renew your contract NOW!"
"Can I get an iPhone?" I queried.
"Yeah, but you'll have to wait 8 weeks till we're re-stocked".
"OK...." I politely retorted as I mused at the thought of keeping my gammy phone for another 8 weeks. "...So what are my plan options?"
He then snapped out a series of options, still sitting there like he was the school principal whilst I stood like a naughty customer. Not once did he offer me one of the vast library of brochures, or pen or paper whilst I tried jotting down the costs on the back of a shopping docket.
The most useful outcome from this exchange was knowing that when I got my iPhone on the spot in a neighbouring phone dealer, my new plan was considerably cheaper than any of the Voda options. My penalty for early termination of contract is consoled by the knowledge of never having to listen to that annoying Lara again........My sympathies to all my Voda victims out there, and the woman who actually provides Lara's voice.

Where do i start !! currently living in Temporary accomadation since Dec 2009...
Needed internet connection so i thought i'll just get mobile wireless broadband instead of cable till i sort my accodation issue out...
So i went to vodafone my first stop and i went on the 24mth 6G plan sounded good to me!!! The employee checked the connectivity in my area Hurstville and said " oh there is very good coverage in your area so i went ahead with the contract...
Since December 2009 till today.. My internet connection has been terrible....
Talk about hormonal!!!! on a morning it will connect then at lunch time it disconnects or a internet page takes ages to download!!! so then i switch it all off and start again hoping for the best.. I then may try skype well forget it, never have i had a good conversation it's like talking to someone over at Gilligans Island!!! after so much patience i then proceed to call vodafone customer service thank god it's for free from a mobile phone..
So then begins the Lara Saga!!!! LARA IN 2 YRS HAS NEVER EVER BEEN ABLE TO HELP ME WITH ANY PHONE CALL I HAVE EVER MADE TO VODAFONE I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TOLD TO WAIT SO SHE CAN REDIRECT MY CALL TO A REAL PERSON....
BY THAT POINT MY DAY HAS BEEN WASTED !!! OOOOHHHH HANG ON A REAL PERSON THEN COMES ON !! AND NO DISRESPECT TO ANY NATIONALITY IT'S ALWAYS A PERSON FROM INDIA
WHO IN TWO YEARS I HAVE NEVER EVER BEEN ABLE TO GRASP THEIR NAME THE FIRST TIME THEN ONLY TO HAVE TO POLITELY TRY AND ASK 50,000 TIMES OVER AND OVER AGAIN WHAT THEIR NAME IS SO I CAN JOT IT ALL DOWN FOR MY RECORDS!!! AND MIND YOU THE RECEPTION TO THESE PEOPLE IS STILL LIKE TALKING TO SOMEONE OVER IN GILIGANS ISlAND!!!!!!
VODAFONE YOU MUST TRY AND UNDERSTAND PEOPLES IMMENSE FRUSTRATION AT THIS POINT!!!! IT MUST BE FRUSTRATING FOR THESE CUSTOMER SERVICE PEOPLE AS WELL DEALING WITH ANGRY CUSTOMERS BUT IT IS NOT THE CUSTOMERS FAULT HERE...
SINCE MY BROADBAND CONNECTION FROM DEC 2009 I MUST HAVE SPOKEN TO AT LEAST 20 EVEN MORE CUSTOMER SERVICE STAFF REGARDING THE CONNECTION ISSUE..
AT TIMES MY CONNECTION WOULD SAY USED UP ALL 6G DATA CANNOT CONNECT, OR IT WOULD DING AND FLASH LIKE I CAN'T TELL YOU..I WAS CONSTANTLY TOLD WE NEED TO START AN INVESTIGATION BUT I NEEDED TO CALL EVERY TIME IT WENT ALL FUNNY FOR THEM TO INVESTIGATE...
BUT" HELLO VODAFONE THERE IS NOBODY OPEN AT MIDNIGHT OR 11PM AT NIGHT WHEN MY INTERNET CONNECTION GOES ALL HORMONAL!!! NOT EVEN DAMMMM LARA"
BEFORE I PASS OUT WITH A HEART ATTACK ONE DAY TRYING TO DEAL WITH ALL THIS I HAVE JUST DECIDED TO DEAL WITH IT TILL I REGAIN STRENGTH TO BE ABLE TO SORT THE ISSUE OUT AGAIN.... BUT TODAY WAS THE ICING ON THE CAKE!!!
25TH JAN 2011 I DECIDE TO REGISTER ONLINE ON VODAFONE WEBSITE TO TOP UP MY MOBILE PRE PAY THE 365 DAY RECHARGE... FRUSTRATINGLY DOING SO WITH A VERY SLOW CONNECTION I ACTUALLY MANAGE IT BUT HANG ON !!!!! OHHHH TO GOOD TO BE TRUE...
IT WOULD NOT ACCEPT MY MASTERCARD IT SAID I HAD TRIED IT TOO MANY TIMES ... THAT'S VERY STRANGE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!! ANYWAY IT SAYS CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE SO HERE GOES !! LARA ANSWERS AND AS PER USUAL COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME...
A LADY COMES ON AND I TELL HER THE ISSUE AND SHE SAYS YOU HAVE TO GO TO A VODAFONE STORE I'M SORRY TO TOP UP BECAUSE VODAFONE DOES NOT ACCEPT COMMONWEALTH BANK CARDS CREDIT OR DEBIT THEY DON'T HAVE AN AGREEMENT!!!
WHAT A JOKE ARE YOU SERIOUS THE COMMONWEALTH BANK THIS DAY AND AGE 2011.... GIVE ME A BREAK !!!!
VODAFAIL YOU ARE IN NEED OF SERIOUS HELP SERIOUS SERIOUS!!!!!!!!
TODAY I THEN WENT AND JOINED VIRGIN MOBILE FOR MY PHONE AND WILL BE SOON FOLLOWING ONCE I REGAIN CONSCIOUSNESS FROM ALL OF THIS FOR MY INTERNET BROADBAND.. ARRIVADERCI VODAFAIL YOUR A DISASTER ZONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THE WORST PROBLEM I HAVE EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH IN MY LIFE.............

Crappy reception, call drops or no signal are my biggest frustrations...also I hate Lara and if she eventually understands you then there is never ending wait to find a unhelpful staff at the other end. Internet speed is also slow very slow actually. Vodafone sux!!!

When I was off in Thailand, my iphone has the Vodafone sim and whenever a voicemail called. Lara said in english that we can't understand it and it is annoying us

I was one of the first people to port my mobile number across to Vodafone many many years ago and have remained a loyal customer through numerous contracts for both personal and business use. I have just entered into an agreement for a Samsung Galaxy Tab to pick up my email on the go like everyone else.So far I have missed meetings,not returned calls to clients in a timely fashion because I didn't get their voicemails or follow up emails or text messages.My credibility has gone out the window.I can't be a successful person let alone a easily contactable parent or spouse or family member or friend or boss. Call 1555 Customer Service for a resolution if you have a spare half hour or so to go round in circles with the Lara IVR. BTW ,I have never ever posted a comment on any forum since the commercialisation of the internet, never been in a chat room or subscribed to any social networking site because I didn't believe it would do any good to have a whinge. All that is out the window now , please take this post and if it helps make this Company accountable for their performance to the people of Australia I will have done some good for today.

Crap data speeds, virtually no 3G coverage in SW Brisbane, delayed messages, Delayed voicemail, dropped calls, failed text messages. I waiting 90 minutes on hold to customer care, operator answered then call dropped, like they hung up on me. Complaint now lodged with TIO as i think 90 minutes on the phone to only be disconnected is a fair and reasonable attempt to fix my problems. How come when Lara asks "is it for the number your calling on?" they cant identify my number and call me back?? Fail cant wait to get out of there

Dropped calls, terrible coverage in my area, that is apparently in the coverage zone pfft yeah, ok. spotty at best 3g coverage, even in city suburbs.

short complaint, but im sure it echos of past posts.

./gives vodafone the finger.

ps. piss off Lara.

I am so sick of LARA. seriously lara, get your act together and put on somebody real when i call up about problems. on most occasion my bills are wrong and i get overcharged, charged for my 'free' calls between vodafone and 3. the people that are supposed to help are useless and most workers in the stores have no idea what they are talking about. i never have reception and i live in the cbd. my voicemails arrive hours later. im sick of you vodafone, ive been with you way too long. i cannot wait to get out of my contract! only 15 months to go :(.......

why Vodafone stops staff mentioning the TIO to customers:

The TIO can investigate complaints by small business users of telephone and internet services about loss of business arising from events that relate to the provision or supply of telephone and internet services.

