Over a period of time i had collected details of several places in my area where calls dropped and i could not get a signal. Requested immediately (after 45 min hold) to speak to a supervisor. Explained that that based on their coverage maps and the issues i had faced, Vodafone was breaching it's contract with me and i would accept nothing less than a release from my contract (18 months left) with no termination fees. Told them i was going to TIO immediately if they declined, and after another hold of about 2 minutes they agreed to release my two contracts with all fees waived.
Have now been with Telstra for a week and get great phone service, no call drops and my call has been answered immediately when ringing their customer care.

wanted to upgrade from blackberry to iphone 4 but still had contract time. voda wanted $400 + to pay out contract but instead agreed to wave this after i told them my blackberry has been in for service 3 time since getting it and it still does not work properly i also said i would take other family members on voda and go to optus if this was not sorted. after being put on hold for what seemed like ever a supervisor came to the phone and agreed to wave the money but had to sign to new contract. bring it on i said its saved me $400 good on you voda for having such incompetant staff that realy havent got a grip on the language.

I had to wait 3 months till the end of my contract before I spoke to some incompetents in a call centre who had to investigate my coverage, after waiting 6 months to investigate my alleged "service coverage GAP" I went online myself and referred the call centre officer to the map and it was eventaually agreed by the call centre officer in INDIA to terminate my account. They wanted more then 6 months to investigate why my service kept failing with the usual advice to reboot, get a new sim card, forced reboot of the iphone. It remains that there is alot of area's where VODAFONE does not cover 3G and only does 2G and you still dont get adequate service. I spents hours and hours on hold to Vodafone, only to be passed from one incompetent to another due to one operator not working in the correct dept. It appears when things became to difficult they send you to other depts. Im sure they must sit in a call centre and just swap colleagues and laugh at a customer getting frustrated. A continual advisement of the TIO onbudsman appeared to be the only way of getting out of the contract and alot of sucking up and grovelling to the operators.

The more complaints you log with them, the better deal you will get. I had only logged one call due to the lengthy waits when ringing and useless response.
Had no signal at all for two full days, waste of time talking to the customer service people in Mumbai. Didn't bother complaining about the bad service again. Applied to TIO. When Vodafone rang, they made their introduction sound like they were actually from the TIO, and had negotiated a solution with 2 options. Eventually revealed they were employed by VF when directly asked. Contract terminated, & send back the phones (2 plans), or pay them $150 per phone (3GS iphones, 16gb & 32gb, only a few months left on contract. Would only go down to $100 per month per phone. Didn't accept, will prob send back the phones though.

By making complaint to Vodafone and TIO Bargain!!!!!!Very happy am now with another carrier and have new phone Samsung and no problems at all.

TIO complaint after 13 phone calls, 2 emails, 1 store visit, multiple tweets and numerous facebook post. I tried it all.

Complained 12/1 to TIO, got a call today from David who was heaps nice. Only had to pay $200 for my handset.
Had 11 months remaining on my contract.

WIN.

David is the man you want!

Called Voda to get out of my TWO contracts, after waiting on hold for a hour and a half the call dropped out on answer. Called again and was offered the next three months bills for free to stay, this was declined. Offered half price on contract payout, also declined.
Loged a complaint via TIO and got a response from voda in 5 days offering no fees on exit.

I love Vodafone, ive been with them since 2006 and NEVER had a problem. NEVER EVER had a problem. Not calling, texting, searching the web. NOT ONE PROBLEM! Everyone that is complaining is obviously not taking the right approach to their difficulties as they are all idiots for posting on such a stupid website. Grow up and change phone companies. IDIOTS!

I had on previous occassions tried to get my issues resolved through Vodafone directly and not got anything from them, so I went to the TIO and made a complaint. I finally heard back from Vodafone today stating that they will me (and partner as well) and I have to pay for my iPhone (about $300) but very happy. The Girl I talked to was very professional and very sympathetic. She did state that the upgrades where due to be completed by the end of March this year, but its too late for me!!

Emailed the CEO, Nigel Dews, at 11:23 am. Got a call from a Voda TIO staff member (David)at 12:45pm. He admitted issues with Vodafone's network and agreed to let me and my partner out of our respective contracts waiving all handset costs. I am 6 months into my 24 month contract for an iphone 4 and my partner has about 6 months left in his. Able to port out of Voda's network this arvo upon paying our last bill.

All I stated in my email was the disappointment I had in low network coverage, dropped calls, etc, etc. Asked that this be resolved before I take it to TIO.

