Ive been (Just recently changed telco's) a Vodafone customer for around 7-8 years.

The last 12 months or so have been incredibly frustrating with them- numerous handset fails, poor service, replacement handsets that were reconditioned ones instead of new ones, customer care staff with exceptionally poor english skills, excessive amounts of time on hold (one call had me on hold for almost two hours before I gave up and hung up), and unwanted handest upgrade that was damn near impossible to return.

In the end I had a gutful and went to pay out my contract and cancel my service, it took TIO involvement to get it happening as every time I tried to do it myself, their system was down, or I was transferred back and forth between departments all telling me I had come through to the wrong place, or the person I spoke to me couldnt understand english properly or spoke so fast it was like a foreign language and got angry at me when I asked them to slow down.

That was two months ago. My contract has since been cancelled and I'm a very happy customer of another telco. BUT... they wont take my final payment! they said the final amount would direct debit as per usual on the usual due date - it didnt. There was plenty of money in my account to cover it, yet it didnt come out. The following month I get a bill with the amount now listed as overdue and that I need to call collections to explain why I hadnt paid. So after another epic lifetime on hold and Lara getting sarcastic with me, they assured me I wouldnt be charged any late fees and it will automatically come out on the next payment cycle. Well, the next payment cycle passed a week ago and surprise surprise, no payment came out.

If they default my credit history Im gonna be very unimpressed. But if they dont want their money either, then im cool with that...

I purchased an iPhone in good faith about 2 years ago; I never had the reception available to use the iPhone so I stopped paying the account and suffered to subsequent issues including the tuff-luck call from a Vodaphone collections person based at a call center in the Philippines

There is the current typical Vodafail mess of... rarely able to get reception to make calls, send sms, use data services unless i stand in 1 certain spot in my workshop or venture outside and even when Im outside I feel luckier than a lotto winner if I generally find reception. I dare not complain that I dont have reception when Im at home or visiting friends as I guess Vodafail hasnt commited to that or generally providing services within homes.. after all it is a mobile with which we can roam the earth looking for reception when we need to make a call right?? Thanks Vodafail.

A question I wanted to raise on this site is... has anyone experienced calls regularly dropping out at intervals such as 5 mins 2 seconds... 10 mins 2 seconds etc?

This occurred in various areas of sydney for me and some people I know also using Vodafail. It occurred from mid 2009 to early 2010. I would check my phone at the time, there would be reception and I would be abe to call back or others would call back immediately. This would happen consistantly for about a week then it would be back to "normal" for 2-3 weeks then it would reoccur!! At times I can remember having literally dozens of dropped calls per day and it would regularly happen 2 seconds into the minute of a call... most of them at 5 mins 2 seconds. Interestingly enough this just happens to add up to extra $$$ for Vodafail, as we are billed for that entire minute or 30 sec block, of which we only used 2 seconds. Then, we are also left with little option but to call again so we incur 2,3 or more flagfall charges for the one call. If this was intentional its an interesting way of increasing their income from calls by 10 - 15%. Considering Vodafails honesty and "ways" it appears they were INTENTIONALLY dropping calls in certain areas for a given period then moving to another to minimise customer complaints.

Please note that in all cases above Vodafail = Vodafone :-)

Anyone else with a similar experience?

I get next to no signal in my current house, my old house, my workplace, or indeed anywhere else I frequent. I live/work/socialise in and around the Sydney CBD! I never step outside of a Vodafone 'strong' network service area and yet I suffer dropped calls (including several when I'm on the phone to 1555... Oh, the irony!), text messages that refuse to send immediately, picture messages that are often received 8 or more hours later by the recipients, and consistently blown out bills from repeatedly re-making calls and attempting to send text messages multiple times. My last website complaint got a response from this alleged 'taskforce' of Vodafone's requesting the following information:

�Mobile number and alternate contact number
�PIN to authorise access to your account, this is generally a 4 digit number
�Full Name
�Handset Make and Model - if iPhone, please ensure latest software update has been made
�Fault Address Line 1 - Street #/Name/Type
�Nearest Cross Street?
�Fault Address Line 2 - Suburb
�Fault Address Line 3 - State/Country
�If in a multi storey building, what level?
�Successful calls previously at same location? Y/N
�When did this issue begin?
�Successful calls currently at other location? Y/N
�Does the sim card have the same issue at the same location in a different Handset?
�Type of coverage that is now showing on the handset? 2G or 3G?
�Have you tried manually selecting 2G or 3G?
�How many bars of coverage is showing on the device?
�Examples within 72 hours for dropped or failed calls (time and date)
�Provide the called number for Failed calls,Dropouts

Ummm, are you serious?! I have work, uni, life, etc. to be going on with- I absolutely don't have the time nor the patience to write you an essay proving what is wrong with your own network when you already know!! I think it is a disgusting way to operate a business to put the onus of proving adequate or inadequate service onto your customers instead of yourselves.

So disappointed and frustrated, Vodafone. And my wireless internet stick was equally awful to the point where I no longer even try to use it- it frustrates me to the point of distraction.

I cringe when I pay bills- I resent giving the money to Vodafone for such sub-par service.

There is the current typical Vodafail mess of... rarely able to get reception to make calls, send sms, use data services unless i stand in 1 certain spot in my workshop or venture outside and even when Im outside I feel luckier than a lotto winner if I generally find reception. I dare not complain that I dont have reception when Im at home or visiting friends as I guess Vodafail hasnt commited to that or generally providing services within homes.. after all it is a mobile with which we can roam the earth looking for reception when we need to make a call right?? Thanks Vodafail.

A question I wanted to raise on this site is... has anyone experienced calls regularly dropping out at intervals such as 5 mins 2 seconds... 10 mins 2 seconds etc?

This occurred in various areas of sydney for me and some people I know also using Vodafail. It occurred from mid 2009 to early 2010. I would check my phone at the time, there would be reception and I would be abe to call back or others would call back immediately. This would happen consistantly for about a week then it would be back to "normal" for 2-3 weeks then it would reoccur!! At times I can remember having literally dozens of dropped calls per day and it would regularly happen 2 seconds into the minute of a call... most of them at 5 mins 2 seconds. Interestingly enough this just happens to add up to extra $$$ for Vodafail, as we are billed for that entire minute or 30 sec block, of which we only used 2 seconds. Then, we are also left with little option but to call again so we incur 2,3 or more flagfall charges for the one call. If this was intentional its an interesting way of increasing their income from calls by 10 - 15%. Considering Vodafails honesty and "ways" it appears they were INTENTIONALLY dropping calls in certain areas for a given period then moving to another to minimise customer complaints.

Please note that in all cases above Vodafail = Vodafone :-)

Anyone else with a similar experience?

Cant get reception inside my local shopping centre.....in Melbourne might I add! At least 50% of the time when I try to log on to my email account via my phone I get the "communication error" and cant log in. All other times it takes minutes to log in, while my partner who has the exact same phone but with a different provider is online in seconds......internet is useless and way too slow! My main problem is reception....its a disgrace, I live 20 minutes from Melbourne CBD and its third world reception...in fact, the reception is probably better in the third world! Get your act together vodafone....not that I care anymore anyway, im definitley changing providers!

we having subway at manly and at the end of the every tuesday we have to send report of the week and if we cant able to send it then it cost us 100 dollar fine which we have to pay from our account this week

Multiple business mobiles on one account, mostly repeated call drop outs in Sydney and Metro area's, delay of SMS messages, up to several days delayed in fact. Have tried swap handsets, sim cards, other tests, several complaints to Vodafone in writing (mail and email). Problems continue, not as bad as 3 months ago, but still present, and considerably less quality coverage than Optus or Telstra

vodafone@custhelp.com: A good starting point email
customer.enquiries@vodafone.com.au: Another email, that used to get through, they may have since discontinued

I signed up for the HTC Desire HD on a $69 plan over 12 months with Vodafone at the start of October 2010.

I was meant to be entitled to 3 months free access, 10% off my monthly bills for the life of the contract and 1GB free data for the purchase of a phone running an Android OS.

I was just direct debited $139 from my bank account for my first two months of useage.

No 3 free months, no 10% discount, nada.

Looking at the Vodafone forum on Whirlpool I am just one of many this has happened to .

Fail.

I have had a mobile broadband USB device for over a year now and have experienced nothing but trouble since day dot. I have complained numerous times. Some days I cannot connect to the internet at all and other days if I get a connection, it will drop out constantly. When I first signed up with Vodafone I was assured a number of times that I was in a very good coverage area. I was extremly cautious before I signed up with the 24 month plan. I am so disapointed with the service that I have received from Vodafone. The hold times are crazy and when I actually get to speak to someone I am told they will call me back. Well guess what - I'm still waiting. All I ever wanted was to receive the service that I pay for yet Vodafone continue to direct debit from my account every month. My husband & I have both mobile phones with Vodafone and have been with them for years. As soon as my contract ends I will be changing suppliers. If I can get out of my contract for the broadband I will. I am sick of not receiving customer service that I am entitles to as a consumer. I have even failed a uni online test as my connection dropped out so many times, my test time ran out!!! Vodafone - let me go so I can get another internet connection that works - my future relies on this!!!