A claim for compensation must be based on actual monetary losses suffered that are a direct result of the actions or inaction of a telephone company or ISP.

The TIO will only consider claims for losses that a reasonable person would anticipate in all the circumstances. Ideally, a claim should be presented as Total Lost Profit; that is, 'lost revenue' plus 'costs incurred in reducing loss' minus 'expenses normally incurred'. As further guidance:

'Lost revenue' is calculated by subtracting the actual revenue earned in the claim period from the revenue the customer would have expected to earn if the disputed event had not occurred.

'Costs incurred in reducing loss' are costs incurred as a result of measures taken to minimise losses, e.g. extraordinary use of a mobile phone or additional advertising.

'Expenses normally incurred' are expenses the customer would normally have incurred in conducting their business, e.g. commission for sales that would have been made, packaging for goods that would otherwise have been sold, cost of labour that would have been needed if business was able to function as normal.
Compensation claims considered by the TIO usually relate to businesses rather than residential customers. This is because any claims for loss must be substantiated. For most residential complaints, any losses as a result of a member's action or inaction are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to substantiate.

The sorts of substantive documentation the TIO might consider when investigating a compensation claim include:

records such as bank statements (proof of cash payments), monthly income figures, profit & loss statements, sales journals, cashbooks or receipts. (i.e. records for the claim period and for comparable periods in the past);

figures that show actual income or profit fell short of amounts predicted in forecasts or budgets compiled before the claim period. (i.e. forecasts or budgets in addition to the figures for the claim period);

any data that shows the number of incoming calls received during the claim period was less than the number received in the preceding and following months, e.g. business bookings taken over the telephone;

proposals for contracts that were lost as a direct result of the action (or inaction) of the provider;

statements (preferably statutory declarations) from customers who state they did not spend money with the business as a result of the circumstances in question;

receipts or invoices for claims for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, where these expenses were costs incurred in reducing or mitigating losses.
Where relevant and appropriate, information provided must be independently verifiable, e.g. in the form of tax returns or audited accounts.

In assessing a claim for compensation, the TIO will consider whether a complainant took reasonable steps to protect their interests or to mitigate their potential losses. In the case of a lost job opportunity, for example, the TIO will consider whether the complainant had access to a mobile phone or could have borrowed a friend or neighbour's phone to make a call to a prospective employer.

To assist complainants present their claim for compensation, the TIO has a fact sheet, which it sends to those wishing to submit a claim. In particular, the fact sheet outlines the TIO's expectations regarding any claim, and how complainants may go about substantiating their claim.

In the absence of documentary evidence to support a claim, the TIO may exercise its discretion not to investigate further.

For information on the TIO's general approach to compensation, see Compensation claims and the TIO.

these are not my words, full credit goes to the TIO reproduced in full from http://www.tio.com.au/POLICIES/Compensation/Compensationforbusinessloss.htm updated: 11 August 2005

After having a problem with my recharge by credit card I followed recorded message instructions 4 times but to no avail. I then called vodafone's support line and was put on hold. I have been on hold for 2 and a half hours all the while being reassured by "Lara" voice to "hang in there we'll be with you really soon". I am sure it will be soon in geological terms but not in human terms. I am still on hold waiting as I type! No, At the 2 and 3/4 mark I have now been disconnected. I feel quite unfriendly toward vodafone.

I want to recharge my fone... apparently im in some sort of $29 recharge plan and i jst wnt to change it so i can top up $20... customer service sux... i dnt want to talk to lara the machine.... i want an actual person... and now im waiting ages to get someone to respond....

So i just waited for about 25 minutes on hold then my call got answered and the first thing he said to me was there system is getting upgraded and i needed to call back in 24 hours..... UMM WHY DID YOU TELL LARA TO TELL ME THAT TO BEGIN WITH ??????

I signed up with vodafone in september 2010. Ever since I've had unreliable internet connection and call dropouts. About 3 weeks ago internet connect became all but non-existent (1 hour plus to DL a 1MB file - thats worse than dial up if I recall). The reason I signed up was the fact that they offered more data allowance (1.5GB + 1GB for 12 months). I cannot use ADSL at my home so I was planning to supplement my telstra wireless connection with my phone (as a portable wifi hotspot). but the phone (as a wifi hotspot) is as useful as tits....you know the rest. I also use email frequently while I'm out and about for work and study so I've been considerable disadvantaged and inconvenienced with gmail conversations that are "unable to load". I tried 5 times to call 1555 but I'm not prepared to wait over 1 hour to have my call answered ( I think thats reasonable), they alo mentioned a 'callback' option on the website but Lara didn't seem to want to tell me that. Anyway, I called one sunday morning and it was answered almost immediately but an Indian man who asked if I'd turned the phone off and on again or tried the SIM in another phone. I didn't say it, because he's only doing a job, but I thought why should I have to try the SIM in another phone - I got a phone from vodafone brand new. anyway, apparently a 'team' of engineers will investigate the problem and call me back within 5 days....here I wait with bated breath. If not call in 5 days I will contact the TIO and get out of this contract......straight to telstra for me (never thought i'd say that.

Missed calls on mobile, sometimes SMS's delivered days after they have been sent & poor or no reception on wireless broadband. LARA is a real pain!!! Often takes 20-30 mins to talk to a real person. Staff are poorly trained & often tell me things that simply aren't true, which is really annoying & when one person can't answer a question often transfer call several times resulting in no resolution because no one knows the answer but won't admit it!

Been with Vodafone for 4 months now with a HTC Trophy, Havent had a single problem. Data connections are rock solid and are usually either 3G or HSPDA. Voicemail work brilliantly and I always recieve an SMS alerting me to any missed calls.
The only things I would complain about is Lara but as I havent had any need other than an initially inquiry to use the phone support service I cant really complain. Keep up the great service Voda

My reception would keep on dropping and as I run a business, it makes it difficult to get in contact with suppliers. When i call up Vodafone, i speak to Lara, which is hopeless and then am put on hold for several hours. Sometimes it even gets cut off and other times i decide to hang up instead of wasting my time. Eventually i found a forum online (not Vodafone website) that assisted me in my problem. I was very disappointed in Vodafone's service and hope it improves.

where do i begin?
i've been overcharged (i pay a $79 cap, was charged $150 for absolutely no reason), i wasn't notified when they decided to switch billing info from hard copies to email, i rarely get coverage unless i'm in the most inconvenient place, and quite frankly, if i ever encounter Lara, imma punch her in the face.

40 minutes ago I rang vodafone to lodge a complaint about my service etc. The lovely lady Lara, told me it would be more than 30 minutes.. Ok fine fine, 40 minutes later Lara calls back,"I will put you through to someone now", music begins playing I am waiting 3 minutes later the call dropped out on me. So now I call back and ask Lara to call me back again.. If it happens one more time I think I am going to stick pins in my eyes.. This is crap, I can't even connect to an employee without the call disconnecting.. *bangs head against the wall* thanks a lot vodafone!

Phone calls drop out
Delayed SMS
Poor website- could not update my details through their website
Lara is very annoying
When I tried to upgrade my phone (ie spend more money), Vodafone staff had no idea.
I use my phone for business, I am self employed.

customer service is appalling, coverage is not good abd Lara is hard to cope with.
Service is unreliable and hard to conduct my business. I have been trying to resolve an USB Modem issue for 3 days

I left Vodafone two years ago because of their poor customer service. On the occasion that I needed to talk to someone it was almost impossible to talk to anyone. "Lara" was one of the reasons I left. It is a shame because Vodafone used to be seen as a really innovative hip sort of company - a bit like Apple. Now my perception (as well as many others) is that they are a big clunky organisation who have dumped ccustomer service to cust costs.

Metro Sydney. Not able to get any downloads thru my prepaid broadband usb dongle.
This has been the case for the last 4 DAYS. Good reception and connects ok but cannot download a thing. Absolutely useless, VodaStuffed,VodaUseless.
I have had to dig out my slow old Telstra prepaid dongle to get connected to the net again.
I am not even going to bother to call LARA and get the customer service runaround,been there done that.
Vodafone network status web page indicates there are no service outages in NSW.
Yeah right, what absolute bullshit.
Vodafone, I hope you go totally bankrupt, as you have totally failed your customer base.
I am going to take my Vodafone dongle outside and smash it to tiny pieces with a hammer and send it to the do nothing CEO, then sign up for the Class Action.

