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o2 UK Lousy Service

All,
have to say that o2 UK have managed to plumb the depths of lousy service and total indifference to customers requirements. They have increased accessory prices for XDaII as well as reducing the contents. They are managed by a centrally run policy which does not admit to deals being done in other stores and a refusal to honour previously agreed prices.
SHODDY SHODDY SHODDY!!! is the best way to describe them, if you are a customer I would urge you to leave them and if your not I certainly wouldn't join!!!
Dont buy any product from their stores as your likely to get it cheaper, quicker and less hassle from the web (uplands mobile) or other online provider.
Such a shame that a company which brought us a great device can't live up to its customers legitimate expectations!! If you have any more comments please post on this thread.
Thanks
Pete

I can say that was also the case for me at stockport branch, Asking about XDA 2 accessories to be told information like - "yeah we dont know about that" or "no there isnt such thing available for the xda2" !!! what!! when i know there is something available for it and get told there is no such thing, lets just say i dont goto the o2 shop anymore. (was about car kits)
Cheers

shody!
Well sad to say..............
I agree, the service supplied by o2 is crap.
I have been working overseas, my biggest bill was £150, my normal bill was around £12 - £35, I'm away for 7 months, I return home and recieve a bill for £540, when I question it, they say, well pay it and then we will sort it out. I say no,lets sort it now. The answer I get is the computer says its correct although we have major problems with our new system sending out or not sending out correct bills, just pay it and we will return it if youre found tobe right, .....I think not!
So yes,changing companies going to Vodafone, dear but seems tobe more on the ball.

O2 problems seem to be becoming more common lately.
I am on orange now simply because I got fed up of the high tarrif I was put on and I had too much trouble trying to change it. The website fails to complete an order as I always get "We are sorry.... Please call xxx" halfway through entering my address details to start a new contract.
Phoning O2 is even worse, after being transferred to different departments so much I ended up doing a circle I went to an O2 shop. They say they cant do xxx instore so give me one of their phones to call and dial a number. Person on phone says theyll try and do xxx but better going in a shop "cuz they'll definitely be able to do it instore" IM IN AN O2 SHOP MAKING THE CALL!
There is someone else I know who is on O2 Online and they simply arent reading his e-mails correctly and giving dumbed down irrelevant responses. Phoning up to sort out problems is too expensive when in certain situations its O2's fault theres a problem.
Ash

O2 are are the biggest pile of **** MAN

Anyone know of a place where O2 complaints will be taken seriously or can be at least accumulated until a point where the number is enough for O2 to take notice..online petition or something?
The ISP Pipex used to leave many customers with no option but to put up with poor service or switch providers, but a website by angry customers called 'pipexwoe' was set up to collect people's bad (or good) experiences and present them in a collected form. Since then the ISP made significant improvements which may have been in part due to the awareness raised by the website so much so there was talk of changing it to 'pipexwow'.
Something like this needs to be done for O2, they cant simply go on with poorly trained sales staff, a buggy website, buggy billing system and incompetent telephone and e-mail based customer service.
I'm still stuck with O2 just for insurance on the physical XDA 2, but that took about 10 failed website order attempts (yes I now have 6 new O2 e-mail addresses though :roll: !), 50 minutes of phone calls, an hour on top on hold and 2 trips to an O2 shop. Being on hold was ok but every 7 minutes they cut you off and tell you to ring again - i.e. throw you right at the back of the queue again! I got an alternative phone number from the O2 shop without the cut off and got through in 10 minutes... silly!
Ash

On a general basis, I don't know of anywhere you can air your grievances.
But if you (as an account holder) have a serious complaint that you are getting no joy with via Normal Customer Services then they do have a HLC (High Level Complaints) team based in Leeds.
Whilst I have a phone number for them (and I'm not gonna post it here for obvious reasons), you can insist on your complaint being referred to them. They usually deal with complaints via OFCOM, but they are there to deal with referrals.
Having used them twice, I've found them very good. They sorted out my account problems, and compensated me accordingly. This was after normal CS said they couldn't do any more !
HTH
Mark

