[maven]

Well 2 weeks in to my new 3 contract and things seem to be going very well.....

From my past experiences of 3 (indian callcentre people lying to me, fobbing me off, telling me anything to get me off the phone, being absolutely clueless when it comes to managing my account, hanging up on me when they get stuck, telling me my handset is fine when the manufacturers have told me it's not up to the task of handling 3G services etc etc) I was a little weary of returning to them but the lure of the 6680 was just too strong.

In the last week I've had to call them a few times and each time the people I've spoken to seem to be quite knowledgeable, have a pretty good grasp of the English language and thankfully don't do that irritating thing of calling Mr with your Christian name.

Yes it's only 2 weeks in to the contract and they've got plenty of time to mess it up but going on my experiences so far - they really have improved.

[gorilla]

Glad to hear it. I am quite happy with 3 although I downloaded a program from another forum that allows me to select whether I want to permanently stay connected to a 2g or 3g network. Thus I have no more dropped calls. If I want to use the 3g stuff I just select that instead. I think this program is only for 6630 and 6680 users.

PM me if you want the details or if I'm allowed I'll post the details.

The 6680 could prove to be the saviour for 3.

[Ben]

Please go ahead. Are you using the fieldtest/netmonitor software? Or has someone actually written a dedicated ap for switching the phone from GSM only to dual mode?

A netmonitor guide and downloads can be found here: http://www.symbian-freak.com/quides/netmon.htm

[gorilla]

Ben, that's the software I'm using.

[Jon3G]

so useful for 3 users then

[gorilla]

I would say it's a must for 3 users. I get a pretty good 3g signal most of the time, but I don't really use 3g services, so I have it forced to 2g to ensure I wont get any dropped calls.

[bsrjl1]

I wonder how long it will take 3 to realise 6630/6680 users are doing this? And what they can & will do about it?

[gorilla]

That is a scary thought. If they did something to stop that program working my opinion of 3 would change for the worse. I don't think they will though. In a couple of years they should have 90%+ coverage and hopefully there will be no need for the program at all.

[bsrjl1]

They wouldn't be able to stop the program running unless it was part of a FW update, & they couldn't *force* you to do that. Although they could stop new customers... I guess it depends how much you (ab)use it - couple of calls now & then, no-one will notice. Always on 2G then they'll get suspicious. Not only does it cost them, but you'll be outside the Video service area & won't be buying any of their lovely content.

[Jon3G]

Just think the money 02 will be making for the roaming charges

[maven]

Well I guess it wouldn't last......

I started up my new 3 contract on June 11th, on the 12th I added the £5 all-in video-clip add on. The same day I emailed their customer services to ask in the Big Brother video clips were included, this is what I asked (copy and pasted):


I have just added the GBP5 video content add-on to my account, please can you confirm that Big Brother clips are included in this deal.

The reply back I had was...



Dear Mr David,

Thank you for your email about the video value add on.

Any clips available for download will be included with add video value. Live video streaming is not free as this requires you to dial a shortcode which would be charged at the rate of a video call.

If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us by replying to [email protected], dial 333 from your handset or 08707 330333 from any other line.

Thank you for contacting 3.

Kind Regards,

Kevin Carroll
3 Customer Services
08707 330 333
Welcome to our Network
www.three.co.uk

I knew the BB live streaming wasn't included and I didn't have a problem with that.

A few days later I called 333 just to confirm BB clips are included, they said they were.

So in response to another thread on this site, I sent them the following email, asking the same thing again....


I have the GBP5 per month video-content add-on, please can you tell me if the pre-recorded Big Brother video clips which would usually be 50p each are included in the add-on.

Regards

Russ

And the reply was....


Dear Mr David,

Thank you for your email about the Big Brother clips available on our Browser service.

The video clips and Big Brother live streaming available via the Browser service is not included within the Add-on you have activated on your account. The video clips are available at a cost of £0.50p per clip and line streaming is charged at £0.75p per minute.

Thank you for contacting 3 and I trust that the above clarifies matters for you. Please get in touch if you require any further help.

Regards

Stewart Spalding
3 Customer Services
08707 330 333
Welcome to our Network
www.three.co.uk

So I phoned 3 today, was lied to by some idiot at 2:10pm who told me a supervisor would call me back in 20 minutes - 45 minutes later I called them back as no-one had rung.

It turns out that BB clips certainly are NOT included. I told them that I simply was not going to pay as I had been clearly misinformed/lied to. As a result it looks like they'll refund me the cost of all the clips I've downloaded, as there's no way I would have had them if I knew I had to pay for them.

