1 May 2011 07:24:09 PM: Hi the pocket wifi is a great product and i have purchased mine from the same place and had no problem. I got the store owner to get it working for me she was really helpful. Why dont you goback to the store and get them to help you install it, instead off making claims that they took your money. I have purchase a few prepaid things from that store and they ALWAYS as me if i want them to connect it for me and i have always told them to and never had a problem. i will advise you that the first sim card i got was not working well but the store manager fixed it for me. Go back and talk to the person that sold it to you and dont make claims before you get it checked out. Somebody in Windsor.

9 May 2011 01:52:38 AM: They are, was announced long ago that they are doing $500 million worth of upgrades now.

1 May 2011 02:10:44 AM: I went to this store recently and yes the shop assistants there really don't give a toss about serving customers. They prefer to talk among themselves or fool around on their Facebook. I tried to renew my mobile contract and upgrade to a more expensive plan (yes, give them more money than I do now). The shop assistant told me I had to do it on the phone and that it wasn't her job. Anyone who has tried to do anything with Vodafone over the phone will know you have to wait on hold forever. When I asked why I couldn't get it done there she simply walked away and ignored me. I was in no way rude or anything, I merely wanted to continue being a Vodafone mobile customer and I could not believe I was being turned away. I think my days of being a loyal Vodafone customer are about to end.

1 May 2011 03:44:57 PM: I know this store too. I went in for a business plan for 5 phones on unlimited plans (alot of money i know) and was told to come back later.... there were 3 shop assistants and NO customers in the store.... Do they not work on commission?

3 May 2011 09:28:20 PM: They can't possibly work on commission at this store. I went there last Saturday to buy a mobile phone on a plan but the young Asian female shop assistant told me to order it over the phone yet she couldn't be bothered providing me with the phone number. I left and went to the Telstra shop instead.

4 May 2011 11:44:14 PM: Sounds like the girl who served me when I tried to get a mobile broadband pocket wifi that I saw advertised in the paper. She told me to go online to order it which might have been OK if I had an internet connection in the first place. The whole reason for me wanting to make the purchase was so that I could have internet access. She didn't seem to understand nor did she care.

30 Apr 2011 05:25:57 PM: Are you sure of the date of the first text? I hope you have saved it. If it does say free texts on the 30th, contact the TIO.

2 May 2011 12:46:27 PM: Contact the TIO, They will assist you in getting out of contract, debt free :) goodluck, let me know how you go

3 May 2011 07:14:26 PM: Same same same, its an outrage. this is melbourne CBD and they cannot handle basic capacity. From 8pm until 6am you basically cannot have any constant connection and then it goes spaz again at random times during the day. Vodafone should STOP SELLING USB BROADBAND until they can handle existing customer capacity demands on wireless broadband, let alone new subscribers.

30 Apr 2011 06:24:35 PM: I live in Sydney and I experience poor coverage too. Lately I am texting more than calling because of constant call dropouts.

5 May 2011 09:46:56 AM: Just had the same with my credit card , hackers used my vodafone account number then withdraw @ $700 (5 x $149). Credit card people informed me that this happens often with vodafone. I am now changing providers! This has now caused me to cancel my credit card and have a new one issued which I now inform all me account holders. I'm not a happy chappy!!!

7 May 2011 12:33:23 AM: Same thing happened to me on the 30 April, 5 transaction of $149. Not happy, had to cancel my credit card too. Does anyone know how this could have happened?

7 May 2011 03:08:41 AM: I had the same phone call Friday morning :( 5 transactions of $149. I was on the 'myvodafone' site only a hour or so before it happened too.

23 May 2011 06:43:34 PM: Well guys you are not allone, I use Visa prepaid card and guess what? I got charged 5 x 150 all on the same day for Vodafone Tullamarine total of $750 I refered this matter to TIO Telecommunication Ombudsman because I am not getting any answers. I strongly suggest you do the same. Hold these Vodafone bastards accountable. they are multimillion dollar organisation they should have much better business practices.