Agreed. You never get anywhere with O2 unless you are on Friends and Family! :wink:

O2 - the other side
I think caveat emptor applies.
I tried to buy my XDAII last Xmas a voucher to pruchase it for £150, but O2 did not seem able to honour it. I took it to Car phone warehouse who honoured the voucher.
I sent a respectful letter to O2 , and they sent me a £50 M&S voucher.
Mr.G

All
I agree with the respondent who has suggested a website to co-ordinate and publish and publicly punish o2 for their lousy service. I dont know how to go about it but I'd be more than willing to help if anyone knows how to set it up.
Further, aren't you guys amazed that the number of companies with hi level complaints departments these days? That alone says more about the standard of service delivery that anything else possibly can.
These are entire departments set up to protect the CEO etc from the legitimate complaints of customers and to appear to the regulator as customer focused.
If that were true, they would surely spend less on complaint resolution and more on frontline service delivery. If it were true, then the very mechanisms and processes which have given rise to their existence would work effectively on our behalf.
or am I just being silly!
Send letters of complaint to;
Mr McGlade
260 Bath Road
Slough
Berkshire
SL1 4DX
This is the CEO of o2 UK, then you'll get a response from the hi level complaints team......wonderful!!
Please keep this thread active and lets see if we cant get them to change their approach to customers!!

peterbutler19 said:
Send letters of complaint to;
Mr McGlade
260 Bath Road
Slough
Berkshire
SL1 4DX
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I wouldn't bother, he leaves in a month or so.
Try the Customer Services Director...

I've had enough of 02 recently, they've messed my billing around to the point where even though i've sucessfully paid everything in full by Direct Debit, I still get randomly disconnected and then I have to spend 50p a minute calling them to get it sorted out.
I've got the same contract as i'm on now with Orange, so i'm unlocking my xda2 and moving over.

I left O2 last week too, My bills were approaching £70 a month and i wasnt using any more minutes than i usually do, they seem to be ripping me off for data access, when i phoned them, they couldnt even find any data access on my bill and i just couldnt get a straight answer out of them as to why it was so high,
Plus my 12 month contract was up so i phoned them to see if i could get a free motorola razr out of them as i would have been happy staying with them really but when i asked they just said i would be better canceling my contract and getting a phone from a 3rd party supplier as i would get a better deal, so i did, but not with O2 this time !!!,
When i was about to leave orange many years ago, they bent over backwards offering me free phones and discounts if i stayed with them, not with O2, they just said i was better off leaving and that my contract would terminate in 30 days, they dont seem to care if they loose customers anymore
I cant see me going back to O2 anytime soon now

The thing that swayed me to 02 was the text bundles that they offered at a time when orange weren't offering, which is mainly what I use my phone for. Now, I can get exactly the same contract with orange, and without all the 02 hangups it's time I went back.

Selling XDA's

For reasons too dull to go into, i, or rather the company i work for, will be selling a few XDA's over the next few months - starting with about 20, but ultimately i'll have about 100 to get rid of, some II's, mostly IIi's, and a few IIs's.
The nick they're in varies from "scratched to buggery" to "brand new".
I have no idea what a fair price to put on them is - i was going to shift them on eBay, and just offer a "buy it now"price, depending on conition - say £50 for a working but ugly II to £150 for a shiny new IIs, still in its packaging - i can crack them, obv.
So, what's a sensible price that will get the company some money - thats my job after all, while still being reasonable considering what it is i'm actually selling -
Thanks

There are specialist companies who will liquidate your old phones but they pay silly low money eg about £20 per PDA style phone...
You need to complete the accessories bundle for as many of the good condition ones as you can and if you have any of the installation CD's perhaps copy them so all have one - a pdf of the manual is a good idea too. Use pictures of the actual item not a generic photo, unlock them using the tools on this site and maybe even throw in a PAYG sim - available cheaply on ebay, but above all be honest in the description of the unit. And test them all if you can. Note the seriels and if the warranty sticker intact before sending ( if not, apply your own)
Even faulty ones with smashed screens get £50 so your 'rough but working' should make at least £70 hopefully.
Hope this helps.
Richard

