Sorry - there seems to be a problem...online top ups not working

[BEW]

Online mobile broadband top ups haven't been working for a few days. On verification of the credit card, the following message is displayed: 

Sorry, we couldn't take payment. Please check you have the right card details and try again..

Not very helpful advice, as this is after verification.

Online top ups have been intermittent at best for a long time. When is this going to addressed?

[BEW]

"I think its best we take a closer look at your accounts, to see what's going on."

What's "going on" is that Vodafone's pay as you go top ups system is not functional.

Both 2345, and this website. I appreciate it is not in Vodfone's interests to have the issue discussed publically. Neither have ever been wholly reliable, but since changes were made a few months ago, they have worsened, and are now effectively non operational.

All you offer when contacted is a workaround, usually advising purchase of a top up voucher, or fiddling about with adding credit to customer accounts behind the scenes, while the problem goes unsolved.

You post the above at 6:32. At 6:39, in reply to another customer who cannot top up online, you post this:

"Hi EmmaRowson,
I'm not aware of there being any issues with topping up online. Please clear your cache and cookies and try again."

And again at 6:41 you post the exact same reply to a further customer, as linked below.

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Online-Services/Worst-website-ever/td-p/2069673

To say this is sloppy on your part would be a generous interpretation. There are a great many posts, in many different sections of the forum, from people unable to top up, quite apart from several in this thread alone. As far as can be seen, not a single one of these complaints has been resolved.

It's the blank refusal to admit any responsibility that is unacceptable.

As pay as you go customers are for the most part, the elderly, people in adverse financial circumstances, or those with other, primary, phone / internet options, Vodafone treats them with no care or respect whatsoever.

Insofar as Vodafone, as a public company, is subject to a social contract, it is to treat its customers equally and honestly. This is not happening, and for what little it may be worth I will be attempting a formal complaint in regard of Vodafone's practice. I work in Social Services, and am consequently aware that some of the most marginalised and downtrodden people in our society are dependent on pay as you go communications services.

In the meantime I'd again suggest changing providers to anyone with the option of doing so, as Vodafone clearly have no intention of admitting there is a problem, let alone addressing it.

[Retired-Sarah]

Hi BEW,

If you get in touch with us via the link Sukhi provided you with and the [#7xxxxxx] reference, we can look into this for you. 

Thanks,

Sarah

[BEW]

I'm wondering if I'm getting reponses from actual human beings here, rather than some automated process.

As I have already said, I have changed provider, and therefore do not require anything "looking into". This is due to constant dissembling regarding the pay as you go top up system, which, as you yourself, and many of your users know, does not currently work, and has been extremely unreliable for some months.

I'm merely attempting to get one of you to discuss, or indeed admit, this on your public forum. Members of your "Tech Team" are continuing to advise customers to clear their caches, that the problem is with their individual accounts, or even, as above, denying awareness of any problem at all. While here,

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Pay-as-you-go-services/Can-t-top-up-online/td-p/1803820/page/2

a customer claims he has recently received an email from Vodafone to the following effect:

"I would like to share that the IT team is working in the backend to upgrade the system due to which some of the customers are facing top up issues.
As soon as the issue is sorted you will be able to use the top up services."

Assuming this is not an invention, which seems unlikely, the responses being posted by Vodafone employees in this forum are simply untrue, even by Vodafone's own account.

So, for the fourth time. Are you willing to admit there is a problem with your topup services, and perhaps be so good as to advise your customers as to when the issue will be resolved?

[Sukhi]

Hi BEW,

From time to time we do experience issues with our online service. Our teams do their best to fix these as quickly as possible, so that our customers are not affected for long.

This doesn't mean that all top up failures are down to system issues. Sometimes it can be down to the individuals account, which is why we request them to get in touch.

Thanks,

Sukhi

[Melany1970]

I'm having exactly the same problem and am getting sick of calling up, paying a fortune just to be told they haven't had this problem before.

[2210danni]

I'm having a nightmare trying to log in to buy a data pack for my dongle...try to sign in and it tells me my number is not registered, so go to register it and says I can't because it's already registered!

I've forgotten my password to My Account as well, tried to get a password reset email...and surprise surprise 'sorry we're having problems, we're working on this.' Argghhhh!

All I want to do is be able to use the internet and Vodafone are making it impossible with all these basic and simple problems!