sick of calls dropping out/poor reception can't wait to change provider.

Was with Vodafone for over 4 years and the poor reception, shocking service, drop-outs, coverage all became too much...luckily I switched to a different pre-paid carrier and what an absolute relief...all the problems are a distant memory...
Shame on Vodafone, for taking our money, not providing the service and simply not caring about it's clients...all their problems are related to their merge with 3 and after speaking with an insider, these issues will continue for another 1-2 years.

i always loose signal and i never used too and sometimes i cant send text messages and some calls drop out

My mobile broadband connection sucks has been impossible even over Easter weekend
even had same problems early morning when most sensible people are tucked up

continual and I mean continual dropouts and poor reception always

There always seems to be network problems over long weekends, most recently this weekend. I had no coverage from easter Sunday morning until yesterday (Tuesday) lunchtime. I could not do anything and my phone sat in 'no network' mode for two days. Also, I live in Maylands WA, just 4pm from the Perth CBD and I cannot get any coverage in my house. If by chance I get to make a call it will drop out within the first minute, and 3G forget it!! I have made complaints since last Christmas, when again I had no coverage for two days and I'm still trying to get answers.
Thanks for the opportunity to shake my pain! At least I know I'm not the only sufferer.

Vodafone are TRYING to charge me GST on my $700 Cap before they start charging for excess (IE ) $636.36 of USAGE before charging for excess plus GST
On my last bill of $324 they charged me $32 in GST but TOOK $63 off my $700 cap to cover the GST I wonder if the ATO are being paid ?? Also their TRACK YOUR USAGE page is only operational 50% of the time

Vodafone in MOMBAY are insisting that i pay GST on my $700 Cap Which brings me down to $636.36 before they start charging for Excess Calls including GST Their brochure states $700 and even in their AUSTRALIAN STORES they say you get $700 credit before being charged Mombay cannot put me through or WON'T put me through to Australia Their Website to check on your usage is 50% non available on most days When you are on a $69 Cap with $10 back for being a GOOD bloke and are supposed to be paying $59 which is $6.72 in GST on the $69 Cap and they are charging after $636.36 they owe the ATO a lot of money

Poor internet reception. Told can't do much about it as there are hills within the area. Gave up ages ago phoning them as knew not much would get done about it. The end of the 2 year contract is nigh and then it's bye bye. At least Telstra plans are a bit better now. If they had better ones before this contract, well that could be another story.

Oh, and other points:
- multiple times I've had to call the customer service line and waited at least 30mins each time. One time I waited 45mins, then an Indian woman answered and the line dropped. Furious does not come close to how I felt...
- I copied all my contacts and texts over to my new Desire HD. Then after issues with the phone, after advice from the Customer Service team I removed and replaced the sim, and subsequently all the messages I had sent and received were resent to all the recipients/senders. All 800+ texts. It happened again the following week. Vodafone didn't know how to fix it, and during the 35mins to talk to them hundreds of messages were being resent
- I live in Mosman Park, phone reception is generally ok but will drop sporadically when it's sat in the same place. Why??? Other times it just won't work, even in the CBD. I turn off then switch back on my phone which sometimes helps. A lot of farting around.
- Phone tethering is an exasperating affair.
Vodafone - SORT IT OUT

Where do I start? Some calls don't even connect, and when I do get through some of them just drop out. But 3G? Well, I have never been so disgusted at such a poor service. It drops out every few minutes, without fail. I am fed up of having to click refresh numerous times, waiting for pictures to load, reloading pages it struggles to open, and being told I'm 40km from where I actually am. Oh, and every few hours I'm currently having to tell my phone what state I'm in so it can set the time properly.
The simple fact is: I am paying for a service that Vodafone is failing to provide. It is contravening it's contractual obligation, yet I have to pay. If I decided not to pay for this absent service, I would be blacklisted and my credit rating negatively affected for years. Vodafone need to a) sort themselves out and b) compensate us all for the loss of network and waste of our time. They have a hell of a lot to answer for.

REALLY over not having reception when everyone around me does!
ALSO annoyed at the delay on SMS messages sent to and from Vodafone network.. and not receiving, or anyone else i send to receiving mms's or again taking forever to get them!
there insurance policy is awful! and customer support just handball you around in circles.. no body knows anything.

Sent SMS on to my wife Sunday at around 1400 and it arrived at around 0400 today (Tuesday) waking us from our sleep with a shock as we both have aged parents.

Very poor coverage in the mount Lawley area of wa which is less than 4 kms from Perth cbd

I moved house last week {same northen Perth suburb} the last house I lived in I had ok range not good but ok I moved as I say in the same suburb range drops out when Im on the phone,trying to send a TXT, My partner sent me a TXT a while ago {we wanted to see how bad Vodafone is she is not with them} the two phones were next to each other, it took over 26 hrs for the message to get thru ??. I tryed to get a new phone a while ago on one of there deals & I was told that " Not Till I Get This Bill Under Control " $0.78c the bill was over paid by $0.78c. there is many moore but Im in too good of a mood to talk about them tossers
All the best & I hope all goes well.
CRAIG.

Vodafone = Fail.

Looks like someone beat me to making this site.. xD

iinet mobile now, never looked back.

