Since I last wrote about Mobiles.co.uk things have moved on a bit. Well, a lot, really. They had that conference call and not having received the promised call back to update me, I called them again. They had passed onto Three all of the relevant customer details to enable them to register their SIMs on the service. Give it four days, I was told, to allow them time to put it on – this despite having already given them a week and a half. Given that this was four working days, I reluctantly agreed to call them back the following week. I also called Three during this time to see if they had any news. They hadn’t. So far as they were concerned, my mobile and SIM did not exist. So, no change there, then. They promised a call back to let me know what was happening. They didn’t.
After three working days, I called Mobiles again and asked them if they would be able to assure me that the problem would be fixed by the end of the following day as my patience had finally reached its breaking point and I would be returning the phone and cancelling the deal if not. They couldn’t.
Long story short. The phone went back and I remained with my present provider. As it turned out, they could offer a similar deal. Slightly more on price as I wouldn’t be getting the cash back, but a lower price than Three without the cash back, but also another 200 minutes of talk time, but less data. As I use very little data, needing it only for emails and the occasional website, that’s just fine. O2 had the phone with me the following day and half an hour after receiving it, it was working as it is supposed to. Finally I have a phone that does what it is supposed to; make and receive phone calls.
I really don’t know what was happening between Mobiles and Three. I was told that it was a technical problem and they had put a team together to fix it. If that was the case, it should have been resolved an a matter of hours or a couple of days at the most. Two and a half weeks was outrageous and so far as I am aware, it is still going on, a full three weeks later. Mrs L feels that it was probably something else – a dispute of some kind – and they aren’t saying. The customers caught up in the fallout are mere collateral damage. She may be right. Not least because I was told that they could not possibly register me with Three manually as Three wouldn’t allow it, which sounds absurd to me. Who knows what the truth is? Now, I really don’t care. All I do know is that I won’t touch either party with the proverbial barge pole in future and won’t be recommending them. So, from a customer service perspective, that was a job well done, wasn’t it?
We’re in the process of moving offices within North London – about 2 miles. I have no trouble with the guys who are doing the physical work of shifting filing cabinets, photocopiers etc. No – the real problem is with 1. the post office, 2. credit card merchant “service” provider and 3. phone “service” provider. You’d think that changing offices was equivalent to arranging to emigrate to Mexico while simulataneously getting a US passport: it isn’t – it’s far worse. Phone calls not returned, emails “going astray”, letters sent but, curiously, not delivered, etc etc. It’s just a nightmare.
I’d be happy to sling money at it but with our “service” providers you can’t get to anyone who is prepared to accept the money (on behalf of the organisation – not cash in hand which would, anyway, be totally wasted) in return for seeing that the employees of the organisations concerned do their job. Sure, I’ve been larded with rote insincere apologies and told to “take care” a thousand times but service? Forget it: this is England in 2012.
LR, could this (excellent and informative) article fall foul of any of the mooted legislation regarding internet comment? I find that my dogged insistence to never deal with BT is costing me, but I am a stubborn old b*stard, at least with mobile telephony you have plenty of choice.
I’m sure there are those who would like it to fall foul of legislation. However, it is merely a record of the facts as they occurred and I have relayed the information I was given by the various customer service operators. I was also remarkably polite.