Too many reception black spots around Melbourne and outer suburbs.

1 Example: Since approx 1998 same 500m-1km radius on Camberwell Rd
Camberwell Rd Just near where it meets Glen Iris road, you will drop
you call without fail...that's if you can get reception.
(Telstra/Optus no issue whatsoever)


Too many country/rural area's no reception at all.

1 Example: Tarwin Lower / Venus Bay (Gippsland Vic)
You cannot get reception! Has been like this as
long as i can remember... circa 1994-1996.
As soon as you go past Inverloch forget it.
Have to drive to beach 5 carpark at Venus Bay,
jump fence walk to highest sand dune or stand up on
the park bench to get reception across the inlet back
to Inverloch/Wonthaggi (line of sight/weather dependent).
(Telstra/Optus, no issue all areas)

Billing.

When I was on contract with vodafone, invoices were never correct, seemed
to be always a month behind.

Customer Service.

A long time ago, before Lara also, used to very good.
I used to call them about my inaccurate invoices and staff would
be very helpful/knew the systems and products, or who to transfer
to if they could not help.

Now with that hindrance of Lara and when you get a staff member,
it can be really difficult, some need more training.

OMG The staff at vodafone stores, dont ask them for help, they have to use Lara!
How stoopid is that.

As a customer service representative and sales person at the store you should have full access to assist customers.

I signed up for an iphone4 in October, the service staff that I dealt with were great. When the phone arrived I was not able to connect to the web, I called Vodaphone and had to deal with Lara and being placed on hold for 45 mins.
When I finally was able to speak with a human being they could not communicate properly but assured me they had fixed the connection issues and for me to turn my phone off and back on. I did and still could not connect to the web.
2 days later and at least 3 hours of Lara and being on hold I was able to speak to another rep who couldnt communicate who told me she need a 3 digit code which was on my paperwork to activate all the functions of my phone. There was no code anywhere on any of the paperwork. I relayed this info and the rep refused to help me. The next day - Lara, on hold...and I got the same rep and we had the same conversation...next day different rep and same request for 3 digit code.
Four days later and countless hours of Lara and on hold and terrible advice and customer service I get in contact with another rep who couldnt communicate. At least this one was able to fix my issue in two seconds without the imaginary 3 digit code.
Good job Vodafone, all you really achieved was me complaining to everyone that will listen about your terrible service and dissuading them from ever signing up with you.

I have been with vodafone for a year in 1 month for which i will not be renewing my contract. I currently havnt been able to use 3G for 5 days and their GPRS is about as fast as dial up in 1990. After consistent calls of around 1-2 a fortnight waiting on the phone for hours and dealing with their pathetic LARA system only to repeat all the info to a operator who can barely speak English, I AM OVER IT!!!
I have been asked to do diagnostic tests and replace sim cards numerous times which I have done and the problem has only got worse. Vodafone should pay dearly for this and hopefully learn from their amateur mistakes.

Lara only makes an unhappy customer more irritable. She must be destroyed.

I don't like Lara. Many times with the automatic voice system it says I will just put you through. Then the voice says "you have been put through to the wrong area, you should dial 1555" and then it hangs up on me. I had dialled 1555 originally and it took 40 minute of my time to tell me that I need to dial 1555!!!!!!

Broadband disconnecting at least 20-30 times per day. sometimes more than once every 30 seconds. Really quite annoying. GIZMO tech says its a fault at their end because my equipment is all working fine. emailed twice to complain with no reply. Ready to change now.

I also used to think the best thing about Vodafone was their aussie call centre staff, but now they're all indians and I can't understand anything they say.

Also, Lara never gets it right, and she never picks the answers I need. Lara is only there to try and waste enough of your time so that you will go away and not complain. Lara sucks

Can anyone recommend any better ISP?

Bad coverage, drop outs & hopeless Internet connection.
Lara does not understand anything u tell her even after having 3 Aussie people talking to her.
Their billing system sux, not to mention the customer service or lack of.

I had recently my online access to my account blocked. When I called Vodafone's customer service, the poor machine, Lara, prompted. Asking me a few questions, Lara transferred my call to someone else. As usual the music got on, while keeping me waiting. I did wait over 4 hours and 20 minutes before loosing all sorts of respect and trust for Vodafone. Wondering what a poor, low ripper vodafone is!!

I waited for 18 hours each day for the last week. still I have not been able to speak to a customer service. All i got was this annoying Lara

I have been with Vodaphone for about 4 months. I grilled the so called manager about their service and was assured that i would get good service in Craigieburn. I have kept the emails which i now laugh at. It is amazing how a company can charge you for services that are not up to specification as advertised. I have tried to get in touch with them by phone and give up in disgust, i hate that lara, and once you get past her, you are holdng on forever. I only use their mobile internet service, and it is frustrating how the service drops from 3g to nearly no service. Very hit and miss if you try to use skype, and frustrating when pages are too slow to load. Bring back dial up internet, a better alternative to Vodaphones 3G

"Standing in a car park, with my just received, brand new phone, trying to get the settings from Vodafone to be able to use it properly and getting Lara'd, round and round and round, (frequently different people comment that I speak really clearly), I had the urge to just throw the phone on the ground and walk off. I just made a loud noise and embarrassed myself instead. I've had few encounters with Lara, and this is the first I've ever "shared". Even writing this, the ire and frustration surges in me. May you never have to experience Lara."
Somebody (who it apears has never been with Vodafone) complained somewhere else about people complaining here about the LARA. i realised I hadn't, so I have copied my post from that other place

I signed up on 2year plan about 2yrs ago but due to crap service n stupid Lara n every other problem, worked out cheaper for me to cancel plan 3months on, since I was always been over billed. So I paid $800+ to cancel rather than $100+ for another 21months!

I signed up for Vodafone mobile internet. Paid $150 for the little modem and a SIM card. When I got it home I found that to get any reception at all on the thing I had to fix it to the outside of my house, and even then, reception drops out every so often, just like my phone service. I figured I'd try it for a month as some internet was better than no internet. I paid the $50 dollar bill at the end of December. After an infuriating month of having to wait hours for a page to load (if it loads at all) and constantly having Skype drop out on me in the middle of talking to my family back home, I get a bill for over $600. First they are claiming that I have not paid my first bill, even though my bank statement clearly states that I did; then they say that my fiancee and I used over 30G in under a month. I'm not sure how thats possible when the modem can't connect for over half the time anyway. But try explaining that to the tech support in India. They refused to take my complaint because their "records" show that I owe $600 dollars.

It gets worse....

I paid $150 for the modem and was told that it is unlocked and we are free to put in any SIM card we want... WRONG! Its locked to Vodafone. So I called their "help line" to get the unlock codes.... 45 minutes of holding... LARA... More holding...

The woman who I spoke to couldn't speak english well enough to know what an unlock code was. After speaking to her mangers manager and being disconnected and not called back 3 times, I was told to "go to the website as they did not know any unlock codes."
On the website, no unlock codes where available. And to get them I am required to pay $75 dollars.
I now have the number of the Ombudsman and will try to get them off him if I can get enough reception to make a call... And considering that I can't call my fiancee's phone when its 2 feet away from me I doubt I'll be able to.

3G Internet bill is always a shock for me... Each second month is inflated, even if I check my data consumption using my Vodafone account and through SMS. I tried to explain these issues to Vodafone Customer Care guys, but they know their lesson - it's my liability to make sure that I DO NOT go over my quota. When I asked them how should I do that if their data metering is so far off, they started to BLA, BLA, BLA....not really interested to help, more interested to get rid of me. SO, what's the solution - found it. Don't bother calling VODAFONE - bunch of idi**s - CALL TIO and they will register your claim as 'inadequate data metering' or similar and give you a claim number. With the claim number, it's coming also a special Vodafone number - which is not always busy and the person answering this number can offer something without transferring you X times between various VODAFAIL departments.
CALL TIO, forget about normal VODAFONE customer service number and LARA.

