worst customer service ever

[boylemeister]

I'm on my way out of Vodafone next month after quite a few years...been brewing for a while but I tolerated the persisent pain...

- I continually tried to opt out of marketing calls (cold calls leading to request for password - not willing to give that)...didnt ever stop despite the number of attempts to log complaints.

- web chat is an utter waste of key pressing.  they have no clue....!

- no reward for remaining a customer.  years of having an 60/80+ quid contract for >7 years and the only attempt they made to keep me was offering a deal that was £5 MORE expensive than the same deal on the website for new customers!

- customer service contact lied about EE too.  thankfully I was sensible enough to check his claim out.

- Vodafone even made it difficult for me to use the remainder of my contract when I decided to switch.  I'm on hols for 2 weeks but if I wanted to stop my contract continuing, I had to call them on  set day during my hols.  They wouldnt accept my confirmation that I was leaving today.

Really disapointed with the whole experience of dealing with Vodafone & sorry I didnt jump sooner.  They dont deserve half of their customers with this customer service practice in place.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hello @boylemeister

It's a shame you feel the need to move networks and may I assume you've checked out the other UK Networks signal and data speeds where you Live, work and commute via perhaps Payg SIM cards as not all networks offer the same connection everywhere you go.

Online network checkers are meant for indication only. 

If a person simply wants to end their Vodafone contract at the end of the 2 year term and not keep their mobile number then 30 days notice is required.

Unfortunatley a person can't give prior warning they intend to leave and let Vodafone remember to end it.

Alternatively if a person wants to retain their number and take it to a new network they can ask for a Pac from Vodafone and then when it's given to the new network the contract automatically ends straight away. i.e No 30 days notice. 

It's reasonable to not be contacted for marketing purposes and Vodafone should have dealt with that straightaway. 

In regards to loyalty then sadly that's not really relevant in mobile phone contracts.

You pay your monthly payments as per your contractual obligations and Vodafone provide your tariff allowances and network connection. 

Vodafone do try to retain a customer if they show signs of wanting to leave however sometimes even the Retentions Department via 191 can only offer so much discount on a tarift or a phone a person wants next. 

Some drop to SIM only which can have a better tariff and supply their own phone. 

However I certainly agree it's weird that an offer online to new customers couldn't be matched for an existing customer. 

Also options such as upgrading through an independent then such as Carphone Warehouse can bring a better tariff and phone choice as they sometimes discount the deal by giving the customer some of kickback they get from the networks for opening up a contract or upgrading. 

However a person needs to be ultra careful they upgrade them and not open up a 2nd contract and suggest they then move their existing mobile number to the new contract. 

However you wish to proceed I wish you all the best.

[boylemeister]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.  It wasnt a decision I took easily but it has been brewing with Vodafone for a while now with me.

- The cold calling / marketing thing was a real pain.  Everytime they said they'd stop the calls - but a month or so later they started back.  I dont get any spam texts or calls to my phone so it was a pain for my network provider to be the only one doing it

- I have take a little leap of faith on the network but Vodafone was hopeless at my work anyway.  Hoping that living in the centre of town makes it likely that EE will be ok at home and any improvement at work is a bonus.

- I'd gone back and looked at the Vodafone site too - the deal I thought was a new customer one was also on my upgrades page too.  So the retention team offered me the same deal, for £5 more than the website and claimed it was a 40% discount.  Totally baffled by this.  It was a combination of this, the web support team's incompetence and the lies from the retention guy that tipped me over the edge with them.

I'll def leave feedback if this all goes pear shaped!!  hehe