26 May 2011 11:19:29 AM: well this has happened to me. BASTARDS!! Im not even a vodafone customer so HOW would this have happened
have referred the offer to bank, and also TIO. Fingers crossed

28 May 2011 06:03:57 PM: I have also just been charged 4x$149 from Vodafone Tullermarine. I am not a Vodaphone customer and live in Perth! I am unsure how to deal with this? How did they even get my details??!

29 Apr 2011 07:42:20 PM: not if you're in the business of telecommunications!

29 Apr 2011 10:31:49 PM: simple. you're one of the countless fools that just keeps on accepting poor service by rewarding the carrier for their poor performance by paying their bill. REFUSE TO PAY YOUR BILL AND TELL THEM SO. Ordered a meatlovers pizza at your pizzeria, say $19, shop assistant flops box on counter, you take a sniff, open box, find there's little or no meat on your pizza, as staffie demands payment, ARE YOU going to pay up? Yep Aussies are stupid people, they pay up, walk off and go home whinging and ranting how the local pizzeria has done them over and ripped them off. Yeah folks, welcome to Awwwstralia, the great land down under, full of stupid people this wonderful sunburnt country of ours. They ask for the money, you stupid people just keep on coughing up and paying. Is it any wonder why we have politicians that break their promises, and then get rewarded by being re-elected? Is it any wonder then why we have the woes like rising power prices, rising cost of living, food, housing, and such? You stupid people just bend over and ask for more, so WHACK! you get booted up the rear end again. Boom! whinge rant and rave and whinge some more, then you aussie scum just bend on over again, give me some more, last time didn't hurt enough. Bam! Boot comes again. Ouch! Whinge, rant and rave, what? $xxxx for that? grrr grumble whinge whinge, you pay up. Then again aussie scum bends over when demanded by the rich and powerful, Whammo! Ouch that hurt, what? $xxxx.xx ? Damn can't afford that, that's alright I have no brain, I'm an Aussie, you pay up, and bend over another time. Whacko! Ouch that hurt. My parents saw the light that this is the stupid country, where 22 million people collectively have the IQ of a cockroach, that's why they went home, this place just doesn't make sense. Such a wonderful country, its incredibly beautiful and diverse natural attractions, the beaches, the wildlife, the climate and many beautiful places to see and explore, but what a shame the people are mostly braindead and stupid here, just no balls and no initiative, just pieces of driftwood floating along the river of life, bouncing and weaving along, not standing up for their rights, just taking whatever is thrown at them, and making do with the situation of the time without consideration of the fact that they have to continually work harder, longer and smarter to satisfy the ever-increasing needs and demands of the rich and powerful in the upper echolons of society.

THE ONLY REASON we have crap service here, exampled by Vodafone/3's woes, as well as issues with Optus as well, is most people just do as they're told, no can't do that will affect my credit rating, better cough up and put up with poor service then when my contract is up, I'll change phone companies. These companies' CEO's and top brass must surely be laughing behind closed doors, as would their major shareholders, thinking geez are these people stupid or what? We provide crap service, but the money just keeps on coming. Not much of a groundswell of protest, customers refusing to pay. Yep that's alright, we can just keep on doing more of the same, congestion, drop-outs, so what? The stupid people just keep on paying their bills, we'll be right alright. Thank goodness for dual citizenship, I can tell you THIS without a doubt, if I was faced with the prospect of having to spend the rest of my life living in Australia, I would commit suicide right now. Absolutely, the mere thought of such a prospect makes me puke. This is so sad because there are people out there who are REALLY suffering, starving, or struggling to find food, the only problem comes when people adopt the mindset that geez we're the lucky country we're not starving, we have sewage and reticulated good quality water and a health and hospital system that's kind of working well, very well compared to some places, then fall back into this we're the lucky country bullshit, so we have call dropouts, congestion and such. Corporate Australia and politicians KNOW this and play the game accordingly.

Keep on milking the cow 'cause it ain't kickin' back !