Uses optus network, awesome coverage, awesome speeds, always in 3g.

20$ a month and i get 400$ of calls txts etc. and 500MB data. 150GB (YES GB) to social networking sites including ebay. NO Contract.

i recently changed from 3 to 3'dafone and still i can sit in a cafe in mt lawley (2.5k from the Perth CBD) and yet i have NO signal. this continues throughout inner city suburbs as well as some outer.
when i complained to three about their network, they suggested i switch to vodafone as it had a better network. this is NOT the case at all.
i am fed up with both 3 and vodafone and will be paying out my contract early so that i can go with a decent telco.

never get 3g (in supposed 3g area), calls drop, 1 bar or less reception at home, constant call drops

As a roadtrain driver I am dependant on phone services. So frustrated (on daily basis) by Vodafones poor reception &/or dropped calls (whilst paying premium prices) I will change to another service provider.

sms not been sent or if delivered maybe a couple hours later,slow data speeds

Slow data speeds,sms not been delivered if maybe a couple hours later

I purchased a Vodafone mobile on a 24 month plan, paying almost $100 a month. The coverage maps on their website showed I would have reception throughout metro Perth, including my home, my office and all other places I frequent. The phone is used for business purposes, however I barely have any reception in my office (IN THE PERTH CBD), have no reception at home (5mins from THE PERTH CBD) and no reception in probably 50% of metropolitan Perth.

It is extremely embarrasing when speaking to an important client, discussing business transactions sometimes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and having to call them back 3 or 4 times because the call drops out.

Considering they made $12.7bn operating profit last year, surely they can afford to provide an acceptable quality of service?

NOTE: I take no responsibility for the accuracy of any statements made on Vodafone's financial status.

I have been a Vodafone user for several years. Initially I made the switch because they offered more cost effective prepaid plans and it was the cheapest phone in the store at the time (It was a Vodafone Z28). For those years I had experienced few problems except occasional dropouts in reception, but I live in rural W.A. that is expected and once it happened during a major storm, again something that could be expected. However, fast forward to late 2010 early 2011 and I have several major issues occurring. Now I don't expect any technical system to not have occasional system failures, my IT friends tell me to expect it. They too are with Vodafone and think any serious system failure like those facing Vodafone are unacceptable. I find most concerning that for several years I had trouble free service with Vodafone, now it seems every month I have had at least one serious issue since December 2010. With regard to the latest failure I sent an email on the day (April 24 2011) this email highlighted my concern and requested some form of explanation whilst mentioning that if no satisfactory response could be delivered I would be seeking the services of another telecommunications provider. Now I accept it was a long weekend at the time so wasn't expecting a swift reply, yet today (April 26) my email service popped up with a read receipt saying it had been read at 11.00am now at 7.05pm I still have ha no reply. It is unacceptable for any company, especially one as large as Vodafone, to ignore any customer complaint if it is put in a concise, clear and inoffensive manner. At close of business on the April 29 if I have no satisfactory response, I will be changing provider and I will personally refuse to use any Vodafone network or device again. No company should be so inconsiderate to their customers as to not explain why there is a failure. My advice to Vodafone is this: Firstly, implement a system for notifying all users when and why there are system failures, Secondly, upgrade their systems to avoid serious system failures (glad to hear they are attempting this, but should I be forced to find this out through the media i.e. Today Tonight?) Lastly, having a customer service team that actually respects their customers. I have never got through to their customer service phone lines, as I can't bear hearing the music for more than 30 seconds, however I have heard several people saying that the service provide is inadequate. Vodafone needs to remember they are there to provide a service for us, failing to provide that service will mean we will go elsewhere, in the end bad service to us will mean less money for them.

cant send or recieve sms cant get a line cant hold a call a tatally useless bloody service they should be ashamed of themselves how can this useless company keep surviving???

Dont even know were to start...

1)They cant get voice mail on my phone and they dont know why
2)cant get reception in my car, in my room, in my house, at my work place and when i need to get reception i need to take my sim card out and put it back in.
3)They bared my sim when all i wanted was roaming to go overseas, then had to go in to there shop to get a new sim card.. not to mention that i was on my way to the airport!!!!!!
4) every time i call them they tell me its my phone not there coverage... so i brought a new phone out right and it still dose not work
5)no one can talk english when you call then to find out why your phone is not working.
6) ask to be called back by there superviser ... this never happends
7)all ways pay my bill by the due date, didnt get my bill one time and was charged $10 and have called them 10 times and they tell me they have taken it off but it still on my bill.

why should i have to pay a late fee if my phone never works..i should ask for a credit every time i go to use my phone but have no reception?? or should i charge them for inconviance? i will alway blam them for not being able to get a call from my dad to say that my grandad had a heart attack (he died shortly after)

worst mistake of my life to go with this phone company

I have been a loyal Vodaphone - now Vodafail customer for over 14 years and have tired of giving them another chance to get things right. I operate my business through my mobile and over teh last year or so things have got totally unacceptable. I do not receive the majority of incoming calls as they go straight to my msg bank and I have to then not only pay to retrieve them I also have to call the client back. Another cost to my business. I have complained about this to Vodafail and have received nothing from them in the way of an apology or any acknowledgement of my complaints. To say that there is a "free" day really does not offer the copmpensation I am seeking. The last free day I was not able to make a single call or take advantage of it. I am now seeking compensation and will gladly join your class action to seek said compensation. Very dissatisfied and disappointed customer.