I ended my contract on 08 November 2010 due to:
Incorrect overcharged bills ($500 on $49.00 cap) and phone hadnt been used!!!
An incessant hate of the stupid half baked sl*t of a thing called LARA
having to call some cluster in India to resolve my billing issues.
Took my case to the TIO (Dont wait - just do it) and ended my contract.
Switched to OPTUS BUT WAIT.

I still get Bills from Vodafone, even though I've confirmed with INDIA, that I DONT HAVE AN ACCOUNT WITH VODAFONE!!!!

Every time I ring vodafone for something, Lara answers the call but with too many bingles. She can't understand a word. I get annoyed listening to "I'm sorry, please say that again". I have to repeat myself over and over again. Very frustrating.

I hate Lara.

5 drop outs in half an hour
1 bar of reception for most of the day
delayed voicemail
failed text
LARA is a frustrating robot who I want to swear at very loudly, even a foreign call centre attendent who doesn't speak English would be better than a robot!

I have been with Vodafone for at least 10 years. Simply because it has been great , up until the past 24 months. I went on a $79 Cap with a black berry storm, that had numerous problems- even though i had insurance, i was asked to pay ridiculous amounts of excess to exchange my phone. Which in my opinion, was faulty from the moment I bought it. I find they have know customer loyalty, and a 'can't be bothered' attitude! When I changed from Pre Paid I wanted to keep my phone number, however the customer service rep in the store said " this will take up to 24 hours and I won't be able to give you free accessories"... So, I dont care about that! I want the same number- yet he continued to ramble off excuses. I have friends who have been called 6 months out from their Optus contract & are offered an upgrade because they are "loyal" customers. I would have spent well into the thousands with Vodafone by now, yet have never once been offered anything!

5 months out from my contract expiring my phone was stolen, I had been told by one rep that I could upgrade for free 3 months out from my contract, yet when I asked someone else they said i couldnt- then as usual, i spent hours on hold and transferred to different people- Dont even get me started on "LARA". I had the option to pay $300 excess to get an Iphone 3, or pay $350 to upgrade early and get an Iphone 4- yet they werent taking any orders. I ended up spending 2 months without a phone because I simply didnt have the time, to spend 3 hours on the phone.

A major problem is, they never send me my bill through email, and whenever i try and check my balance via text i ALWAYS get a text back saying " this service is unavailable at this time". YES it is, because they want you to go over your cap.

I am now on an infinity cap, because i couldnt pay out my contract and go with Optus as i had originally planned, as i needed a phone ASAP. "infinity" yet read all the terms and conditions- it's hardly unlimited access.

Constant data issues, my phone shows service and people cant get through, the network is obviously not what it used to be. I can not be bothered waiting on hold anymore, that LARA service they have is absolute rubbish, get some people on the line to assist your customers!!! I have cal;led previously and was told there was no network issues, do you think we are that stupid!! anyway if there is no resolution I will be changing to another carrier as many have already!!

I have been a loyal customer of Vodafone for 6 years. I renewed my contract, signing up for 24 months with an iPhone 4 in September 2010.

About a week in, I noticed that my 3G data speed was rapidly decreasing - this has NOT improved in the last 4 months. This didn't worry me too much at first but then the SMS problems started. If I was on the 3G network, I was unable to send SMS but obviously if I de-activated the 3G then I couldn't browse, get emails etc. It took me 45 minutes to get through to someone who told me that Vodafone was doing upgrades in my area and it should be fixed within 2 hours. 3 days later it was finally fixed.

However, in the last 3 months I have had more that 5 times where I was sending text messages then a few hours later realising that I had not received any (ater sending a test to myself). When I called the first time, I was told that it was a problem with my sim and to reboot. This didn't work so I was given about 10 different options to go through before it started working again.

The next time it happened, I was on hold for 56 minutes before getting through to someone that could not understand what the problem was and I had to be put through to his supervisor who wasn't much more help but eventually gave me a code to disable call barring on incoming text and told me that I must have played with settings to cause this! I know for a fact that I didn't touch ANY settings and after some investigation, found that there was not even an option for call barring within the iPhone menu!

The third time this happened, I called vodafone and was on hold for 18 minutes before being disconnected. I called back, went through all the prompts and then LARA said "Sorry, something went wrong. You'rell have to hang up and try again". This happen 9 times before I finally go through to someone who told me that I had to fully restore my phone because it was a handset issue. Tried this, took 2 hours, didn't fix it. I called back anda further 30 minutes on hold got me back to someone else, I asked for the code and was bluntly told that there was no such code for call barring. 20 minutes later I managed to get him to look for it, speak to his supervisor and give it to me. Luckily I remembered to write it down as this same issue has happened a further 2 times since then.

On top of that, I constantly get call drop outs and no 3G even in CBD.

And the icing on the cake? I tried logging into Vodafone online and was told my password was incorrect. Upon trying to reset, I was told I wasn't even registered. So I went through the registration process and what do you know, all my details are exactly how I left them!

I have never had any reason to change before but I am seriously considering moving to another Telco because this is pathetic!

I have been a loyal customer of Vodafone for 6 years. I renewed my contract, signing up for 24 months with an iPhone 4 in September 2010.

About a week in, I noticed that my 3G data speed was rapidly decreasing - this has NOT improved in the last 4 months. This didn't worry me too much at first but then the SMS problems started. If I was on the 3G network, I was unable to send SMS but obviously if I de-activated the 3G then I couldn't browse, get emails etc. It took me 45 minutes to get through to someone who told me that Vodafone was doing upgrades in my area and it should be fixed within 2 hours. 3 days later it was finally fixed.

However, in the last 3 months I have had more that 5 times where I was sending text messages then a few hours later realising that I had not received any (ater sending a test to myself). When I called the first time, I was told that it was a problem with my sim and to reboot. This didn't work so I was given about 10 different options to go through before it started working again.

The next time it happened, I was on hold for 56 minutes before getting through to someone that could not understand what the problem was and I had to be put through to his supervisor who wasn't much more help but eventually gave me a code to disable call barring on incoming text and told me that I must have played with settings to cause this! I know for a fact that I didn't touch ANY settings and after some investigation, found that there was not even an option for call barring within the iPhone menu!

The third time this happened, I called vodafone and was on hold for 18 minutes before being disconnected. I called back, went through all the prompts and then LARA said "Sorry, something went wrong. You'rell have to hang up and try again". This happen 9 times before I finally go through to someone who told me that I had to fully restore my phone because it was a handset issue. Tried this, took 2 hours, didn't fix it. I called back anda further 30 minutes on hold got me back to someone else, I asked for the code and was bluntly told that there was no such code for call barring. 20 minutes later I managed to get him to look for it, speak to his supervisor and give it to me. Luckily I remembered to write it down as this same issue has happened a further 2 times since then.

On top of that, I constantly get call drop outs and no 3G even in CBD.

And the icing on the cake? I tried logging into Vodafone online and was told my password was incorrect. Upon trying to reset, I was told I wasn't even registered. So I went through the registration process and what do you know, all my details are exactly how I left them!

I have never had any reason to change before but I am seriously considering moving to another Telco because this is pathetic!

I'm 10Km from Melb CBD, yesterday I only had data reception on and off also voicemail messages turned up about 2 hours after the phone call. I had registered a complaint online in early December which recieved an email reply suggesting if I didn't reply in a few days they would assume it was resolved. Interesting!

Thanfully my contract runs out at the end of the month so I will be moving carriers very quickly. Having said that my problems with them started a few months into my contract when I called up to change the "best mate" number. I had my phone blocked and demands to pay out my contract. (Apparently someone clicked a wrong button and I had only called up to do it as the website wasn't working) This resulted in many hours on a landline phone to every country but Australia to try and get my phone back online.

Like everyone else, I've missed appointments due to calls diverting straight to voicemail and then not registering for hours, texts turning up hours after being sent,had calls drop out, zero reception at inconvenient times and infuriating attempted conversations with call centre staff and Lara. There isn't going to be anything about Vodafone I'll miss.

Well apart from dealing with Lara and trying to get her to do what is needed, the hardware being the iphone4 has numerous problems, everything from 40 second calls ending up with the person not being able to hear me, to drop outs, people cannot call the phone it just goes to voicemail, the voicemail messages get sent to the message bank hours later, txt messages coming through hours later. Being a business phone we are losing business. Our customers are experiencing bad service which is refelcted on us giving this service level all because of vodafone's lack of service! Because we are not aware of their calls, we cannot speak to new customers and help and this affects our potential income! Vodafone fix the problem stop running me through the same hoops everytime! I check the outage page and i have all the coverage bars so no reception problems. The issues are becoming more and more frequent! with no answers and everytime i call they seem to be oblivious to anyone else having these problems! Promising call back at certain times and then not calling alterntive numbers i've provided???