Surprised at how easy it was. David was polite, sympathetic and all round awesome.

Had my number ported across to Telstra on Saturday. I had to ring them today. My call was answered in 1 minute 30 Seconds. Stunned after the over 1 hour on hold calls to vodafone!

After just under two weeks of persistent calling - many hours on the phone (re: no coverage at all) Vodafone released me out a contract - 2 months in to a 24 month plan. I have been able to change carriers and now have a mobile phone that I can use!!!! Yay

Released from my contract, 7 months in to a 24 month plan, get to keep the iphone 3GS for $100, free unlock of the handset. Excellent result, I am very very happy. I sent them many emails detailing my problems, read their replies and offers, went to the TIO, felt like I was getting the run around from the vodafone people handling that, sent an email to the CEO, got a phone call an hour later with the resolution I was after.

Firstly Vodafone dosent decide to provide good customer service until you either contact the TIO or email the CEO with a complaint. Dont keep wasting your time with the customer care number or emailing technical.

I emailed the CEO today at 1:30pm, i recieved call back by a top bloke from the vodafone customer resolution team at 3:27pm. The guys was apologetic, nice and listened to all i had to say and wasn't at all defensive regarding the service.

Since i was on last years $69 cap he offered to bump be down to the current $45 infinate cap plan which is similar but with infinate calls,text,data and be also offered to wave my current bill and credit my first bill on the new plan. The icing on the cake is that if within the remaming 7 months of my contract i am still not happy with the service i can cancel my contract with no penalty fees!

I think thats fair, and i will see how things go for now and assess if i will stay for the rest of the 7 months. Worst comes to worse ill leave and go to telstra.

If only Vodafone had people like i spoke to today working in customer care and not jugdesh prekesh in some offshore contracted business.

I complained to the TIO as was suggested by this website.
Then within a few days Vodafone's resolutions team called me and said they'd release me from my contract without penalty and that I could keep the broken handset they'd given me (gee great...) and they'd waive the $150 excess that they were going to charge me for my phone.
This is the only thing they've ever done right!
Although the lady was so nice and it was so easy I'm sure it's too good to be true - maybe I'll get given a massive bill?

I Rang Vodafone and wanted to complain that I had been getting bad "reception" using my Wireless Broadband Modem. I had been only getting the Edge Network for a few days. Previously, I have been a customer only a couple of months and I had always been getting the 3g / hsupa signal, which as you all know is much faster than edge.
I got through to a consultant that I could partly understand and was told that the Tower at Dudley had been undergoing maintenance???.
I said I was not happy as I had only just recharged my account with $150 for the next 12 months, and I would want a refund if the service didnt improve.
Since that call my service has been as it was before, I get the hsupa signal.
Maybe thats because all you others out there have picked up your bundle and done the old POQ.
So all you people deserting the sinking ship, its not sunk yet.
Maybe the service will improve and be the Vodafone of old, or even better.
I'll stay for a while yet to see what develops.
Also when I recharged ($99 Deal at Woolies, I didnt even want the modem) I lost half a gig of data as the max limit is 15 gig, I had more than 3 gig to roll over. No problem the consultant added a gig to my account to make it 16 gig. I was happy about that!
All you people out there - keep winging!

How can I contact Nigel Dews? Email address would be great to know.

Contacted TIO, released from contract.

Gain = now with Telstra and I can make calls and access data.

Mobile broadband service, they just rang me and straight away offered to release me from the contract, win win win. 1 down, now waiting for them to call me about the mobile phone complaint.

After emails, hours on hold and "we'll get back to you" I also emailed CEO Nigel Dews at lunch time and had a phone call back at 3pm from the TIO resolutions team. The Guy I spoke did not try to talk me out of it, was from Australia and was very helpful. Both my husband and my contracts have been terminated. Both had another 11 months on them. We can keep the handsets. And we also do not have to pay December's bills on both accounts! Telstra here we come...And make sure you ask for them to email the outcome so you have proof of what they said!

Last week Vodafail released me from my contract (after 18 months) and said I could keep the phone. I asked if I could put another SIM in it and use another network - they said yes.

Well when I put the new Optus SIM in guess what - it was locked!

I rang up vodafail (via 30 minute wait for an Indain call center) - who wanted to charge me $75 to unlock - I said that if they did not I would get onto the TIO again.

Suddenly they made "an excpetion" for me and unlocked it.

I am so angry with Vodafail I will never use them again - in this life or the next one!

What number do you call to get out of your voda contract?