live in metro area of perth - can't get coverage, sms never get sent I always have to try and resend - constantly checking the bars on my phone so i can go right send now. My calls always drop out. I am on a 24 month contract

We complained to vodafone of course they have given us the next three months of the contact at half price. Very generous considering I am paying for an account that I can't use. Fortunately for us our contact ends in August for which we will move on to the next provider and hope we are provided with "service". I use this word very loosely

Can't get out of contract

i hate you vodafone. why do you get to decide when i make a call and for how long the call should go for?

never had a problem with vodafone til i moved to shalford way in girrawheen. now i am supposed to be in a spot with good reception. bullshit.
i cant make calls frtom my mobile they break up or just cut out or dont even work at all. sometimes i can send msgs, other times none at all. at times i get a pile of msg that have been sent to me all come thru at once even tho hours sometimes days old. then my internet toggle hardly works at all, either says very poor coverage or i get nothing. sick of it.

Constant loss of reception, no longer recieve voice mail notification sms, calls drop out, was told it was my phone - bought a new phone and still have same issues! i recieve/send the same message 10+ times after i send it only once! i drive a 4x4 and have an external antenna, NO RECEPTION what soever in the middle of perth cbd, sorry vodafone but HELLO TELSTRA

Well where do I start, apart from the breakdown of the SMS service and that day where there was no coverage what so ever.. The network is totally slow, so low that my friend can usually view a video or picture at least 10 to 15 times quicker on their network than mine. The coverage is so varied and annoying. Just the other day I was to meet a friend and when I sent him a text message to tell him where I am, the network dropped out which caused a huge inconvenience. Another time I couldn't contact my housemate to ask whether he would like some dinner from our favourite take away place. Yet I still pay the bills, I am paying for inconvenience.

Constant lack of service in Broome sometimes for several days, with no warning and no helpful information from the customer assistance line (usually very rude actually). Repeatedly told the mast was being made bigger to accommodate increased user numbers but after nearly 5 years of these interruptions in Broome (and 8 years with Vodafail) and no sign of a resolution I have given up and transfered to Telstra (despite the package being nowhere near as good pricewise). Very disappointing :(

so i have been with vodafone for just over year i sign up with them first with my phone and then with a internet contract so now since last year in OCT 2010 i have had nothing but problem first with not be able to call out then not being able to text then not getting my voicemall. Then in OCT 2010 i had to cancell my internet with them because i had nothing but trouble getting any range no i haven't move since i got the contracts i'm still in the same area but even after a number of calls to them they still don't do anything all they do is put me on hold. WELL VODOFAIL AGAINa

Constant Dropped calls, hard to run a business when clients cant finish booking a schedule!

calls dropping out during conversations and text messages not sending and not receiving calls

Thought it was my phone playing up but now realize that it was coverage. Regularly, phone conversations would drop out and no coverage is available. Useless network with unhelpful staff and crap all round going to switch to someone else but dont know eho is best to go to

i cancelled my account with vodafone, $700 cancellation fee later - i went to telstra - after having them investigate why i had no coverage, i was told i had no issue. my call dropped out while talking to them. they still did nothing. they then demanded payment for cancelled acount with in 48 hours.

constant dropped out calls and text messages not sending.

Poor reception constantly

network coverage is disgusting and amazingly, gets worse by the week it seems.

I have been with Voda since 2000 and have experienced pretty much all of the issues suggested - dropped calls (often 3-4 times in the one conversation), wrong bills, on hold for an hour, hopeless customer service (I am meant to have an account manager - they keep quitting !) and don't get me started about Lara (who they don;t program to recognise "shut the F up").

How do I get out of the contract that is due to expire in Sept ? I think 11 years is enough loyalty to get an exit bonus (or is that bonus exit ?)! If I have to keep a log of all the issues from now on it will only make me worse.

Cheers

does anyone know how i can leave my 2-year contract with vodafone? i`m an international student and i only took the contract because I need to keep in touch with my family overseas.

some of my messages just don`t reach the recipients and there`s no way to tell which messages don`t reach. it`s making me paranoid and it`s added stress I don`t need.

I had my Voice contract recinded last year in December after having gone through the TIO, but i still receive a txt from VHA every month telling me that my Bill has been sent to my email address, for a total of $127.99? Yet I never receive the email?? Additionally, I have never been sent a leter in the mail from their Colelctions Dept saying that I still owe them money???

Trying to get a username chnaged has taken more than 2 weeks !!!
This on top of poor coverage,drop outs and poor customer service.

Tried to contact customer care, on hold for 1 hour 45 minutes before my battery died.

SMS outage over Easter break

Have been with Vodafone since about 2003.

Almost on a daily basis i have no coverage, calls dropping out, not being able to send a text.

The internet coverage is so erratic that there is no way i can trust it. With no regards to how much coverage i have the internet either just doesn't work, has extremely low speeds or is brilliant. At work i sit in the same seat and throughout the day my coverage varies and my internet goes from super quick to non-existant.

I can not remember the last time i've had full coverage, usually two or three bars while others with the exact same phone but different network have perfect, full coverage.

My vodafone mobile broadband stick also has the same issues, works perfectly then just stops for no reason.

I have tried on many occassions to contact vodafone through their customer service phone number, but i have waited for over an hour on hold only to have my call drop out, and have not yet been contacted by Vodafone regardless of me using the 'call back' system.

I had a contract with Vodafone NZ, which i cancelled back in September 2010 (three months after i left NZ). I gave the operator my new address and phone numbers and asked that any remaining bills and fees please be forwarded to me and i would be happy to pay them as i was breaking contract. Last week i received an email from a NZ Debt Collector saying that despite many letters sent to me by both them and Vodafone NZ i haven't paid my overdue fee and if i didn't pay it within a week i would be listed as a debtor in N.Z. AND Australia!
If they had my email all along why didn't they contact me in regards to this earlier, now i have to pay $80 more fees and have a worse credit rating.

VODAFONE, I CAN NOT BE MORE UNHAPPY WITH YOUR SERVICE IN ALL ASPECTS, NOTHING YOU DO HAS MADE ME A HAPPY CUSTOMER AND I BELIEVE, THROUGH MY 8 YEARS OF BEING A CUSTOMER, I HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO HAVE MY CONTRACTS CANCELLED AND MY PHONE UNLOCKED

The other day I took a short break down south in a town called Augusta in Western Australia. Now I know coverage in these areas are somewhat sporadic, however in this instance two people I was with had two different iPhone models. One was with 3 the other with Telstra. Both had reception, I had none, not one bar.

I have recently joined Vodafone, due to their cheap plan. It's cheap due to their shitty ass network systems. I have lost coverage in West Perth. Seriously, who provider should lose coverage on a regular basis in West Perth.

My phone calls consistently drop out, i get download speeds of 14kbs -29kbs on a regular occasion, but i've also had up to 2000kbs. these inconsistency frustrate me. it is embarrassing to try and download something at these speeds in front of potential clients. When they whip out their blackberry's on their Telstra plan, no problem.

So i called their team who deals with complaints. I spoke with the person on the line and he their internal systems are down and someone would call me within 2 hours, 6 days ago. Still no phone call, possibly due to no network coverage in the city.

Signed
disgruntled customer

I run a small company and we have 7 mobiles within the group, the Vodafone network is consistently failing I personally drop around an average of 7 calls a day and I'm in the metro area including the CBD. The service appears to be getting worse and even better still I have made complaints to Vodafone technical service and to the TIO and they have resulted in nothing, I would say that on average the company would drop around 35 calls a day, which is just not good enough. I have asked Vodafone to cancel our contract due to the above problems only to be told "no problem sir that will cost you around $7500.00 which is the amount of the plan for the remainder of the contract", no way!! My issue is this, I run a business I talk to my clients, when a call drops out then I have to call my client back, when this happens 4 times during the same conversation that's way too much. If any other business failed so miserably in providing a service they would be a long distance memory by now. We all sign contracts but in the contract two parties agree to 1. pay the bill for the service provided 2. The company guarantees to provide a service which works. If one of the parties do not hold up to the agreement the contract is void. I want out of this joke so that I can give my money to another provider that will actually give me what I'm paying for, even if it costs a little extra!!

Free calls between myself and a friend also on 3/Vodaphone have been fine for years with 3; since Vodaphone took over, these calls drop out pretty reliably after ten minutes....is this Vodaphone trying to discourage the free calls which were used to get us to sign up with 3?

i know this has been rectified now but, today was not only easter but my mother bday, so not being able to send a txt earlier today, before calling (as she works odd hours) was a hassle. I have recently changed Internet service providers (i was previously with vodafone) due to lack of continuous service, i think i WILL be doing the same for my mobile. Enough is enough.

Vodafone doesn't work in Mt Lawley (a central hub). I was then told by the Indian Service operator that Vodafone wasn't covered in that area... yet 4 months ago, It was fine. Their mobile and mobile broadband were fast and fine... now? Nothing.

RE: mobile broadband they told me to switch my settings and "turn my computer on and off again" I'm not stupid, I tried EVERYTHING before calling, that's WHY i called!

FAIL!

other than regularly getting no service at home or work (i work in emergency services, this is a huge issue!) i thought it was hilarious that vodafone actually sends reps to UWA to advertise, when i usually have 1 bar or no service at all. jokers

Just contacted the Telecomunications Industry Ombudsman to complain about the service, or rather the lack of it. I have tried to contact Vodafone numerous times today but with no luck. Might be worth others "in the same boat" doing the same thing. If you are interested visit

http://www.tio.com.au/

Still waiting to send and receive text messages. Time to get out of the contract me thinks.

Cant send,receive sms or email. No internet access

Can't send SMS - it's been hours

Been a customer for nearly 3 years! Always had poor reception/dropouts/disconnections & sub-dial up speed. Regular calls to customer service yield no help & still having problems! VERY FRUSTRATED with this totally messed up 'service'(for want of a better word!)
How much longer can they continue to serve up this garbage & call it highspeed broadband? The so-called service we pay for in non-existent! Major vodafail! Not happy!!