Good site! well done on setting up the forum to vent and let the wider public know about these problems! Getting the Iphone is just not worth these problems!

I'm no longer a customer of Vodafone and I'm so glad that I left.

For 18 months of a 24 month contract they were fine, sure i would recieve voicemails and sms' late but i never thought much of it and everytime i spoke to Lara I would avoid her by speaking gibberish.

However, when my email bills weren't arriving and i was getting threats to be taken to court for not paying, which i took up with customer service who stated it was my junk email filter (i don't have a Junk filter) i started to find them rather frustrating.

When i decided to get an iPhone 4 through vodafone i was told that a 2 week wait is standard. I was fine with that.

8 weeks later i still hadn't recieved the iPhone and everytime i called they said it was getting dealt with.

9 weeks later i cancelled my plan and changed carrier.

I think back on all the issues i had with vodafone and realised that the hold times are insane, i was often told different information from different departments and Lara is the most infuriating attempt at customer service i have encountered.

I couldn't be happier with my new carrier.

I've been a long-standing customer and it's only out of sheer laziness I continue with them. I am loathe to ring their customer service cause when i hear the "Lara" recording my head wants to fly off my shoulders from sheer exasperation and annoyance. They make it difficult for us to get through to a human being cause they want to migrate us to the website channel. I don't even want to start on some of the problems I've had with their website over the years too! So, once through the myriad levels of Lara, if i need to speak to someone I will usually have to wait 45-60 minutes. Disgusting. Then I've had the experience of getting through to someone on the Indian sub-contintent, they have been unable to help me, redirect me to another number...which has then dropped out! NONE of their senior execs should be getting bonuses as the poor customer experiences across all touchpoints do not warrant reward!!The only good experience i've had with this company is really walking into the stores in Melbourne where the staff are lovely and seem to know what they're doing.

a 24 month contract for an iPhone 4, which:
* call drop outs on every other call,
* where it is generally quicker to walk from my room to the lounge room,turn on my pc, load windows, start firefox, google something - than it is to load safari from where I am... somedays I can even make a pot of tea before safari manages to load google let alone search.
* everytime I call I get "lara" who ALWAYS sends me to the wrong place... that is unless I swear at her. and HOW hard is it to have customer service that actually know how to provide customer service

Constant drop outs (A vodafone tower is only 200m from my ofice) and Lara is possibly this most anger insiting thing that Vodafone is promoting. Just get rid of her!

This is my second contract with vodafone. Had no problem for the duration of my first contract however once I renewed my contract for a 2nd term I started to experience certain probelms. After switching to paperless statements I rely on their website to provide me with my billing information. This worked out nicely for a while however for some reason unknown to me I was not able to login anymore to veiw my statement and therefore unable to make payment for my bill. Once I contact the CS dept at Vodafone(on hold for 2hrs) in regards to this issue they advise they were upgrading the system, I have to call them each month to ask LARA for an account balance. It appears that they have been upgrading thier site for the last 3 months. Anyhow CS were totally useless in resolving this issue and straight out RUDE!! Why they outsource their call centre to india is a mystery. They may be cheap labour but the service they provide shows exactly how cheap these guys really are. At least give them guys over their a crash course in English. Oh and I also have the standard Vodafone issue's like no reception, delayed msg's and voicemail and poor download speed. My contract ends in March and I cant wait until its finally over. Never going back!

Both my wife and myself have Vodafail unlimited mobile accounts and are sick of late sms messages,Voice messages arriving days after they are left for us then you have to eat humble pie when you call back the person who left the message for you. This service has cost myself clientel and is unexceptable.When we finally got through to the service area and spoke to human not LARA the robot run around girl we were told what it would cost to leave Vodafail to which i asked is that dolars or Indian Rubles. Fix your problems Vodafoe or release people with realistic termination fees.

Vodafone's coverage is poor and I live in the city. It keeps dropping out (applies to my bobile as well). I call Vodafone's "customer care" and Lara puts me through to the area that can help me, I wait in a queue, most times for anywhere between 30mins to 1 hour before my call is answered, only to be told that they can't help me as I have come through to the wrong area and they transfer me to another area, which means I have to wait another hour for my call to be answered. Vodafone, your "customer care" is rated 0/10 by me. You have no idead how to treat your customers properly and your network is third rate.

I have been with vodafone for as long as i can remember, a loyal customer. Starting from prepaid and only a few weeks ago changed to plan. I have spoken to vodafone a million times regarding my phone call drop outs, bad 3G coverage, poor reception, alien voices and was advised by vodafone staff that there is nothinhg wrong with there system. They advised me to get a new sim card. I did, 3 and after a few days the problem would just reoccur. I was then advised that the reception and value are in plans, so i decided to go on plan. Big mistake. After paying my first bill that was more then what is should be, my phone was blocked of all ingoing and outgoing calls mind you i was on holidays. When i called again Lara could not understand me. Which frustrated me and i became so pissed off and stressed that i just hung up, i couldnt stop thinking about it and in short it stuffed my holiday. I work in retail. my clients pay me for a service and i will try to assist them to the best i possibly can. Vodafone, maybe you should start caring about your clients and show us that you care and make us feel valued, without us there will be no vodafone, listen to your clients, if there is a problem, call, email, sms and advise, keep us updated. its frustrating spending hours on end trying to talk to someone and not feeling the customer service that i and every other customer deserve.

Thank you

M x

I've been on voda prepay for years prior to this and never had a problem...UNTIL i decided to get an IPhone 3Gs on their 2 yr contract. I have my phone on 2G as their 3G coverage is rubbish. Calls don't come through on 3G, and I only find out about them hours/days later when I get a notification of VM. If i switch from 2G to 3G for internet usage, it's pointless..so slow to download even a google search page. Reception is terrible and I have friends on other networks who will have reception while i don't regardless of the fact that we're standing right next to each other. Have tried ringing Voda several times and have just given up. Once you get past that freak of a machine LARA, you're faced with idiots who cannot help you in any way. I once was put through to Vodafone customer service rep and when they couldn't help me, just hung up on me!!!! I have another year left on my contract but am thinking it's time to head to the telecoms ombudsman....

I hate LARA!!!!

I have a 12 months contract with Vodafone and I have a pre-paid too. I can seriously tell I am experiencing the worse coverage I have ever seen.
Inside my house I only have coverage in one room, and even in there calls are dropped making a phone conversation a hassle.
When I was in the hospital last year, I did not have coverage at all, having to walk outside and search for spots where I could get at least as much signal so I could send/receive text messages.
Not to mention the customer service which is really bad, I feel like an idiot when I have to talk to Lara!
Just my 2 cents ....

Hate the voice activated thing Lara.
She doesn't understand if you have a slight accent. Such a pain having to deal with that each time and doesn't help if you are already pissed off with Vodafone. It angers me trying to talk to a computer.

I don't like lara. It is a failed attempt at making the company come across as cool and edgy, when really its just another way from them stopping you talking to a real person. And when you do talk to a real person, they aren't able to help you. It sucks.

I cant stand Lara, I get spammed all the time and there does not seem to be a way of opting out of this. Calls drop out all the time and coverage is shit

Where do I start: Signed up Aug 09 with a Blackberry 9500

Firstly moving to Adelaide city about 1 1/2 years ago, then moving only 20 minutes away from the city to the hills, I only get one bar and majority of the time SOS coverage. I have missed so many phone calls, had so many drop outs in conversations, delayed sms's, internet is not possible. Its ridiculous.