Thank you Richard - I should have mentioned i have all the accessories, though i'm perhaps 10% short on stylus's. I could easily offer two each of charger battery and case, if that would be an incentive.
Personally i'm a fairly well established eBayer, so i'll be inclined to use my own account rather than start a new one, and i wouldn't want to do anything that would merit negative feedback, so i'll be scrupulously honest -
if it would be in the spirit of the thing once i've decided a sensible price, i'll offer them here first less 10% or so

i've stuck a sort of "feeler" on eBay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9715068209&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&rd=1
i KNOW the pictures are awful, but i'm assuming most people who would buy an XDA know what it looks like. Feedback appreciated as i'm REALLY good at buying on eBay but not so good at selling.

Too cheap? :lol:
Richard

flip!
it sold already!
i'm obviously not asking enough

Insurance

I don't normally bother getting insurance when I get a new phone, but considering I just spent close to £500 this time I'm thinking it might be a good idea. Unfortunately Handtec (the company I bought the Touch Pro from) didn't offer me any insurance with it and I've enquired with my credit card company if purchases are insured because I know some credit card companies offer this service - unfortunately mine doesn't!
So does anyone in the UK know how to go about getting my Touch Pro insured against loss/theft/accidental damage for the next year or so, and what would be a reasonable price to pay?

OK never mind, I've just been doing some googling. I found several sites that wanted £7.99 a month (probably all the same company as they all had very similar wording) which seemed quite expensive even though they all give you a free battery after a year (another reason why they're probably all the same company).
Then I found Gizmoguard: They only want £24 per year and are underwritten by AXA so I chose to go with them. The only slight glitch is that they only insure items up to a value of £500 and most sites are selling it for more than this. I don't think this will be a major problem though, even if you paid slightly more than £500 for it, they should still give you £500 back so you wont be too much out of pocket if you need to claim.

A lot of people don't realise that their phone is often covered on their household insurance. Even when lost/damaged/stolen while out and about.

finisterre said:
A lot of people don't realise that their phone is often covered on their household insurance. Even when lost/damaged/stolen while out and about.
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Very true but the excess could be quite high. Mine's not, but I have to specifically inform my insurer of any items worth over £500 that will regularly be taken outside the house. Then they up the premium by about 50p per month...

It says in the Gizmoguard FAQ that
7)Are there any items you cannot cover?
The maximum cover for any one item is £500. You cannot insure an item with a value of over £500 with Gizmoguard.
We cannot cover mobile phones.
Did you still manage to insure your phone?

I just checked on that site and it covers blackberrys and ipaq's so would presume it would cover the Touch Pro

mtbmtbmtb said:
It says in the Gizmoguard FAQ that
7)Are there any items you cannot cover?
The maximum cover for any one item is £500. You cannot insure an item with a value of over £500 with Gizmoguard.
We cannot cover mobile phones.
Did you still manage to insure your phone?
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As duke748 just (sort of) said, the Touch Pro isn't a mobile phone! It's a PDA with a "phone" feature
Although I've already purchased a policy, I have just sent them an e-mail to make sure that my cover is definitely valid cos I did pay more than £500 in total for mine, but I bought it from Handtec bundled with TomTom software and my argument is that the device on its own without the software is sold on the same site for less than £500 (just about). Seeing as it's only the device that I want to insure, and not the software as well, I should be OK. I told them to cancel my policy and give me a refund if I'm not covered, but I don't see why I shouldn't be.