Because i never had decent reception to even ring Vodafone to complain i lodged a complaint through the TIO and explained my situation. Got a call back from Vodafone today. The lady i spoke to was terrific. Contract is now cancelled, no exit fee and do not have to pay the last 3 months of bills that id not paid. She apologised for any problems i have suffered and when i asked about returning the phone she said "What phone" and left it at that. Very very happy with the outcome after all my frustration. Friends will be happy now that they can call me now that i have changed to Telstra and all thanks to this site.

Phoned vodafail last Thursday and got the 'put your phone onto 2G network' story. Emailed vodafail on their complaints page yesterday. Called them today and spoke to a customer service person and then got put through (after 1/2 hour on hold) to network. Told me I was in a low reception area and could terminate my contract. Asked to be put through to accounts. SPoke to another person in accounts and I have terminated my contract 10 months early without payment. The kicker is I get charged the exit fee ($500) which they tell me will be refunded when I return the phone in the satchel they post out. I asked to keep my handset and negotiate a price but was told the only price was the exit fee. Not negotiable. Suits me as my iphone has a chip off the glass where I dropped it so I can get a new one. Off to Telstra now for a prepaid phone.

Long story short. Mum and I upgraded our contracts on the same day under her name as we felt it was easier to keel both accounts under her name (I was a minor when we got my first contract). Went into a vodafone store to ask when the contract ended. To my surprise they told me my mums contract ended this month but mine had been extended by 3 months. Asked them why and she said it's probably coz we stopped paying our bill. I thought this sounded way too fishy so I called the TIO and complained. Received a call tonight, only 4 business days after making the complaint. The lady I spoke to was absolutely lovely (and an Aussie!). She told me she wasn't sure why the extra three months had been added on and reassured me that they should have not been. She basically said the excuse the staff member gave me was crap and and corrected the end date of my contract and wrote off my overdue $213 bill. We even had a bit of a laugh about it.

She was an absolute pleasure to deal with and demonstrated the kind of customer service you would expect to receive from a major telco. As she was so nice and helpful I actually didn't have the heart to tell her I was leaving after the contract ended. This is actually a big thing for me to say as well because I am a regular poster on this site and I despise vodafone.

If vodafone provided this type of customer service to all their customers they wouldn't be in this mess today, but hey that's their problem.

I recently made a complaint with Vodafone because I was unable to send emails. They gave me the excuse that they are currently upgrading and the issue should be fixed shortly but would not commit to a date.
After talking with 3 different people, they credited my account $99.00, but problem still exists.

Called up vodafone last week on Wednesday, to complain, they gave me three months for free and told me that an investigation would take place, and they would call me within 72 hours, nobody called me so i called them back to complain again and they allowed me to cancel my contract.

Great result for me, now i can go with Telstra or Optus, Not sure yet. :D

switched to IInet

Finally got a call from Vodafone in regards to the TIO complaint I had made and had a lovely discussion with the consultant. She had obviously done her research into my complaint (maybe cos I had documented everything but hey she was good) and she gave me all my options..
1. 3 months free access for both numbers and wait and see what will happen - ie if the service improves etc
2. keep the numbers, wipe the commitment date and reduce my bills significantly (have under $100 to pay for 3 mths)
I chose option 2... I'm free to port my number elsewhere and so now I'm checking out other telcos...
Downside tho, I now can't call out on my phone which is fair enough but a major hassle while I'm travelling home!!

Made a TIO complaint on 1 Jan 2011. (At 3.37 pm they (TIO) numbered my complaint 11/000077, ie 77 complaints by 3.37 on 1 January, mostly Vodafone I expect.) I was called by Rex of Vodafone this am. Recorded whole conversation, in which he admitted that Vodafone have severe bandwidth problems on the Central Coast where I live, and terminated two contracts, mine and my wife's, after 7 months of 24 months. I retained the HTC Magic handsets, which we like, for $100 each, bargained down from his joke 'offer' of $250. Also discussed the fact that Vodafone were effectively committing fraud by signing up suckers, at Bateau Bay Village Vodafone shop, and over the internet, as we spoke, for a service which he directly stated to me that their system could not provide in this area.
We also discussed, for the taped record, that five of the eight accounts I have received were in error, by 70% to over 400%, always in vodafone's favour, and that it took over ten hours of my $150 per hour chargeable time to get them corrected. He had the accounts in front of him, as we spoke, and agreed that they were plainly in error, and should never have been sent.
My experience indicates that there is strong circumstantial evidence that Vodafone, as currently configured, (with misleading advertising, and admitted incapable network, a disfunctional support, service, and dispute 'resolution' system), is effectively a massive fraud perpetration system aimed at extracting money from the Australian people.

