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 Gain
| ACT (25) | Everywhere (404) | NSW (170) | NT (3) | QLD (65) | SA (16) | Somewhere else (6) | TAS (5) | VIC (86) | WA (28) |
9874 Someone from NSW thinks their gain is Impressive at 2 Jan 2011 07:47:09 AM
Just over a week ago I finally decided to call Vodafone to complain about the network problems. I was experiencing problems in post codes 2008, 2000 and 2065.
The cancellations team member I spoke to was actually really lovely. She acknowledged that I had been with Vodafone a long time, she acknowledged that Vodafone were having significant network problems, and she entreated me to give them until January to catch up on the network upgrade that was skipped because of the firmware problems they had.
I wasn't expecting her to do anything for me, they can't fix the network or cancel my contract over the phone on a first complaint. So, having exhausted Vodafone's own dispute resolution, I lodged a complaint with the TIO.
With the TIO you dont have to be overly specific, keeping diaries and everything, but you do need to be specific about the problems you personally have been getting and where you have been getting them. They work by post codes, so use them (as I have here). Talk about timeouts and reduced data speeds. Talk about call dropouts and inability to make and receive calls. Talk about what conditions cause the service to be better (being at home) or worse (when using the service at speed). Finally, say what you want from Vodafone to resolve the dispute.
After about a week I got a quick call from Vodafone in response to the TIO complaint offering 4 months free service or the $150 left on my MPP to be released from my contract. Considering I was only 4-5 months into a 24 month contract, I took the latter option!
I'm now in a situation where I have to work out what to do with my new found freedom. Telstra's cap plans are roughly comparable to what I was paying on Vodafone, but it appears as though you can only get them if you're signing a new 24 month contract and getting a cheap included phone. Optus has BYO cap plans, but again you have to sign a 12 month contract - even without getting a new phone.
I won't be signing a contract with another operator. While I'm unhappy that Vodafone let their network get to this point, and I'm apprehensive about how it's going to survive the 3 network merger, I will be returning to Vodafone when their network upgrades are complete. They're a good company, and it took having to consider the alternatives to rediscover this about them.
The cancellations team member I spoke to was actually really lovely. She acknowledged that I had been with Vodafone a long time, she acknowledged that Vodafone were having significant network problems, and she entreated me to give them until January to catch up on the network upgrade that was skipped because of the firmware problems they had.
I wasn't expecting her to do anything for me, they can't fix the network or cancel my contract over the phone on a first complaint. So, having exhausted Vodafone's own dispute resolution, I lodged a complaint with the TIO.
With the TIO you dont have to be overly specific, keeping diaries and everything, but you do need to be specific about the problems you personally have been getting and where you have been getting them. They work by post codes, so use them (as I have here). Talk about timeouts and reduced data speeds. Talk about call dropouts and inability to make and receive calls. Talk about what conditions cause the service to be better (being at home) or worse (when using the service at speed). Finally, say what you want from Vodafone to resolve the dispute.
After about a week I got a quick call from Vodafone in response to the TIO complaint offering 4 months free service or the $150 left on my MPP to be released from my contract. Considering I was only 4-5 months into a 24 month contract, I took the latter option!
I'm now in a situation where I have to work out what to do with my new found freedom. Telstra's cap plans are roughly comparable to what I was paying on Vodafone, but it appears as though you can only get them if you're signing a new 24 month contract and getting a cheap included phone. Optus has BYO cap plans, but again you have to sign a 12 month contract - even without getting a new phone.
I won't be signing a contract with another operator. While I'm unhappy that Vodafone let their network get to this point, and I'm apprehensive about how it's going to survive the 3 network merger, I will be returning to Vodafone when their network upgrades are complete. They're a good company, and it took having to consider the alternatives to rediscover this about them.
2 Jan 2011 08:12:08 AM: yeah they are a good company... they are just having a really bad run of major system malfunctions, which they need to get on top of quickly.
4 Jan 2011 01:26:26 PM: Same... I signed up with Optus today until Vodafone gets their house in order, then I am gonna switch over...