I asked them:
You say you don't cover mobiles, but you do cover Blackberry. Do you insure other smartphones besides Blackberries? Eg the HTC Touch Pro?
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And got back this response by email this morning:
No sorry we do not cover smartphones, we cover blackberries and other devices that have the function of a mobile phone but not mobile phones that have other functions.
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I guess the question is, when is a device a phone with PDA features (not covered), vs a PDA with phone features (covered). As the Touch Pro is probably one of the most advanced smartphones in terms of non-phone features, and definitely more PDA-featured than a Blackberry, it's not obvious to me that it's a "phone with PDA features" - but with insurance it pays to be unambiguous otherwise you'll end up not covered (it's the underwriter's job to make sure that all conditions of the policy are met before paying out so).

zanewilson said:
I asked them:
And got back this response by email this morning:
I guess the question is, when is a device a phone with PDA features (not covered), vs a PDA with phone features (covered). As the Touch Pro is probably one of the most advanced smartphones in terms of non-phone features, and definitely more PDA-featured than a Blackberry, it's not obvious to me that it's a "phone with PDA features" - but with insurance it pays to be unambiguous otherwise you'll end up not covered (it's the underwriter's job to make sure that all conditions of the policy are met before paying out so).
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Hmm... I just checked my e-mail and I got this reply:
Hello
Thank you for your e-mail.
If you are happy to cover your item without the software/accessories so that the total value insured is £500 or less then that is fine to do this and you would not be affected in the event of a claim.
We trust the above will prove to be satisfactory however please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any further assistance.
Kind regards
Customer Service
Insurance4Living
JLT | Online - virtual insurance solutions
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I definitely won't be deleting that message in case I need it in the future

I asked gizmoguard the following:
"I would like to insure a device I have purchased (HTC Touch Pro) and would like to clarify two things:Firstly, I bought the product for £518 although most shops sell for £499. Would this be insured OK for £499 despite the price I purchased at?
Also, the policy mentions that mobile phones are not covered. The HTC Touch Pro is a PDA with phone capibilities - would this pose a problem?."
Their reply was:
"Thank you for your email. Unfortunately we do not cover PDA’s where it is also a phone, however if you contact a specialist mobile phone insurer they should be able to assist you further."
This obviously conflicts with previous posts here so I guess it depends on how you word your queries! I'll be using household contents insurance because nowhere seems anywhere near as reasonable as Gizmoguard.

TheDave said:
I asked gizmoguard the following:
"I would like to insure a device I have purchased (HTC Touch Pro) and would like to clarify two things:Firstly, I bought the product for £518 although most shops sell for £499. Would this be insured OK for £499 despite the price I purchased at?
Also, the policy mentions that mobile phones are not covered. The HTC Touch Pro is a PDA with phone capibilities - would this pose a problem?."
Their reply was:
"Thank you for your email. Unfortunately we do not cover PDA’s where it is also a phone, however if you contact a specialist mobile phone insurer they should be able to assist you further."
This obviously conflicts with previous posts here so I guess it depends on how you word your queries! I'll be using household contents insurance because nowhere seems anywhere near as reasonable as Gizmoguard.
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I'd be tempted to reply to that and ask why they cover Blackberries if they don't cover PDA's where it is also a phone and see what they say.
After all, do you know of any Blackberry devices that can't be used as a phone? I Don't!

Raphael vendor / Reseller Reviews.

There's a lot of different resellers about and equally many roumers of who's good and who's dodgy at the moment . So that we all know who's who out there, heres a little Thread with Vendor reviews.
If you have something positive or something negitive to say about a seller please say it here.
Also please rate your vendor XX out of 10, I might add a field to the vendor wiki.
Vendors and prices here >http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Raphael_Vendors

I've always used Expansys / MobilePlanet. I'm USA so MobilePlanet.
There is some atrocious whining in their forums from - for want of a better term - EXTRAnoobs.
But in my dealings they are professional, rock solid and I've never had any problems.

Onthegosolutions
I have used Maobile Planet in the past and had no specific problems.
For some years not I have been using OntheGoSolutions and I have been pleased because I always know who I am speaking with. Seems to have very little turnover and they are small enough that I can communicate with one person. They are definitley not the cheapest but have at least twice in the past lowered a price for me when I pointed out an advertised lower price elsewhere.