after 2 weeks of constant ringing 1555 and complaining about how bad my reception is and after i complained to the ambudsman i got a phone call from and australian women who has cancelled my 20 month left contract... she wanted $800 for my I phone in which i declined and will send it back... good bye VODAFONE FOR GOOD

After reading others' comments I signed up for the Class Action and also contacted the T.I.O. Within 48 hours Vodafone (and an Australian person) contacted me offering to release me from my contract without penalty. I jumped at th opportunity and have since joined up with Virgin Mobile. English speaking support people and so far quite a good service. Thanks for giving us the various options on action to take in this fiasco. Bye, bye Vodafone for good!

I found this out the hard way:

If your phone is on 3G and all internet (and My Vodafone) services stop one day, just put your phone into 2G mode (may have to deselect certain frequencies in Network Setup etc).

The problem is likely to be affecting one mobile cell tower only. It is temporary. It is not your phone' fault, no matter what Voda say.

All because the boofhead I spoke to on Monday did not log my complaint to the correct dept I have to wait another 5-7 days for them to do an investigation. I think its a joke that after I waited 45 mins to speak to a person whom was soooo located overseas as soon as he picks up the phone it dropped out this is the story of my life with vaodfail anyway he rang me straight back then as a slap to the face he offered me a $24.50 refund off my current bill as this was half my contracted amount WHAT THE??? anyway I asked to speak to another guy in the correct dept and to cut it short Im getting a full refund of my contracted amount off my last bill and a part refund of the current month as its only early days into this months bill. This whole phone call wasted 1 hr and 25mins of my life which is an improvement from 1hr and 45mins from the previous call.

How rude if the guy did it correctly in the first place I would be staying bye bye today but no I have to wait another 5-7days for them to do an investigation just so I can get out of my contract without any penalties


I am still going phone shopping with other non Vodafone companies, this time next week its bye bye vodafone and kiss my ass as I am not paying you the rest of my contracted amount. I have lost way too much money being with you

I complained to the TIO, and had vodafone resolutions team contact me within three weeks. They were very keen to resolve the situation even though I was on holidays. The offer was to be released from my contract 5 months early, and given a free months access in the hope that I would hang around to see if the network improves. I accepted the offer, and plan to hit up a Telstra store today!

I wrote an email and sent a formal letter to Vodafone last month to complain about the ongoing reception issues. I've previously posted my complaints on this site.

I've got 3 connections for my business with Vodafone and I received a call today from a very friendly lady called Judy. She was very helpful and ended up giving us a month free on each connection, which I think was a fair resolution.

Yes, it's taken some time (and I can see people waiting on hold for ages), but the outcome has been the right one and has been fair. Well done Vodafone and I do hope for your sakes that the network is upgraded quickly, as you've said would happen, because many people won't be as patient the next time around.

Had a call from an Aussie who spoke English as a first language to advise me that they werent going to pursue me the $1000 over an early exit fee with my contract,which was before the Telco ombudsman.............my response was that i wouldnt sue them then for loss of business due to their 'non' service levels.........so they now have a 'happy' EX CUSTOMER! Like the cricket - its over and out!

alot of complaining and keeping email records of my complaints and the lack of responses from vodafone. this helped seal the deal as you need to prove you contacted them but they did not respond/fix the problem.

i got out scott free, kept my phones also. was only 6 months into a 24 month contract on 5 x $99 unlimited plans.

Im a Vodafone Mobile Broadband Customer, and im Satisfied with the service.
Its not fast I admit BUT at the cost "$99 for Modem Incl 15gig to use over 12 months", what more could you want.
I was on dial-up with Pacnet and if you think Vodafone is BAD "TRY THEM".
In this world you get what you pay for, no free rides, OK
SO PLEASE KEEP COMPLAINING. IF YOU GET A RESULT I'LL BE ON CLOUD NINE WHEN THE SPEED INCREASES.

I got three months free..but the problem is that you would have to call up vodafone (billing) each month to get it credited which really sucks...