I will be joining the class action law suit against Vodafone.
They are the worst company iv ever had dealings with. Lara is the most ludicris ploy for customer service i have ever encountered. I have no reception through out Melbourne and Sydney when i travel for business.
Vodafone should sack its board for dereliction of duty. How many months has this been going on for. Surely a good CEO would have gotten this under control as a serious priority as opposed to taking everyone's money and delivering this useless service. Where is the accountability ?

I have been a longterm customer of Vodafone - by longterm I mean 10yrs + .... and in that 10 plus years where do I begin?!
I cannot describe the frustration - the difficulties in communicating with a communications company!
I have had lost calls, dropped calls, sms messages that time out and don't go through ... or finally come through at 3.11 am (for some weird reason)... I've had no, limited or non-existent data or broadband - 3G is dodgy at the best of times, incorrect billing ... and the icing on the cake was when they refused to sell me a new fone (for my partner when he changed jobs) because I've paid my bills late (occassionally ... as a protest) because I was a "risky" customer ... they are fortunate enough to still have me as a customer only through my pig-headedness!
When you try to speak to a person ... you get the infuriating Lara .. (I hate Lara) ... and the cycle of "we're really busy at the moment ..."
It is not unusual to have wait times to customer service in excess of 45 minutes ... whereupon you get a call centre who has no idea of the problems, denies there is a problem, blames the customer/client, insists that you go through a stupid procedure to re-set your phone, and still have dropped calls, bad reception and overcharges on your bills at the end of it.
Trying to contact them with a complaint is a nightmare - trying to email them is even worse - I have a list of replies stating that my complaint has been dealt with ... it never was, and probably never will be!
Contrast this with a well known car insurance company that I had to deal with on New Years' Day .... less than 3 minutes ... TALKING TO A REAL PERSON ... had my claim sorted.
Vodafone is just good enough and apart from the class action - I think they should be investigated under the Trade Practices Act for false and misleading conduct ... and maybe we should get the ACCC involved too...
Constant misleading rubbish is all we get fed from Vodafone.

I have been fortunate that Vodafone cancelled my broadband account without any cancellation fees and now in the process of returning the dodgy USB. All good there..
HOWEVER... my mobile contract is still up in the air thanks to the dodgy service I have been receiving. I lodged a complaint with Vodafone about the coverage only to receive the automated response. It looks like I live outside of the Vodafone coverage area (despite the consultants arguing with me about the reception in my area)thanks to the coverage map on this site. The complaint has now gone to the TIO for resolution but meanwhile I am stuck with a horrible phone service :(

ok so ive only been with Vodafail since the 22nd of November 2010... first they tried to put me on the 35 dollar cap of unlimited sms calls etc... and failed to tell me i had to pay 150 bux upfront... so i said no thank ill just go on the 49 dollar cap... everything was sweet... told me to wait 24 hours for them to activate my si...m... this was on a thursday night.. friday came along... still wasnt activated... tried to call was on hold for an hour got pissed off and hung up... waited until monday... still wasnt connected... rang them up was on hold for 40 mins... they told me "your account number doesnt match with 3's you have to ring 3 and get it" and i was like why the hell hasnt anybody rang me about this!!!!!!!!!!!!! GRRR so angry.... so i rang 3 got the right number called Vodafail back... was on hold for ANOTHER 40 minutes... was really pissed off at this stage... gave them the number everything was sweet they activated my number... THEN i find out i can recieve picture messages... so i ring up again on hold again for 40 minutes or more... they activate that... everythings good.. then this whole no coverage bullshit starts!!! anyway my phone decides last night that it... wasnt going to turn on and wont charge... take it into the shop today told me "looks like its been dropped cant claim it on warranty" GRRR told them ive had nothing but problems with them and walked out... went to another store they put it in for repairs straight away... couldnt give me a replacement phone... so im using one i had... but still no reception and im so over it... after they repair my phone im gonna tell em to shove there contract up their arse and im going with Optus i think... and ill be claiming off them to seen as ive missed all phone calls i have recieved about job interviews... AND the first bill i get is 93 dollars instead of 49 and i wasnt informed that they charge double on the first bill... their customer service sux arse!!! and coz its christmas and all im broke and cant afford to pay them there 93 dollars

Have spent over three hours over three separate calls on hold. One of those calls was an hour and forty minutes before speaking to a human being. So much for the callback service - was never given the option.

Their support department has admitted that I have poor coverage indoors at both work and home, in spite of supposedly having "full" coverage at my home address. Tired of paying extortionate prices for lack of service.

However, if I do get out of my contract, what are my options? The alternatives aren't much better. Optus have poor performance in Melbourne, and their accounts department are clueless, and Telstra have an excellent network but the performance of their accounts department appears to be inversely proportional to the quality of their network, and their prices are now almost-extortionate, down from extortionate.

How depressing.

I am a solicitor and have today sent the fourth piece of correspondence to Vodafone in relation to the same problems as everyone else. In the most recent letter (sent today) I have outlined all of the breaches of the trade practices act Vodafone has committed and advised them that I no longer recognise a legally binding contract between me and Vodafone and will no longer be using my mobile and no longer paying any account fees going forward.

I pay my account direct debit and there has been alot of times where they dont take it out they lrt it build up I am sick of vodafone and so are my frends as soon as our contract is up we wont be renewing our accounts

Yesterday afternoon, I made 4 calls to Vodafone customer care (1555) to raise my concern over my mobile phone reception coverage.
1st call - I used the key pad prompts but failed to find one that satisfied my complaint and so chose my account. I was then advised I would have to call back later as Lara had experienced a problem....
2nd call - I was on hold for over 30 minutes when my call was answered however my reception cut out and the call ended. I have really bad coverage in inner Sydney...
3rd call - I went through the options again and when I was placed on hold, the reception cut out again and my call ended.... steaming mad...
4th call - I am now home. I began calling Vodafone when I left work, One hour ago exactly. I have hung up the call at 18 minutes on hold.
I tried to go to thewebsite to ask someone to call ME and had sooo much trouble trying to find a way to contact vodafone directly! It seems they have put everything in place so that we solve our own problems instead of bothering THEM!
Their service levels have dropped, phone coverage has dropped, but my call charges haven't... I think it's a breach of contract.. LET ME OUT!!!

Unable to use prepaid phone. Vodafone Staff tells me my account shows $50 credit(I agree) however when I try to use phone it says no credit available.Have been calling since 21st Dec and have been told to wait 5 - 7 days

Signed up with NRMA discount offer of "first 3 months free and $10 off per month after that" end of October/Early November. Unimpressed when the first bill arrived in december.
Logged a call on-line within days of receiving it, but heard nothing back.
Finally called after Christmas, and helpdeskdroid was suitably apologetic and said it was being fixed, and I would have an extra 10% off for my troubles.
This morning received SMS from vfone telling me bill is now overdue.
Called - well, with over 1/2 hr delay had them call me back - and nice helldeskdroid tried to help, but explained that the credits were not able to be applied to already issued (and now overdue) bills, and would not take effect until the next bill.
Unimpressed.
Technically this is a breach of the contract, as it was clearly stated that this would be the "first three bills", not "pay the first and then the next three free".
Frustrated.

We have been with vodafone for 16months now, and i have had nothing but problems from day one. Problems from vodafone billing us incorrectly, charging us for calls which are part of our cap, right up to the last 3-4 months of rediculous service.
Vodafone have said to adjust a couple of phone settings to try to help the service, Yeah right.... still in same situation. we even went as far as getting our new phone serviced to make sure i even resorted back to using my older phones to see which one makes a difference. nothing....

we operate our business from a home office, and i cannot believe the amount of times my phone will search for a network, or i can be working away and not realising that i have had not reception for half the day, until a call will come through and say where have you been?

we were promised a good deal without affecting our service. i am so over Vodafone and their rubbish promises. they can shove it where it fits.
if you can't deliver what you promise, an international company like vodafone, then you should release your customers, not suck anyone else into your pathetic company and shut your doors!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last month, for the first time, I was charged excess usage on my phone, even though I have $750 worth of call and text to use. I checked my Vodafone usage yesterday January 3rd to see how I was going since it reset on January 1st. Strangely, Vodafone maintains that I have used $140 worth of calls and texts (possible) but also maintains that I only have 993MB of Data left out of 2Gigs...strange indeed as I have not used any data at all since January 1st. So be careful regarding your bills. I have also been receiving txt bills for someone elses account, despite having made Vodafone aware of this in early December.
I have just phoned Vf Customer Service only to be told that their computers are down so they can't check anything for me for at least another 4 hours.

Being charged for sms even though still had around 25 free sms remaining on my pre-paid account. Also having no signals for entire days is just not good enough for me! Also my Vodafone to Vodafone minutes are being chewed up alot faster than usual aswell even though my usage has been no greater. I'm guessing they are under handedly recouping their losses from ppl choosing other providers. I'm going to another provider and will pay to keep existing number so it wont be to much stuffing around. Thanks VodaFungoolas!