I bought my Raphael online from Expansys Canada... All I can say is the transaction was very easy, and shipping was SUPER FAST!!!
Ordered it Friday afternoon (approx 3pm), after a small billing problem (I gave them a different phone number from the one on my Credit Card account), confirmed the order on Monday morning at 10am (they aren't opened on weekends), I had the device in my hands Tuesday just before noon...
All in all, besides the phone # problem, I'm very happy with the transaction. It was easy, smooth and fast...

Inkino UK
To all in London and southeast
Eugene at Inkino (I never knew I needed one), 48 Tottenham Court Road www.inkino.co.uk is a mine of information on all things HTC. They are one of the few, if only, HTC Ultimate Partners and it shows.
I have bought my Trinity and now Touch Pro from there.
Yes I could probably get a few pounds off here or there but the service and honest opinions I have had from Eugene and his collegues at the sister branch 9 Great Russell Street mean that I will simply not buy from elsewhere. If I have a problem I know I can call up or drop in and I will speak to someone who knows his products inside out and is a straightforward trader.
Pleasure to do business with.

I ordered mine from Expansys UK. I live in Cyprus and Expansys is propably the best choice. Although I should have used Expansys Cyprus, the UK site was 40 Euro cheaper so I went with them. The service is excellent! Prices are among the best in the market. (630 EURO inc. DHL shipping fees).
They support Paypal, which is a big plus in safety matters, and by using DHL you get your phone in record time.
All in all, i am a happy customer=p

I'm in the US and I bought mine from Clove. A tad more expensive, but I was having problems with Google Checkout (which Handtec uses for overseas orders). Clove was a little slow to receiving my order, but once they did they shipped it out within hours. DHL got it to me in 2 days, all the way from UK to California, and by 10am no less.
One thing about Clove (that I appreciated) is that they require you to confirm the order by calling your CC company and requesting the 6-digit charge authorization number for the charge. Maybe it's an extra hassle, but it's nice to know they're serious about your security.
I would order from Clove again, but of course now I have no money.

I'm in the US and purchased from Smart Mobile Gadgets. All was as they said, including Saturday delivery.

I ordered my TP from On the Go Solutions in July. They said they would call and make sure I still wanted it before they would ship. They also shipped the day the said they would, a month in advance. I am very satisfied with the way they do business.

This is a statement of one set of circumstances and does NOT impute or call into question the credibility or otherwise of this particular organization. There may be an explanation - but so far - my client has not received one.
A client of mine bought direct in a Buy It Now eBay auction from a company with a high level of positive feedback with thousands of positive transactions on eBay. Their public site is - Popular Electronics http://www.popularelect.com.
Approx 24 hours after buying eBay declared the auction NULL AND VOID and advised my client that they do not have to pay. eBay stated:
"As eBay removed the item, you are no longer obliged to send payment for it. Please don't send money or respond to any emails from the seller.
If you've sent payment but haven't received the item, please wait a reasonable period of time for delivery. If you don't receive the item, please contact us again by clicking "Contact Us" on any eBay Help page and selecting the following contact options:
Buying and Finding>Fraud and Payment Concerns for Buyers>Item Not Received or Item Not as Described (you paid)"
My client has called and emailed the company direct and not received any replies.
I've carefully reviewed the eBay email and header codes and believe the email is genuine and not a phish. All the auctions that for TouchPRo's that WERE on ebay from this company have disappeared at 9/3/2008 14:00 EDT.
I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

BEWARE OF THE TIGADUACELLULAR!!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2617797#post2617797

Has anyone actually baught anything from tigerCellular out there? If so let us know are they real or fake? thanks... im betting the latter but you never know

2call.nl 5/10
Got my TP from 2call.nl
Price without contract (as I use company sim) was good and delivery was very fast.
However, as my TP came with the know problems (GPS instable and hot, black paint falls off,...), I asked 2call within two weeks after pruchase to take my device back and replace it by a new one.
They refused.
As price and delivery is not the only thing I expect from a retailer of a some hundred euro device, I personally will not buy at 2call.nl again.