After constant coverage and call drop issues, and a lack of action from Vodafone I contacted to TIO. VF's TIO resolution team contacted me today, ironically they couldn't get through on my mobile because I didn't have coverage and called my landline today. They instantly offered to let me out of both contracts: one has iPhone 3GS and 10 months still left on contract and the second is iPhone 4 with 23 months still on contract. They have let me keep the iPhone 3GS (no cost) and I offered to return the iPhone 4. They have unlocked the 3GS and said they hope I will one day want to return to VF. I called back 20 minutes later and it was all completed. I thanked them for their assistance and felt a lot better about them as a company. I have gone to Telstra as I am in a regional area it is the only viable option. I wish I hadn't had to go to the TIO to get the result that I needed but I do appreciate them resolving it so quickly without fuss or argument.

Vodafone have called me back numerous times this week. They were very friendly and seemingly helpful.

I was told to reset my phone and also given a special super long number to type into my Iphone keypad to address the 'problem'. (I have a feeling this is just a waste of time) it's the network not my phone?!

They called again today to offer me a discounted plan. I want to think about it - but I have tried calling back three times and either got a crackly line or hung up on etc.

The guy I spoke to earlier gave me his 'extension' to call him direct - I assumed the prefix would be their customer service no. "1300" followed by his extension - silly that I didn't think to ask.

Any ideas what the prefix would be so I can call this guy back?!! Its not 1300.

I contacted Vodafone via their customer service email address, after hearing the horror stories regarding the on-hold queues on the 1555 line.

In the email I infomed them that I had experienced call drop-outs, delayed text messages/voicemails, and limited 3G connectivity for a four month period. I also indicated that if I wasn't able to obtain a satisfactory outcome with Vodafone directly, I would be pursuing it with the TIO.

The initial response from a Vodafone CSR offered me two months credit, which I said wasn't sufficient. They also asked that I provide my PIN and/or personal details over email, which I refused to do over email, and requested they call my mobile to discuss.

After several to and fro automated emails, I received a call today. I was informed that the network was being strengthened in my suburb, completion due by end Q1 2011. Off the bat, the CSR offered me three months credit, in addition to 50% off my access fee for the remainder of the contract (10 months). Also, the CSR said that they would add a note on my file that if I was still unhappy with the coverage by the end of Q1 2011, I could leave the contract without penalty.

I asked the CSR to email me to confirm these arrangements, which was done within the hour.

All in all, I couldn't fault the customer service. Obviously they are on damage control now, and will be quite generous in attempting to keep you as a customer/off their backs.

A few things I could suggest when dealing with Vodafone customer service:
- Be polite and reasonable - they aren't the network guys, they just mop up the mess.
- Get the CSR's name for your records
- Keep a written record of the time/date/nature of the call
- Know what you want to achieve as a result (i.e. discount/credit/cancellation)
- Ask them to confirm the arrangements in writing. Your notes are good, but not as good as something from them.

I'll be staying with them for the time being, and will reassess in a couple of months after the network upgrades (whatever that involves).

Filed a complaint with the Ombudsman and when contacted by Vodaphone in response to my complaint I requested my unused credit back (I was on a prepay device).

I had called Vodafone a number of times complaining about poor reception and call dropouts, particularly about inconsistency, where I'd have service in a location one day, but not the next. In general terms I kept being told to update my software on my iPhone 3Gs, despite my assertions I was already on the latest versions of everything.

With the netowrk getting worse and worse I tried three times within a week to contact the call centre with long wait times, so I gave up. Afte giving up on Voda I wrote a complain to the TIO via the TIO website. I explained my concerns with good detail and suggested the resolution I wanted was to be let out of my contract, explaining that I was happy for Voda to take my handset back, even though I'd had it for half of the contracted time.

Voda's resolutions team contacted me in response to the TIO complaint and in one phone call agreed to let me out of my contract, whilst keeping the phone and having it unlocked for free too.

I saw this as a good resolution, although a little disappointing it had to get so far. I had been a long term voda customer and was very happy with them until recently. It's disappointing the only way I got any action was to go to the TIO, when it seemed so easy once I'd made the complaint official. I've since helped a number of freinds get out of thier contracts too.

Also worth noting that now when you call voda and they have long wait times, the system offers to call you back when the queue calms down - if that option was around when I initially had to wait for hours with no response, I may well have been saved the trouble of using the TIO.

after being on hold today with vodafone for more than 3 hours (and many more hours across the last 2 months) I finally made some small headway. They told me if they cant fix the network problems in 48 hours they will release me from my contract without a termination fee. They said I would have to send back my handset (im 14 months into my contract)I said hell no but I am happy to discuss some payment for it. I also better be carefull that I can still port my numnber. I have heard voda have been blocking some people from porting their number accross.