Secondly - back in October 10, I woke up with my phone screen 'App Err 523' and it didn't do anything. Went to the vodafone shop who told me that they will send it away for repairs and provide me a loan phone in the interim. The loan phone was not charged and was given a wall charger only, thus I had to go a day without a phone, as I was on the road driving. A week later I received an sms that my phone had come back. Went to the store to pick it up. It was a brand new phone. I questioned where my phone was, they had no answer. There was no note, no details, no information what had happened to my original phone. I still had important information left on my original phone - which was now gone. My new phone returned to me - had barely enough battery power and when I wanted to send an sms, it would open the internet. When I wanted to make a call, I couldn't dial any of the numbers correctly. When I pressed 0, it would press 3. I returned back to the store. They couldn't fix my phone and said 'we will send this away for repairs'. Another loan phone, another week later. The same new phone returned. This time they gave it to me with no battery power. This 'new' phone would not lock, I couldn't scroll on the screen and I was having the same problems as before. I decided to go into another vodafone store, with all my repair paperwork, they said 'we will have to send this away for repair's'. I said not again - this is the third time. I cant do this anymore. I cant use this phone to it's full capacity and same with the loan phones. I said I believe I shouldn't have to pay for my account this month. I want to cancel my account and I want to speak to a supervisor. She wasn't available and I was yet left with ANOTHER loan phone. A few days later, I received an sms to pick up my phone, yet again. They were unable to cancel my contract as it was still up until August 2011. In regards to my account I had to call a number. She then proceeded to open a brand new Blackberry 9500 box and give me another brand new mobile. They had no answers for me in regards to the previous phone.
I called the number for my account - 6 times. Lara is pathetic and I was on hold too long. I gave up. I still ended up paying my full amount. I was mentally tired by the end of this whole saga which ended up being the whole month of October 09. The amount of time I had wasted, still gets to me.

Thirdly - their set up in there stores is pathetic when you go in there for questions. You wait for a long time, there is hardly enough staff in the stores around Adelaide I have attended. And you stand where ever you can get a spot and risk having other customers who don't take notice of others who had been waiting, pushing in. It's poor service full stop.

Bring on Aug 11 - I cant wait till the end of my 2 year contract, I never will go with Vodafone again and I will be recommending to anyone who will listen - STAY AWAY FROM VODAFONE.

ABSOLUTELY CRAP INTERNET RECEPTION, LARA YOU ARE A PAIN IN THE ASS. YOU CANT DIRECT ANYONE TO THE CORRECT DEPARTMENT. IF LUCKILY YOU GET TO ANY DEPT THAT YOU THINK COULD HELP YOU, THEY CANT EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH PROPERLY. HOLD TIME TO TALK TO SOMEONE IS FAR TOO LONG.

First of all, I hate Lara. I honestly pity the lady whose voice that is. She is the bane of my existence and I will rejoice the day she actually comprehends what I'm saying. I will have been with Vodafone for 10 years this year. The only reason I don't change now is because I figure that with such a long history I should be able to get top customer service from Vodafone. Alas, I still have to dance with Lara every time I need to sort out a problem and she never leads me to a real human or to the place I want to go. It's a labyrinth in there....

The recent network issues are also driving me insane. Approximately every 15-30 minutes a Network Settings window pops up on my iPhone screen (you know the one!). My network drops out and this delays voicemails, sms and generally fucks up my communication. This should not be happening on such a regular basis when I work in the SYDNEY CBD and live 10 minutes from the city. If I'm experiencing these issues I wonder how people in the suburbs or in the country manage.

This is ridiculous and after speaking to many other longtime Vodafone customers we're all experiencing the same problems. Vodafone, you obviously need to sort out these issues or at least start admitting to a problem here. You simply cannot keep pretending that everything is okay and training your staff to say that 'there is no problem'. There obviously is and you need to address it immediately.

I'd have far more patience with you if you just came out and said you had fucked up. None of this trying to pull the wool over our eyes, please. This is bullshit and bad customer service. We pay for your dinner dudes so you should try and keep us happy.

Lara...what the hell you cannot pay a real person to talk to us? When you tell Lara to f ** off, she tell you, sorry i didnt get that, So you say again, F**off!! and again sorry i didnt get that, It end up me smaching the phone on the ground yelling <<and that you got it? bitch!>> end of story, end of vodafone, what the crap is that companie... voda, you suck big time!!!!

well as anyone else... reception. have to move from the front to the back yard and maybe I'm lucky to finish a call.. was refered to some Indian and he told me everything is sweet and there is no problem. also had my SIM changed. tried to terminate the contract in the shop... well at least I tried... LOL no luck there - you have to ring LARA!

Hate talking to Lara, never picks up what I'm saying or puts me throught to the wrong area

Purchased phone accepts top up money and is supposedly registered but account balance remains nil and cannot send or receive calls or SMS. Numerous attempts via phone and sms and email have not succeeded in resolving problem. Have been on hold for more than 40 mins on at least 2 occasions and yet to speak to a human. I Hate LARA. She is so annoyingly JOLLY and she is so crap.

I was calling to get information and help on changing my plan. The website did not answer my questions. How is it that whenever I ring, the robot's voice is infuriating, it says that it will connect me to an operator, then doesn't, says you need to answer a few questions first, or even enter your mobile number to continue, continues to ask me questions, talking to this machine for 10 minutes just to get an operator when it finally cannot help me any further, then i'm on hold for 43 minutes. It transfers me to the wrong department, and i'm on hold for another 13 minutes before my call is answered. It cannot help me, most services will at least let you connect to a real person if you say 'operator' enough times, but vodafail is so incredibly infuriating, i'd rather be on hold than talking to Lara anyday. Vodafail has epic fail customer service.

I hate Lara more than anything else on the planet! She says she is there to help but will not listen to you. I'm sure she is there just to make us all go away out of shear frustration. There are obviously people at the end of the line there somewhere, so why can't they answer the phone. Poor Vodafone, it has obviously forgotten it is a phone company and now concentrates on just making ham sandwiches (and badly too)!!!

Hate Lara - I think this is the main reason why I get to lazy in complaining.. and I used to inquire before if I can complain by email so that I have a trail never got one. Asked if there are alternatives of bypassing Lara.. wasnt given one.


Called used the return call option - 2 hours+++ before my call got returned.
Called waited for a 5 minute or less discussion with them (as they are clueless on how to resolve my query)... I have to wait for 40 on good days and more than an hour on bad days... hahahha.. I still waited though how stupid could I get?

Billings - which is the topic of my above calls... too many to mention.. and I only look at these when I get time to waste. Usually get a billing adjustment of AUD.. hundreds sometimes.. I wonder if those bills that I havent checked in detail I just made them richer.. oh well..

I could go on but I dont want to waste more of my lunch break at work... posting again next time... I love this site!

I have been with Voda Fone for many years, I have had my I phone 3 for over a year and the signal and 3 G network appeared reasonable up till December 2010. I use to always have at least 4 or 5 signal bars displayed constantly. From all of December till this date it's appeared to be getting even worse if that possible. No signal whasoever tonight i n my area of Putney Gladesville. Ring customer service previously and it took a conservative 1 hour to be told they were not taking calls that evening. Prior to that i have waited to be told by lara I have progressed in the Q , as my I phone was about to run out of battery. Didmn't have to worry thou, I got gonnected to An Indian male, that I could not understand, and he could not understand me. I would assume the problem may have been that he could not even comprehend, interperate, nor complete even the most rudimentary customer service. I was polite at all times and respectful of the apparently non speaking male. I asked if I could perhaps speak to a supervisor or someone eles and \I'm sure he hung up on me, I had the 1 signal bar going. Voda Frustration, I guess they work on the principal, if you make the problems so converluted, protracted, exasperating, or in this case take hours upon hour of what would have been productive moneyu earning time for me , with them leading me on to believing my call will be answered in soon, with false hope. To be then being looked after by a person that can not even use the Universal language English. Then when I asked to put through to a supervisor to get hung up on, how infuriated I became leaves an idelible imprint of fool me once same on you, if I stay with Voda FoneShame on me! I feel like that Guy the 70's movie Network, Peter FINCH. Sticking my head out a window and Yelling out,"I'm as mad as hell and I'm just not gonna take it any more!" I hope you don't scub this, as Voda Fone appears to dismiss their loyal customers.Cause they are just the plain facts as I see them as a proponent of the Aussie fare go. I feel, if they disenfrachise, remove or complicate the complaint and feed back procedure they have less reports, hence less problems to deal with. A problem not taken to them, appears to be a problem solved for them!

There are many posts on this site relating to poor customer service experiences, in particular issues not being chased up by the call centre and/or calls not being returned as promised.

One way to allowing the resolution of outstanding customer service enquires to be tracked, followed up and eventually resolved would be as follows.

If a customer has an issue which cannot be satisfactorily resolved on the first call the overseas call centre must provide the customer with a reference number.

