The Pre-order Farce

[edinscott34]

So like many others on here I have had nothing short of a nightmare with my pre-order of an iPhone 6s Plus 64gb Rose Gold,  below are the absolute nightmare sequence of events

Sat 12th 8:15am

I pre-order and pay for my iPhone 6s Plus 64gb Rose Gold,  and receive all the order confirmations by text and email immediately after the order confirming delivery should be on the 25th Sept. 

Monday 14th

I receive a delivery from DPD which is someone elses sim card,  with his name and address on the package - VF advise that this was sent in error and that DPD would collect it (Still not collected)

Tuesday 15th

I receive another sim card from DPD which this time is actually for me (VF advise that the sim has been sent in advance of the phone)

Wednesday 16th

I get an email saying my bill is ready,  this bill is for usage between the 13th and 23rd Sept (I still havent got the phone so shouldnt be billed yet),  advised on chat again this is an error and in fact the money wont come out my account,  the advisor even texts me to confirm this. 

Thursday 24th

Get another email saying my bill is ready,  this bill covers between the 23rd Sept - 22nd Oct (again these dates are wrong as up until then I wasnt due the phone until the 25th) - I go onto the chat and Im advised I need to phone as there appears to be a problem with my order

I call customer services and I'm advised that there has been some sort of problem with my order and VF have had to cancel my order and that they would need to do a reorder and then give me a priority delivery which would be no later than Monday (So no Friday delivery for me sadly),  also advised that they would correct my incorrect bill and that I wouldnt be billed until I get the handset

Friday 25th

I check my bank account and the bill for between the 13th-23rd which was meant to be cancelled has in fact come out of my account,  I again talk to vodafone who have no record of anyone cancelling or sorting out that error,  they credit my account for the amount I have been billed.  They also advise me that my new iphone would be arriving between 3-4pm on Monday

Monday 28th

I still havent received any notiication from DPD about my delivery so I again call VF,  I am then advised that they had in fact again cancelled the order by error (for a second time),  this time I demand that I talk to a manager who explains that they had technical issues with a number of preorders for the iPhone and that I had just been "unfortunate" that this had happened twice to me.......she then advises me that she will personally do the reorder herself and ensure it goes through,  however there was now a 4 week waiting list for the rose gold iphone 6s plus so realistically I wouldnt get it until the end of October,  she was unable to explain how this had happened and there was hardly any notes put on the system from my many other calls prior to talking to her.  She placed my reorder and credited my account with £50 as an apology for the inconvenience (and the fact I had taken time off for the promised delivery on the Monday)

I have now received the new order number and frustratingly now wait 4 weeks for my new handset 

Throughout this entire process I spent around 4/5 hours on the phone (most of which on hold), I was hung up on twice, I was given contradicting information on at least 3 occassions both on the phone and on chat,  and I paid for a phone on the 12th Sept which I will now not receive until the end of October,  even though they have given my order what they call "priority one" which means I should get my phone as a priority over other orders.  (the website and tracker are saying delivery between 1st-8th Oct, I was assured by VF that this was incorrect and that it would definitey be at least 4 weeks,  they are lying to customers and potential customers by stating these wrong dates)

In no world is this classed as good customer service,  and if Im ever asked if I would recommend VF I think the answer now would be very obvious.....also it would appear that VF never apologise,  at no point in this process have they said sorry 

[Kharmon67]

At least I am not the only going by this forum! I preordered the 64gb 6s plus on the 14th in store on the proviso I was getting it on launch date. I even fought with customer service to get it delivered in store but was told they'd be too busy that day. Needn't have bothered as on the 24th my tracker updated to say it would be the 1st - 8th October.  

After much complaining to no avail I accepted I might get it tomorrow, however today it updates again to say it is now the 8th - 15th October!!

How can the supply chain between 2 of the biggest companies in the world be so poor, Vodafone has no idea what stock it's going to get and is basically just guessing when I will get my phone. I wouldn't mind so much if they hadn't already taken my money.  

If someone at Vodafone ever reads this can they explain the point of the pre order process? My date for delivery currently seems to be the same as those who order it online just now. 

[Lloyd102]

i had the same issue. check with vodafone they havent sent it out by Royal mail!

as mine got send to the store by royal mail not DPD..

Royal mail is only used for low price goods like sim cards which made me worry!

mine arrived 3 days late and still waiting for service on it!

[sharogers]

like many of you I preordered a iphone 6s plus 64GB on the 12th September in local store. At no point informed it would not arrive on the launch day. Also paid the £4.95 delivery charge as it was not able to be delivered to store. Currently the USELESS tracker page, which has not changed status since the day after preorder, says my order has been accepted. No dates or indication about when it will be delivered, although my new contract began on the 25th. Have not recieved any text / messages since the original confimation of order.

I am all the more annoyed as there is no notice or posts on this forum about this issue and what the current situation is. Neither the store or customer service can provide any information. All i would like, is a simple post that states the true position of my order.

[wsurfdude30]

I'm having the same issue as everyone on this thread.

Pre-ordered my Space Grey 6 S Plus 64gb on the 18/9 and was told I would get it on the 25th and I still haven't received it.

I have been on the online chat everyday since the 25th trying to get some sense out of them, well the truth.

On 3 seperate occassions I have been told that my order has been pushed through to the despatch team as a VIP urgent request and that I would receive it within 24 hours.

I have finally spoken to someone today that rang the warehouse whilst I was on the line. Surprise surprise they are awaiting stock as I have selected a popular model, I could have probably told them this.

From my perspective

a) surely they knew what stock they were getting for launch and have a system that would keep track of pre-orders and tell staff when they were out of stock so they wouldn't tell people they would get it on launch day.

b) if they would just be open and honest with people and explain that they are out of stock rather than pass people from pillar to post people would understand. Just a thought Vodafone.

[ChazzD]

Hi everyone, 

I understand the frustration you're all experiencing while waiting for your phones to come into stock. 

Unfortunately, I don't have any information at the moment with regards to dates or timescales. As you can imagine, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are highly sought after phones so we have had a large demand for them. 

As soon as we receive the phones in stock, you'll be notified and delivery will be arranged. 

If you're worried about your order and are unable to get an update using the online tracker, speak to Live help so we can check things for you. 

[baconandeggs]

Here's a thought Chazz, tell people UP FRONT that the phones are in demand and that there will be a long wait for stock.

Do NOT on the other hand entice people into new contracts with Vodafone by misselling handsets to them by promising delivery on launch day.

[Lloyd102]

ive been told i wasnt missold to,

even tho i was promised it on the 25th never arrived

only reason i signed up was the reason i was getting it on the 25th

how can we prove this was missold?

[sammycunners]

if you have it in writing then you can prove it was mis-sold 

I always use the live chat as it allows you to keep a transcript of what was said, this comes in particularly useful as the advisor can also see this 

[Kharmon67]

Well thanks for the update, but saying iPhones are in demand as a reason for delay is pathetic. iPhones have always been in demand and you would have known this, I find it hard to believe the demand for the 6s has been significantly higher than previous launches. 

The simple fact is you should have known how many phones you were getting on launch day, and be able to track this against the pre orders. But it appears you have no idea what you are getting in until it actually arrives in the warehouse. Which means you are getting people to sign up to pre orders under false pretences, hoping that you might be able to meet demand. But when you can't you are happy just fobbing people off, "it's in demand" "really popular" " keep checking the tracking tool for the latest updates" responses. 

[baconandeggs]

Worse still, they are shipping handsets to people who didn't preorder and making the rest of us wait even longer!