Well afters weeks of waiting I finally recieved a phone call from VHA yesterday and said i had 2 options.
1. VHA offering a credit to my Account
2. rip up my contract, I can keep my phone.

I choose Opt2......:), my contract has 10 mothns left on a $69 cap with an iPhone 3gs.
I'm just waiting for an email then I'm off to port my number to Telstra were the grass is greener.

well a few day later I go into Telstra shop at Erina and signed up for a new phone and contract, she said that the number would take 2 hrs to port over.

5 hrs later i got a call from Telstra saying that Vodafone had rejecting my porting! WTF, Telstra asked me to call VHA to sort out the mess.

So i call VHA on hold for 47mins and it turns out that they have my D.O.B. wrong and i need to fax it to bla bla number and it will take up to 72hrs to get fixed.

VHA what a joke of a company, I am now sitting on the Telstra network and swear blind I will never go back to VHA.

Luckily I'm not on a plan and can move my provider whenever I want, but I complained to the TIO and was contacted by an Australian Vodafone representative and now have the following two months completely free. If there is no improvement past that point my business goes elsewhere.

Lowered my VF plan to $29 a month, the customer service agent waived the change fee out of sympathy, then I cancelled my contract the next day and signed up to Telstra. 6 months left on the plan x $29 = worth it to have text messages delivered and phone calls completed.

After sending a number of politely worded emails and lodging a complaint with the TIO, Vodafone have agreed to release me from my contract 20 months early, with a $200 handset charge. Thank you Vodafail for providing the information to allow the individual to take control :)

Wrote letters to VF, Sent Emails, Contacted call center, Wrote letter to CEO at Head office Sydney ""two months"" of haggling, finally they let me out of contract (18 mths) served - They said NO EXIT FEE,,--- BUT wait,, phone still locked to VF,, contacted VF call center they advise you either pay $25 to unlock online or $50 via VF call center, otherwise will not discuss any further,, Paid $25 and sending CEO the bill for $25 and time spent in waiting que..

I called Vodaphone and told them of the ongoing problems my fiancee and I had been experiencing for several months. They provided each of us a two month credit on our bill, adding up to over $300. When you consider that both of us have had problems since June, it's really not overly generous of them...

It began by a bluff. I told them I was recording them. Vodafone customer care disconnected me for recording. After that I did record almost every call without telling them.
After registering a complaint with the TIO, I informed Vodafone on the next exchange that I was done talking to them until such time as I knew the TIO had contaced them. No More. As a guess, I have some 10-20 hours of calls recorded.

Today, someone in Australia from Vodafone called me. They were ready to play ball and see the end of me.

The contact (name I failed to get. My failing there. He was everything I wished Vodafone had been the past three months.) and I reviewed the history. I explained to him, I dissect spin every day. Just cut to the chase.

I recently changed from prepaid to contract. I am two months into a 12 month contract. My remaining contract was waived, no exit fees. Plus, they had already given me two free months. Basically cancelling out everything. Last was the phone to deal with. An LG Optimus. Retail about $260. Asked to send back, or make an offer to buy. I offered $100. They took it.
I have now gone w/ iinet. Who operate on the Optus network. Not the cheapest rates. However, I have been with iinet for years with my internet. The best customer service I deal with. Always honest, even when there have been faults- which are rare. Happy to spend money with a company who wants to supply a top notch service.

The saga is not complete yet. Once my new SIM cards come (moved my wife too) and the whole shebang is complete. I will post a comment saying so.

Thanks to this website and all the troubled folks who shared tales of woe.
This shows the power of the people when focused. Thank the Flying Spag Monster for the Internets. Our Voice. Our Power!

after 9 mths of pathetic coverage, call dropouts and internet snail pace I had enough and called Vodaphone. Multiple attempts, dropouts and then finally 2 x 1hr+ holds last week got through to Vodaphone and after complaining was offered 2GB worth a data a month instead of my normal 1Gb cap - I refused this idiotic "fix" as 2x zero network coverage/internet connectivity is still zero - there's no way I hit my 1GB it's impossible on theor network!!! They asked me to swap my sim card (another delaying tactic!) in a store which I did but they never called me back as I requested to confirm if that helped - it didn't of course new sim card doesn't fix pathetic network infrastructure...

how much would it have cost vodaphone to get it right the first time?

vodafail is right !

have registered with the Telephone Industry Ombudsman and the saga continues - I am thinking of tracking my time and invoicing vodaphone for the amount wasted - would exceed my 24 mth contract for sure...