My Family Business was looking into switching to Vodaphail from Telstra as a cost saving measure. We currently have a corparate account with just over 80 handsets nationaly. The Vodaphail representive is coming tomorrow thinking he is going to sign us up, but after I have showed my Dad this great site, there is NO way we are switching, although we will use the Vodaphail contract offer as leverage to get a better deal from Telsta!

So Thankyou vodafail.com for the big heads up, and saving us from what seems to be like a Carousel From Hell! :)

tried logging on to myvodafone but system shut me out and told me to call a number to reset password. called this number was on the phone for 15 mins. they came to the conclusion that they could reset my password however it may not work for 1-2 days due to ongoing problems with their website... they then want to chage me $156 for the 15 min phone call

I have signed up for a 24 month plan for iphone. The calls drop out every now and then. I can't use internet on my phone in my own room as it takes over 3 min to load google.

I asked if I can get out of the contract and they said I gotta pay the rest of the amount upfront.

Customer service sucks big time, the call centre is offshore and you are just another caller. I ad to wait well over 30 minutes each time I called. The website is absolute crap, has doesn't recognise my mobile number and has suspended my account three times.

What am I supposed to do now?

They have suddenly decided that I haven't paid my bill from September 2010, when my bank account clearly disagrees! I can never get through to customer service and when I do I get different answers from different people, none of who can explain to me what is going on or how to fix it.

Also recently changed the account name - it was the most complicated, drawn out and ridiculously frustrating process I have been through.

i signed up to vodafone and after 3 days of no reception i cancelled they took 6 days to port my number to optus and have now billed me for $1000 early dissconnection fee i have rang vodafone 5 times and was on hold for over an hour each time and no one answered the call at all so i gave up and will now go to ombudsman

when I tried to ask for the disconnections team the customer care rep told me all about the network congestion caused by three merger. But it would be all fixed ASAP. I asked when ASAP was and he said the end of the month. He then said that I was a valued customer and they would hate to see me leave and all that rubbish. He have me a $30.00 account credit. When I said that I am not interested in an account credit he said he would transfer me through. Put me on hold for 5 mins the came back and said due to a technical problem he cant transfer me and I would have to try again later.

Have been trying to fix a billing Issue have called 3 times no have waited on hold for over a hour only to than get put on hold by the so called service helper! in the end still have not getten any were!

I've been billed incorrectly (in my opinion) but every time I try to call Vodafone to go through my bill with them, I get cut off! This is absolutely infuriating as each time I've waited before getting cut off is approximately 20-30 minutes! When I tried the 'call back' option I thought that someone would be ready to speak to me when they rang me back - but no... I waited another 22 minutes only to be cut off again!!! How is this even allowed in this day and age????

Delayed Voicemail and SMS. Internet works when it wants. I only joined 3 months ago and still have 21 months remaining. Just calling for a general billing enq takes 30 mins on the phone

Six months ago I started a plan with vodafone with data. At the same time I changed to Vodafone for internet and I live in Manuka so it's not like I reside in a remote area. For starters my phonecalls drop out up to five time a day, some of them business calls. It takes about two hours to drive around and find a suburb where my iPhone will pick a Vodafone signal. Even when my phone shows it has a full signal. I have given up on sending picture messages and it takes sometimes over night for me text message recipients to receive messages from me. I could send a parcel express post quicker to the recipient. Now for the internet, I find it almost impossible to get access to the internet from my home computer. It's as if all the stars have to align before my Vodafone internet works, then if and when it does work, it drops out soon after and takes about eleven attempts to even log on and check a simple email. Isn't it funny that when I am out of credit, I get a 'Very Good' signal. A signal that is strong enough so Vodafone can get my credit card details, then once they ahve STOLEN the money out of my account, my signal then becomes weak or drops out altogether so I spend the rest of my months credit downloading the same webpages because I am constantly starting from scratch every six minutes. With any other internet provider you can 'surf the web', with Vodafone all you do is sit in a still puddle of water.

I got a text from vodafone which told me that I had free facebook until February. I had 20 dollars in my account, and as I was browsing facebook for a few hours I went off and decided to text a friend. Vodafone then texted me that I had no more credit. I went to a vodafone shop and told them that they have essentially stolen 20 dollars of my credit, they gave me 5 dollars credit to make up for this and told me that I couldn't use facebook without paying money. Grumble.

Overcharging of my account. Vodafone wanted an extra $66 for absolutely nothing. I am on a $29 cap and was charged $97 for my first bill when i did not even go over my usage for the month. Then when i signed to Vodafone, part of my contract for the first 12 months was to receive 1GB of download for the first 12 months then 50MB for the remaining 12 months. I only have 50MB right from the start. They have dishonoured the contract as far as i am concerned and should be terminated. Been on hold with them for a minimum of 45min each call then they hang up.

Have emailed to Vodafone dealer re account and coverage isues, still waiting for response two weeks on

Changed from 3 to Vodafone a month ago so as to get an iphone 4 and have had absolutely no problems at all it has been fantastic. No dropped calls, no missed txt msgs, excellent reception and download speeds, immediate reply from txts sent locally and to family in Europe and the UAE. Spoke to the customer service section once as the guy at the store entered my email address incorrectly in my account details and they were friendly, helpful and efficient. Seems very strange after reading all the problems others seem to be having. Feeling quite put out that my experience has been excellent!

1. Sign up to new contract with handset. Customer Service (CS) offers an additional $8 per month off handset repayments which doesn't show up in each bill. Spend every month calling CS to explain. They say they will fix it, but next month comes around without discount.

2. Pay mine, and my wife's, account every month over Internt using the online account provided by vodafone. 6 weeks ago (end Nov 2010), both login's fail. Call up CS and get an excuse that online account is temporarly down and should be fixed that evening. Now six weeks later and still unable to access online account and have not been provided with an excuse, nor a timetable. I'm a good customer, pay my bills on time, no problem. Why do I deserve such a service?

I belive its not neccessarly overseas call centre problem. Moreover poor decision making from Vodafone hierarchy? Typically really, when an organisation gets too big.

I'll definitely pay more for better service, just got to wait until it's a bit cheaper to break contract and churn.

where do i start ...

i have not been able to access my account info online for 6 months

i have not been able to use the online system or get hold of anyone to set up global roaming for work trips and holidays .. then recently i did finally get someone in the call centre to do it, but it would not work for 4 of the 5 weeks I was overseas. They sent me an email to say it works and today once I got through again they said it works. I can guarrantee that it doesnt. So I have paid for 4 weeks of NO service.

They made an error and did not invoice me for my last account and are adding it to my next one.

Today, again the website would not work and then when i called, the first time the system hung up after 5 minutes. Then second time, i was on hold for ages, then listening to a ringing phone for about 5 minutes, then when finally through i could only hear them partially due to them breaking up lots (i had to call from a landline as my iphone now doesnt work thanks to the new software update i put on it yesterday)

I asked for the amount i need to payout to finish my contract but they could not tell me as they said that there is an 'order' on my account and they cannot provide me that information ...

and that is just a bit of the problem.

Was with them for 13yrs but now .. willing to PAY money to get away!

Hi I have moved to South Australia in October and I have no coverage for my Phone, I have tried calling many times, but I was put on hold for hours and I once happened to speak to someone in India and he said if there is no coverage they will cancel the account, but they also asked me a exit fee.I have 2 mobile number with Vodafone and the other number is with one of family member who leaves in ACT and we signed up with Vodafone as it was free call between us. Vodafone coudn't provide any solution to me and I have lost lot of my business contacts as they were calling on my Mobile and also I am unable to speak to my family member which is very important for me daily. I have been trying to find a solution for more than 2 months nothing much has happened. I had go with another provide and transfer my number.

New phone...been back for repairs(again)...still same problems...not happy with sending it again to be re-repaired. Went to close account and can't get through to customer support! Been told over and over again to hang up and try again.
Signal strength is crap!

You call Vodafone to ask how much is owing on a phone account that never works to start with, you wait 45 minutes to speak to someone that is in India, you have to get them to repeat themselves 4 times before you understand what they have just said. Then they tell you the system is down and I'll have to call back in 4 hours to ask again. If I charged vodafone my hourly rate for having to wait on their stupid call waiting system, they would owe me money. Your stuffed if you do and your screwed if you don't!!!!!

I use my mobile for work and If anyone tries to call my phone it says it has reception but my phone doesnt ring. and i never receive my messages until hours later.