A customer should then be able to log in through 'My Vodafone' see the reference number, a precis of the issue and its current status in terms of resolution. Some other organsiations such as banks provide such a facility.

If after say for arguement 48 hours the overseas call centre has not called back and resolved the problem the customer should then be automatically entitled to ring a special Australian based call centre to enable the issue to be escalated. Calls to the Australian call centre could be filtered by requiring the customer to key in their reference number on the phone. Also NO 'Lara' involved in this call centre.

If due to the complexity of the issue the Australian call centre cannot resolve it first time the status and progress of resolution of the problem should be updated for the customer to see online through 'My Vodafone'. Certainly the Australian call centre should be taking ownership of resolving the problem and be hopefully staffed with people who actually use Vodafone and this understand it quirks.

If after a further period of time the issue is not resolved the customer can then follow other external options e.g. TIO.

Certainly there would be an incentive for Voda to keep costs down by expecting the overseas call centre to solve the problem first time. However, for the sake of serving and keeping customers through this difficult period it would certainly help if customers could fell that if their issues remained usnresolved for say 48 hours because the overseas call centre did not call them back they could have access to a local call centre with local expertise.

If long delays begin to occur in getting through to the Australain call centre (hopefully this does not happen) there is an option for the customer to email it with the requirement that the email is responded to in say 24 hours.

The above is a suggestion only, many understandably would say that access to an Australian call centre should be a first right. However, I think something needs to be done and that Voda should seriously consider something like this at this time.

The government need to step in and punish this organisation for their lies and for not telling the truth.

There also needs to be legislation on how organisation's complaint and resolution process are done.

This company appears to have no standards nor any form of proper procedures for complaints to be followed through, thoroughly investigated within a set time.

No one takes responsibility in this company. Instead they blame the customers whenever something goes wrong.

Their call centre staff are also brain dead. Part way through a conversation looking at your records, they 1. either hany up on you or 2. Vodafone network cuts you off and to their call centre, that is a call answered and customer problem resolved. They never call you back knowing full well they were cut off from you and knowing full well your problem is still not resolved. They expect you to call and jam their lines by waiting 2 hours and playing tic tac toe with Lara and then get a different call centre staff only to repeat your concerns again and then guess what? Right, they hang up on you again only to let this process repeats itself until you get exhausted and give up and then you are conned into paying something that you should not have to pay.

This is Vodafone's way of resolving customer's issues. Clearly there is already an emerging pattern on the way they do business. Make sure customers are totally exhausted trying to address their concerns, make sure customers do repetitive motions to try and anger them and tire them, most of all, make customers waste as much of their time as possible to discourage them to lodge any complaints.

sadly this sort of business behavior is also condoned by the government.

6 bars of signal strength and still cannot make a call.
Vodafone will not answer phones in a timley manner ,1.45 hrs is unacceptable.
LARA the so-called intelligent answering machine does not understand plain English.
When calling Vodafone after an excessive wait time you are often hungup on.

WHAT IS WRONG????
VODAFONE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A MAJOR PROVIDER OF COMMUNICATION. IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THEY HAVE MAJOR COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS.

It is likley that they are desparately trying to run and hide and not address these issues.

VODAPHONE HAS REMOVED IT,S PHONE BOOK LISTING FORM TELSTRA DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE ONLY A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. WHY???

This is a follow on to my post #12532 earlier in the week & relates to a totally unsolicited deal that VF sent me with tempting extras to switch from 3 wireless Internet to them with no more to pay. Basically they looked at my nearly ending 3 account & sent me an offer too good to refuse, which turned out to be too good to be true!

I thought I had sorted my problems with VF when a nice young (sounding) Aussie "account executive" (What does that mean, somebody who applied for the low rate job & was accepted to make coffee & occasionally answer the phone?) agreed to cancel my 1 day old deal because it just totally did not work at all. The deal would be canceled when I returned the modem & software disc by way of a reply paid satchel, which would be sent to my address within 3 days.

No return satchel arrived to date but today, about a week later, I received a call from a nice Indian lady named Poonam & she tells me they want me to check the hardware again before they actually send me the return address satchel because I should give it one more try with their technical dept. My reply was that I am an IT expert & have thoroughly tested their hardware & software & I have determined that neither are the problem, VF just does not have the coverage & the signal is too weak for me to get any kind of acceptable Internet connectivity. This is on top of waiting hours in the LARA queues for days just to get the original guy to agree to cancel my deal.

Anyway, I know live in hope that Poonam can actually arrange for me to back their gear so I can be totally rid of anything to do with this maladjusted, malfunctioning company.

I'll keep you posted on the end result, in the meantime as it's late afternoon I'll have a couple of drinks to dull the PAIN!

Hi, I'm just here to advise all our Vodafone customers who are upset with our fantastic products and services to stay with us. Please give us another chance, we are taking our time attempting to somewhat resolve the national UMTS network issues via adding more GSM towers. That will alleviate capacity, since Vodafone has an strong client base of about 4.5 million highly satisfied customers and counting. Our merge with 3 has boosted our client base even further to about 7.5 million+, proving that Vodafone Australia is clearly the best option for a provider. If you all are still not satisfied with your current network service, then you should gently contact our wonderful foreign call centre. The adept technical support team will resolve the issues you are experiencing as fast as possible by offering unlimited escalations, language barriers, and misinterpretations. How great is that? You shouldn't be unhappy about our state-of-the-art Lara voice menu because she will provide you with all the transfers you need, including a bonus of up to 3 hour wait times, countless hours of exclusive music on hold, and the typical call cut off when you need it. We even conveniently provide no call back option since we don't want you calling back about how fantastic we are. Not only that, we have specifically poured our vast investment into Lara's voice recognition option so you all can enjoy a aggravating experience. We hope you believe she is a human, complete with our finishing touch of fake keyboard typing noises when she handles your account recharge or status. Vodafone is proud to announce the Infinite Plans. Not only do we want you calling and messaging as much as possible, we want every new or loyal customer to benchmark our network beyond the limit, leaving it unusable for other angry customers here. Included with the plans are super generous offers. You get frequent call dropouts points, almost no reception across the nation, exclusive sent messages arriving ages later, special barring of sending messages, lucky jackpot of erratic working calls, guaranteed lightning fast 3G speeds of 10Kbps average, and even limited access to your My Vodafone account. That's just unbelievable! If you are still not convinced to stay with Vodafone, then we'll let you in on a VIP offer. Your customer details will be accessed by criminals via our respectful employees. Don't worry, nothing is wrong, we'll reset the passwords every 24 hours and you won't be able to login to your My Vodafone account because we locked it down. If you are still concerned with that great offer, then just gently contact customer care, we'll offer you a special limited time 50% discount on your plan for 3 months. If you are going to leave Vodafone, then we'll give you another incredible offer of 3 months credit to your plan, so that you're stuck with us. Please stay, we don't want to face the TIO. Visit your local Vodafone store, the excellent caring staff will troubleshoot your mobile device or offer you another plan. This is Vodafone's primetime, please if you do leave, refer us to another potential customer because we need a big market share. Don't worry, Vodafone will take respectful and honest care with their customers. As you can see, there is no reason to leave. We offer the best products and services compared to other competitors. If you have any further inquiries, please gently contact our helpful customer care. If they can't get to you, try turning your phone on and off many times, otherwise find the ultra elusive call back option and we'll get back to you shortly as we are always so busy handling countless appraisals from our caring customers. If we don't get back to you, then wait 5 business days. If we get back to you and you're issue is not resolved, then it's not our problem. So please, we beg you not to abuse our sensitive compassionate staff in store. They are trying their absolute hardest to help you while serving under the company's oppressive commands. If your issues are still not resolved then give us a year to fix it, otherwise just leave with the help of TIO. All I can say is that those who leave are missing out on our famous marvellous products and services. We have the Infinite Plans, what more could you want? We are proud to be an Australian registered company with a call centre overseas. We hope you enjoyed reading this and are reconsidering your complaints. We hope you are convinced by what is stated here, to stay with us because you chose us for the best possible network in the first place. Thank you for choosing Vodafone. Power to you. - "An abused Vodafone Employee" P.S. - If you are having bad service for extended periods, please cancel your Vodafone plan as soon as possible, with the help of TIO for no penalty if you have to! They are so terrible recently. Rest assured.

