Dear visitor,
Since its inception Vodafail.com has made a significant
contribution towards raising awareness of the problems and issues faced
by Vodafone customers.
Vodafone Australia customers have had the opportunity to voice their concerns, their fears and their troubles from every corner of Australia and beyond our borders.
You have gathered the courage to stand up for your rights as consumers and to make your voice heard.
Each and every person who shared their story should have a sense of pride in this achievement and the changes that have occurred since the start of Vodafail.com.
More recently, traffic to Vodafail.com has declined significantly.
Having achieved the goal of raising awareness and promoting concrete action in early 2011, we have now reached the point of closing Vodafail to new complaints.
The site will remain online for as long as possible as a
reminder and an example of what is possible when we share our experiences.
It has been a privilege to run this initiative
and I'm am forever grateful for the help and support I've received. In
particular I would like to thank Melissa, David and Travis for their
continued efforts over the past 15 months. I'm also thankful and humbled by the support of ACCAN, Choice magazine and a wide range of media outlets, blogs and websites.
You can still browse existing stories and find out how to file a complaint if you are experiencing problems.
Until next time,
Adam Brimo
Share Your Pain
| ACT (1140) | Everywhere (19206) | NSW (7557) | NT (170) | QLD (3578) | SA (987) | Somewhere else (224) | TAS (242) | VIC (3573) | WA (1735) |
15457 Someone from VIC thinks vodafone is Major fail at 10 Feb 2011 03:05:55 PM
I have been with 3 (now part of Vodafone) for several years and had no problems, until I moved to Melbourne ... before applying for a rental property I went into the 3/Vodafone store to ask about coverage and was informed there was full coverage (for mobile and mobile broadband) where I wanted to move to. Of course, when I actually arrived in my new city, alone and overwhelmed, I found that I had next to no coverage for either my phone or internet. Going back into the store was no help and I then spent many phone calls backwards and forwards with 3 "Customer Care", being transferred from one department to the next with long hold periods between.
Finally they agreed to release me from my 3 contracts if I agreed to try Vodafone first. I stated that I did not want to do this as I had been a Vodafone customer several years ago and had been very dissatisfied with the service and reception - Only to be told that the network had been 'significantly' improved. I was given a credit on my account of $30 to enable me to purchase Vodafone prepaid SIMs to trial.
It took 1 hour instore to get signed up for the SIMs which ended up costing over $50 (once any data allowance was included) - for which I refused to pay and made the staff call 3 Customer Care to sort it out themselves.
In short, the Vodafone reception was, as I knew it would be, even worse than 3's! So I rang Vodafone to ask for this to be recorded on my account so that I would have all the documentation required to be released from my 3 account. The person I talked to kept telling me that there should be adequate reception where I lived and that it must be a handset fault (despite it working perfectly prior to my move) - he kept insisting that the only way he could help me was if I called back on an alternate number. No matter how many times I explained that I was alone in a new city with only a mobile phone and no alternate to use, he kept telling me the same thing. I ended up in tears on the phone and even when I told him that I couldn't even have a conversation with my mum without it dropping out, and that I was worried that if I needed to call an ambulance or the police that I wouldn't be able to, he just kept telling me to call back on an alternate number. In the end, I hung up in tears.
3 had also tried the 'alternate number' sham for the purposes of running 'handset checks' but had at least understood when I told them (for the 10th time) that there was no alternate number.
So, 3 finally agreed to let me out of my contract for the mobile and internet, without the cancellation fees. But they were unable to stop the cancellation fees from appearing and told me I would have to call back after my bill arrived to get the cancellation fees removed. I am also told that I am required to pay out the remaining handset installments on my phone (some $450).
A bill arrived and I rang 3 today to confirm if my direct debit was still active (given that they've cancelled my online access to my account details) and in the process found that they had NOT cancelled my internet account in January as I had asked, and been told had occurred. And they were expecting me to pay whatever pro-rata charges there were since this time.