Full signal but won't send or receive SMS nor able to call anyone else on the vodafone network.

I CAN'T SEND TEXT MESSAGES!!

I have reception but still my messages wont get sent. So frustrating.

Unable to send or receive text messages

I use my phone for work, and have been unable to send SMS for the last 3 hours. And the only response I can get from Vodafone is a weak message on its network status page, basically saying, It Doesnt Work...oops. How do I get in on this class action I keep hearing about?

my phone wont send or recieve messages

I'm on the $49 cap and only getting the usage and data for the $39 cap, and have been for 3 months without me noticing. Called Vodafone and waited for THREE HOURS of being reassured by Lara that my call would be answered soon, and being told to 'hang in there', eventually got to talk to an arrogant representative that spoke very broken English and could not understand the issue, after which I asked to be transferred to his supervisor who then after another 20 minutes of being on hold eventually fixed the problem, and after I arguing with the man for 10 minutes he reluctantly gave me 5 months free.

I have been a vodaphone customer since 1993. I have showen loyalty to a company who has, up until recently given me good service. No longer, my coverage drops out an average of 10 times a day no matter wher I am in Perth, ability to send and recieve SMS is sporadic and voicmail often is unavailable. I struggle to rationalise why I am still with Vodaphone.
Loyalty is important to me so i have stuck with the company for this year, but what I find very difficult to understand is why i have not been gioven an honest explanation as to why I am experiencing such a sub standard service. I have no idea how long these network problems are going to continue.Do they contact me, give me anything that can help me rationalise why I am still a customer? No

Coverage in my area (part of Queens Park, WA) is nearly nonexistent - just bad enough to prevent the phone from roaming onto another network that works. Calls drop all the time, voicemail takes up to an hour to come through. Every phone company has these issues somewhere, though. The amazing thing is: Vodafone are upgrading their coverage. The new rollout in my area is on 850MHz. My *BRAND* *NEW* HTC Desire HD, a *VODAFONE* *EXCLUSIVE* phone, doesn't support 850MHz. Vodafone are rolling out new coverage users of their exclusive phones won't be able to use!

I have been with Vodafone since they came to Australia and have enjoyed great service until recent times. Reception has become a major issue, which I have never experienced before. What has happened to coverage???

I sit at work, look down and my coverage has dropped out. I have no idea whether it has been 1 hour or three hours. Given I work in Sales, having my mobile coverage cut out is not acceptable.

Located in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia - very close to city centre.

This past week, mobile broadband has been APPALLING.

3G, HSUPA, HSDPA (which seem to be selected almost randomly when connecting and chop and change throughout connection) = all ABYSMAL with constant dropout.

Vodafail strikes again!

Have paid my bill via the internet, credit card has been charged but no receipt number has been forthcoming. Spoke to Lara who told me to call back tomorrow. Managed to get through to the call centre who put me on hold before informing me that they were unable to tell me if the bill had been paid and advised me to wait for 24 hours. Have now reached the point of no return.

Question - How do I get out of my mobile contract, billing problems and poor reception are a nightmare.

No network coverage in my house at all, and sketchy coverage around Mt Lawley. Been like this one week now, and I've pissed off alot of people & business associates who think I'm ignoring them!

i constantly have no internet service and even if i am lucky enough to obtain service it constantly drops out and especially at the moments you are doing something really important on the net. I have tried calling vodafone about this and the service i have recieved is disgusting!!! I am going to call them again and ensure I have no cancellation fees as I have paid my internet bills for the last few months even though i have not been using it because it is so shocking. i have transferred to Telstra in the mean time.

Long story is long.

I only switched to Vodaphone around a month ago. I had started having problems with Three (bad data coverage, late SMS delivery - or no SMS delivery at all, a monthly bill that seemed to be a rip off in comparison to the mobile contracts of my peers etc etc) and after two ranty calls to Three customer care, a nice man from Three called me at seven am on a Saturday, apropos of nothing, to offer me A DEAL.

And because I am a sucker, I took it - despite a chorus of my well informed friends screeching "NO! NO! VODAPHONE IS THE DEVIL!" at me. And despite the fact that I knew, in my heart of hearts, that the problems I was experiencing with three (excluding the rip-off plan I was on) were probably linked to the merge with vodaphone.

They lulled me with their siren song of opting out of my contract, a brand new handset, and zero cancellation fees. And now they have me right where they want me: on a 24 month $45 infinite plan, with $10 handset repayments every bill.

At first it wasn't so bad. I did notice some patchy connectivity, especially with data coverage, but it didn't really cause me any major inconvinience. I am not -terribly- bothered if I can't check into the train station, on foursquare, on my way to work in the morning. Sure, it's a service I am technically paying for - a reliable internet connection of my smartphone - but hey, what's the very occasional outage, right?

Only in the last two weeks, it hasn't been the occasional outage. It's been 'no internet for you!' at least 50% of the time, despite the fact that I live ten minutes from Perth city, work in the CBD, and rarely venture farther afield than the inner suburbs.