30 Apr 2011 11:05:01 AM: Like like like like like!!!

Australians do take it up the ass. And I am one Australian who is sick of it.
Yes we ahve some things good but many many others not so good. We have few large service providor companies like Vodafone and a government that is ballsless. Other countries would be rioting, protesting, setting cars on fire. Thankfully we dont do the latter yet, however we have become the American whingers. We complain and complain but dont do anything to try and change it. We accept defeat or think someone else will do it.

After poor mobile data speeds and no reception in most of Sydney, Australias 'capitol' city, i rang up and refused to pay my bill. They didnt accept it at first but i stuck to my guns and tore strips off the operator, even thos she wasnt personally responisbly. I got my 3 months free billing, the service has iimprved but data speeds on my mobile are still very very slow. This will intice a nother phone call if it does not get better.

30 Apr 2011 11:06:42 AM: PS. I wish i had dual citizenship...

30 Apr 2011 11:22:55 AM: sydney is NOT the capital of Australia......that would be Canbera ACT.

30 Apr 2011 08:36:25 PM: Or possibly even Canberra ACT.

29 Apr 2011 06:46:52 PM: this isn't just a vodafone/3 problem, similar issue with Telstra here, in December I moved from Burleigh Waters to Robina, terminated my telstra account, as I no longer needed a landline, in mid-January I received a bill of $158-something from Telstra, paid it, and that was the end of that, or so I thought.
Today I received a Final Demand from "Specialised Recoveries" demanding a Telstra debt of $66.37, with the account number of my burleigh waters telstra account. I rang the 1-800-285-773 number, and that connected me to Telstra. A person with an Indian accent, very polite and helpful chat, and quite easy to understand too, which is a welcome change, said there was an outstanding amount from the past bill. I said there was a bill of $158-something, and that had been paid. I asked him to look up billing details and payment details, and he confirmed there was a payment of $158-something and the balance then was zero, but in February and March there was additional billing data, which had been unpaid. WTF? Don't they have to send a statement or an invoice for that? He said here was no billing data available for these, only that there was an outstanding amount of $66.37 in that account.

The "Final Demand" asserts that "we may provide your payment default to a credit reporting agency, blah blah blah" and that this will become part of my credit history file for 5 years and will be available to authorised parties such as credit providers.

I asked him whether he was able to provide me the particulars of the outstanding amount. What was it? Line rental charges? Calls? The account was closed at the end of december, no more calls, no more activity on the account...

OK, I know that most Aussies are stupid morons (look at the politicians this pathetic excuse of a nation elects into power and how they manage things - just like ordinary aussie scum live their lives, no idea...) - I mean how can a company send out a final demand without sending out a statement of account, and upon non-payment of same, a reminder ???

One thing is for certain, they will NOT BE PAID if the numbers don't add up - how can you terminate a service, and then some months later suddenly accrue other charges? Why the fuck to I pay taxes to this loser nation when there are no government laws and regulations to prevent big businesses from attempting to extract money from people like this? If I did this to my clients they would report me to the Fair Trading office, or attempt to have me charged for attempting to gain financial advantage through deception. I'm eagerly awaiting my telstra account detailing how this $66.37 outstanding account was calculated from a final bill that had a $158- something amount, and proof of payment that was acknowledged by this telephone operator, who could not extract particulars of how they came to the $66.37 outstanding amount ???

Sorry for being so pedantic, most of you would just say hey screw this, I don't want my credit rating tarnished, I better pay it, so stupid aussie moron pays it without much more than a whinge or two..

THIS IS PRECISELY THE REASON why we have the woes that so many people are whingeing about, rising electricity prices, high cost of living, and such, when you have a nation consisting of mostly braindead, stupid people who have no idea how things work in the real world. Can't wait to see the last of your stupid country, love the beaches, love the surf, the climate, but the way of life in this place, eeeech, no honesty, no integrity. Sting 'em for what they're worth, it's the aussie way. No thanks, FK off, not for me thank you very much. Mum and Dad went back 8 years ago citing that "if we stayed here, we'd become like them" . Bingo ! Stupid me thought differently, I considered myself as a proud immigrant Aussie, how sadly wrong I was, was thinking of wiping my ass with the aussie passport, but my ass is not worthy of being wiped with something as disgustingly pathetic as an Australian passport.

