Vodafone issues with new phone?

[daisydoodoo]

recently upgraded to stay with vodafone, as had had no issues, now changed handset and since then get very patchy signal at home or within my home town. I only notice this if i try to make a call out and the signal has gone, or if i get emails from people telling me to contact them. or if i see the person and they say they can never get hold of me. Apparently they get the this number is unavlaiable or switched off message, when my phone isnt.

Ive logged this with Vodafone on countless times, each time expalining i cant keep a note of each individual number thats called me and not got a ring tone as i don;t know unless they tell me, also on an evening ive just got used to not making any calls on my mobile and dont need to use it.

Yesterday i rang vodafone to log a no singla complaint again as had spent the whole vening with no signal and was actually trying to make some calls. the person i spoke to then was very helpful and said it sounded like a handset problem. was there any chance i could put my sim in a different handset and make some calls and get people to call me. i did this last night and surprise urprise my phone worked, i managed to make calls, send texts that were sent at the time of pressing send and not when i left the area.

I ring vodafone today and tell them what has happened and have been told that they cant do anything until its been logged more than 3 times in 24 hours!!! Well i cant ring the 191 customer services from home on my non signal receiving phone as it doesnt get a signal! when i leave to come into work i can then get a signal but get told i cant report it as its not in the problem area?

Are they just fobbing me off? We have 8 phones with vodafone (business) and only half of the staff are contactable after 5pm, the ones that live in the same area as me can not be contacted, so this means currently on calls are falling to just 3 other people, which i unfair to all employees. luckily we arent an emergency service, but still frustrating to pay hundreds of pounds a month to vodafone and not receiving the service.

It seems especially shoddy for them to be unwilling to expect you to report a no signal fault that many times in 24 hours, when it is clearly a technical impossibility with the duff phone/no signal ...

I know I'd be thinking "How the xxxxx am I meant to report it when there's no signal on this duff brick" but clearly the "jobsworth" who refused to accept the complaint is thick as a plank because they cannot 'get' the problem in doing what they are telling you you must do. Ask them for an 0800 number you can ring from a landline to report the fault when it happens AS YOU HAVE NO SIGNAL !!!!!!!

Unless you have to stick with Vodafone (because network coverage [elsewhere] or the package cannot be beaten), I'd tell them that you'll have no option if they aren't going to replace your faulty handset but to move all your phones to EE (with the combinet network coverage of Orange and T-Mobile masts) when it comes time to renew...

You say the staffs in the same area as you cannot be contacted - so is this the Vodafone signal in general and not just your phone ? I am sure I saw a complaint about coverage being down with no compensation and no expected 'fix' time/date from Vodafone just a few days ago on some other site.

Vodafone forum

Just one message - it wasn't on that forum but I just did a quick search and that came up...

yes you got it NetworkGuy, if no signal how can we log it with 191? glad im not going mad and someone sees my point.

Vodafone claim that there is no problem with the network and i suppose hats backe dup by the fact that when i swap my sim into my sons iphone 4s it works? the 4 people who have the issue all have the same phones, someone else with the same phone but who lives in another town does not have an issue? the other three have blackberry bold 9900's and they are all fine.

tried reporting it again but apparently im not allowed to report it as im not calling from the area with an issue!

on the phone to them yet again as 2 of my team members have complained again and been told the same thing.

What phone do the people with problems have? Maybe the phone itself has a poor reception issue?

I'm with Vodafone and thought their 3G network was rubbish because I constantly struggled to get a 3G signal on my iphone 4. But since moving to a different phone I've noticed a marked improvement with 3G reception. So I can only assume the iphone 4 wasn't particularly good at holding a signal.

We've all got the samsung galaxy s3, which did seem so much better than the iphone, but at least we could get signal then.

It doesnt look like vodafone ill be willing to swap out the phones though, so ithink i need to find a way to get us out of the contract without penalty and switch to another provider.

Since you're in contract still, and already spending a lot each month, would it not be worth trying some low cost handsets. (OK, I know not ideal, as you may be using functions on the Galaxy which wouldn't be available, but in the short term, not having a service is a major nuisance, isn't it...)

How about each of you ordering the Vodafone 354 on Asda's web site (or visiting an Asda if there's one nearby). It's a basic mobile, at 15 quid, but would mean you could prove/disprove faulty smartphones, without spending a lot of cash.

Alternatively you might find same phone in a Vodafone shop and be able to buy it without them charging any top-up if you explain your situation (ie phone/signal problems making phones useless for work). Go in together, and they will probably take notice that other customers are hearing you all complain about poor coverage!

If (after using replacement phones) you can still not make | receive calls, you've got reason to complain further to Vodafone about coverage having been poorer than it had been in the past. Either way, as they're being un-co-operative, it would be worth you getting sufficient proof of either bad phones or bad signal, or both, so you can get out of the contract without having to spend a fortune. If you don't want to spend 75 quid in one go, see if one or two phones get reasonable signals.

Might be worth a letter to one of the consumer sections of a national paper or a computer/mobile phone mag, to see whether the potential bad publicity for Vodafone might mean someone high up does a bit of finger-getting-out...

You cannot buy multiple phones (well, no more than 2) via some shops as they treat it as possibly fraudulent, so that's why I suggested individuals buying them separately.

Another area with lack of service here

From the Which website;

Every mobile phone service provider must belong to one of two telecoms dispute resolution schemes, Cisas or the Ombudsman Services

These are independent complaints schemes that will investigate your complaint about a mobile phone service provider if you haven't been able to resolve your problem with them directly.

You must give the service provider a chance to resolve the complaint first, going through its formal complaints procedure if necessary.

If it can't or won't help, after eight weeks you can take your complaint to the Ombudsman Service or Cisas. You can contact them earlier if your mobile provider issues you with a 'deadlock letter' stating that it will not deal with your complaint.

Thanks everyone. I'm lodging an official complaint as getting no where with Vodafone cs. Cheaper phones work better than the galaxy this means though that the staff in the field so to speak now needto go back time llaptop time check emails.

Hi daisydoodoo,

It's disappointing to read about your experience.

In the event that you still require some assistance could you email me with your details via the Contact us form here goo.gl/gonvl quoting the code WRT135 - Fao Lee in the subject line?

To ensure that it reaches me could you update the thread with your email reference number once you've received our automated reply and I'll get back to you as soon as possible?

Should anyone else experience difficulties with the Vodafone network I'd recommend following the guidance on our eForum here goo.gl/qj9eM.

Kind regards,

Lee

Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK