thoroughly disappointed in vodafone dongle! I was sold an old PAYG model that didn't come with the right software for my mac, so had to go elsewhere to download it. Then the tariff was ridiculously expensive (Should have checked.. my fault i guess but my last dongle bought two years ago gave me about 1GB for less than £10 so figured this time around it wouldn't matter for something I was only planning to use for a couple of weeks!!!) Costs me £5 for just 250MB. I topped up £20 once then could not top up again, tried three cards. Eventually phoned them and they couldn't do it over the phone, told me to go to the shops to buy a voucher. Then that didn't work. Had to phone them and speak to an adviser to get them to put the voucher through because the website didn't work. Then wanted to check Googletalk - content control won't let me!!! Unbelievable... Never ever ever will use Vodafone for anything. I am on O2 for my mobile and deeply regret not choosing them or ANYONE else for my mobile broadband. Fortunately i'm not locked into a contract with them and will not need to use it as of later this week.. I am literally counting the days. So much trouble for two week's of mobile internet use!
Vodafone Broadband Reviews
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putting it polite its compleat crap, iv had more trouble in 2weeks on this network thn i did in 2yrs with threes broadband m three is a million times betta and no restrictions, meven whn u have to ring up voda wiv ur credit card as there online removal for contence restrictions dossent work haha thy thn put ur restrictions back on my account after a week and to top it off u have to pay to ring up with a complant as there number isnt free number n it make u more angry, only went with voda as my three dongle broke and a friend gave me the voda dongle, roll on 20th dec whn my bt broadband comes im gunna put a hammer on this crap voda dongle
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Took contract out via Currys Laptop/ mobile broadband service,they reccomended Vodaphone as best reception,24 month deal.£48 per month, all paid up and on time,Vodaphone took further payment at the end of the contract, phoned them and they offered me further service same 5gb for £20 per month,seemed ok? last 2 months have only been able to get G.P.R.S. signal have phoned them,technical support unable to sort it out and told my reception was very poor in my area? Cancelled my D/Debit to vodaphone phoned to advise them,e.mailed not accepted,Finally managed to speak to somebody to tell him that it was a corteous call to advise them that i had cancelled the payments as they were not supplying their part of the agreement, told me would cost me £212 to cancel? This into a contract 12 months@£20 per month with 6 months to run and a rubbish reception.They are taking the proverbial,Ignore the threats , let them take you to court,its bully tactics.Baillifs have no right to knock or threaten you without a court order i work for a credit company non payments or defaults on phone bills are ignored on credit checks by my company as we recognise the problems with this type of RIP OFF.
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If you have had problems with Vodaphone rather than just letting it go I would make a complaint, particularly in cases where debt collectors are trying to collect money you shouldn't owe. Contact the Telecommunications Ombudsman via this website http://www.otelo.org.uk/ and make a complaint. As Vodaphone is a member they are obliged to follow the ombudsmans decision.
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I too am having serious problems with vodafone over money I dispute I owe. Even then I wrote to them and agreed to pay it but asked to come to some arrangement as I couldn't pay the whole amount. They never replied to any of my letters, instead they contacted fpc who sent me letters saying I either pay the debt which is now for double the amount [!!] or I'm going to court. They should not be able to get away with this and I am wondering if anyone out there has had any success in winning their case against them??
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What a joke !!!