29 Apr 2011 07:36:11 PM: lol. I'm as despondent about things as you are. Just look how long the ACMA takes to act. I actually called the ACCC to see if they were doing anything about Vodafone. They said "you'll have to write to a minister because it's beyond our control cause Vodafone haven't actually broken any laws".

Sorry our country let you down, it's regulators are letting us all down.

PS my friend from another country (to whom I actually recommended Vodafone - agghh) had exactly the same experience as you did. He knew Vodafone from overseas and thought it to be a very good company, but then, welcome to Australia, where our regulators are half asleep.....

29 Apr 2011 07:41:18 PM: PS the regulators (ACCC, ACMA) will say "the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman" is there to help you (which is true). But why TF should we have to spend all day complaining to them to get anything done. And besides, no-one has even heard of the TIO! (11% awareness according to their website! - imagine if only 11% of people knew of the police, crims would have a field day, it's the same thing but companies are having a field day!)Cash bonanza screwing chilled out Aussies and tourists - it's complete BS! ACCC and ACMA have to step up.

29 Apr 2011 11:03:13 PM: and you stupid people just don't stand up and say NO - can't wait till I'm cashed up a little bit more and leave your loser country behind once and for all. Parents left 8 years ago, I thought this was a great country, yes it is, but unfortunately it's the people here.... Everything here is a result of the people. Dumb people = ineffective Government = poor service. I admire the guy who punched out a shop assistant over the missing chicko roll - he deserves a medal, because the dweeb who served him should have done his job properly, what he is being paid to do, but this stupid backwater pathetic excuse of a nation makes the shop assistant look like the victim and the person whom he was meant to serve look like the crim. This is so pathetic. If I'm a pizza store owner, and you ordered a ham and cheese pizza, and I charged you normal price, say $19, yet you get only ham and next to no cheese on your pizza, and I argue the point and demand payment of $19, but you get upset, refuse to pay, then me goes to the authorities to help extract the full $19 out of you... Yep Australia = loser country full of losers. I am so grateful for dual citizenship. I wasn't born here, and I have travelled extensively, yes I've been spoilt, but I could never stoop so low as to call myself an aussie. Google 'the swiss way' - I rest my case, RAISE the bar peoples. If your phone company's NOT giving you service, and you're getting constant drop-outs, poor network speed and such, DON'T pay your bill, write to them and tell them so, and complain to the T.I.O. - at least if it's a valid complaint with substance, your credit rating is unlikely to be shot, and you'll probably be let out of your contract, telcos tend to listen to the TIO, they cut and paste their response to the telco to release Joe Bloggs out of their contracts, guess what, they usually do, because most aussies are morons and pay their bills as they are told, and keep on complaining. It's a tiny minority who take the initiative to stand up for their rights, and then complain to the T.I.O., so if you're taking your grievances to the T.I.O., you will get results because so few people in this country have a brain between their ears, the telco's status quo remains unchanged, yeah release him, won't affect our bottom line or shareholder returns, keep the peace because most people here wouldn't know whether they're coming or going, they're too dumb. Right on the button. ACCC and ACMA won't step up, because they're part of the game.