And then there are the calls that people apparently made to me, that...I never got. Strangely this seems to mostly happen when other vodaphone customers are trying to call me.

And then yesterday, I experienced exactly the same problem that I was having with three last year. I had arranged to meet a friend for coffee, but a work meeting ran late and I had to text her to cancel (couldn't call as I was in a meeting). I sent her a message and received no reply, but figured maybe she just hadn't seen the need of a response. Around forty minutes later, I got a message from her saying "I'm here...where are you?". I sent her another text reiterating my first message, and adding "...did you not get my first text?".

No reply for awhile, then another twenty minutes later "...um, ok, well I've waited nearly an hour now so I guess we'll catch up another time. Bye."

Vodaphone. This is bad. When I tell my friend, later, "Oh shit I am sorry, I did send you a text! I don't know why you didn't get it!" it is going to sound like a crappy excuse. In fact, it IS a crappy excuse, because I've just wasted forty minutes of my friend's time because of your fucking fail telecommunications. You know the irony? Yup, SHE TOO IS A VODAPHONE CUSTOMER. So, basically, you can't even send text messages between users on your own damn network? Seriously?

Now obviously in this case, no greater tragedy befell either of us due to this telecommunications glitch. She got forty minutes of her time wasted, and I feel like a dickhead because of it. Nobody got hurt. Nobody died. But what if I'd been trying to make a call to emergency services? Or organise something more pressing and important than a coffee with a university colleague?

I'm not naturally a 'complain-y' kind of person, but I called vodaphone customer care today to chase up these issues (my data coverage, and this issue texting this friend of mine). I made it very clear to 'LARA' that I was making a complaint, and was put swiftly through to a customer service rep (points to vodafail for this one - at least I wasn't on hold forever).

The lady I spoke to was a very good listener, but did not offer me anything in the way of empathy or support. There were lengthy pauses after I'd spoken, and at length, the best she could do was offer to put me through to tech support. Now, to be honest, having called vodafail with a legit complaint, and having made it clear that I don't feel this is a problem on 'my end', and that I am very dissatisfied, I kind of expect to be offered some form of compensation. Obviously I am deluded, in that regard, but anyway...

She put me through to tech support, which seemed a bit pointless since I was pretty damn sure none of this was my problem, but I went along with it anyway, thinking perhaps tech support might enlighten me as to what sort of network issues they were experiencing that would mean someone ON THE SAME NETWORK was unable to receive my messages.

I reiterated the same story to the tech guy, who gave me the knee-jerk response of "Have you tried turning it off then on again". To which I replied "Yes" and reiterated (again) that this was a problem I had previously had when I was on three, that I knew other vodaphone customers had had problems with data coverage and messaging, that I was pretty sure it was an issue on their end, and that I was very displeased with it.

He then proceeded to ask "...what do you want me to do about it?"

Yes.

The customer service/tech guy at vodaphone sullenly demanded WHAT I WANTED HIM TO DO about my problem.

I was pretty dumbfounded by this, to be honest. I replied that I had really only called up to register a complaint, that I was fairly certan he, personally, could not 'fix' my issue, but that I was hoping that by registering it as a problem he could tell me a) whether other people had been experiencing the same issue and b) what VODAPHONE were going to do about fixing it and/or compensating me for a service that I was paying for and not getting the full use of.

He proceeded to ask me for the number that I was calling from. I should note that he had already taken this number down when he first answered my call, so quite why he needed it a second time, I don't know. Then he asked me for the number I was having problems texting (this is after me having to explain, repeatedly, that I was able to successfully call and text SOME numbers, just not this particular one - that I knew of). I had to go into my phonebook to get the number, but I managed to read it out to him.

After he had taken it down, he talked to me for a few more minutes, then said "...so what was the number that you were having problems texting?"

Um. Really? The number I gave you a minute and a half ago? The number you JUST WROTE DOWN (presumably?). THAT number?

When I informed him that it was the number I'd just given him, he mumbled something that I didn't quite catch. I then asked "Sorry, what was that, I didn't quite hear you?"

The line was silent.

"...sorry?" I asked again "I didn't quite hear what you said?"

Nothing.

".....hello?"

At this point I checked to see if the call was still connected. It was, but Mr Vodaphone didn't feel like talking anymore, apparently. I was so sick of the whole 25 minute conversation, at this point, that I just hung up.

I should also note that my first bill, which should (I thought) have been $55 (45 infinite + 10 for handset repayment) was $86. When I called about that, they informed me that as it was my first bill I was charged from the moment I began using the service, and for the subsequent billing period, but honestly I am a bit lost here. Does this mean I'm now paid up for a subsequent month? How does this work? Looking at my bill online, I certainly don't see that I've gone over my data or anything, so it shouldn't be additional fees for going over my cap - they've charged me for a month + the one or two weeks I was using the service before the billing period kicked in? I want to see a itemised explanation of this, but I assume I'm not going to get one...

I got so frustrated at being told I was making my voicemail automatically turn off,especially after the call centre operator told me he would turn on 121 and it would never turn off - and this was after I kept telling him I didn't want 121 I wanted 1219 ring alert deliver, that I said don't worry I'll sort it myself and think I'll change networks and contact the ombudsman. I hung up then my phone rang. I ignored it because I was so upset and didn't want to swear at the person. Then I turned the phone off. When I turned it on THE PIN DIDN'T WORK ANYMORE! I had to call from a landline to get the PUK and reset it. Two hours of my day wasted today on vodafone!!!