Lost phone last summer,vodafone still took monthly rollover even though phoned to say lost phone so cancelled DD 15.00 rollover, but got gill saying I owed 45.00 (3 months)
phoned to query,then gave me some discount(still not listening -lost phone ,told them)
got letter from fpc Debt Collection Services same time vodafone sent another bill,paid vodafone bill to get them off my back But now in February got another letter from fpc asking for money if not quote" letter from our solicitors Bryan Carter Solicitors LLP"
do these companies not take to their debt collector and up-date them,this is a disgrace---why should I pay twice for something I told them I'd lost,I paid for something I did not have(a phone last was lost)now fpc is asking me to pay again. -
I have been a customer of vodaphone for over 7 years, I recieved my phone bill mid december 2010 paid some of it end of december and was going to pay rest end of this month contract finished and not being renewed. however 11th of january got letter from this fpc dept collecting agency demanding nearly
£300 from me, bill was for £89 ;60p thats more than 3 times the original cost. cant get hold of vodaphone solicitors dont want to know as its only a small amount however to me its nearly a months money for me so what can i do. the person i spoke to at fpc was demending i paid over the phone i refused i dont know who he is and didnt have the money anyway. It seems vodaphone can just grasp an amount from thin air and dept collection agency believe them and go for it totally unfair and so distressing would advise eveyone not to go with vodaphone they are a rip of, money grabbing nasty people -
Can any of you tell me what has come from this issue with FPC and Vodafone? Did you get a CCJ?
I lost my phone October 2009 while I was away, at this time I had finished my minimum contract time of 2years but I had no intention (at the time) of cancelling my contract with Vodafone.
I rang them when I got back and asked for that sim card to be blocked and a new one to be sent to me. A few weeks later and I had still received nothing. I then rang again and asked for a new sim card to be sent out, they assured me they had sent me one already. Waited for a couple of weeks, once again nothing.
So after waiting and ringing several times, I rang to cancel my contract. The customer services told me they can not do this over the phone and to email and give 30days notice. I asked in the mean time to be sent a new sim card (and I confirmed my address with them).
After emailing and not receiving a sim card again, I did not hear from vodafone. So I rang vodafone customer services again, they told me they will be in the process of replying and I should email again. This I did and once again I heard nothing back. So I rang again, they told me the same thing, so I emailed a 3rd time. Heard nothing.
This had now been on-going for nearly 6 months and I was paying £35 pound a month for a phone I was not using/ had a sim card for. So in total I had payed over £200 for something I had not only tried to cancel but also had asked for a sim card for.
So I saw a lady at Barclays who told me to cancel my direct debit - this I did.
December 2010, FPC get in contact with me demanding a balance of £147. I told them the situation and they put the account on hold. I wrote a letter to Vodafone and FPC and STILL have not heard back from vodafone but I have heard from FPC, over text and sending me letters. Each time I have got back to FPC, I am not trying to get out of paying for something I owe, if I had gone about this the wrong way then fair enough. But I had done everything that was required of me and asked of me.
FPC have been nothing but rude. Our Company is currently in business contract with Vodafone. But we will be terminating this contract and moving over to O2. -
what more can i say other than what most of you have already said about FPC and Vodafone, i am constantly being harassed by both companies claiming that i owe them money yet my contract was terminated almost a year ago, the service overall was poor but i thought i would stick with it till the end of my contract had i known that this was the kind of treatment o would receive for being a loyal customer i wouldnt have bothered....i would recommend that people stay clear of Vodafone!!!!
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I'm having same problem with Vodafone. I had a sim only contract with them months ago and a broadband dongle. The mobile phone service was medioca while the broadband service was slower than dial up! I have since ended both contracts with them. I too am now being harrased by both Vodafone and FPC for money which, frankly I DON'T owe them as the service is rubbish anyway! I ended this contract with Vodafone months ago and am still being hounded for money now, take my advice - avoid them at ALL COSTS!!! I will NEVER be using Vodafone again!
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I had same problem with Vodafone. I called customers services to end my internet contract but they kept on billing as usual and sending letters. I had to find out how to end that contract(in writting) and still paid for two months I didn't use the service.
On top of that, after I while I received a debt collectors phone call on behalfe of Vodafone asking the two months debt plus interest. My bank had already paid Vodafone. They made a mistake and they were very rude but they never apologized.
I will never use Vodafone again. -
COMPLAINT AGAINST VODAPHONE AND FPC: I was told by a salesman that the Vodaphone signal would be good at my hope. I took out a 24-month vodaphone contract and was told 'I had 14-days to cancel contract if I was not happy'. On the 21 July 2010-the third day of the contract starting I contacted Vodaphone saying that 'I am not getting strong enough signals for me to connect to my calls. If I do get a signal, at best I get 1-bar that pulses to no bars where I live. This is the same for some other places in which I go to. The mobile phone screen reads as ‘999 calls only’. Vodaphone offered me a device that would fit through a broadband system, however I would have to pay extra for this device. At this time, I did explain to Vodaphone that 'I could not pay any more than what I am paying now'. I also explained to Vodaphone that 'I have no broadband nor do I want to subscribe to it'. Because Vodaphone could not give me an alternative I said 'I wish to end my contract with Vodaphone' but was told by Vodaphone that my contact is with the Carphone Warehouse. The Carphone Warehouse told me that 'I have to contact the Carphone Warehouse as my contract was with them'. It is my opinion Vodaphone was trying to pass the buck to prolong difficulties in me not being able to end my contract in time. However, same day, I wrote to both Vodaphone and Carphone Warehouse stating I want to end the contract. To date, Vodaphone have not replied. I have been harassed by text and telephone by someone calling themselves FPC. They seem to use the numbers 01772378913 and 02031478372. They more or less phone everyday now, at all times of the day and evening, trying to get me to tell them my address for data protection reasons. The guy was saying 'it was over a personal matter', when I wouldn't give them my address the guy said 'it was about a Vodaphone matter', but wouldn't say anymore, other than 'we have just sent me a letter which I will receive shortly'. FPC will not tell me the specifics of what they phone me about. I would like to know why FPC hassle and harass me on Vodafone's behalf. I will never go to Vodafone ever again.
I want nothing to do with FPC or Vodaphone, The FPC do seem to be flouting the law in respect of many different harassments. I am considering to contact OFCOM, fair trading standards and BBC Television regarding the problems I have had from Vodaphone and FPC should your behaviour not change. I do not believe owe Vodaphone or FPC any money and am willing to attend Court if necessary. -
avoid vodafone at all costs. We have 3 contracts with vodafone and we were under the impression as we were high paying customers we would be treated well.....WRONG!
Customer service is a joke, they have tried to take direct debits for hundreds of pounds which wasnt owed..this is after we instructed them to cancel all direct debits due to the unfair charges we were recieving. Broadband is sh*t slow, always disconnects, unable to watch videos on youtube, all in all vodafone are a joke. I hope they read this they can stick their contracts please anyone considering.........please dont.....i will be reporting to offcom -
When my Vodaphone contract ended at the time of renewal I stopped using Vodaphone and called in and spoke to A Client Service Representative and told them to cancel the contract and not renew it, All of a sudden a few months down the line i got Calls and nasty letters from Vodaphone saying I owe them £116.81 for not cancelling my contract in writing. Now today I received a DEBT COLLECTION SERICES Letter from FPC informing me that I owe £116.81 and if I dont pay I will be going to Court. VODAPHONE is by far the worst Service i ever had. They should be smacked on the nuckles for treating clients with utmost disrespect and also FPC are very rude when you deal with them. I am disgusted and would love to place all your comments about Vodaphone on GUMTREE as a BLOG so the rest of the world can see just how terrible Vodaphone is.
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I bought a Vodafone broadband PAYG dongle for £39. Unfortunately I could not use it for a while due to my job and was disconnected from the service. Vodafone told me my number had been disconnected and would be put in a pool of numbers for further use. I asked them if they could provide me with a new sim data card and they said no, I would need to buy another dongle. I told them my dongle was fine why throw away a perfectly good dongle because of a sim card. I said what if you are in hospital or in a coma or just can't afford to use it, they said tough you will be disconnected and you will have to buy another. They told me I was in a minority with others in the same boat as me, all those £39 dongles going in the bin what a waste of good technology. I have lodged a complaint with OFCOM but I don't think I will be getting on line soon. G
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Vodafone are by far the worst service provider for mobile broadband. I have used 3 and T-Mobile in the past and experienced no problems with either their contract or pay as you go service. Software was also easy to setup and operate. Vodafone on the other had - difficulties with software loading, uninstalling and reinstalling, complexity of managed connections on laptop (i do not want this functionality!), conflicts with other providers dongles (why?), poor technical support (the help desk at vodafone was useless and the could not care about your problem - even though i have a commercial contract!). Vodafone not work the effort.