After lodging a TIO complaint I kept emailing Vodafone screenshots of 'Network Lost', 'Call Failed' and dropouts. Finally got a phone call from the Vodafone TIO Resolution Centre offering to let me out of my contract and reduce the $1177 cancellation fee to $400. Since I wasn't looking to get a free phone out of Vodafone I figured this was fair.
They removed the committment from the contract, so I'm able to use my phone with Vodafone on the usual plan etc until I receive my new SIM and port over.

I didnt confirm if the $400 includes the iPhone 3GS being unlocked, but I have until the 12th Jan to contact the TIO again. I won't be paying extra to have the phone unlocked.

Rang and explained that my 3 contract was up and was considering alternative companys due to problems with service. Have been with company over 5 years and stated that at this point wanted a deal with no contract but reasonable price. Was offered new phone, more data, free calls, higher cap but need to sign a contract.Told them thank you but no thank you. Then was offered the best deal I have seen anywhere. $17.50 month for 500mg data, $350 included calls,unlimited free calls 3 and vodafone,NO CONTRACT is month to month. Accepted this as whilst having some dropouts and some issues with slow data not enough to port to telstra YET!!! However no contract means I have an out if need be. In my opinion if everyone was month to month then ALL TELCOS would have to pick up their game. Vodafone is having issues but if we give all our business to only a couple of companies GUESS WHAT we ALL will have HIGHER COSTS as we have seen with the supermarkets and petrol stations. We need to get rid of the CONTRACTS not the companies. Only when there is competition will there ever be a decent service. I personally have been to the ombudsman about Telstra due to being billed and having a credit default listed for a phone service I didnt even own. So all those going to Telstra watch out believe me the tears the heartache of fighting them when they do you wrong is not worth the effort. Come on think ahead DO YOU WANT A TELCO Duopoly???????????

I phoned Voda Phone re no coverage at my home address at Kellyville Ridge NSW. The first thing they told me was I had moved since connecting. I informed them I thought I had a mobile phone and addresses don't matter. I was then asked what my home was built from. My reaction to that was I, like most residents in the area have brick walls. I told them I wanted out and they gave me a $200.00 credit. I stayed but the coverage is still non-existant in most of Kellyville Ridge.

contact TIO, they put me onto someone at vodafone with a reference number and they let me send my phone back and resign with virgin mobile which are a much better network i am already with them and everything works and are cheaper than voda

Haven't been able to get out. As an aged pensioner 4 months into a 2 year contract and can get absolutely no response from Vodafone (apart from that stupid bloody Lara). Back to work tomorrow and the first place I visit is the Dept of Fair Trading. I want out without penalty at least. To newbies give Vodafone a big miss, they think we are and treat us like 3rd World communicators. Regardless of any improvement they migh make, I say, Dump 'em permanently!

I called vodafone everyday for a week waiting on hold from an hour to having to call them back several times to get through to someone. On my birthday I called and was on the phone to them for three and a half hours. I was in contact with the telecommunication ombudsman and lodged a complaint. I was offered a cheaper plan rate and 20 dollars to take to a prepaid company to change sim cards while the network issues were being resolved. I declined the offer. I was then offered free unlimited calls for the next 2 months. I declined the offer. There was no way I was going to stay with them just because it was free. The service is still bad. So they released my from my contract which had another seven months, I just had to pay out my phone which was fair enough. Im now with Telstra on a new and cheaper contract and have not had any coverage, network or data issues for the past 2 weeks now.

I called 1555, and waited on hold with billing and accounts for about an hour and hung up... called 1555 again, and decided to press a different button just so i could speak to someone, anyone... so i pressed to activate my new vodafone handset... my call was answered within 5mins, i explained to him how unhappy i was and that i have been with vodafone for a very long time, i didnt shout or scream or demand anything, i just stated that vodafone needs to companstate their customers bills, he agreed with what i had said, he also stated he couldnt do anything about it as he was new and wasnt his department, but what he did do, was put me through to the escollations department, I once again explained that i was extrememly unhappy with vodafone poor service since they have joined the "3" hutchison telecom network, she then stated that as of today i dont have to pay my bill for the next 3 months. and i was happy with that.

things to remember dont shout or abuse them, because its not their fault, they are just spokes people and trying to earn there $2 an hour... get on their good side, tell them that you know its not their fault but vodafones and that you feel for them as they have to deal with everyone calling because the problem is so bad... be stern and frustrated but dont scream or shut or abuse... and I got what i wanted... so even thugh the service is still so shit its not funny, at least im not paying for it. :)

Limited & Very Slow 3G data coverage in Sydney CBD area - Various call drop outs, On hold for probably 8 hours in total over a few weeks (no exag) after contacting the TIO and Vodafone on Facebook & Twitter - they agreed to provide me with a 'goodwill' payment of 2 months $69 cap plan for my bothers.
Just hope they sort their data speed, coverage and customer service out in the next few months. I've been a Vodafone customer for over 5 years and my contract ends mid next year. I'm going to change over to Telstra.

