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Original poster

Can anyone really truly recommend their mobile company to me please AKA what on earth has happened to the concept of "Customer Service" in this country??

27 replies

flashingnose · 27/09/2006 10:50

I have had numerous problems with Orange since I (stupidly) took out a contract with them 6 months ago after happily being a pay as you go customer for years.

The last straw for me has come with my latest bill - I phoned to query a call charge on the bill and was told that if I wanted an itemised bill, I would either have to pay £1.50 per bill or access the internet and check it myself. So if they've made a mistake on the bill, I have to pay for the privilege of checking it.

I know it's not a big thing in the grand scheme of things, but is one more example of how big companies have totally put the the onus on the customer to sort out their mistakes. How did we let this happen? It seems that most companies make it so difficult to sort problems out that most people will just give up.

Can anyone recommend a helpful mobile company where you are not shunted from pillar to post, where you manage to speak to the same person more than once and where they believe in Customer Service as a genuine concept rather than a line to trot out while you're on hold for hours?

Orange has to be the most infuriating company to deal with that I have ever come across .

And breathe...

OP posts:
mosschops30 · 27/09/2006 10:53

O2 have always been great for me, and I have just upgraded and renewed my contract with them for a third year.
I can always get through, call centres are in this country (always a bonus), and always just speak to one person who can sort everythng out

nailpolish · 27/09/2006 10:54

i switched from vodaphone to O2 and O2 are far superior in the customer service dept

littleducks · 27/09/2006 11:01

just keep away from three, call centre agents in india who cany sort out your problem then refuse to 'escalate' your call to someone who can, im reasonably happy with t mobile, but the shop i bought contract from gave me cheque for 9 months line rental and i never go outside my minutes so it didnt cost much so i dont expect much,

Original poster
flashingnose · 27/09/2006 11:02

Right, I'll have a look at O2. Trouble is, I'm signed into an 18 month contract but Orange have been so unbelieveably crap that I want to break it. God, another battle...

OP posts:
nailpolish · 27/09/2006 11:05

flashingnose, be firm, tell them they are CRAP and whatever they say wont make a blind bit of difference

i hate they way they try to talk over you once they realise you are leaving

GarfieldsGirl · 27/09/2006 11:56

DO NOT GO TO 3!!!!

Unortunately I'm stuck with them as I just can't bear to pay the prices with any other network. (I pay £15 p/m, 500 any time mins, 200 txts, DP (O2) pays £35 p/m, 200 any time mins, 50 txts). I have never experienced such atrocious 'customer service'. TBH, it can't even be called that, more like 'Get the customer as angry as you possibly can, refuse to let them speak to a supervisor, and call them a liar service'

trixymalixy · 27/09/2006 13:15

I'm with O2 and have no complaints.

My DH has been with orange for years and years but when his contract runs out in Dec he is changing to O2 because of Orange's terrible customer service.

he had to wait an hour to get through to speak to them to cancel something he had already asked to be cancelled twice. And that wasn't even at a peak time!!

Original poster
flashingnose · 27/09/2006 16:11

Yep, that sounds familiar. Think I'll have a look at O2 - thanks for your input everyone.

OP posts:
curiosity · 27/09/2006 16:13

We're with Virgin PAYG and when we've needed to contact them they've been excellent.

ediemay · 27/09/2006 16:14

T Mobile have been great for me - I swapped over from Orange. I found Orange customer service good but the waiting times were horrendous.

MrsMuddle · 27/09/2006 16:27

A lone voice here voting for Vodafone. They've always been really helpful and I get 250 texts and 120 mins for 20 quid, which is much cheaper than I was paying with Orange.

laneydaye · 27/09/2006 16:30

"3" every time, tried the others and wouldnt recomend them. Do it online and you get better deals.

tissy · 27/09/2006 16:30

Another vote for O2- staff in shops are very helpful, also those on the helpline.

snowleopard · 27/09/2006 16:32

Another vote for O2. They cold-called me 7 years ago to offer me a mobile, it was the first contract I'd ever had and I still have it, they have been brilliant and people are always amazed that I get everything I do for £20 a month.

Tawny75 · 27/09/2006 16:49

Another for O2 here as well.

I am on one onf their tarriffs online and have been for past 3 yrs. £30 per month 500 texts and 200 anytime cross network minutes

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 27/09/2006 16:51

Mobile phone companies and customer service don't really fit in the same sentence do they?

But O2 best of a bad bunch I think.

ScummyMummy · 27/09/2006 16:56

Virgin have been great for me. I fled to them in a rage after having awful shennanigans with Orange and all has been peace and light ever since.

ilovecaboose · 27/09/2006 17:03

DON'T TOUCH VODAPHONE WITH A BARGEPOLE - have been with them nearly a year and have never, ever managed to talk to a real person. Everything has been 'press 1', 'please enter this code' etc. If it wasn't for the fact my phone can't be unlocked I would leave straight away .

Plus if I get an answerphone message they phone me every couple of minutes with a message to tell me to phone my answerphone - plus numerous text messages saying the same .

As soon as I can justify forking out on a new phone I am leaving them. Plus the PAYG is ridiculously expensive.

God I hate vodaphone.

GarfieldsGirl · 27/09/2006 18:04

laneydaye, you'll soon change your mind as soon as you have to phone them!

Blondilocks · 27/09/2006 18:21

OH & I have been with Orange for ages & are really really pleased with them. He's on contract, I'm on PAYG.

I've heard mixed things about them all! My potential SIL swears by O2 but 3 mates from uni thought they were awful, in particular their customer services.

Same with vodafone - several people happy but one thought they were awful.

T-mobile were pretty good (only left them cos orange was cheaper).

I thought that all mobile companies charge for itemised billing on contracts?

Have no idea about Tesco mobile.

Piffle · 27/09/2006 18:23

I've been with many phone companies and Orange have always been the best
I'm with 3 now as we get no orange coverage at our house, but you CAN never get anyone to answer the bloody phone.

Emskilou · 27/09/2006 18:38

I'm with t-mobile flext 35. I pay £35 per month but get £180 worth of services (text,mms and calls) you can pay more or less depending on your usage. Customer services have also been fab for me too, orange were shite!hth

laneydaye · 27/09/2006 21:11

I havent had any trouble getting through to someone on "3" its great and they even let you upgrade earlier than your cut off date..

GarfieldsGirl · 27/09/2006 22:02

laneydaye, I have to say I'm shocked. They're really good with upgrdes as I've been with them for years, but O2 are the same with DP and he's only been there a year.

My lastest with 3 was that my phone had an error message and I didn't have a num,ber to unlock it, when I phoned them they insisted the only reason that message would be there was if a non-3 sim was in there (my sim had never even been taken out), so they told me that his message doesn't exist adn it can't be on the phone and there's no such thing as an access code. After speaking to a supervisor (after 10 mins of requesting I do so), I was told the same thing by her. They eventually said I could send it back, they'd look at it, try to fix the non-existent problem but would probably take about 10 days, so I took it to the Nokia shop, who tok one look at it, told me the sim had been blocked by 3, and repaired it there and then as 3 still insisted to them that the message didn't exist!

Sorry for that rant!

fattiemumma · 27/09/2006 22:08

im currently with O2 and have no reason to complain.
though the best customer service was when i was with Virgin.

it was only a PAYG phone though so dont know about the contracts.