I refused and spent quite some time outlining to the representative I spoke with that it was not my fault the previous person I had spoken to was obviously incompetent and had not done the job they said they would or made notes that this is what had been discussed. And highlighting that I intended to take this matter (and the overall completely horrific service received from 3 and Vodafone) to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman - at which point they agreed to 'make an exception' for me and waive the pro-rata fees on my internet account.
The distress this has caused me - in terms of having to justify myself and make my position clear to people who keep reinterpreting it and choosing to only focus on one aspect of my story, as well as having to repeat the whole, convoluted tale each and every time I have been transferred to a new department - the isolation I have felt all alone in a new city - and the waste of time this has all been has convinced me to make a complaint to the TIO and to never trust Vodafone again (Optus wasn't much better either - their reception was also substandard and the 3 hours I spent standing in their store on hold to their customer care team left me in tears and with a migraine - all to access their 30 day reception guarantee a mere 3 days after signing up).
Finally they agreed to release me from my 3 contracts if I agreed to try Vodafone first. I stated that I did not want to do this as I had been a Vodafone customer several years ago and had been very dissatisfied with the service and reception - Only to be told that the network had been 'significantly' improved. I was given a credit on my account of $30 to enable me to purchase Vodafone prepaid SIMs to trial.
It took 1 hour instore to get signed up for the SIMs which ended up costing over $50 (once any data allowance was included) - for which I refused to pay and made the staff call 3 Customer Care to sort it out themselves.
In short, the Vodafone reception was, as I knew it would be, even worse than 3's! So I rang Vodafone to ask for this to be recorded on my account so that I would have all the documentation required to be released from my 3 account. The person I talked to kept telling me that there should be adequate reception where I lived and that it must be a handset fault (despite it working perfectly prior to my move) - he kept insisting that the only way he could help me was if I called back on an alternate number. No matter how many times I explained that I was alone in a new city with only a mobile phone and no alternate to use, he kept telling me the same thing. I ended up in tears on the phone and even when I told him that I couldn't even have a conversation with my mum without it dropping out, and that I was worried that if I needed to call an ambulance or the police that I wouldn't be able to, he just kept telling me to call back on an alternate number. In the end, I hung up in tears.
3 had also tried the 'alternate number' sham for the purposes of running 'handset checks' but had at least understood when I told them (for the 10th time) that there was no alternate number.
So, 3 finally agreed to let me out of my contract for the mobile and internet, without the cancellation fees. But they were unable to stop the cancellation fees from appearing and told me I would have to call back after my bill arrived to get the cancellation fees removed. I am also told that I am required to pay out the remaining handset installments on my phone (some $450).
A bill arrived and I rang 3 today to confirm if my direct debit was still active (given that they've cancelled my online access to my account details) and in the process found that they had NOT cancelled my internet account in January as I had asked, and been told had occurred. And they were expecting me to pay whatever pro-rata charges there were since this time.
I refused and spent quite some time outlining to the representative I spoke with that it was not my fault the previous person I had spoken to was obviously incompetent and had not done the job they said they would or made notes that this is what had been discussed. And highlighting that I intended to take this matter (and the overall completely horrific service received from 3 and Vodafone) to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman - at which point they agreed to 'make an exception' for me and waive the pro-rata fees on my internet account.
The distress this has caused me - in terms of having to justify myself and make my position clear to people who keep reinterpreting it and choosing to only focus on one aspect of my story, as well as having to repeat the whole, convoluted tale each and every time I have been transferred to a new department - the isolation I have felt all alone in a new city - and the waste of time this has all been has convinced me to make a complaint to the TIO and to never trust Vodafone again (Optus wasn't much better either - their reception was also substandard and the 3 hours I spent standing in their store on hold to their customer care team left me in tears and with a migraine - all to access their 30 day reception guarantee a mere 3 days after signing up).