I WANT MY ACCOUNT TO BE CANCELLED SO I DONT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS AND HAVE NO CHARGES SO I CAN MOVE TO ANOTHER NETWORK WHO CAN EFFECTIVELY SERVICE MY NEEDS

Vodafone put a default on my credit file after I had agreed with their collection agency on a repayment plan. A year after the bill was completely paid and the account cancelled, I had another call from them saying I hadn't paid my vodafone monthly bill - which was not possible at the time since I no longer had a contract with vodafone. I'm now wondering how I can get that default off. Anyone with suggestions?

besides the fact that it the whole process of ordering a iphone took me over 12 hrs on the phone to them and then, they send me a wrong sim to a completely different number. Then they once i have sent them a msg to check my accout on 1512, one day it said i owed $11 then 2 days later $940....??

i called up 2 weeks ago to find out what was wrong and the operator took 40 mins to figure out the charges... which were actually incorrect and i only really had to pay $110... i was promised a credit of $50 ....

i just received my bill and its not $110 that i owe but $289 and no credit.....

are these guys for real???

o and now its been .... let me check .... 29 mins that i have been on hold to get connected to the billing department to try to resolve this issue again hmmmm i think its about the 15th time i call..

I like everyone else is having the "drop out,poor reception,delayed txt & no Internet".
I have had a problem getting through to customer service....why? because me phone call drops out.oh the irony.
don't bother trying to make sense of the staff locatedin India.they have no idea what is going on. don't expect them to admit to their network having problems.the down-low on it.all of this has stemmed from a programming code that wasn't done correctly the first place.
don't expect it to be fixed anytime soon either.
essentially,either get your account credited or get out of your contract.
if you don't get anywhere go to the telecommunications ombudsman.
vodafone should be harshley reprimanded for the so called "service" they provide.
WHAT A JOKE VODAFONE!!!!!

i am generally not unhappy with my 17 year experience with vodafone apart from the appalling lack of customer service by phone. lara is the most annoying and unhelpful voice on the planet. the voice recognition software does not work and getting to speak to a person is impossible. i currently have a query re my account and can't even contemplate ringing. my appeal is that vodafone ditch lara and replace her with people who can direct you to the right section to a person who can deal with the inquiry. for my landlines and internet i use westnet (iinet) and not only can you speak to someone but if they are too busy you leave a message and they ring back. amazing but obviously it is something that can be done.

Initially had trouble getting my first account from them. After numerous calls to people who don't speak or understand english very well finally got my account 2 months after I initially signed up. Since then have not received calls or messages on occasions and had people complain to me that I haven't returned their calls after they have left numerous messages. Bit hard to return calls or reply to messages when you don't get them!!!! Calls also drop out and reception is bad. Don't bother using my partner's computer at home (on vodafone) as continually drops out, is slower than dial-up and that's if you can get on at all. When signed up asked about coverage in our location and was told that it was very good, reality is that it is very BAD. My partner tried numerous times over the last couple of weeks to get onto this site and eventually did, but had to give it a number of goes to get his pain posting in as it dropped out all the time. NOT HAPPY VODAFONE. Would like to be released from my contract so that I can sign up with somebody who cares about their customers and their business.

Firstly let me say I have in the past been a supporter of Vodafone but of late, the last 12 months, I am sick of the amount of calls that drop out for seemingly no reason and also those that drop out when receptin is lost. I travel regularly and am constantly frustrated at the amount of calls that drop out when i am discussing business. If you travel anywhere outside of the major cities you don't have much hope of keeping coverage, and even within the cities it is less than satisfactory.
Additionally, I have very limited coverage inside my house, and yes in a capital city. When I answer a call inside, the calls more often than not, drop out.
Quite often SMS don't come through until I make a call and I get a couple at once.
I recently queried why my account did not show that I had paid my last bill. I was on the phone for 22 minutes before I was forced to hang up. I then thought I would query via the customer support email system. I received an automated response that did not help. I then replied to that email through the manner written in the automated response to which I got another automated response. I still have not received any service from the customer support area.
Overall I am getting more and more unhappy with the service that Vodafone provide.

Purchased a 2 year contract with an iphone 3gs, from Day 1 poor reception or no coverage in certain parts of Sydney, No coverage in my home Sydney west or in my office Blacktown. The phone worked extremely well while traveling-roaming the VFONE Eu network. full reception at all times. After 8 months of heartache, I wrote to the communication ombusman, made contact with a VFONE representative"David" greatest customer service ever experienced. The Phone/acc where returned to the Tasmanian office and all was over so I thought.
I have contacted the billing dept on many occasions to resolve an invoice. ($59 plan costing over $200 for the month). No one returns my calls,On one call previously an operator told me all the history and calls where on record
then today, no history or anything.
Stop sponcering the major sporting functions and supported the users Vodafone

Where do I beginning with this pathetic service provider! I stupidly thought that they were a great company as I had been with them for years on Prepaid, boy did I make a fatal mistake! Have had nothing but problems.... as soon as I signed up starting making payments to the bill as I was told that it would register on my account... HA! Missing payment which took feb all the way to October 2010 to get fixed up, I havent had proper reception where I work and data reception at home since i signed up, My iphone freezes when i hang up on calls, when i ring people takes me 5 times to actually hear anything on the other side as it just doesnt connect.. the list goes on. And im paying ahead for wat? No point me in ringing as they never do anything and blame it on me or the phone and that its got nothing to do with them not the mention the useless help from these overseas call centres that have a 10 sec delay when your speaking to them!WHAT A JOKE! As soon as I finish my contract thats the end of the vodafone! HELLO OPTUS, TELSTRA... hell anything but them!

I have bad and slow 3G Internet for months. It tells me I'm roaming in Melbourne city. I also have a black spot in my room in Toorak, and spend days without reception over Christmas.

Having worked for Telstra billing though, I can safely say 90% of the comments here are exactly the same type of complaints I got every single day on the phone, and think it's just part and parcel of modern telecommunications.

Hopefully this page, the reports to the TIO, and the media reports make ALL the providers wake up and hopefully even see a change in the law so people unhappy with the service can disconnect from the networks without paying ridiculous exit fees.

I am in a city but get drop outs and times that can last for hours with no reception. I also find they often send texts more than once that im billed for when i asked about them crediting for this they said ok but only for me i said not good enough should be all people that it effects not just the ones with the time to call (took 40 mins to get any where with them). I hung up as i was getting very stressed with them.

I phoned Vodafone on 3/12/10 to change my direct debit account details, as I have commenced maternity leave ( ihave a newborn bub), and the account will now be paid by my husband via DD from his account.
On 31/12/10 we noticed that Vodafone had taken my Dec bill amount ($72.29) from my OLD account - which I cancelled as previously stated. On the same day they DD my husbands account for $275.63!!!!
I know EXACTLY what Vodafone has done:
When I phoned on the 3/12/10 to change my DD account details, the Vodafone call centre staff has updated this info to SOMEONE ELSES ACCOUNT. This is WHY my Dec 2010 bill has been DD from my OLD account - Then my NEW account details have been used to pay SOMEONE ELSES ACCOUNT! UNBELIEVABLE!

Since I identified this problem 3 days ago...I have contacted Vodafone via phone: 7 times- without any resolution, as the call centre staff couldn't understand my problem. Attempts to fax information as requested by a "supervisor": 9 times unsuccessfully. I have now also had 4 x txt msgs, 1 x voicemail (the line kept dropping out) and have submitted my complaint 2 x via online form on Vodafone website to "billing" & "legal", and have also emailed it to a "supervisor" from @3globalservices.com??
Words cannot describe how angry I am at this situation...I have been a loyal customer since 1996. I wonder how many weeks this will take to be resolved? What about overdrawing our account? leaving us with no money over the NY weekend/pub hol? Yep nice work!
Vodafone = A FAIL OF EPIC PROPORTIONS

p.s. have notified banks of "unauthorised direct debits"

My daughter left for a year in Spain. I called on the day she left and they said it would take two hours to transfer from PostPaid to Prepaid and then all I had to do was to reCharge the phone. After three hours I couldn't ring 1555 from the phone - another 45 mins and four department transfers later I was told that due to a technical glitch it would be 24 hours before the phone would be useable. Daughter left with her useless phone. Fail, Vodafone. As soon as this is working I will transfer this account to another carrier. There is absolutely no advantage to staying with Vodafone. And with three other Vodafone accounts, all of which are having an incredible number of failed calls, I will be seeking to transfer. My sister and her three accounts are also leaving Vodafone due to the frequency of failed calls and delay in reception of SMS messages.

I purchased an iPhone 4 on 27.12.2010. Calls in and out work, however, I have not been able to access the internet and I signed up for the new Infinite 100 gb data plan per month - they are actually advertising it currently on TV.
I told Crazy Johns Central Coast NSW, that as an internet business owner it was critical for me to have mobile internet access. The only reason I moved from Optus was because the Optus shop had a 4 week wait for the iPhone.
We have spent hours on hold on the phone to Vodafone support......the first time 2hours and 15 minutes, only to be told by the third person we spoke with, that Vodafone Iphone support did not work after hours and someone would call back - they didn't.
We went back to the shop - they changed the sim card, the iPhone and still no internet. They were on hold for over an hour - and reactivated the account and still no internet.