I'm still waiting for voicemail messages from yesterday. Even left myself some and they haven't arrived yet! Also Vodafone says messages have to be more than 3 seconds long or the system discards them. I'm still waiting...

Two Rocks and Yanchep networks dropping out more often. No outages listed on vodafone's website. Says to contact them on 1555 about network outages....very funny...how? the network is out!

ALSO my voicemail and ring-alert-deliver keep being automatically turned off, but the call centre operator says I am doing it....I'm NOT! Too bad if there's an emergency and my kids or the school can't reach me. Does anyone know of a good mobile phone network that works in the Two Rocks and Yanchep area? KAS

I have prepaid mobile broadband. The connection I get is so bad that at times my internet is unusable. On 3G I can not download. I can not play even the most basic of games because the connection speed is too slow. I get freezes and lags. Often I can not even open web pages. I paid for 12GB ( $150 )as I thought that was the most convenient for me . Now I am stuck with barely usable internet. The dial up service I used 10 years ago was better than what I get today. For such a large company Vodafone is really behind when it comes to providing quality service. They really do prove that cheaper is not always worth it.

This is my third time writing this complaint: the other times the broadband program disconnected and Im forced to start over again.
Im unable to go 2-3 minutes without my wireless broadband disconnecting. It either disconnects itself or just plain stops working. And when it does work i get sub dial-up speeds.

I had a 3 mobile broadband contract but was getting slower than dial up speeds (20kbs was average). After complaining numerous times over 3 months and being transferred to 'technical', to no avail, I threatened to complain to the TIO unless I was released from the contract without a fee (I had 4 months left). Instead, they transferred me to vodafail and will pay the next 6 months of the contract, as well as double the data allowance. Vodafone, however, is even slower and has more drop outs than 3! Glad we're not paying anymore!

Awaiting activation of SIM card, 9 hours after applying for it.

Two phones sitting side by side, both with full reception. Telstra phone calls Vodafone mobile and goes straight to message bank twice, rings on the third time then goes to message bank on the 4th...

A year ago I set up a new business and choose vodafone.....bad choice as my telephone supplier. My first bill was overcharged by $800. I refused to pay until vodafone justified the invoice as I felt I had been mislead. It took several weeks to get into touch with someone from vodafone who actually cared, I was told a manager would ring me back to clarify and resolve the issue. Whilst waiting for a phonecall back (which never happened, because to call someone back is impossible these days) my wife and I had our first born and what a happy night it was. The next morning as proud father would want to do is call his family.....guess what my business mobile phone had been suspended and I could not receive or make any outgoing calls. What a joke. After 3 hours on the phone to vodafone the morning after my first was born they finally unsuspended my mobile. So instead of racing back to the hospital to see my new born and wife I was on the phone to Vodafone for 3 hours. What a memourable day..... Thanks Vodafone it will never be forgotten! I have emails that I sent to vodafone venting my frustration and will be happy to pass them along to anyone who gives a ..ck at vodafone.

I am CONSTANTLY being cut off during calls & the network coverage SUCKS... It would "suck a cricket ball doen a garden hose"... HONESTLY ... I am sick to death with bullshit excuse from Vodafone staff who could NOT careless ...

David in Perth !!!

Living in the city you would assume that network coverage would be no issue.. clearly it is. To preven my calls from dropping out i'm forced to walk upstairs to my nighbours apartment and talk on their front door step. I know Perth is the most isolated city in the world and all... but seriously get your shit sorted Vodafone!
regards,
Liam (ex loyal customer)

I got out of my vodafone contract on the 31/12/10. We agreed to cancel the contract, but i will pay $300 for my new iphone, to be paid over 3 months.

I have now recieved an invoice for the full $300 due a few days ago.
Ive been told by someone in accounts that no payment plan has been arranged,
and as it stands, if i dont make the payment, debt collection process will start.
2 working days ago i finally got through to the tio resolutions team to only get the
option of leaving a voicemail. and i will receive a call back within 2 working days as per vodafone/tio guidelines.

i have received no call. i call through again today,told that the team are busy but a call back
has been logged, and i will receive a call in another 48 hours. currently on hold.

This was meant to be resolved 3 MONTHS AGO. I'm so sick of this shit

Access to network services (Data and Telephony) has been very bad since Saturday, 26th March, 2011. I've experienced drop outs on calls, no SMS connections at times, and very very bad data transfer rates throughout the day. Only during early morning hours data connections seem to be reliable and fast enough. I have experienced this at home so it's not a question of moving to a black spot or less-covered area.
A radius of only 5 km from Perth CBD. I find this unacceptable.
Thanks

I joined Vodafone from a recepected leco because they had the phone that I liked. The only problem is the phone has never worked as Vodas reception is awefull. I complained and complained and complained and nothing happened. So I stopped paying my bills and have unlocked my phone and use another sim in there now. I called vodafone and told them I was to cancell my contract and was told it will be 1500 dollars. After two hours on the phone the indian bloke said pay your bill or pay the exit fee either way i dont care.

