Community home

JOEAHOUGHTON · ‎06-07-2017

Hi,

I bought a phone from Vodafone on 12/10/2014 and used it for 2 and a half years on a vodafone sim card. (it is NOT an iPhone and was bought outside of a contract)

I have applied for an unlock code for the phone via the online form which was rejected because it says the IMEI is incorrect. The IMEI is NOT incorrect. The phone was bought from Vodafone directly so it should take no more than two days and there should be no problems.

Since then I have contacted customer services many times trying to get this sorted out. First I was told it was sorted only to receive another email saying the IMEI is incorrect. Contacted customer services again and they went round in circles asking me the same questions that I had already answered. i have even provided the order number of the phone and they tell me they cannot find it in the system.

Then I was told to email the NUC department with my problems and told to wait two days. After two days I did not hear anything so I contacted customer services asking for a status update, they again sent me round in circles and would not put me in contact with the relevant department. Wasting my time again.

Now today I have finally received a response, but you are now asking me for a proof of purchase! The email says this will take another 5 days for a response, and then obviously another two days for the NUC application. I bought the phone from you directly and attached the email receipt when I emailed the NUC team, you do not need a proof of purchase. Clearly nobody even read my email. This is the worst customer service I have ever experienced. Even worse than when you wouldn't refund my money you charged me for no reason.

Give me the phone numeber of somebody in the NUC department so we can sort this mess out quickly. I am not waiting another week to unlock a phone that shouldn't have been locked in the first place.

JOEAHOUGHTON · ‎22-07-2017

Mine did eventually get solved but it was the absolute worst interaction I've had with any company in my life.

Was lied to three times by the customer service team on webchat and on call, as well as the complaints team who I should really raise another complaint about.

THe NUC department is apparenty uncontactable by phone by anyone from Vodafone which is obviously a lie too. So the only people it's possible to talk, are the customer service team who actually don't know what they are talking about and are not even equipped to deal with any actual problems. (what is the point of a customer service team who cannot do anything but repeat what is already written on the website? The fact the website didn't work was the reason I needed to contact them!).

So the only way to contact the NUC team is via an email address which is supposed to be a secret (this is the only way the customer service team can contact them also, making the customer services absolutely redundant). The NUC team will subsequently take at least two days to respond to any query via email. My original email contained all of the necessary details for them to get the NUC code: my details as well as the original email receipt for the phone. They took three days to respond and then asked me for the model of the phone, which I already included in the original email. Then they took another two days after my response to again respond asking for proof of purchase, which again was included in the original email.

In the meantime I raised several complaints including this thread and have been lied to by the complaints team when they said they would contact the NUC team. After another few days a different complaint op spoke to me and confirmed that so far they had done nothing to resolve the issue other than to keep calling me for no reason. So that's three or four separate departments taking 3+ days each to either prove they can't read or to just do absolutely nothing.

Since this was a phone bought direct from Vodafone it should have taken two days maximum but in the end took two weeks.

If you want it sorted my advice is to cause as much hassle as possible until somebody who can do the following two basic things responds: 1. READ, 2. Contact the necessary department.

If you have not yet received an email from the NUC team saying they will get the code from the manufacturer in the next ten days then probably the best bet is to raise a carefully worded email complaint here https://www.vodafone.co.uk/vodafone-uk/complaints/ (best raise three or four to make sure!). And also call them and make sure somebody is paying attention!

Good luck! (and thanks to anybody who actually did try to help me)

View solution in original position

John · ‎10-11-2017

@Angela @mp301361 I'm sorry to hear you're both having trouble receiving your NUC (Network Unlock Code).
I've sent you both a private message with instructions of how you can get in touch with our specialist team.

Scott543 · ‎14-11-2017

I wonder if anyone can help me?

I've spent two miserable hours today trying to get somewhere with Vodafone's abysmal 'Customer Service' Team. Is there anyone who knows what theyr doing?

Over 14 dys ago I received the confirmation e-mail:

"Thanks for getting in touch about unlocking your phone, we’ve asked your phone’s manufacturer for a code so we can unlock it.. This can take up to 10 working days, so please hold tight for now.

As soon as we’ve got the code, we’ll email you with instructions on what to do next."

Since then nothing has happened.

Today I called CS and explained. I was told that I should be able to connect my phone to itunes, with a new sim and unlock it that way. Of course I can't.

I was told that if I contacted my new supplier they may be able to help. Of course they can't.

I contacted Apple and was told:

"Carriers are the only ones who unlock devices. Let me phrase it in this way and it’s not meant to be rude or anything like that. It’s just easier to think of it this way. We honestly don’t lock devices. What carrier you’re using your iPhone with doesn’t matter for us. We still support you. We have nothing to gain or lose by locking your device. That’s why it’s all on the carrier. They’re the ones who want devices locked and have the ability to unlock the device."

So come on, who's lying and why the hell can't I get my phone unlocked?

I've logged a complaint with Vodafone and kept full details of all the calls and on line 'chats' I've had and will be taking this to the ombudsman as soon as I can.

As others have said, this is the worst so called customer service I've ever endured. Shameful.

Tash · ‎15-11-2017

We'd like to help unlock your phone @Scott543.

I've sent you a private message with details to contact our team - we'll then be in touch to discuss this further.

Community home

UNLOCK MY PHONE