mrty
22nd October 2011, 04:39 PM
My wife and I have been loyal customers of 3 for over 7 years. Not any more.
What went wrong?
My wifes phone bill was a couple of days late being paid. went she told me it was late and she couldn't make calls I paid it. Using the automated system at 6.30 a.m on a thursday morning. At the end of the message acknowledging payment there was a statement that 'if the phone service had been restricted there was no need to do anything and services would be resumed automatically'.
This appeared to be the case, as my texted me at 8 a.m to say all was ok.
At 9 a.m she called me from her place of work, using their landline to say that the phone had been cut-off again.
I called 3 to try and get it put back on and was told that ..'All services are working and we could use the phone'..This was not the case.
I collected the phone from my wife and rang again. I played the message that told me 'I had been directed to this number because i hadn't paid the bill'...and followed the steps to pay the 'bill' . Only to hear a message stating that I do not owe any money on this account.
I rang customer services and played the whole process to them live, and they assured me it was the phone and not them or their end.
They, in an effort to prove it was my fault, had me swap sim cards, and repeat the process. This didn't work (obvious to you and me that it wouldn't but not to 3).
The next step was to get me to perform a factory reset on the phone. same result.
Then I was transferred to someone who didn't bother picking the phone up for 10 minutes.
Unresolved, I took my problem to the 3shop, where the staff are always helpful and knowledgeable (three don't deserve them to be honest). I asked Sammy ( the three sales guy) to make a call, then asked him to pay the 'outstanding bill' . He was surprised at the message at the end telling him there was no bill to pay.
He rang 3 direct ( strange how he can get a Uk number yet a customer with a genuine grievance can only talk to someone in Mumbai, and be passed around and put on hold til his battery runs out or his blood pressure gives him a stroke).
They promised him there was nothing wrong with the phone, and services would be resumed shortly.
Later that night I rang three, the phone still unable to make calls, and was told it would be sorted out in 20 minutes. unfortunately, they didn't say which 20 minutes!
On the friday I tried to use the phone. still no luck. as the contract period was up i rang three and tried to cancel the contract. The man wouldn't listen. I was told I was a valued customer and would lose lots of loyalty.
After 20 minutes of repeating that i did NOT want a new phone, a special deal, or anything as well as or instead off the phone, I gave up trying to cancel.
That night when I got home I tried to cancel again. I went through the same rigmarole with different people. The final person, a woman, I spoke to was offering me special deals and kept going for a good 20 minutes of badgering. In the end I asked her to give me 5 minutes to think about the deal ( a new smart-phone, better allowance and �15 a month less)and to call me back. BOY DID I NEED A BREAK
When she rang back, she promised that the phone would be reconnected in 20 minutes. At this point I told her I was till cancelling the contract and she started her tirade of empty promises again.
Finally I managed to cancel and from being a valued customer with a 'thank you and goodbye, have a nice day', I went to being a nuisance and not even getting a goodbye.
The following morning, today Saturday, the phone was still unable to make calls, and this time I got someone to actually sort it out. No fuss, no badgering.
I am still leaving three. I still have one phone with three and a broadband contract too. Can you guess what I am doing when these contracts are up?
I have filmed the attempt at making a call and 'press 1 etc..etc.. to pay the bill. If you want to look/listen search for mrtyfarty on youtube.
If you are thinking about contracting to three....good luck!!
What went wrong?
My wifes phone bill was a couple of days late being paid. went she told me it was late and she couldn't make calls I paid it. Using the automated system at 6.30 a.m on a thursday morning. At the end of the message acknowledging payment there was a statement that 'if the phone service had been restricted there was no need to do anything and services would be resumed automatically'.
This appeared to be the case, as my texted me at 8 a.m to say all was ok.
At 9 a.m she called me from her place of work, using their landline to say that the phone had been cut-off again.
I called 3 to try and get it put back on and was told that ..'All services are working and we could use the phone'..This was not the case.
I collected the phone from my wife and rang again. I played the message that told me 'I had been directed to this number because i hadn't paid the bill'...and followed the steps to pay the 'bill' . Only to hear a message stating that I do not owe any money on this account.
I rang customer services and played the whole process to them live, and they assured me it was the phone and not them or their end.
They, in an effort to prove it was my fault, had me swap sim cards, and repeat the process. This didn't work (obvious to you and me that it wouldn't but not to 3).
The next step was to get me to perform a factory reset on the phone. same result.
Then I was transferred to someone who didn't bother picking the phone up for 10 minutes.
Unresolved, I took my problem to the 3shop, where the staff are always helpful and knowledgeable (three don't deserve them to be honest). I asked Sammy ( the three sales guy) to make a call, then asked him to pay the 'outstanding bill' . He was surprised at the message at the end telling him there was no bill to pay.
He rang 3 direct ( strange how he can get a Uk number yet a customer with a genuine grievance can only talk to someone in Mumbai, and be passed around and put on hold til his battery runs out or his blood pressure gives him a stroke).
They promised him there was nothing wrong with the phone, and services would be resumed shortly.
Later that night I rang three, the phone still unable to make calls, and was told it would be sorted out in 20 minutes. unfortunately, they didn't say which 20 minutes!
On the friday I tried to use the phone. still no luck. as the contract period was up i rang three and tried to cancel the contract. The man wouldn't listen. I was told I was a valued customer and would lose lots of loyalty.
After 20 minutes of repeating that i did NOT want a new phone, a special deal, or anything as well as or instead off the phone, I gave up trying to cancel.
That night when I got home I tried to cancel again. I went through the same rigmarole with different people. The final person, a woman, I spoke to was offering me special deals and kept going for a good 20 minutes of badgering. In the end I asked her to give me 5 minutes to think about the deal ( a new smart-phone, better allowance and �15 a month less)and to call me back. BOY DID I NEED A BREAK
When she rang back, she promised that the phone would be reconnected in 20 minutes. At this point I told her I was till cancelling the contract and she started her tirade of empty promises again.
Finally I managed to cancel and from being a valued customer with a 'thank you and goodbye, have a nice day', I went to being a nuisance and not even getting a goodbye.
The following morning, today Saturday, the phone was still unable to make calls, and this time I got someone to actually sort it out. No fuss, no badgering.
I am still leaving three. I still have one phone with three and a broadband contract too. Can you guess what I am doing when these contracts are up?
I have filmed the attempt at making a call and 'press 1 etc..etc.. to pay the bill. If you want to look/listen search for mrtyfarty on youtube.
If you are thinking about contracting to three....good luck!!