The lack of professional, fair and reasonable after sales support is appalling.
If my business treated customers with such contempt we'd be out of business.
Vodafone - WAKE UP!!!!!!!!! Having a meeting with the CEO is fine.....but what is to come with it....A vote of No Confidence with the company in Australia - Vodafone as a carrier or the CEO's - just pathetic.
I've told the Manager at Crazy Johns that I feel sorry for her and her team having to tolerate it. So why does a dealer tolerate it????? and why would a dealer sell a product and service when there are sooooooo many unhappy customers due to the lack of delivery of the promised service - WAKE UP DEALERS - you will lose customers and they will NEVER return.
I am heading in to the shop soon to return the iPhone 4 purchased and cancelling the contract - because the service relative to the contract simply has never been delivered. End of story and thank you for this forum! Maybe you should be the new CEO when the current one is outsted! :)

I sit here typing this post thinking about the good & the bad experiences I've had with Vodafone. So 1st the positive. I live in the Sydney Metro area.I've been with Voda & Nokia since 1992. In that time I've always had a reliable mobile phone service with them. I've paid my bills & the reception was mostly ok with only a few grey areas of poor signal strength. Went to Cobar a few times (far west about 7 hours drive)& absolutely zero signal. Part of the 6% & 132,000 people that don't get Voda service (that's left to Telstra).In 2008 I bought a new PC & went with Vodafone with a broadband modem. On occassions I have had the need to converse with customer service. Enter the much dreaded Indian call centres.The waits on hold have often been beyond belief? That recorded voice LARA soothingly saying "won't be much longer we're flat out at the moment"? Somewhat hard to take after being in the Queue for 65 minutes. Sometimes I would do Basil Fawlty pround, swearing at LARA in frustration. Eventually my problems were sorted. Then came BLACK Tuesday 7/12/2010. Internet OUTAGE?(although my mobile ph. service was fine?) Oh no, I've got to deal with that LARA again. In total I consumed over 7 hours of time = Tu/Wed/Th/Fr. Occasionally I got through only to be told just a small technical problem & all should be ok SOON? I later found out, via IT media, that Vodafone was changing over to another main network provider & had struck major technical difficulties. The SMALL problem only affected the Eastern Seaboard States of Australia. I.E. Qld.,NSW, Vict.& Tas. ONLY? Well by Friday I'd had enough & went to Allphones & signed up with Virgin Broadband (Optus network)for 12 mths. Same 8GB deal & same price $39pm = $468 pa. One vital difference is with excess usage charges. Vodafail charge (sneekily) 10c a KB. Only 10 cents one thinks, big deal. Not so if you go a GB or two over in any month, which I did in Oct. & Nov. 2010. Also keep in mind that on the 8GB plan = about $5pm/GB return to Vodafail. Well I remember gasping on the total bills for Oct.& Nov. of $484 incl.GST. This was more than my total normal 12 mth broadband bill. Difficult to accept but as it was in the contract I was obligated to pay it. In contrast Virgin charge $15GB for excess useage abt 1/7th of vodafails. Then fear crept into my mind as I had to try & contact Vodafail & LARA in India again. This was to cancel the Broadband service(the contract period had expired) Well, another hour of my life was consumed & their on hold music is crap, distorted & repetitious. With LARA constantly assuring me once more "won't be long ....etc". If I ever meet any Laras in real life I'm not sure how I'll react? No doubt the real live laras would all be nice girls? Anyway I get through to someone,hooray at last. After getting grilled about the problem (5 minutes)it's sorry wrong section. Next section same thing another grilling & on to another department.Then Jackpot someone authorised to make decisions. Their attitude changed on the fact that I was cancelling one account & could also flick the off contract ph. a/c too. Maybe a lot of cancels were happening that week? In the wash up I was sweetened up with the full waiving of the Oct./Nov broadband bill & I was put on a 12 month $29 cap plan. The waiving of the fees,I feel, compensates me for all the pain & suffering I went through with LARA etc. The Virgin/Optus broadband works better = stronger signal & my VODA phone is good now too. Other things I note. Vodafail have increased their call charges. For me the old was $1min. now $1.35min. On my old service the bill showed 1,000 minutes of voda2voda calls. I was ineligible as was not on qualifying plan? Vodafail forget about loyal long term customers? As market forces see better plans evolve = more GB I found I was on the lower shelf. 2 years ago I was on 5GB for $39 internet. Then they were offering new deals of 6GB for $39. It was only when I asked (via THAT LARA AGAIN) that they gave me an exta FREE GB/mth. They sent me back slapping emails about how generous they were. It was the same deal when they upped it to 8GB. What I'd like to see is some sought of credit system on the monthly allowance that factors in well below cap usage. Like last year in total I used around 45GB out of a total allowance of 96GB. Acually that underusage is a bonus to them as they can resell my unused, 51GB, space again & therefore get a double dip? Australians pay through the nose for mobile services? I'll certainly be looking at better deals in 12 months or so. As with a lot of things you don't know the true value of service until something goes wrong. 2 cases here,1 is recalls with cars & their CEOs refusing to admit there is a problem? 2. Vodafail Aust. CEO playing down problems. Like I saw no announcement from Vodafail about their broadband network had failed in December? CEO speak always tries to play down gross operating problems. I think Vodafails quest for extra profit (cheaper operating networks & 3rd rate 3rd world call centres) is the root cause of most the problems users are discussing here. More oversight & regulation is needed.

I will write back with a more detailed account of my experiences with VF, but can I just say:

I HATE THAT FRIGGING IDIOT "LARA"!!!!

I am a singer and have a very clear speaking voice, with great diction, but somehow VF's automated nightmare of a system cannot understand a word I say.

GET RID OF IT!!!!!!!!!!

On a prepaid account, the reception is poor. Massive dropouts, data on the ipad is non existent in many areas of Sydney.

I have been with Vodafone for quite some years now and particuarly in the last year their services have failed me numerously. I have the new iphone 4, and like most people, I have limited to no internet service around the home and on the road, along with extreme delays in downloads, constant drop outs and most times call connections dont even go thru, and if they do, its only after the 4th attempt at calling. I am a young girl that has to spend many hours driving on the highway up to north queensland every couple of weeks, and it scares me to think if I were to break down I would be stranded in middle of nowhere, my phone alot of times doesnt receive calls or send calls, it just goes straight to voicemail without even ringing and doesnt send messages, so to me I have no assurance that I am safe. Also the main issue I have is the constant messages I receive from Vodafone saying that my calls have been blocked and that I need to call customer service to update my address details. Once I called, they had no explicable reason for cutting my phone off, and stated that all bills had been paid on time and they really didnt undsertand and ASSURED it would never happen again. Needless to say this happened every week for around 2 months. And Im sure everyone understands that having their calls blocked for no apparant reason, then having to wait on-hold before finally speaking to someone who most times in barely understandable or calls dropping out in the process of being half way thru conversation to them after all that time of being on hold..it takes around about an hour each time to come back online after THEY stuffed up. This makes it impossible to conduct business or personal matters. Now they have unexplicably blocked my online account and cant explain why they have done that either. So to pay the bill, I must sit on the phone, get halfway thru, then it flicks up "call failed". There is no wonder that Vodafone has left a bad taste in the mouths of almost every person using them!! It has cost us all time and money!

My partner and I both brought new iphone4 and signed up with vodaflop for a $69 a month on a 24 month contract . And decided that we will no longer need a land line or Internet and the iPhone is what will do the job!!! Wernt we wrong!!! The reception is nearly always down to one bar ( I live in the Hobart area) my husband and I can't even hear each other when we call, noone overseas hears us while we try to talk to them and the Internet connection keeps also going in and out!!! And I have spoken to them over and over again to send me a bill the pay my account , it took them two months to send the first bill and have yet to send another it's also been another two months and still nothing!!! I'm now trying to find a way out of my contract and will never ever look at using vodaflop ever again!

vodafone would not honour my phone insurance policy unless i could prove that i requested insurance when i took out the plan. after i found a document to prove it they charged me a massive price to 'backpay' the insurance account. after this, they advised that there was a $200 excess on the insurance, which was more than the handset was now worth. i have recently signed up on a new 2 year contract with vodafone and it has now been 3 weeks since they started to charge me for the new plan, but i still haven't received my new handset. i called them today, was on hold for about an hour and transferred to 4 different indians who barely spoke english, before i was told that a consignment and order number diddn't match - so they didn't send the phone.. the last indian i spoke to said it would be here within the next 5 business days... i won't hold my breath

I have been a Vodafone customer for years and always thought it was just my phone or just my area, I didnt realise that it was affecting everyone!!
My reception (when I can get it!) is poor - often dropping out and dying mid-call. Also, I can relate to the battery dying quickly thing and have had massive problems connecting to the internet.
I have two accounts with Vodafone, one for myself and one for my fiance. He went out and got another deal with another provider because of all of the problems he was having, but we are still paying off the other Vodafone account because it's too expensive to just leave!! WE WANT OUT!!!!