I hate vodafone so hard right now

Dear Cretins,
I have been an customer since 9th July 2010, when I signed up for your 24 month with phone and data deal. During this nine-month period I have encountered inadequacy of service which I had not previously considered possible, as well as ignorance and stupidity of monolithic proportions. Please allow me to provide specific details, so that you can either pursue your professional perogative, and seek to rectify these difficulties - or more likely (I suspect) so that you can have some entertaining reading material
My network connection stopped without warning, resulting in my spending an entire Saturday sitting on my fat a**e waiting for your operator to work out what I was calling about
I spent a further 257 minutes listening to your infuriating hold music, and the even more annoying robot woman telling me to look at your helpful website I alleviated the boredom by playing with my t..ticles for a few minutes - an activity at which you are no-doubt both familiar and highly adept.. I have made 9 calls on my mobile to your no-help line, and have been unhelpfully transferred to variety of disinterested individuals, who are it seems also highly skilled bollock jugglers
I have been informed that the network is available (and someone will call me back); that no network info is available (and someone will call me back); that I will be transferred to someone who knows whether or not a network available (and then been cut off); that I will be transferred to someone (and then been redirected to an answer machine informing me that your office is closed); that I will be transferred to someone and then been redirected to the irritating robot woman...and several other variations on this theme.
Doubtless you are no longer reading this letter, as you have at least a thousand other dissatisfied customers to ignore, and also another one of those crucially important t..ticle-moments to attend to. Frankly I don't care, it's far more satisfying as a customer to voice my frustration's in print than to shout them at your unending hold music.
Forgive me, therefore, if I continue. I thought T were s.it, that they had attained the holy piss-pot of godawful customer relations, that no-one, anywhere, ever, could be more disinterested, less helpful or more obstructive to delivering service to their customers. That's why I chose Voda, and because, well, there isn't anyone else is there? How surprised I therefore was, when I discovered to my considerable dissatisfaction and disappointment what a useless shower of b**tards you truly are. You are sputum-filled pieces of incompetents of the highest order. Telecom - w..nkers though they are - shine like brilliant beacons of success, in the filthy puss-filled mire of your seemingly limitless inadequacy. Suffice to say that I have now given up on my futile and foolhardy quest to receive any kind of service from you. I suggest that you cease any potential future attempts to extort payment from me for the services which you have so pointedly and catastrophically failed to deliver - any such activity will be greeted initially with hilarity and disbelief quickly be replaced by derision, and even perhaps bemused rage. I enclose two small deposits, selected with great care from my cats litter tray, as an expression of my utter and complete contempt for both you and your pointless company. I sincerely hope that they have not become desiccated during transit - they were satisfyingly moist at the time of posting, and I would feel considerable disappointment if you did not experience both their rich aroma and delicate texture. Consider them the very embodiment of my feelings, and its worthless employees. Have a nice day -, you irritatingly incompetent and infuriatingly unhelpful bunch of *****. John

Hey just checking I am not alone
Who has phoned Vodafone about no network connection only to be told that it must be your handset that is the problem and not Vodafone?
Do you find Vodafone operators are slow and difficult?
Have you heard the line that Vodafone is "upgrading the network"?
Do you find that customer service looks to customer faults and not Vodafone faults?
Do you find that compliants logged online are responded to an email with "solved" when nothing is solved at all.

Wish to share my pain...

After being with Vodafone for now over 6yrs I hate to say it but I am thinking of heading back to Telstra (Arrghh), why you ask? Because I have been finding at critical times in the morning (ASX opening) my phone goes dead - no calls out no calls in!! Hopeless, hopeless hopeless.

And when the calls can get through I have to be quick because after 2mins the line drops out!! Hopeless, hopeless hopeless.....

I have a pocket wifi on a plan for broadband and it has been working fine for the last three days than all of a sudden it has stopped working. It usually says 3G on the screen but now it always says 2G and it sometimes comes up sms only and its really annoying cause the speeds are 0b and then goes to 20 b not kb. but yeah so mad right now dont know what to do.

the signal in karratha is shocking, i live near the town center and i have to go outside and stand on a table to talk on the phone without it dropping out. my contract runs out in may and i WILL NOT be resigning with vodafone. they are one of the biggest telecomunications companys in the world and the state their network is in is unacceptable.

Vodafone seems to have serious troubles providing reception, at all.
Over the past 6 months I can't tell you how many times I've had no reception, its lasted hours, even over night sometimes.
I can't make or receive calls or texts.
Is it really that hard vodafone, everyone else seems to manage, right?
WORST NETWORK EVER.
customer service is terrible too, damn you laura

Super super fail data connection.... i feel like i'm using a brick fone....my blackberry internet is mega slow and always get data loss. FFS. #pissedoff

I've had no coverage the entire day. There's no announcement on their website apologising for the inconvenience and there probably won't be. I'd rather pay out my contract and give Vodafail the finger.
I've emailed their "contact us" address which gave me an immediate automated answer (crap) which didn't even relate to my problem. So I've asked for an answer ASAP ... won't hold my breath.