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I knew I was in for trouble as soon as I opened the Quick Guide. The pictures, showing you how to insert the SIM card are so feint as to be useless. So I just pushed it into the slot, chip first and chip down - it seemed the most logical way. Wrong, of course. Mercifully, I have a pair of fine pointed tweezers in my first aid kit and was able to retrieve it, and in doing so I found the little tray.
So, plugged it in and it seemed to work, as far as the very brief instructions went. But no mention of how to actually connect to the internet, browser settings, etc.
So I rang the helpdesk (I love the way it asks for your mobile number. Mine isn't with Vodafone, so that confused it a treat). Anyway, after a conversation which was like trying to explain the finer points of terminal glacial erosion to a Bedouin tribesman, I was finally advised to uninstall the software and try again. I duly did this.
Now the device isn't recognised. I have a bad feeling that this may be the zenith of my customer experience, rather than the nadir. -
Have never managed to get more than 150kbps. Average tends to be neared 60kpbs. Currently talking to help desk. All they suggest is trying a different location. I've just tried 4 central london locations, 2 in the open air so no building interference and I still do not get anywhere over 150kps. How they can claim top speeds of 7.2Mbps baffles me.
Stay away from vodafone mobile broadband.
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i had the vodafone broadband i ended it when it was due for renewal as i didnt get any decent signal now i have FPC calling me demanding payments when i dont owe anything and vodafone cant explain it!! my advise dont go there!!
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Thank you all for the feedback. It supports stuff I have found elsewhere. I am a Vodafone mobile customer and was considering taking their broadband. Not any more! Their high-handed refusal to discuss with customers and clients and their enthusiasm to use FPC is not attractive.
When it comes down to it, if the service or hardware is not of 'mechantable quality' you are entitled to sue *them* for breach of contract.
Regards and thanks.
(btw emotion is 'Angry at Vodafone') -
Avoid vodafone they messed up my bill and every time i tried to pay vodafone thier billing system was down they then passed my details to FPC who have been hounding me ever since i have sought legal advice they have refused to deal with my solicitor AVOID
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Signed up to 2Mb service and connects between 0.1 and 0.4Mb on average. Best result i got was 1Mb once only and my connection is always either excellent or very good. Rang up on numerous occasions and they refused to help me at all. Sent me same model and same problem. Was told that thats the speed it runs at and not faulty. Spoke to manager who had the authority to send me a newer more powerful dongle to achieve service i pay for but wasn't interested. Had option to cancel but pay remainder of contract. Once they have you they could not care less. Wasn't trying it on just wanted a service somewhere near what was advertised. I am that annoyed will be cancelling phone contract when that runs out as well. All of this to a business customer paying £75 a month. STAY AWAY!!!
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I am disgusted with Vodaphone. I recieved a free dongle with my laptop. When the dongle stopped working i contacted vodaphone and was told i still had to pay for the internet service i could not use. Vodaphone then continued to pusue for the unusable service and i again contacted them and told them i would not pay for a service they were not providing. They then passed my details to FPC who have been hounding me for the bill.This has now damaged my credit rating. I have now sought legal advice. Avoid Vodaphone at all costs.
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To: 'customer.care@vodafone.co.uk'
Subject: Complaint Vodafone Service
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to express my disappointment in the service that your company is providing.