Discontinued??????

Ok so the navy exchange is being retarded. Still thinks i have the transfprmer on order but i just got a email saying its discontinued any one else here of see that. Ill post the link when i get to work im driving to it now.
Dear Exchange Patron,
This email is in regards to your order for (X672H - TRNSFRMR TABLT DK BRN EEEPAD)
that you recently placed with us. Our supplier has informed us that the item has been discontinued. A full refund will be processed for this item. Please allow 3-5 business days for credit posting. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact customer service by phone at 1-800-527-2345 or via chat at www.shopmyexchange.com . Email replies must include your order number and contact information in order to receive a prompt response.
Respectfully,
Sheila Easter
Sr. Customer Service Tech
Marketing-Exchange Catalog /Online Store
Army & Air Force Exchange Service
Phone: 1-800-527-2345 Fax 1-214-465-2197
[email protected]
Visit our online store! www.shopmyexchange.com
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Maybe because the TF101G is coming out. (3g model) (it's on their support site now)
or... tf102? Transformer 2 but most likely just a buggy system message.. But I doubt transformer 2 lol, icecream hasn't even been released on the "Nexus Prime".

hmmm i edited my OP to show what i got. i orded the 32GB 2 weeks before it came out.

the way etailers are undercutting the price, I would imagine the TF101 is past the curve in its lifecycle.

I doubt it's discontinued, the transformer sells very well. So I don't see why asus stops selling it. My guess is Exchange can't provide you with the device for some reasons, but said it's discontinued.

Newegg has it (or did two days ago) bundled with the dock for $50 off the full price. unless you're getting a better price through the exchange, just order it from the Egg.

Better not be
I just got me and my girl transformers for our birthdays and she got us the docks, and unless the 3g version is free its not for me I have enough wireless dollars going out.

Might just mean that they have discontinued carrying it especially in light of all the maneuvering (Multiple orders/ cancellations) that went on after initial release

It wouldnt make sense to discontinue such a popular product

This just worries me more about buying this, now :/. I was very interested in purchasing the Transformer but if something better is going to come out really soon then I won't bother.
It's so frustrating that I've come in at the time the current TF101 is becoming out of date. That's my own fault for not being current enough, I guess. Should the people who've wondered about buying (such as myself) hold off for a little while longer, perhaps?

There's always something better coming soon. And a Transformer is a good buy.

This doesn't mean anything, because their supplier is not necessarily Asus. Most probably some other 3rd party wholesaler and they must have discontinued selling it. That doesn't man the product is discontinued.

Just keep in mind that even if a product sells extremely well, if it's a low margin product like a tablet where a seller is only making a little profit to begin with, it doesn't take a lot of returns/swaps before it becomes an item a seller doesn't want to sell. How many posts have you seen here where people had returned a transformer 2, 3 or even 4 times to get a perfect unit? Although low margins/price don't mean that a consumer shouldn't expect a good unit, as someone who works for a consumer electronics retailer I can assure you that if any product bcomes a liability in terms of cost we stop selling it. Obviously although we pride ourselves on customer service we are ultimately in the business to make a profit, so regardless of how popular a unit is it has to pay its own way. This is especially true for a company selling on the internet, since the Walmart idea of having loss leaders doesn't work - people go to your site and buy what they need, they don't often add other higher margin items.

lathanub said:
This just worries me more about buying this, now :/. I was very interested in purchasing the Transformer but if something better is going to come out really soon then I won't bother.
It's so frustrating that I've come in at the time the current TF101 is becoming out of date. That's my own fault for not being current enough, I guess. Should the people who've wondered about buying (such as myself) hold off for a little while longer, perhaps?
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There will always be something better. The Quad Core tablets are suppose to be arriving this fall I thought, so if you hold out until then that could be good. I got my Tablet back in June and am very happy with it.
Hell I am never satisfied though. I got a new Laptop (Sager) in May, Tablet (Transformer) in June, and now I want to build a new Desktop (custom build). If I do the desktop my wife is going to kill me!