29 Apr 2011 11:15:16 PM: 07:36:11 PM: the regulators are a govenment department, they are the direct result of democracy, stupid people vote for stupid governments. This country is inhabited by mostly stupid people. You, me and a whole bunch of others here are a tiny minority. Civil disobedience is the answer, as another poster said, why TF do we need to waste our time spending all day complaining to them to get anything done. I'm from Switzerland, consumer sensitivity over there is very high, telcos know this, because even when there are problems normally beyond their immediate control, such as bad weather, or some dick cutting through a cable affecting services, the delinquency rate in blling shoots through the roof. D2 and Swisscom spend considerable resources monitoring network performance and building redundancy into their networks because they know if they don't provide effective and acceptable service, the numbers of people who then refuse to pay their bills, or just say FK you and change carriers, goes though the roof. Cousin works as Ascom who does a lot of their basestation work, and my niece works at D2 accounts and concurs. Network outages and congestion problems are SERIOUS problems as their credit and collections departments go into overdrive. And over there, people don't put up with spending their time waiting on the phone, pressing buttons and getting frustrated, the average hang-up time is 2'30 (two minutes and thirty seconds), you keep your customer waiting on the phone for more than that, and the likelihood of you having to chase that debt through the collection process and then on to small claims through the courts, skyrockets. Telcos usually won't take things that far because the delinquency rate with court ordered demands are almost as high as they are pre-court. People there don't take shit like aussie do, that's why network performance is better, that's why governments listen, people say no to the bureaucratic process and the law almost as much as they do to private enterprise. So government and business keeps that bar (of quality of service and customer service so much higher than here), as my parents said before they left Australia and went back home. Love the climate, love the beaches, love the diversity of nature and Australia's awesome beauty, but if we stayed there, we'll become like them. Bingo!

30 Apr 2011 12:32:39 AM: I couldn't agree more with every single thing you've said!

Aussies, by nature, don't complain - it's built into our psyche. What really needs to happen is for the people we pay our taxes to (ACCC, ACMA) to ACTUALLY pull these telcos into line. They need to be rigorous, and if they want to bother with a TIO (which they should), it needs to be widely advertised so that every man and his dog knows that they can go there immediately if they have a problem.

Initially there'll be heaps of complaints, but 1-3 years after making these changes, complaint levels will settle back to pleasingly low levels, as shitty telcos (like Vodafail) are pushed the f*ck out of the marketplace, and only decent ones remain.

Trust me, we Australians don't "complain" a lot by nature, but we sure as chips pay taxes, and expect those departments receiving them to damn well do their job!! And that is, to regulate the bloody market so we don't have more Vodafails!

30 Apr 2011 12:42:26 AM: you know another way to look at it, is just that Vodafone could just turn around and say get f*cked Australia - you make these laws, we obey them, then you arc up at us - WTF??

Vodafone hasn't broken any laws, not as far as the ACCC or ACMA are concerned, so what's Australia complaining about?

30 Apr 2011 11:19:23 AM: I agree that we whinge but dont complain appropriatley. The issue with govt departments like the TIO is that we look at the govt as useless as any one else if not more so, so we think what the hell is a govt dept going to be able to do for us.
Also, telcos or anyone else should have to apply to courts to have our credit rating affected. I had an argument with a bill with telstra over 10 years ago. They then cancelled my contract on me and sent me a 1300 bill which i refused to pay. So they put me on the credit report as owing money. I couldnt get a single loan for 5years!!!! I wanted to take them to court but didnt have the money to fight them.

The TIO at the time was usesless.

1 May 2011 12:11:36 AM: I agree, mostly. I hostestly don't think the TIO is the problem, but the problem is that people need to know about it.

Making a complaint takes 5 minutes, and telcos are fined every time we complain. This hurts them so they don't want us to complain.

The issue arises when people don't know about the Ombudsman, and don't bother to use it, which is an absulutely huge issue. Official stats (have a look on the ombudsman reports) state that awareness of the ombudsman service is 12%. Let me repeat that: 12%. Meaning, that at least 88% of people DON"T EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT.

Now that we've established that, let's go on...

If 9/10 people don't even know about it, how many are actually complaining? 1/25, 1/50??? Who knows, but it can't be very many.

IF it's 1/40, for instance, that means Vodafone can mistreat 40 customers before they get one of them actually getting off their bum to complain to the ombudsman. The ombudsman will then issue a fine of *shock/horror* $62 to Vodafone.

In essence, Vodafone get fined $62 for pissing of 40 customers!!!!!! I know for a fact that they made about $400 off me before I finally called it quits with their sh*thouse service, so I effectively paid their costs for another 250 unhappy customers!!

How is that ever going to discourage them???? Vodafone have no incentive to treat customers properly.