Vodafone's website and billing process is dreadful. I'm nearly at the point where I will quite happily break a contract and pay them out to change back to a mobile provider that means I don't have to spend 30 mins of my time accessing a bill online....also, credit card surcharge for automatic payment when it is SO HARD to access your bill = huge fail. Poor e-commerce such as that provided by VodaHEE is pushing me back to wanting to receive bills in the post again...Telstra here we come

I went in to vodafone to get a new nokia n8, I had a photo of an x6 nokia. The girls did not show my the phone in displays. I told them my nieghbour had the nokia N8. They signed me up with the x6. I have had ploblems with the sim card spot on side of phone, ie: it did not stay flushed against phone, so I took it back, they said there was no fault with it, I asked to change the phone to the n8 as the contract was the same as the x6 plus $5 handset, well thats when everything fell apart. The girls sent me home to ring customer care, I got hung up on 4 times. Then got this lady who said that I can go back and get the n8 & $5 handset no problems. The girls at store said no. Rang up customer care, they said no, we then asked to be put onto this lady who said that I could do a swap but they said there is 4,000 of us working here, in other words bad luck. I ended up so irate to this guy who kept saying we won't do anything for you. I left feeling that angry I was shaking and felt sick to my stomach. I finally got a call from this lady who said I could swap, saying the phone was much more than the x6 in price and would I pay for half, Which I was offering to do with this moron I was talking to in the morning. Well at this stage I am looking at full purchase of the N8 at $699 & this lady is going to credit me $200 to my account. Hello how is that paying half the price. Any idiot would know half of $699 is $349.50. So it continues!!!!

I have a plan with voda phone. the coverage is very bad and continually drops out despite the sales team insistance this sort of thing does not happen with their product (!!!) I have experienced problems with their billing very much a thing of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing!! I moved my number as it is mynumber I bought with me and a business number and they were threatening to shut it off. I have continued to pay my account but they r refusing to reinstate the number and are trying to charge me an exit fee despite the account not being closed and continued paymnet. I am unhaqppy on all levels with them but mostly about their attempts to blackmail the consumer!!!!

I have a prepaid phone with lots of credit and have found for about a week that I cannot receive any calls as it has had restrictions placed on it. I then went to my account on the internet and found that my Username has been disabled. I have tried on numerous occasions to ring Customer Service and have had to hang up as spending over 30 minutes trying to get through to Customer Service is not my idea of having a happy holiday. This is very annoying as I cannot seem to get a response from Vodaphone.

Only been with vodafone for 2 months. Have had to call customer support for porting issues and billing issues about 10 times. Previously I was with Optus, Soul, and TPG mobile. I hardly ever had to call them.

The network is likewise poor. In Metropolitan Melbourne, the coverage is patchy and unacceptable for such a large telco.

I was with vodafone for 10 years, constant billing errors, hours on the phone to vf, blackspots, dropped calls, bad quality calls, etc etc, when I called to terminate my account they offered me 3 months unlimited free which I declined. Since I ported to another company the call quality is remarkably better and the call costs are comparatively around 50% as a result.

About 10 different 100% guaranteed drop-out areas within the center of the nations capital (even right outside my Company's building in the CBD). Total inability to get even one billing cycle correct (ever) and a customer support helpline that is too painful to endure.

As a 17 year old I jumped at the chance to get the latest mobile, and the only company that allowed me to sign up for a contract was Vodafail. Furthermore to being exploited by being put on a plan twice the cost of the one I was actually after, I was blacklisted by Vodaphone over an amount of money THAT ENDED UP BEING CREDITED BACK TO MY ACCOUNT. To cut a long story short, I called to change my billing address and cancel my contract after it was up. The contract was not cancelled and the address was not updated, leaving me to believe I had no outstanding charges on my account. Well shock and horror, eventually the mail was forwarded to my new address twelve months after they had began sending warnings of being blacklisted over $20.45. It was too late when I realised. I called to dispute the charges and received a refund cheque to the same value - $20.45. However, after repeated attempts at resolving this, the credit default remains on my account to this day, and without the option of receiving a bank loan, I have had to take out several high interest loans for my car and business, leaving me with weekly backbreaking budgets and thousands and thousands of dollars down the drain! thanks vodafone!

They charged me for additional connection fees, although I have an all-inclusive plan. It took 10 MONTHS before they fixed it, despite me calling EVERY MONTH to advise of the mistake, and despite PROMISES EVRY MONTH that it was fixed. EVERY month they put a credit ti the account and EVERY month I still had to call to get them to fix it!!! Each call took at least an hour!!!!absolutely insane!!!

Seems that the month has been shoretened on month-by-month mobile plans. I have 20 months with VF and the billing/payment date has moved forward by about a week.

services what bloody services....I travel a lot, I was using wireless broadband with Vodafone. I have sat on a roof of a house to get 2 bars just out of Bowen,this was the last time I used my account. Enough is enough at that point I have not paid any more on my account. Tried to use it at queens park in Mackay. This is in the CBD of Mackay. still not one bar. When I am in south east Queensland. At blacksoil, I have to drive 10mins down the hyway. Sit on the side of the road to get 3 bars. If i drive more than 3 mins from most CBD's it's not worth trying to use the net at all.if your east or west by 6min's out side of Ipswich, save the stress and give up. It well not happen. I lose out on my time money ect. The stress of having to use such a lousy services. Makes me look incompetent. This has done my business no good or my self esteem any good. I have in the pass tried to work with Vodafone. to work this out. But get the ok cheek every time. Nothing has fixed it. No I well not pay my contract out with them. To use the services has put my life in to danger, trying to get a few bars to send out jobs and emails. I am not happy JAN

I POSTED THIS IN THE OTHER FORUM HERE IT IS AGAIN:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ANYONE CONTACTING VODAFONE:

1) BEFORE PICKING UP THE PHONE WRITE DOWN THE DETAILS OF YOUR EXPERIENCE AND PROBLEMS IN FULL, AND THINK OF A FAIR SOLUTION (I DEMANDED 12 GIG OF DATA FOR FREE TO COMPENSATE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE TO MY BROADBAND SERVICE)
2) CALL VODAFAIL
3) ANSWER SECURITY QUESTIONS AND GIVE THEM YOUR DETAILS AS REQUIRED
4) ASK FOR CALL OPERATOR'S DETAILS: NAME, CALL CENTRE LOCATION, EMPLOYEE NUMBER (THIS ENSURES THAT THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE AND THAT THEY WON'T "ACCIDENTALLY" HANG UP ON YOU IF THINGS GET TRICKY, LET THEM KNOW YOU'LL NOTIFY VODAFAIL SHOULD THE CALL DROP OUT)
5) STATE YOUR PROBLEM IN FULL. DO NOT LET OPERATOR INTERRUPT.
6) (OPERATOR WILL NOW COMMENCE MAKING EXCUSES OR DISMISSING YOUR COMPLAINT) AT THIS STAGE YOU CAN TELL THEM THAT THEIR EXCUSES ARE NOT NECESSARY, AND THAT THEY HAVE 2 CHOICES:
OPTION 1) THEY CAN GIVE YOU COMPENSATION (MAKE A SPECIFIC DEMAND AND STICK TO IT: E.G. 2 FREE MONTH'S PHONE USAGE, OR 12 FREE GIGS OF DATA - THINK OF THIS BEFORE CALLING)
OPTION 2) YOU WILL CONTACTING THE "TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY OMBUDSMAN", "THE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY", "TODAY TONIGHT" AND "YOUR LOCAL NEWS PAPER". YOU WILL JOIN THE CLASS ACTION WITH LAW FIRM "PIPER ALDEMAN" AND SUE VODAFAIL BECAUSE YOU ARE ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION
7) TELL THE OPERATOR TO GO AND TALK TO HIS/HER MANAGER
8) THE OPERATOR WILL COME BACK SAYING THEY CAN GIVE YOU SOMETHING SMALL (E.G $20 OFF YOUR BILL OR 1 GIG FREE DATA). IF THAT IS NOT TO YOUR SATISFACTION TELL THEM THAT THEY ARE FORCING YOU TO TAKE OPTION 2 AND THAT YOU WON'T ACCEPT ANYTHING LESS THAN WHAT YOU STATED IN OPTION 1
9)THEY WILL GO AND TALK TO THEIR MANAGER AGAIN
10) THEY WILL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU ASKED FOR AND TELL YOU THEY JUST WANT TO RETAIN YOU AS A CUSTOMER
11) SAY THANK YOU AND THAT YOU APPRECIATE THEM NEGOTIATING AN AGREEMENT, AND THAT YOU DIDN'T WANT TO BE AN "ANGRY CUSTOMER" BUT THEIR APPAULING SERVICE CAUSED YOU TO HAVE TO CALL THEM. LET THE OPERATOR KNOW THAT YOU HOPE NOT TO HAVE TO MAKE THIS CALL AGAIN

IF THEY DON'T GIVE YOU WHAT YOU ASKED FOR IN OPTION BE PREPARED TO TAKE OPTION TWO AND FOLLOW THROUGH WITH IT.

