New contract.....dodgy phone! Well done Vodafone!

[stevexe88]

Right, I'm new here so please be gentle with me! 

Last week I ordered a new Galaxy Note 10+ 5G as an additional line. Happy days! 
Saturday rolls around and it's delivered. Opening the packaging reveals a Vodafone Branded Box.....hmmm.

I thought this was odd and checked the outside of the box, serial number and IMEI on the end with Sam Note 10+ 5G (Contract) typed in the same font on it. Well says nothing about it being refurbished/nearly new. 

Opened it up and I saw that the phone was rattling around in the box unsecured, in a clear polythene bag. The factory fitted screen protector was missing, the little QR sticker that's fitted to new Samsung phones on the back wasn't there and it had a few very light scuffs...not sure if those are from being banged around in a box though. The OTG dongle is missing but the rest of the accessories are present. Charger cable has a rubber band around it. How odd. 

Called customer services and asked if I'd been sent a nearly new device. She said no. I explained that it's missing it's factory screen protector and is in a polythene bag. She still says I ordered brand new so that's what I would have got and "sometimes we package phones in our own boxes". When I asked her to explain why it's missing accessories, she literally says "it's brand new", asked about the charger cable, no response. She was very careful to say as little as possible about it. I also looked on my invoice and it's said nothing about it being nearly new, but listed under the phone on the invoice was "Vodafone Red Box".

After lots of back and forth, they agree to exchange it by going into store......but not before screwing my order up and cancelling it! So new order placed with sales.

Asked them what packaging I can expect it to be sent in and they say new factory box.

However this experience has made me wonder, can I expect another of these odd 'brand new' phones to arrive in the nearly 2 weeks it's going to take to arrive, despite being in stock and one being earmarked for me?! Or should I assume it was a error or oversight?

Maybe call me cynical but I can't help but think that sending out a potentially used phone instead of a £1400 new one is a little bit underhand. 

Any ideas guys and girls? Thanks in advance.

[BandOfBrothers]

I totally agree if a person hasn't chosen a nearly new phone they should expect to be supplied a brand new phone with any installed screen protectors still in place and any in-transit plastic on them.

Your also correct that the imei sticker should have been on the back of the phone.

The charging cable should have been wrapped in a plastic collar and in a black cardboard box.

Something has clearly gone wrong.

I assume your taking this phone back to the Vodafone Highstreet Store ?

I also assume they've arranged a Click and Collect order as this means Vodafone send a phone into a Vodafone Highstreet Store of your choice to collect ?

A Vodafone Highstreet Store would not supply a phone from their own pool of stock as these are for sales processed in the store.

We did have a recent thread where a person had a similar experience to yours with a different make and model of phone and eventually Vodafone sorted that out.

Vodafone have been known in the past to re package the phones in their own branded box which if I'm honest does baffle me !

People want branded sealed boxes as this instills confidence that the product is brand new and people do sell phones with the boxes as this can improve the selling value of the phone.

Personally I prefer to collect my phones from a shop as I can then inspect them and invariably walk out with the phone in hand i.e no waiting for it to become available or be delivered. 

I wish you all the best with this situation. 

[stevexe88]

Well when I contacted customer services they made a system exception and arranged with a local store to exchange it for a store stock pool device. This was on 15/02 for a same day exchange. 

I arrived and the total dunce who processed it cancelled the whole order, which meant no exchange and I had to wait for the order to drop off the system before I could order again. 

Ordered again on later that day with the sales team who absolutely assured me it will be a new device in a factory sealed box. They said it was in stock too and one was earmarked for me, but now my estimated delivery date is the 25/02 for reasons I can't explain, and nor can customer services. But they say I just have to wait for it to dispatch and they can't change the date now. 

I have this horrible sinking feeling that I'm going to get another "new" device, apparently from this forum I see it's happened a few time's. 

I do agree I would normally buy in store, but I've found out that because it was cancelled using the wrong process in store by a colleague who didn't follow the correct process, this has the unfortunate side effect of making my available additional lines disappear from their system. Credit services need to override the maximum new lines rules to force the order through. So I'm totally at the mercy of the sales team and customer services.

Seems like lately I've been on the receiving end of multiple C*** ups on Vodafone's part.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @stevexe88 

I assume the delay is because they are in fact sending a phone into the Vodafone Highstreet Store for your collection as a Click and Collect sort of affair.

As far as my understanding goes they don't allocate from the in store pool of stock as they are solely for people buying in the Highstreet Store.

Otherwise there would be no delay unless the store had no stock which I wouldn't have thought so as it's not a new model.

The reason I buy in the store is so I can check its aesthetic condition and that it powers on.

For example I bought my Note 10+ 5G from my local Samsung Experience Store and the applied screen plastic protector had a noticable scratch on it. Now some would say well it's a protector that would need replacing at sometime anyway. I agree they do need replacing which I do with a Whitestone Dome Glass Screen Protector but something must have happened to make that scratch i.e dropped or bumped against something in the factory. When I'm paying £1,100 for a phone I want it in pristine condition. The Samsung guy replaced it without question.

Will you let us know how you get on please ?

[stonefences]

Vodafone offer 3 delivery options : Deliver to Customer, Deliver to Store, and Click & Collect. 

The first two are sent from a warehouse, but Click & Collect uses the Store Stock Pool, meaning you can get your hands on the new device almost immediately.

[hrym]

There was a similar thread on this board not long ago,   Some time back, the network was boxing up bulk stock, although that was often when there was a new launch that was in heavy demand.

If you've ordered (and paid for) a new device, that's what you should get and, at the very least, an unbranded, or network-branded box doesn't look good.

I've raised this with the forum team in case something is simply going wrong with the despatch process.

[stevexe88]

Let me clarify. I was told to return the iffy phone to store for exchange. They then made a mistake in store and cancelled the whole order. 

After that a new order was placed with sales team. The new device is being delivered to my home. 

I'll be interested to see what happens but having been sent a iffy phone, had my order accidentally cancelled, then promised a new order, charged me for premium delivery and now will not arrive until the 25th, all stinks a little doesn't it. 

[stevexe88]

A quick update, had a call earlier from Vodafone after seeing this thread, phone now being delivered tomorrow. Funny how they couldn't do that until I posted it on here though. 

Also been absolutely and positively assured it will be a brand new device in retail packaging. I will update when it arrives. Thanks for the advice so far guys! 

[stevexe88]

Well the saga continues! Phone arrived and is new. Great!

Sim in and no service....hmm. Contact customer service who say the sim in the box doesn't match the one on the system. Please go to store and they will swap it for you. Joy.

Go to store and the advisor looks on the system. Turns out my order is still showing as open, not complete.
Meaning that they can't even activate the account, never mind do a sim swap. She calls customer services and says the order will show as complete within 24 hours.

She hands me a sim and notes the number down, promising that when the account is live, she will link it to the account. She also promises me a phone call at midday the next day to confirm it's done or to update me.

Fast forward to today, sim not active, order still showing as open and no phone call. 

Is this level of absolute incompetence normal for Vodafone? Cos if it is I'm thinking of walking away and putting my money into someone else's pocket!! 

[stonefences]

This is possibly a daft question, but do you actually need a new SIM? What I mean is, your existing SIM should be more than capable of working in the new phone unless it's physically a different size.

Have you tried your old SIM to see if it works in the phone?

(Apologies if you've already tried that - just trying to eliminate all possibilities!)