The solution, let's take an example. Red light cameras are a good disincentive to running red lights because those who brake the law know they'll likely get caught and face a fine. But what would happen if only 1/40 people who ran a red light got caught??? People would be far more willing to run red lights cause the chance of getting caught is so slim. And how does this apply to Vodafone? Because vodafone know the chances of getting caught when they treat customers appaulingly is so slim, simply because not very many people can report them (because noone knows about the TIO).

I don't know how the TIO hasn't been blasted through our airwaves, put on TV ads, peppered across banner ads on web pages and plonked right into the major newspapers with half page ads! If ACMA did this, I wonder how long it would take the telcos to pull up their socks!!

29 Apr 2011 04:47:23 PM: lodge a oomplaint here: (takes 5 minutes) http://www.tio.com.au/ComplaintForm/ComplaintFormS1.asp

They will contact you within 10 days. you will almost certainly be entitled to a full refund.

4 May 2011 08:40:45 PM: you do know that using the phone while overseas costs a tonne of money in roaming charges right?. Same with any other provider in Australia. Dont blame vodafone for that one!

29 Apr 2011 02:10:47 PM:

29 Apr 2011 10:43:05 PM: you don't (but they say you do), tell them to go and "F" themselves. If we can get enough people to grow a brain in this pathetic excuse of a nation, and stand up to thee parasites and say enough is enough, no I'm not paying up, stick ya phone up ya a$$ I'm not like most aussies (braindead people), I'm not happy and I don't give a FK, I just want the service that I'm paying for, then these parasites will start investing their profits in adding extra network capacity and coverage to satisfy their client base. Keep on paying your bills as demanded, and it's like re-electing the same politicians that have broken promises and such, and guess what, you'll just get more of the same.

The only difference between pollies and vodafone is that here you have an avenue of complaint, refuse to pay your bills, tell them why, and make a formal complaint to the TIO, at least your credit rating won't get shot if your complaints are valid, real and not bullshit excuses to get out of paying your bills. Companies as pathetic as Vodafone and their shareholders should be quaking in their boots. They must be thanking their lucky stars that the people here are stupid and braindead, because in Europe they have to provide at least a half-decent service because as soon as your subscribers start experiencing dropped calls, low signal strength in urban areas, well they just change carriers and refuse to pay their bills. Consumer sensitivity there is amazing compared to zombie land downunder.... It all depends on where your standards are.

29 Apr 2011 11:25:34 PM: and with so much data you've managed to collect you still pay your bill? Refuse to pay and draft a quick complaint to the TIO and tell your telco to stick it where the sun don't shine, and get on-line, facebook, I did a letterbox drop advising people to boycott Vodafone and '3' and did a bunch of posts on my facebook wall (I have over 13'000 fans on my FB fan page), got served a cease and desist order from some legal firm in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, telling me I risk being prosecuted for defamation. I wiped my butt with the letter and shoved it into an envelope and returned it to the sender. Haven't heard from them since, and I'm upping the ante on my campaign. Stand up for your rights people, just because you live in Australia like me doesn't mean you have to behave like most ausses. Look at the people of Egypt and Lybia, or the poms who took to the streets of London protesting about government cutbacks. Police were called in to move them on, many refused and went on a destructive rampage destroying everything in sight Ain't it interesting how quickly government back-flipped on their proposed cut-backs. Shame aussie have no brains and no balls. Yeah pick a fight with some dude taking glance at your boyfriend, but dare stand up to authority when you're being robbed by big business, noooooooo. Thick as a plank, hypocrite and zombie mentality. Welcome to my description of the average aussie. Please take offence to this assertion of min, stand up and say FK u, that's not me, and take a stand, take the lead and BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THIS WORLD - together we can change things for the better, spread the word and incite change. It doesn't have to be like this, stand up for your rights. If you truly think THIS IS the lucky country, then for FK's sake, MAKE it the lucky country by taking ACTION...

30 Apr 2011 11:33:19 AM: I really do like this poster!!!
(no thats not sarcasm)

30 Apr 2011 08:35:39 PM: me too.. how do I join your campaign??? I think Vodafone is a threat to public sanity, and would like to volunteer my time/modest financial resources to help!