KEEP IN MIND EVERY SINGLE COMPLAINT TO THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS OMBUDSMAN RESULTS IN VODAFAIL BEING FINDED $190, SO THEY WILL BE HAPPY TO GIVE YOU FREE STUFF TO STOP YOU FROM COMPLAINING. IF YOU RUN A BUSINESS YOUR COSTS COULD BE MUCH HIGHER THROUGH LOST BUSINESS REVENUE - IN THIS CASE DEMAND PROPORTIONAL COMPENSATION, AND IF THEY FAIL TO COMPENSATE YOU ACCORDING TO THE INVONVENIENCE CAUSED THEN JOIN THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT THROUGH LAW FIRM PIPER ALDEMAN

- call failure, calls dropping out
- text messages delayed by a day
- internet slow & unavailable "cellular data network not found ..."
- apology text messages from Vodafone at 4am my time!!
- 107.36 min phonecall (from a landline) to Vodafone trying to find out what i can do/resolve the issue
- couldn't find my street address in the system (spelt it for the 4th time & then asked where the guy was based ..... BOMBAY of course)
- put thru to BILLING, then GENERAL, then TECHNICAL - no issues in my area, apparently my "sim card" might need replacing .....
- they're going to "escalate" the issue for me - tomorrow - because the development system they use to do this is down
- going to call me at 10am tomorrow to confirm a reference for the "escalation" ....... i asked them to take into account i was on the west coast & not to call/message me in the middle of the night
- basically i'm not stoked on being charged for something i'm not receiving & am going to do what i need to get out of Vodafone
- unfortunate because i'm not a fan of the other providers but Vodafone are not leaving me with any other option

Matt from Penshurst, NSW. Im so sick of the crap service from vodafone, reception is so bad at my house i need to go to the backyard to make a phone call without the call dropping out, i rely on txt messages to recieve my roster for the week which sometimes doesnt come till 2 days later and i need to be contacted at a moments notice for any last minute changes or reports which usually go to my voicemail and that doesnt even notify me till the next day when its too late!!, im on the $99 cap + insurance, i didnt pay all this money to recieve my roster late or to be uncontactable due to crap service, i have 2 gig of data with my plan and half the time i cant use it because it wont connect. I tried to check my account balance by txt as i usually do and most of the time it tells me "This service is currently unavailable, please call 1512 at a later stage" im over it!! if this continues, and they want me to pay my bill then they can TRY and call me, because i guarentee you all they will get is "This person is currently unavaible right now, please call at a later stage"

I guess like many, I was not happy with Optus so I switched one of our business mobiles to Vodafone to find their service is even worse. Getting on the internet is slower than basic dial up, calls drop off, and get a message "No service available" In fact it's so frustrating I don't think I will move the rest of the business to Vodafone. If there is a class action why not against all Telco companies in Australia - Telstra, Optus & Vodafone because they are all tarred with the same brush and Government is too gutless to hold them accountable.

Zero reception in the Sutherland Shire district. Why bother insuring your phone when they dont replace it? Constant billing errors

my last 7 bills for my $79 cap has been a minimum of $220 each month. I have to chase it up with vodafone, where they keep giving me 'credit' on my account. Seeing as it is continuous, happens every month, and they KEEP MAXING OUT MY CREDIT CARD by overcharging me, the least they can do is refund my bank account so i can afford to eat and pay rent, not just keep ending up with more and more credit with the worst phone company ever

1. Very Poor to Nil mobile internet coverage 8ks from Sydney CBD
2. Double charging for one account
3. Zero customer service follow up or action after repeated calls and letters
4. Got the TIO to intervene to get some action
5. Will never use, recommend Voda again...ever. 0/10

I have never had working voicemail. Never. What I mean by not working is that it always says " Voicemail Unavailable- Could not authorize access". Also has that red circle on the voicemail sign most of the time. They first blamed my phone then they reset (??) my account and then they just said I would need a new phone but it would cost me extra because I wasn't due for a new phone. When I was due a new phone I would then have to start a new 2 yr contract to stay on with Vodafone which is ofcourse the last thing I want to do. I have the first iPhone they brought out on the unlimited $120 something plan (which always seems to change for unknown reasons). I work relief at my work and therefore voicemail is really important. I have lost work from my voicemail not working. I have had calls that don't show up on my phone as missed calls and then days later I get a whole bunch of voicemails come through if I call 121. Every missed call I get I have to call to check if I have voicemail. If I'm lucky it shows up straight away when I call.
With picture messages I often don't get them until days later.
My iPhone also had a broken sensor from early on which means I often call other people and txt people with my face while I'm on the phone. Not funny if they are work people or clients. I don't know how much vodafone take blame for the phones that go with their plans but it seems ridiculously unfair to sign someone up for a two year plan without providng a phone that can last that long.
At my beach house in Robe SA I have on occasion one DOT, not bar, of reception, within the house. This is if I have my phone placed on the pool table and the other night I was lucky enough to have it fall off so now my screen if cracked. Not even tempted to get it fixed as the sensor is broken anyway and it is the old iPhone.
That reminds me of how it won't let me update to the new iWhatever version is the latest. So obviously then Vodafone can blame my computer or another source for all of the above problems.
March 2011 is when I will finally be set free from Vodafone and I will not ever go back. Sick of wasting my time, losing work and wishing my time away to get out of this contract.

i now have a black mark againt my name thanks to vodaphone ,i wanted to cancel my contract but each time i rang to do so i would be tranfered all over the place till eventually hung up on leaving me no choice but to stop paying my bill so it would go to the debt collecters thus canceling my account after ringing them numerous times to organize a payment plan just 3 days after i would get letters to say that i failed to stick to my end of the agreement and a mark would be put against my name.............they were so not helpful and as hard as i tried to do the right thing i have still ended up with the mark to name!

Several weeks ago when we had all the rain and storms here in Canberra, it meant my Iinet connection got cut and TELSTRA had to fix the line, a week went by waiting for this to be done by them, then they confirmed that it was fixed via TXT, but it wasn't! After ringing again to point this out they sent out techs to my house, it was discovered that TELSTRA had got lines mixed up and connected me to someone else, and someone else to me, nothing worked cause none of it would sync, another 2 weeks went by and finally it was fixed!

In this entire time I used my Vodafone phone to tether, managed to use up 2gb which is the most I've used on my phone account so far! OoooH Yeaaah!

In this case voda-fail was truly a voda-fix for Telstras' woeful fix! And my Vodafone works fine only had a few issues here and there, had a few delayed txt on NYE but i though that always happened, used to with my OPTUS prepay, and i never thought anything really of it just would except the fact that surely the network would be congested.

I can hardly wait until my modem plan has finished and I will NEVER use Vodafone again. This morning I tried logging onto their website and of course it failed. They are offline. I will now have to sit on the phone for a long time before I even get to speak to a human. I am now using pre paid for my mobile and am going overseas for 6 months and I had better not be charged the basic $15 to keep my account which they have done in the past when I was outside Australia. They are dishonest and greedy.


I can hardly wait till June when my contract ends. I found that Vodafone coverage is poor. I was having to go outside and wave my mobile around to try and pick up a network in a suburb where there is supposed to be network coverage! I wasn't even in the outback where you would expect something like this.

Also, I'm fed up with my text messages not being delivered, especially international ones, and then being charged for them.

Voda might not have the best coverage but they are still better than optus, at least i can call voda on 1555 with out any credit on my phone, you need credit to call optus customer service.any old employer let me keep work mobile number and when i ported to voda, Optus changed my old employers phone account to my name without my permition and it took 3 months to get it fixed up.

One would hope that Vodafone (and other large companies) have learnt from this monumental PR disaster. In the text books that will be written about this episode Vodaphone will be used as example of Exactly How Not To Respond To major technical problems with service delivery.

The woeful network problems from black spits to dropouts, billing issues and customers being locked out would be bad enough in isolation. But what has made this situation ten fold worse is the way they failed to 1/ initially listen to the flood of complaints and 2/ respond to these legitimate concerns.

How did it come to this. I'm convinced that the out sourcing of their call centres meant that they lost that crucial direct connection to their customers. If the customer team had been kept in house I'm sure the avalanche of complaints would have been brought to the attention of senior management much sooner, well before the need for a web site like this became overwhelming.

Vodafone only have themselves to blame.

once again i see the vodafone web site is down again as i cant log in to view or pay my bill you would think with all the bad publicly vodafone has been getting they would at least try and keep things working that can be easily resolved

The Launceston VodaFone sales person ASSURED me I would get 3G reception in my suburb on an iPhone 3GS. From my house I can SEE the tower, direct line of sight, no obstructions, NO 3G. All I get is 1 or 2 bars on the EDGE network if I am lucky to get ANY reception at all! I get NO reception EVER at my work which is a mere 3km away from the tower, also line of sight. My SMS messages arrive hours, sometimes even days after they were sent to me. Every time I try to log into my VodaFone account on the website to pay or check my bill the incompetent idiots have changed my password WITHOUT notifying me, this happens on a daily basis and every time it occurs I have to put up with a 1990's University experiment known as Lara for 2 or 3 minutes before speaking to someone who doesn't understand that I want my website login password reset and NOT the handset pin.