I like many, ordered a new Iphone 3 through the Vodafone online store upon it's release in Australia last year. After waiting 3 weeks, over the mentioned, wait period of 4 weeks, for the delivery of this phone I started receiving bills. I spent hours trying to speak to someone at Vodafone, only to waste time and money and get hung up on while the were looking into my file, on at least three occasions. I was eventually told that an iphone was delivered to me. When I expressly stated that it was not, I was told they may have attempted to deliver it to my address and I wasnt at home. Although it was my work address and I didnt leave the office during the delivery hours in case the delivery was made. After waiting over 7 weeks, and wasting time and money on this fruitless excercise i gave up. I have been receiving bills for the mystery Iphone, since it was not delivered. After several weeks Vodafone got back to me to let me know that the bill and amount owing had been removed. Today I receive a bill for an outstanding amount of over $350.00 dollars and a threat that I will be taken to a collection agency to recover the debt of a phone and service I never received. I have a pre-paid mobile. Electing to buy a Iphone trhough Vodafine was the biggest consumer mistake I have ever made. Not only did I not receive the phone, but I now have a debt against my name for a product I never recieved. Why should I sit on the phone to listen to Lara for half a day and attempt to have her recognize my complaint from a lit of options that does not cover Vodafone inneptitude to resolve this issue, not of my causing?

I went to pay my bill online (i am on a contract) the day before it was due. As the payment was processing the webpage failed and did not reload. I was unsure whether my payment had gone through or not, so I called the help like, where i got the automated Lara. I could not find anywhere how to check the balance of my account or to check if my payment had gone through. Luckily it had, but it was a very long night full of worrying.

I bought an iphone, internet didnt work, over six hours on phone to India over a two day period. On hold for 20mins then line drops out. Ring Lara go through same procedures, do teh same routine with the operator, reset settings, reset everything, sim swap then transferred to another dept. On hold for 10 mins, then line drops out, ring Lara, speak operator then again through same procedure, over and over again. I ended up crying on the phone in frustration, was promised it would be fixed- nada. Into shop same procedure finally agreed to replace phone, new phone- internet didnt work again, third phone lucky. This was a business account and it cost me dearly.

Major reception issue in the Ballarat area. Despite being in a "3G Coverage" area, I have no reception and cannot make calls from my home. Often I will have 1 or 2 bars, yet cannot send SMS or make phone calls let alone internet.

I have thought about terminating my contract, but I don't foward to the messing around with call centre's it's going to involve.

Me: 18/10/10

"I am located in Canberra and have been having major problems with the speed of my wireless Internet connection. For the past week it has been less than a quarter of the usual speed and is constantly dropping to 0 bps. This is becoming a major nuisance, and tonight it has been particularly appalling. This is happening on multiple computers so I'm assuming the problem is either with the modem or at your end. Do you have any idea what is going on?"

*****

Vodafone: 26/10/10

"Thank you for your email.

I recommend that you contact our specialist Data Support team in regards to the issue you are experiencing.

They can be contacted from a landline on 1300 650 410 between 8 am - 8 pm, 7 days a week. When you are connected to our automated assistant "Lara", say "Data Services" and your call will be directed to the correct department.

I regret I am unable to troubleshoot data issues via this medium.

Kind regards"

*****

Me: 31/12/10

"It has been three months and I am still having major problems with my Internet connection, and after a little bit of research I find that you were aware of these network problems but rather than telling me below, chose to direct me to datasupport knowing that it would be a waste of time. Do you have any idea when these problems may be resolved? I have three Vodafone services and am about ready to get rid of them all."

*****

Vodafone: 4/1/11

"Thank you for your email.

I can advise that Data Coverage issues are investigated on a case by case basis, hence you will need to contact our Data Support Team for the relevant troubleshooting.

I am not able to assist with Data issues via this medium as was previously advised.

Kind regards"

*****

Me: 10/1/11

"And as was previously stated, the problem is at your end. I'm assuming that due to the class-action lawsuit you have been ordered not to admit that. You are going to lose many customers as a result of your network problems. You will lose even more if you mess them around.

www.vodafail.com

I direct your attention to the many complaints from people ringing data support."

*****

Vodafone: 11/1/11

Hi ,

Thank you for your comments.

You will need to contact the relevant area if you wish to have your data issue investigated.

As previously advised each reported issue is being investigated on a case by case basis.

I am unable to troubleshoot data issues via email.

Kind regards"

*****

And I haven't even started on the phone issues yet.

I just called Vodafone technical support moments ago and this is what Lara told me before she cut me off: "OUR 'FANTASTIC' PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ARE CAUSING SO MANY BUSY CALLS TODAY. PLEASE CALL BACK LATER ON." "FANTASTIC"?! Vodafone if there are so many customers calling technical support, I don't think it's fantastic. Your network services are actually spastic. Get it right. I think Lara is having serious issues at attempting to allocate her several stupid generic responses. I have almost no 3G reception since the beginning of Jan, near adelaide. 2G is even slower...Vodafone is dead. Let's arrange a funeral for this appalling business.

Thank goodness that my mobile plan has ended and am just waiting for my broadband account to end. I changed to Amaysim and haven't had an issue at all. I suggest that people try out the new Amaysim, I'm very happy with it and it's much cheaper than any of the current suppliers.

Lara drives me nuts. Funny how the voice activation doesn't understand the word "suspend". You've lost me Vodafone.

Poor reception soon as I leave town, reception so bad and unpredictable that I have a telstra prepaid as a backup incase I break down. Totally hate Lara, she needs a punch in the ovaries, as a female if the human species relied on Lara to reproduce the human species would disappear. And to top it off Vodafail does not care if their network goes down for days at a time, when my contract's up I am porting my number to Telstra.

It has been a month of utterly shit 3G/2G signal and speed where I live, east of cbd. (Sigh) I can't reach vodafone support properly. Their website states nothing about the state of network towers in SA. Lara is a retard and not helping. Vodafone has not done anything about their retrograding infrastructure. Vodafone makes many customers feel like crap, worse than or as other telcos. Nigel Dews is doing shit all. (my general assumption and opinion) The infinite caps are making the network even more obliterated. I hope potential customers don't switch to vodafone. The indian call centre is for the vodafone in india, not australia. Tossing our calls overseas to india will not save costs, but cause more pain. Vodafone Australia seriously needs an Australian call centre. They also need to abide by the law and provide a service that works when they sell products to new customers. They also must promptly fix a service should it be broken nationwide. Vodafone Australia ultimately needs to go through and revise all 12000+ complaints on this site. They also need to revise through the plethora of issue threads in Whirlpool forums. However, they are ignorant. I don't think vodafone australia has any contact with their indian call centre. That call centre is a sidelined relic. The merge with 3 has not shown any positives since both provide the generally similar plans. Trying to gain market share by merging is just pathetic. If VHA think they can combine their $millions cash investment into their network to alleviate expenditure, then I don't see any evidence of them 'improving' their network over the past year. Nigel Dews, can you please tell us what on earth is going on with the company's network services. (he denies any issue at all) 15000+ customers signup to class action lawsuit and this vodafail site launches skyhigh into the heavens. (he automatically apologises with an attitude like Lara and tries to gain good public relations) We find that he lied to us that the network is all fine but its actually fkd. We wonder why vodafone has done nothing about the network. (he too, remains silent, aside from his dogmatic statement that the network will be upgraded and the service will be even better apparently.) I guess those 'upgrades' are disrupting the services so badly to the point many customers find it unusable. The CEO seriously needs to review the company's mission statements if there are any left. This failing network is taking long to recover and any upgrades should not sever our services for extended periods. And Vodafone's slogan 'power to you' needs revising. These days it seems that Vodafone has the power to do nothing. Luckily we customers have the power to leave. However, vodafone has the power to hinder us from leaving. Luckily again, with the help of TIO we have the power to leave without penalty. All I can say is thanks vodafone, for giving us extraordinary powers. It would be even better if they conserved their power for resolving their service...nuff said.

I have been sending txt messages to 1512 to check my balance details (as advised by the 'lovely Lara'. I was advised by Vodafone CS that this amount was incorrect.

My billing cycle is starts on the 15th of the month, so when I checked my balance from 1512 I was very surprised to learn that I had $0 credit and an exclusion amount of $165. My phone was off for most of the day so I could check Voda's accuracy! Obviously NIL...

Has anyone else been experiencing this problem??

The customer service is ridiculous, I have had Voda CS saying they will call me back and they don't...

What a joke and I am really sick of it