28 Apr 2011 10:38:21 PM: Vodafone are their own worst enemies

Have a look at the busy Telstra shop, and then have a look at the empty Vodafone shop. Business going like this can not last, and something will have to give.

29 Apr 2011 11:32:30 PM: yeah but most of the vodafone shops AREN'T EMPTY - Robina town center this afternoon, Crazy Johns had PEOPLE WAITING TO BE SERVED, similarly the "3" and Vodafone stores were quite busy too. In a nation full of stupid people like Australia, business like this not only lasts, but it actually THRIVES. Shareholders laugh all the way to the bank. The only thing here that gives are the dumb people who just put up with crap service and keep on paying their bills, on time, as demanded. This is so pathetic, and we wonder why we end up with politicians like Anna Bligh and the like, this country is so wonderful, but we have an epidemic of stupid people here, it's not funny it's sad (I have two kids who were born here, one knows this is the asshole of the world, as I've taken her to the states and back home to Switzerland, the other's confused. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have dual citizenship and a means to escape to civilization, if Australian was my nationality with no other option, I don't know what I'd do, I'd probably join the ranks of those maniacs who kill themselves and their families or something. Quite sad really because we should have everything going for us, but the current state of affairs just makes me wonder and scratch my head.. WTF?

30 Apr 2011 11:36:20 AM: and the reason i love these posts is i have travelled to many european countries, America and the Asia Pacific countries. Thing is until recently australians havent been able to afford to travel so dont realise that we dont have to put up with this S#%T

30 Apr 2011 08:42:12 PM: there's good reason why we (Australians) have put up with this crap, and it's the same reason we don't typically get up in arms about other injustices: cause some Authority is there to identify the culprit and punish them.

However, in Vodafone's case, neither the ACCC nor the ACMA are not doing anything. You are absolutely right, normal ethical people are being totally rorted by Vodafone, and nothing has been done about it.

I reckon for every person who has complained there'd be 10 who haven't. Point is many many people are suffering from sh&% service. It IS someone's job to ensure that we don't suffer, and that's the ACMA. Why haven't they put ads on the TV telling ripped-off customers where to go (TIO)??? Probably cause they don't want 'more' complaints. Thing is, if they fail to do it then it's no different to turning your back to crime.

Evil prospers when good men do nothing. Thanks for nothing, ACMA!

29 Apr 2011 10:45:36 PM: and you're stll going to pay their bill?
STUPID AUSSIES! no wonder the rest of us who are trying to run a business and achieve our goals, dreams and ambitions have to suffer. No wonder we have politicians like Bligh, etc.... Be proud and fly that Aussie flag, fools. Blind faith.

30 Apr 2011 11:26:38 AM: Look out he's got a keyboard!

29 Apr 2011 09:38:04 AM: I left Vodafu.. months ago and went to Optus. Everything ok for a while but then network seems to be getting worse and worse. Unable to connect at all yesterday and day before. Finally connected today. I suspect ALL ISP's are having network problems going by forums on www.whirlpool.net.au. None are explaining or even acknowledging the problems on their 'status' network pages.

29 Apr 2011 09:40:39 AM: It was their accounting system that did my head in, refusal to update balance to reflect payments. Left them months ago, no problem as TIO very good

28 Apr 2011 07:57:20 PM: They will let you out of your contract if you are in a poor or no reception area that is if you can get to speak to someone it took me 20 calls but I got there in the end good luck

28 Apr 2011 09:10:36 PM: TIO after 1 complaint to Vodafone, and 1 and a half business days later, Welcome to NextG, shame I had to get another HTC desire, just like my old one, but 850 3G instead of 900 3G.

The Telstra store was busy, not much going on at the Vodafone shop.