I have entered in an 18 Months contract for Vodafone Broadband,
On the 27th of March, my internet has ceased to work, there is a strong signal on the dongle, but nothing is being downloaded. Now, on the 30 March, I phoned and complained about this situation. I been told that there is a problem with the Mast (network) in my area and the engineers are working on the issue. On 2nd of April, as there was still no internet connection, other than for a few minutes, now and again, I phoned again customer service, and again, been given the same reply: the engineers are looking into the matter, but no fixing date has been given. On 6 April, I phoned once again, and been told that you’re migrating the systems therefore nothing can be done at that stage.
Today, 7 April, I phoned once again, and after being put through from one department to another, after 1hour and 23 minutes on the phone, I got the same message, this is 12 days later, “we are aware of the issue, our engineers will add your number to their date of base and will let you know when the issue is going to be fixed”. This is absolutely ridiculous. I am paying a service I don’t receive, and I strongly feel that you’re in breach of your contract with me.
In the same conversation, I have asked to cancel my contract with Vodafone, and I have been told that I cannot cancel unless I pay the remaining of my contract. Could you please explain to me how this works? Have you conned me to get into a one side contract only, are you only protecting your interests? What about customers interests? If you cannot provide me with the service that you have promised, why are you holding me down to a useless contract? I have read through your terms and conditions and I cannot find any articles that mention the procedures that must be followed when service is not being provided.
I am extremely disappointed with the service I received from Vodafone, and with the way your customer service staff deal with the customers.
I would like you to look into this matter and cancel my contract, without any further payments, or I’ll have no alternative to take this matter further.
Look forward to hearing from you
Yours Sincerely
This was sent in March 2009, now in January 2010 I cannot take their dogs of me, Debt collection company FPC has been chasing me ever since for £80, when I paid Vodafone for 12 mths of service over £460.
My advice to anyone reading this: Avoid at all costs.
It seems that I have no optoion left but to take them to court. -
Grrrr Vodafone, I,m gunna end up chucking my PC out of the window, yes go to their web page in order to get rid of parental control they want to know bank details your life history, whether you fart in bed etc etc why? I don't WANNA give them all this stuff. And as for connectivity grrr GRRRR
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I started with 3 mobile broadband £15 for 15GB per month. What a load of rubbish, there was either very little connectivity or none at all. I attempted to return it before their 14 days returns period was up. However, because I e-mailed them within the 14 days and didn't phone instead, and when I did phone to cancel it was outside the 14 days, I was told I couldn't cancel as I was outside the 14 day return period. I'm still fighting this one!
Anyway, I since changed to vodafone mobile broadband, which the signal is better, however I do not rate it as being very good. I think I was expecting it to be as fast as a broadband line. How wrong was I! I also have problems with it's connectivity, it freezes on me if I use it for more than say 30 to 60 mins max, sometimes less. It does something to my computer and I have to close all the windows and it will not allow me to disconnect, so I have to pull the modem from the USB port which then causes my computer to crash, every time... AAAHHHHH!!!
I have also tried using their website to get help, but find the "help" page does not respond.
To anyone reading this: do not buy mobile broadband! -
Alex - you will need to login to your Vodafone's account control panel to disable the parental control. Visit..
https://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Portal/appmanager/vodafone/wrp?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=Page_AccReg_LoginService&pageID=MV_0000
Under the heading 'My Devices' find the link for...
"Manage call diverts, call barring and content control" BUT RIGHT CLICK THAT LINK TO OPEN IT IN A NEW WINDOW as this will keep the main account page 'safe' and if the other link page screws up.... you will still have your account page available without having to start all over again.
BUT...the website sometimes is in a real mess - so don't be surprised if it comes back with ...
We are currently unable to process your request as we are experiencing technical difficulties - please try again later or contact either by email, or by dialling 191 from your Vodafone phone.
OR IT MAY SAY...
Customer Notice. Sorry...
This service is unavailable. We're working as fast as we can to resolve the issue, and hope to restore the service soon. You can still manage your account by calling us.
