iOS™, iPhone™ and iPad™

[Simon888]

Hi,

I have got SEVERAL issues with my iPhone 4S order since November. I was a 3 customer and in November 2011, I decided to move to Vodafone for the iPhone 4S plan.

In early Nov 2011, I called Vodafone to order iPhone 4S - 16 GB White. Everything went OK, I got my order no, tracking no, etc. However after 1 month I haven't received anything so I called up the courier (AAE), they investigated my consignment and told me that they lost it and I need to call Vodafone have them re-send the order. 

Then in mid December 2011, I called Vodafone Welcome Team 3 times (probably more) to get this sorted and I realised that some of the staff in team are not doing their job well:

- 1st staff I called told me that he will send a message to the other team to re-order the iPhone and let me know. I DID NOT HEAR ANYTHING BACK FROM THEM.

- 2nd staff I called seemed to be more helpful. He listened to the whole story and put me on hold to contact AAE at the same time. He then told me that AAE would send the item to me by the next working day. I was confused and for sure the phone did not arrive the next day. I called AAE and they told me I have to contact Vodafone. This made me think that the Vodafone staff DID NOT CALL AAE AT THAT TIME (PROBABLY HE JUST SAID THAT TO MAKE ME GET OFF THE PHONE??!!)

- 3rd staff (a lady this time) then called me and she helped me to put in a re-order request. She said that she would follow up on this, keep me updated, put me on PRIORITY and I would get a confirmation once it have been dispatched. Everything seemed fine except that I DID NOT HEAR ANYMORE UPDATES FROM HER.

Then at the end of December 2011 I got my 3 bill and to my shock I got charged $744 for a handset sale!! I called 3 Care and they told me to call Voda Welcome Team. I called Vodafone and they told me that this is because I haven't activated my phone yet (OMG!! THAT'S BECAUSE I HAVEN'T RECEIVED IT YET!!!....). I told them about my issue (I had to tell this issue again and again to them, don't they take a note of this somewhere in the system??!!) and asked to get this charge waived and this is what happened (Note that I called the MANY times for this "handset sale" issue as well):

- 1st staff - told me that I should not worry about it, this fee will be waived. She told me that she would check on my order status and get back. I DID NOT HEAR ANYTHING BACK.

- 2nd staff - told me that he took note of this and assured me that I won't be charged the handset sale cost. He even told me that I would get an updated bill in January and I confirmed several times with him that I won't get charged and he said YES. And this is the funny thing: HE CANCELLED MY IPHONE ORDER (I assume the re-ordered one which was done by the lady staff above) AND MADE A NEW ORDER WHICH MEANT THAT MY RE-ORDER DID NOT GET PROCESSED YET.

- The next day - 3rd staff called me and she told me that I might as well get the iPhone from store as it will take too long to get it sent to me. I agreed of course after all the mess above!!. So I went to a Vodafone store in Sydney CBD and I got my iPhone 4s and switched to Vodafone.

I was happy and thought everything is fine now, not until yesterday (13 Jan 2012) when I found out that I got charged the handset sale cost ($744) via direct debit for my 3 bill!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I THOUGHT I MADE MYSELF CLEAR MANY TIMES!! So then I called Vodafone again yesterday:

- 1st staff - told me that the handset sale will be reimbursed in 10 working days. He did not take any notes at all. Learning from experience I was not satisfied with his answer and decided to call again yesterday afternoon.

- 2nd staff - he told me that since I paid direct debit via bank account, it will take 3 days to clear. So he can only process the refund ($744) on Tuesday 17 Jan 2012 and the money will get to my account by Friday 20 Jan 2012. He took note of all that, set himself a notification so he would remember to do it and I asked him to call me back when it has been processed on Tuesday 17 Jan. I then thought - THE STAFF THAT I CALLED BEFORE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING AND SAID THAT TO MAKE ME GET OFF THE PHONE!!

Now, I can only wait and hopefully everything gets processed by Tuesday and I get my money back by Friday. Here's a note to the support team that's reading my forum entry:

Please make sure my issue gets resolved ASAP by THIS WEEK! I have had enough with all this mess with the team!! Contact me on mobile, email or private message if you need more info. This is unacceptable, the handset sale cost was an UNAUTHORISED CHARGE MADE BY VODAFONE as I made myself clear in December that I should not be charged the handset sale. I know Vodafone is improving their network in Australia but you should also think about IMPROVING YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE.

As for other Vodafone customer, I hope this does not happen to you.. =). 

Cheers,

Erwin

[Caitlin]

Hi Erwin,

I appreciate how you feel regarding the time it has taken for you to receive your device and the charges that have been direct debited from your bank account. This definitely should not have happened and I apologise for the experience you have received during this time. I would like to take the opportunity here to help you ensure a refund has been processed for you.

I've sent you a private message with my email contact details as I'll need you to send me an email with your account details so I am able to follow up on your refund and ensure the issues you have raised are resolved. I'd also be happy to pass on your feedback and experience as this will assist Vodafone to fill any training and knowledge gaps and provide consistent service to our customers.

I look forward to receiving your email and working further with you to resolving this for you.

Thanks,

Cait

[Nix]

Good luck with it Erwin your case is worse than mine and that's saying something.

http://community.vodafone.com.au/t5/iPhone-and-Android/Iphone-4S-16GB-Delivery-delayed-after-3-weeks...

Expect a runaround and a level of incompetence that you will not believe.

[Simon888]

Hi there,

@Vodafone Support - Thanks for your PM and I've emailed you with the information that you requested. Please keep me updated.

@Nix - I've seen your post and I understand how you feel. It seems that there's a massive communication breakdown within Vodafone. It is unbelieveable and unacceptable for a big International telco company like Vodafone.

My piece of advise for others: if you are thinking of upgrading to iPhone 4S on Vodafone, just go to the store and get it from there. If they don't have stock then come back another time or go to another store. Don't pre-order (either via store or phone) because based on our experience, if you are unlucky it can be a very stressful experience.

[Nix]

Caitlin got it sorted for me, hopefully she can help you too.

[Caitlin]

Simon888 wrote:

Hi there,

@Vodafone Support - Thanks for your PM and I've emailed you with the information that you requested. Please keep me updated.

Hi Simon888,

I can confirm I've received your email and this is currently being investigated for you  Once I have an update, myself or another help and support member will be in contact with you to let you know.

Thanks,

Cait