29 Apr 2011 09:43:44 AM: TIO is the way to go!

28 Apr 2011 05:38:15 PM: Agree

28 Apr 2011 05:59:25 PM: same

28 Apr 2011 06:31:54 PM: AGREE!!

28 Apr 2011 07:44:03 PM: Agree Totally

28 Apr 2011 07:59:18 PM: agree

28 Apr 2011 11:54:52 PM: Agree!

29 Apr 2011 01:12:05 AM: Agree

29 Apr 2011 10:15:22 AM: agree boyo

29 Apr 2011 06:15:05 PM: Agree - that would suddenly motivate them.

30 Apr 2011 11:44:24 AM: DISAGREE TOTALLY!

If you dont get the service you desire refuse to pay your bill at all. Call them tell them you are not paying as they ahve breached contract and tell them you are going to the TIO if they refuse.

I have told all my family and friends to do this and they have all recieved 1 to 3 months credit on their bills. I got 3 months.

1 May 2011 03:42:22 PM: Agree

29 Apr 2011 11:52:14 AM: Hey just got that missing voicemail (albeit 21hrs later) along with a current one - maybe there batching these things as a cost-saving excercise?????

28 Apr 2011 06:01:49 PM: im going to pigeon phones the cheaper better way to send mesages

29 Apr 2011 11:46:36 PM: Dialling 112 from a mobile handset will connect you through to emergency services just like 000 if there' no service with your carrier in your area, ie: Vodafraudsters give you no service, but there's a Telstra or Optus service available, your 000 call (by dialling 112 from your handset) will put you through.

I live in some little backwater country town in the middle of nowhere called "Robina" and had precisely this situation, my daughter was mucking around with a school friend of hers on my Total Gym 1000 workout machine and fell, headbutting a bolt on the machine's bottom, had blood gushing out of her forehead, I applied a compress, picked up my iPhone, connected to "3", dialled 000, and got the beep, beeo, beep, looked at the screen and up top left it said "SEARCHING" indicating there was no service in the area, my fault for moving out into the sticks, easy peazy, dialled 112 and within 15 seconds was talking to an operator, gave her my address and about 8 minutes the ambulance arrived, and we were on our way to Robina Hospital. Everything went alright, and my girlie girl had two stitches to show off to her classmates at her school (Varsity college). My only regret is I should have chosen my place of residence more wisely, not choosing to live in some backwater middle-of-nowhere place like Robina LOL, just because you're surrounded by houses left right and centre or you got one of the biggest shopping centres on the coast, one that's had over $20 million spent on it recently in refurbishment, doesn't mean you're going to get a decent mobile phone service, yes this is Australia, loser country full of losers, but remember, when things go pear shaped and 000 won't do it, dial 112, it's the international 911, 000, etc

29 Apr 2011 11:53:37 PM: ...and they will let you out of your contract if you make a formal, detailed complaint to the TIO - you see most aussies are completely stupid and just keep on paying their phone bills and whinge and rant and put up with crap service, so as far as the telco's concerned, TIO directives to release complainants from their contracts are a tiny minority, makes no difference to them, most aussies are too stupid to stand up for their rights, telcos comply without question (TIO rebuttal usually reserved for what they deem unreasonable complaints), doesn't happen, the population of Australia en-large is so stupid and complacent, even a few thousand directives by the TIO to release these people from their contracts, and let them keep their (subsidised) handsets will make about as much difference to their bottom line, as you pissing in the ocean at Bondi Beach, and expecting subsequent pollution effects at Main Beach, Gold Coast.. LOL

28 Apr 2011 07:46:15 PM: Don't wit for the contract to end, demand they release you from it on the grounds of not providing the service.

28 Apr 2011 06:47:32 PM: The random reception bars is one of the great mysteries of Vodafone, I can save you time on hold by telling you to turn your phone on and off again, wiping and replacing your sim, and after that that their must be a problem with "YOUR" phone.
Suggest that the network is at issue, and they will tell you that they have upgraded and tested the towers in your area, and are "VERY" satisfied with the results of that test.
Replicating the test, probably involves affixing a 6 M antenna with a high gain signal booster to your car and driving around your suburb until you find a single bar of reception and then signing off the work sheet.
My test involved driving around with both a Vodafone and before moving to NextG, an Optus phone. Most times I would look at the Optus phone on 3 or 4, and the Vodafone on 1 or 2 if at all, When I did see 4 bars on my Vodafone, I almost fell over, I couldn't believe it.