Just over a week ago I finally decided to call Vodafone to complain about the network problems. I was experiencing problems in post codes 2008, 2000 and 2065.
The cancellations team member I spoke to was actually really lovely. She acknowledged that I had been with Vodafone a long time, she acknowledged that Vodafone were having significant network problems, and she entreated me to give them until January to catch up on the network upgrade that was skipped because of the firmware problems they had.
I wasn't expecting her to do anything for me, they can't fix the network or cancel my contract over the phone on a first complaint. So, having exhausted Vodafone's own dispute resolution, I lodged a complaint with the TIO.
With the TIO you dont have to be overly specific, keeping diaries and everything, but you do need to be specific about the problems you personally have been getting and where you have been getting them. They work by post codes, so use them (as I have here). Talk about timeouts and reduced data speeds. Talk about call dropouts and inability to make and receive calls. Talk about what conditions cause the service to be better (being at home) or worse (when using the service at speed). Finally, say what you want from Vodafone to resolve the dispute.

After about a week I got a quick call from Vodafone in response to the TIO complaint offering 4 months free service or the $150 left on my MPP to be released from my contract. Considering I was only 4-5 months into a 24 month contract, I took the latter option!

I'm now in a situation where I have to work out what to do with my new found freedom. Telstra's cap plans are roughly comparable to what I was paying on Vodafone, but it appears as though you can only get them if you're signing a new 24 month contract and getting a cheap included phone. Optus has BYO cap plans, but again you have to sign a 12 month contract - even without getting a new phone.

I won't be signing a contract with another operator. While I'm unhappy that Vodafone let their network get to this point, and I'm apprehensive about how it's going to survive the 3 network merger, I will be returning to Vodafone when their network upgrades are complete. They're a good company, and it took having to consider the alternatives to rediscover this about them.

I tried calling them but waited on hold for 45 minutes and thought my life is too short to be spending this ridiculous amount of time on the phone....anyway, I regress.....I went to their website and sent an email through their customer ser...vice link....not sure of web address now but I had a reply the next day which was very confusing and ambiguous as to whether I would have to pay or not so I sent another email back for them to confirm a few questions like 'how much will I have to pay to get out of this contract'. The following day the person emailed back and said that if I return the phone to them as per their procedure (which was explained in length in the first email) and the phone was in good condition then I would not have to pay vodaphone anything. So, it is in writing and I just have to let them know my mailing address for them to send me instructins and packaging to return the phone and everything should be cancelled. Is there any chance their service is going to get better in the near future????

Been with Voda for about 10 years, hardly any issues with my Nokia on a pre paid plan. Makes me wonder am I just one of the "lucky" few or are other users just hopeless when it comes to their phone setup.

I really feel for the employees in Voda's call centre, they must be copping it badly! As a former call centre employee in an ISP, I can sympathise.

I went with the advertisement for VodaFone coverage for the Warners Bay area, but it was all lies. They do not have the coverage they claim, I am getting poor to very poor reception on mobile broadband. I even had one of their engineers admit that that the eqipment was not up to the job, but would they let me out of the 2 year contract, of course not.

As soon as my contract is up I sm giving them the short shrift and telling them to stuff it. Does anyone know of a company that provides a reasonable download in the Newcastle area?

Peter

I am one of the lucky ones being only on Voda prepaid - AND I was considering getting on a Voda plan. Thanks for this site, I've signed up with a different company, hope it goes well.

Ok after I lodged my complaint to TIO, Voda called me today. They gave me 2 options, keep my phone and pay $400 or do a "coverage check" - I told them that neither were good enough and wanted to speak to a supervisor - no one was or would be available - At all times I remained calm and wasn't rude to the operator, I expressed my disappointment and said I would consider my options. 1 hour later a guy called me back and offered to cancel my contract for $100 as the phone I have was worth $450 - DEAL................

So the moral to the story I can see is, they will get you out of your contract - AS LONG AS YOU ARE CALM AND POLITE. Thankyou VODA...Finally