If you call them up you MAY be on hold for ages, and the website email contact is not much better.
The best bet is to visit you local Vodafone store, (taking your laptop with you) and get it sorted from there...it's FAR quicker than the website which can CRAWL along - it seems faster if you manage the browser addons and disable flashplayer, but it's still very slow to load.
It's frankly quite shocking how Vodafone can get away with such an awful website which mostly doesn't work.
....and one last point, keep an eye on your vodafone billing and watch out your laptop doesn't download mass updates for windows (or other software) as it may exceed your bandwidth allowance.
(Has anyone else noticed how bloated and slow websites are these days????)
Hardly any are plain html/htm they are all flash or java based - with loads of ads which then use up valuable bandwidth! -
Alex, contact Vodafone, they are the only ones who can disable Parental control, now and then you will find that the Parental control will return but this is only a temp thing.
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i have vodaphone broadband with my laptop -
how do i get rid of parental control? -
...Forgot to mention the Vodafone DELL Inspiron mini 910 laptop which is currently offered...which may help people thinking of getting one.
It ONLY has a disk size of 7gb, and NO cd drive so very little room to store much on it but apart from that it works very well.
Mcafee and other pre-installed software really slows the laptop down, removing them gains more drive space and it will work faster - although it does still get very hot (underneath) during long operation. It has NO INTERNAL FAN, so be warned keep it on a flat hard surface at all times otherwise it will 'cook' it's motherboard and may fail.
DISABLE all autodownloads from windows etc (unless you are in a HSPDA or 3G area) as this will slow your connection speed down - and may also max out your monthly allowance before you know it. You can choose either 1GB or 3GB per month contract. You will have to pay +£15 per gb extra if you use more than your allocated allowance. I went for the 1gb but was told I can upgrade at anytime to 3gb if required. There are usage levels shown in the Vodafone software, but I'm as yet unsure if they are accurate. You can also set your own warning limits too. BUT even though you may have 1gb/1000mb of allowance, do set your software warning limits at 500mb, if you are NOT always in a 3G area and use quite a bit of GPRS signal, as added together 500mb + 500mb will then equal a 1gb limit. If you set the warning limit to 1000mb as I did to start with, by using both 3G and GPRS means you have actually set your warning far too high at 1gb for EACH connection type, but you really have ONLY 1gb in total - so watch out for that!
You can SMS directly from the Vodafone software (nice and easy using the 910's keyboard!) and it will auto detect what mobile Vodafone service is available.
The SIM card goes and stays in a small slot near where the battery goes, making the unit very compact, no external USB modem is needed. It also being far less power hungry than a 'normal' laptop (like a HP550 I got with 3 for example) means the 910 works far longer, and is ideal for use in trains etc. Being small it's easily carried and the best thing, as mentioned before, is it CAN connect to a normal mobile phone signal from Vodafone, so works almost anywhere, although GPRS is only suitable for minimal bandwidth internet use, like ebay and email, but no good for youtube etc. If you disable flashplayer (tools-manage addons in IE8) things can run faster.
All in all I'm happier with Vodafones mobile service than 3, yes their customer service is just as poor as 3 and vodafone's online account setup is a nightmare (be warned you will have to UNBLOCK Vodafone's annoying 'content control' if you want to view so called 'adult sites' - but it will start to block normal classified websites and other non adult stuff.
Also the so called £20/month for 1gb charge isn't - the first debit will be about £35.30 (includes a +£4 laptop delivery charge, + VAT) and (like 3) they will also then auto charge for paper billing! This can be cancelled, but don't expect it to be an easy task!
To sum up - even in poor signal areas, the laptop with vodafone should work, and although to start with you will have a load of stuff to 'get sorted' but once done it should be a far better experience than with 3.
I still have no signal with 3, but am paying £30 a month...but do have a big HP550 laptop, which I can watch dvd movies on, store stuff and now can use my £20/month Dell 910 with Vodafone to connect to the internet.
It's not all bad!