Unfortunately you can not speak to anyone higher than a call centre operator so attempting to complain about being stuck in a 24 month contract that was promised to deliver only to fail is very frustrating.

Relating to mobile broadband coverage.

On 27 December I purchased a "wifi in your pocket" prepaid pack, complete with SIM before I left on vacation. Once I reached my destination I installed the software and attempted to activate the service. I could not do so without the phone number attached to the SIM. The pack in the "wifi in your pocket" box did not include the phone number anywhere; only the SIM number and control number.

So I called Vodafone. Waited on hold for 45 mins. Then they hung up on me. So I called back. This time I selected the "activate a new SIM option". It also required me to have the phone number and because I did not, the automated service told me to call Customer Care on 1555. How do they think I got through to the activation option in the first place?
So I called back again, was on hold for about 50 minutes. Finally, the person I spoke to said he would would transfer me to the correct department. They hung up on me. Again. Tried calling back later in the evening only to learn that the activation department was only operational between 8am and 8pm.

I backed up again the next morning. Waited about 55 minutes on hold. When someone finally answered, seeing I was calling from a Vodafone phone, the woman I spoke to gave me the phone number attached to a mobile broadband service I had 5 years ago. Yes, 5 years ago. I asked her how she knew which service I was calling about since the one I had just bought was not yet attached to me. She said it was. I said no, it's not. This is a brand new service, it does not have my details on it, you are talking about an old one. I need the phone number for this new one, the SIM number is..... She hung up on me too!

Irate, I called back AGAIN. After another 50 minute wait the woman this time told me that the SIM I had was blank and I needed to buy a $2 SIM for it to work. I said no, that cannot be right because this SIM came in the "wifi in your pocket" box. I asked why they would provide one if it was useless and another needed to be bought. She kept repeating that the SIM number I had quoted was blank. And then she hung up on me.

I called back. Waited on hold about 20 minutes and the man I spoke to provided me with the number for the new SIM in less than a minute.

This is not my first problem with Vodafone. I have had many. I dread to think how many hours I have wasted on the phone with them. My last issue was about 2 months ago and it took about 3 weeks to resolve. Mat with one T must be the rudest CSR in the world. He should be fired.

The staff at Vodafone's customer care centre are appalling. They just have no idea. They don't record file notes as they should, you get different answers from every person you speak to. It's absolutely disgraceful. And that is a real shame because I don't have problems with the coverage per se, only specific aspects of set-up and account maintenance and it is such a terrible experience.

Good luck in your action.
Rebekah, NSW

P.S. After all this my "wifi in your pocket" is still not working. What a surprise.

Regardless of drop-outs and poor reception how bad is the vodafone web site if you are trying to check your account or useage. 4 days not available NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Open letter to Vodafail (also posted on Vodafones Facebook page):-

Your mobile broadband service - if you can call it that - is abysmal, to say the least.

But first, it is only appropriate that I start by stating that I only 'like' your company on Facebook because that's the only way I can start this thread. And Facebook is one of the few options I have left to communicate with you.

I far from like your company, your appauling customer service non-standards and your complete an inappropriate disregard for providing any level of service that you promote to proffer. But I digress.

When you were 3 you promised me the world. You couldn't deliver. When you transferred me to Vodafail you reluctantly apologised and promised me the world again with the added promise that the previous woes would never be repeated. They have been. Repeatedly. It took 4 months, constant phone calls, threats of legal action and contacting the police and TIO about your harrassment to make the 3 bills stop coming.

You've told me I was the only one with network issues. That there were no issues. That you'd oversubscribed your service. That things would get better. You've repeatedly put me on hold for hours. You've transferred my calls to the wrong department. You've hung up on me. You've told me you'll get back to me. That you'll investigate. You've offered pathetic discounts on a service that is barely useable at the best of times and often not useable at all. You've charged me for exceeding my limit the one month I managed to actually get a decent enough service level to use the internet despite months of not being able to use the internet allowance I've paid for in other months.

These are but a few of the lies and hurt and frustration that you have subjected me to. And now I learn I am not alone. In fact it would appear that I am a part of the majority.

So now I've stopped calling you. I've also stopped paying your bills. I can't get through to you on the phone to find out if you have a direct debit authority but I'm contacting the bank to make sure that if one exists it will be cancelled.

It's time for you to contact me. So now I'm waiting for you calls. So I can put you on hold. And hang up on you. And transfer you to the wrong department. Then one day I'll answer and I expect an apology. A big one. With bells and whistles.

In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you would fix my internet, so I can use all the internet time I've paid for in the past and never managed to get access to. Then you should call me so we can discuss the closure of my account with no penalty to avoid yet another complaint to the TIO.

Yep, Im just one of the many and just spent most of my new years day on the home phone to a customer service person in India repersenting Vodafone after not getting anywhere with a overcharged account, I asked for a manager 2 hours and 10 minutes later I have been given a credit for the over charged account and told that in two weeks Vodafone will have the best service in australia!!! interesting. I have no reception at my home, I travel from west of Noosa to Maroochydore on a daily bases and only have reception for no more then 10% of the trip, when I do get a call it normally will drop out before the end of the conversation. I have been a Vodafone customer for more then 12 years now and after being extremly loylal I have had enough, the phone I have under contract (Nokia N97) turns itself off, freezes, tells me I have no memormy left and will not operate currectly, I have no less the 3 times reported problems with the handset to Vodafone Noosaville (Civic centre) only to be told that the handset is now out of warrenty by 2 days and it's basicly my problem. The Vodafone computer system has no detail of my last 2 reported issues with the phone (who's not doing there job!!!)so I now sit here writing this after being on hold 6 times over 4 hours and 17 minutes waiting for a return call as the last 2 calls where from the wrong department? it has now been a futher 14 min and still no reply but the last person did tell me they can offer a $10 discount for the remainder of my contract and free Vodafone to Vodafone calls "WOW" that's going to help someone who struggles to get reception.
I was told that network connection can come out to my area and check the signal strength and if it's not up to scratch mt contract can be terminated, thats if they ever get back to me??? its now 4.25pm I made my call to them at 11.59am good to see there fixing things. The first person to read this will be the only person to realy listen, sadly.

I have several issues:
1. Billing - I signed up for an NRMA deal and it took ages to get someone to actually listen to what the actual issue was. After several frustrating calls to the Indian call centre where they denied there was a problem and kept trying to tell me that I was being billed corectly. The 1555 number I think is designed to frustrate with excess wait times, call drop outs and that silly woman that keeps saying that they experiencing abnormally large call volumes (I would think that one call is an abnormally large call volume for them). I also tried to raise the issue through the Voda web site but the issue kept being classified as resolved -despite making it clear that I wanted the issue escalated. I finally lodged a TIO complaint and actually got an Australian to call me and supposedly it has now been rectified - I am waiting for my next bill to see (not holding my breath) and also should be getting one month free for my trouble - which is really only a token.

2. Coverage - woeful coverage across the ACT - the number of times I get no service is amazing. Currently working in Mitchell where I can get no coverage one moment when sitting at my desk and then limited coverage. Very poor really.

Also experienced really poor coverage in Brisbane.

3. Vodfone 3G USB internet access. I got a USB modem with 6GB of data and a 3 month expiry. I was careful to only activate it when I really needed it because the performance is that poor that I use a real internet connection - ADSL2. As it turns out it was activated at the time I purchased - not when I actually activated it in mid November. I tried to use it in Adelaide over Christmas but it had expired. After a call to Vodafail I was advised that it was activated in mid September when I purchased it - although I had to actually call Voda in mid November to get it activated in mid November to get connectivity. I have now been advised to get a recharge. Fat chance of that - I will take my #G internet business to a real provider with good coverage - as much as it pains me to say it - Telstra. I will limit the money I give to that crap company Vodafail.

I curse the day I thought I would change mobile providers from Telstra to Vodafail. Totally incompetent and poor coverage to boot. With a contact system designed to frustrate. I pity the poor call centre workers as they probably get hammered by irate customers of this crap company.

Constant failed reception, Internet dropouts, delayed sent messages, delayed received messages, delayed voicemail, incorrect account balance bills, overcharging, incompetent customer service. I have had people try to ring my mobile and it will go straight through to message bank, my phone won't even ring and it will have full reception. Vodafone is an embarrassment to themselves and will no longer benefit from my customer loyalty. Nor anyone else's if I can help it.

I am a prepaid customer. In the last 2 months, I have a lot of calls of 1 or 2 seconds generated from my mobile number which I did not made. For every such call 74 cents are deducted from my prepaid account.Yesterday I had 5 such calls charged even when my mobile was not switched on.I called customer service and they denied any problems at their end. I wonder anyone else has similar problems.