I really was hoping 3 would have changed.

They haven't.

More on this as it happens.

[Ben]

lmao two lies in that first email back to you - not only were the clips charged as I suspected but using 31010 to watch BB6 isn't charged at video call rates, it's charged at a whopping 75ppm!

[Hands0n]

Seriously, with Three, it is a huge gamble to expect to do anything reasonably more than make phone calls, send texts and make videocalls and not be immersed in FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt).

Calling their CS is a complete and utter waste of time, energy and effort. You will either get told misinformation (to be extraordinarily kind to them) or simply be lied to in order to get you off the phone line. That is if they don't cut your call off, or if their comms don't fail and you get cut off - the result is the same!

I, too, went and bought into a contract with Three in January this year and to tell the truth I live in daily dread at having to have cause to contact their CS to resolve an issue with the service or handset. They truly are that awful and, given that they have not improved in that area since their inception, it is reasonable to forecast that there is no prospect of their CS improving to even a barely acceptable standard.

Come January 2006 Three will be seeing the last of me as a contract-paying customer. I'm going back 100% to Orange who at least have more than a passing understanding of what a Customer actually is!

Don't get me started. ............ I'll only start swearing again :D

[3GScottishUser]

My considered opinion is pretty much in total agreement with the above.

Avoiding 3's CS is one way of gaining a more positive outlook about the company. During my current contract I have only bothered to call them twice. Once to check network status - usual fudge they knew nothing really (Mumbai) and another time to port a number in, again Maumbai and done pretty efficiently.

Overall the offshore CS must be one of the most costly factors in terms of lost business for 3 UK, not to mention the ropey network of course! I had 3 dropped calls yesterday on my 7600 in a good signal area and during the course I was attending two of the delegates correctly identified the 'rotten network' I was having problems with...... I was told by one guy 'Now you know why its so cheap' - I managed to smile in agreement....... Grrrrrr!!!!!

[maven]

It's not often I will say this but.....I was wrong. 3 certainly are crap at customer service and show no signs of improving. None of the promised refunds have materialised and for the last week I have been unable to send SMS or MMS messaged. 3 say they "simply don't know" why this is. After lots of arsey phone calls and emails, they have finally allowed me to end the contract 2 months in to it (not bad - only 16 months early :D ) and I can keep the 6680.

I'm going to wait until I get the written confirmation first though.

Honestly, they have no idea how to deal with British people. They don't understand the 'mobile phone' culture here. I'm sure the people are very nice in person but the service the Indian callcentre provides is horrendous.

Good riddance 3 - and good luck trying to recoupe the billions you spent on the 3G licence with the crap customer service you provide :D

[Hands0n]

You should press 3 to give you a free Unlock on the 6680 otherwise you're tied to them [3] until the Unlockers have a vendor-free solution - which they still haven't (grrrrrrrr).

[whatleydude]

My wife and I took up with Three pretty much when they first came out.
We left within 3 months because of the reasons stated above and more..

I'm sorry to see the situation hasn't changed much.

I pay more for Vodafone - but I know I've only got a 10% chance of speaking to an imbecile at their CS as opposed to 3 which is more like 90%.

I used to have a number that went straight through to the Glasgow office of their CS.. if I find it I'll post it.

[gorilla]

I'm still going strong (did I actually say that!) with 3. Although I rarely use 3g and most of the time the phone is locked to 2g. I've been billed correctly so far and if it remains like this for another 3 months then I'll be happy (safe in the knowledge that I've only got another 4 months or so to go on the contract). I wont remain with them due to the walled garden and will probably go back to O2.
My mate is on voda 3g and pays £40 a month I think, but lives outside a 3g area (like most of us over here!) and we both have 6680's. I think I have the better deal, financially speaking anyway. It's a shame I'll probably never use the 6680 for internet purposes, but hey there'll be better phones available next year.

[3GScottishUser]

I suspect it would be well worth paying the £115 to unlock the 6680, that would allow you to sell it on e-bay and fully recoup your outlay. I would have suggested using it with another network but with alll the subsidies around you'll doubtless get a deal that will beat using your own 6680.

I am defenately not going to get involved with 3 again when my current contract ends in October. It'll take a lot of positive feedback to convince me to provide 3 UK with another chance. I have hardly used my 3 handset since getting my Samsung Z500 and when I have used it (to get some value from the inclusive talktime) the usual frustrating problems arise, so its not really worth bothering. Sad to read about the same issues arising on 3 with this latest generation of handset.