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Activation nightmare - 5 weeks and counting

chloe_nayler
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

So I placed an order with Vodafone at the start of June, with an activation date 3 weeks later on June 26th. The router turned up a few days before this and all seemed fine.

 

However, by the end of the day on the 26th the line was not active. No problem I thought, we were away for a few days anyway. We came back a few days later and to our surprise the broadband was still not working. I contacted Vodafone who assured me that it would be sorted within 48 hours. 48 hours pass and still no broadband. Over the next week or so I contact Vodafone every day and then by the end of the week I get a call saying that my broadband will definitely be working by the end of the day. Not working at the end of the day.

 

Over the next few weeks I contact Vodafone near enough every day to be told 'your service will be working in 48 hours. It has now been 5(!) weeks since the original activation date and 8 weeks since I made the order and it still is not working. Vodafone are blaming Openreach which doesn't help because Openreach will not speak to you, you must go via your service provider. 

 

This level of service is unacceptable, I am trying to work from home using patchy 4G. The customer service are essentially bots, they have a script to read from and are literally useless.

11 REPLIES 11

MarkD
Moderator
Moderator

Hi @chloe_nayler, if you reach out to us with on a private message on Facebook or Twitter we would love to get you an update. You find all the contact details here, just remember to include your Community username when you send us a message 🙂

Cynric
16: Advanced member
16: Advanced member

.@chloe_nayler If the social media is not your thing or totally fails to give you an answer here are some other contact details for VF. 

How to complain directly to Vodafone

Vodafone's dedicated complaints team is on 0333 3040 441.

You can also complain using the online complaints form (https://www.vodafone.co.uk/help-and-information/complaints/contact-us-2#) or by writing to Customer Relations Manager, Vodafone Limited, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 2FN. Vodafone says it will aim to respond within five days.

 

rlangas
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

I'm right there with you, and have had a terrible experience trying to get my broadband installed. I called to setup the install on 12 Jul, and get an appointment on 22 Jul. I get the router on the 19th and everything is looking good. On the 22nd, I wait during the entire appointment window and have to reach out to support since no one showed up. They inform me that the engineers are having some sort of issues and it would be resolved within 24 hours and they would complete the install the next day. I wait the 24 hours and still no one reaches out to me, so I contact support again. They inform me that it's an ongoing issue that would require a few more days and I would receive a call on the 26th, but to not worry since I would be compensated. I wait the weekend and get a call at the end of the day on the 26th to be told that the soonest they would be able to send another engineer would be in another 2 weeks. At this point, i'm already frustrated but reluctantly agree. Which bring me to 6 Aug, after waiting 3 weeks, Im waiting at home during the appointment window and get a call from customer support. The lady tells me that (to my disbelief) that everything in my account shows that I requested to cancel this service, which I definitely did not request and that in order to get broadband install they would have to restart the process and I would have to wait another 2 weeks for an appointment. Needless to say, I asked her to keep it cancelled. Morale of this thread, don't try to get broadband from this company as I probably wont be compensated for the wasted time, and if things go wrong they'll cancel your requested service without your knowledge.

Deebarry15
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

I too am caught in the customer service nightmare / circle of hell!  I have had no broadband since July 1st and have not been able to function in my home since then.  I’ve phoned directors complaints numerous times and am promised the earth - each time I call I get a different person (all working from home) and I have to explain my case endlessly - everyone blames someone else - but the 3 open reach engineers who have been here all say the fibre is working but that it’s Vodafone. Vodafone say it’s still an open order and so I go further into craziness - I had working sky broadband until June 30 - I now can’t swap either as my home phone line isn’t recognised as it hasn’t been connected since June 1 either - day 43 tomoro!  I wish I had seen these posts before I decided to change - I would have stayed where I was - but they promised faster broadband speeds - and I went to the dark side - be warned they over promise and under (do not ) deliver - Avoid….

It's horrible, same for me. They cannot do anything, they don't know anthing. They just deleted my post twice about asking for help! Literally after few seconds :Smiling:

Markxt
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

It took 65 days to activate mine...

I hope you have opened an official complaint as it allows use of a 'complaint portal' email exchange which is much quicker than any other method of communication and allows everything to be on record - essential.

MY problem was that Vodafone mixed up my phone number with someone else's address (was it vice-versa) - someone not even in the same exchange area. Good luck.

I agree - online chat is useless and the 'bot' is an insult to the intelligence of a 5 year-old.

In case they haven't offered already, ask for a MiFi 4G hub thing. As you say, a poor substitute but better than using 4G on a phone/tablet, if that is what you are doing..

jimfan
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

@chloe_nayler That's really horrible. I should have my broadband installed too on 17-Sep but found the Openreach socket is not properly wired at all. And I can't reach any Vodafone person for raising my case.

 

I am quite sure Vodafone has started billing you, right? To protect my money from being deducted for a non-existent service I have suspended the direct debit.

 

JF

2 months after our initial activation date we gave up and cancelled the order. The customer service were useless every time it was 'wait 48 hours and it will be working'. We were not billed but managed to get some compensation, a £100 amazon voucher which doesn't make up for the lack of service but it's better than nothing. This was only after placing a formal complaint and calling the complaint line, which is actually manned by English people and not some random Indian or Egyptian. 

We placed an order with BT after all this and they had it up and running within 3 weeks, it would have been 2 if the first Openreach engineer did his job properly. BT is more expensive, 30 instead of 22 but obviously worth it to actually have working broadband. They also installed fibre to the house which means we can get up to 900 if we want and very low ping, 5ms on speedtest. 

I wish that I cancelled the Vodafone order earlier with hindsight but Vodafone have ensured that they will never get my custom again.

Vodafone did not start billing me for broadband but started billing me for a phone number I did not have. When I politely complained they said they had refunded the money to my mobile phone account.  I do not have and never have had a Vodafone mobile account. Yes, I have cancelled my direct debit. I am awaiting refund of the money (over £200).
It is beyond farcical. 
Advise you to formally open a complaint. They will give you a ‘complaint portal’  to correspond with them. For what it’s worth. Which is nothing.