Heartless and IncompetentIf I could give 0/5 I would. The worst mobile phone provider in the Australian market. Daughter's old phone was not working so she was advised to go back to the store for an insurance claim. Salesperson upsold her a new phone and then upsold her a tablet as well, promising her $500 credit for her old phone as a trade in as part of a deal on at the moment. She was told that she would be emailed a code which she needed to use to send in her old phone as a trade in. The code never came. She went back to the store many times and was told by the sales associate that he would organise a code for her. It never came. In the meantime, the deal expired and she received an invoice for the full amount without credit for her phone trade-in. She went back to the store and they promised her that she would be credited this amount and that they would fix it. Fast forward a few months and MANY MANY VISITS TO THE STORE - her phone number which she used for two factor authentication was deactivated and sold to the debt collection agency. The store was still telling her that they would fix it! That she would not be charged. Then the hundreds of phone calls to the rudest call centre operatives globally who demanded that she pay $4000 because it was her fault. In the meantime, she has lost her job because she could not access the work apps or her roster, all tied to her phone number. Her mental health has deteriorated from the stress of trying to sort out the mess. She is being hounded by debt collectors. No joy from Vodafone who basically want the full amount and WILL NOT LISTEN TO THE STORY. They apparently could not do anything and kept directing us back to the store who then told us that they could not do anything and directed us back to the call centre. The call centre operators kept telling us the the account had nothing to do with them, that they couldn't action anything and that bad luck if my daughter's mental health or financial situation was bad - nothing to do with them. They talked over us constantly, accused us of lying, badgered us to get a lawyer if we felt so badly done by, and said so what about the fact that my daughter's life was in tatters. The only joy came from the debt collection agency who at the least were Australian and had much better phone skills and tried to negotiate with Vodafone on our behalf. Vodafone's answer to the debt collection agency was that we had not contacted them and that they really didn't understand what the issue was so ... could we phone so that they could get a clearer picture of the issue? This debacle has gone on from February to September WITH NO RESOLUTION. The rudest call centre people that I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. The worst processes - no, this team does not interact with that team we were told many times. The store was useless even though they admitted that they had stuffed up ... well, bad luck. We provided you with misleading information but sorry - you have to pay. Having been with other companies (and yes, they have made mistakes but they have always offered some compensation or a discount for inconvenience caused) I cannot believe that hard heartedness, the rudeness, the incompetence of everyone involved. Years ago, I considered moving to Vodafone because they were cheaper especially with roaming but don't get sucked in by the cheap deals - YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Sticking with Optus who, while not perfect, have always apologised and offered some form of compensation when things have not gone right. GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING AND RECORD ALL CONVERSATIONS WITH VODAFONE BECAUSE THEY LIE. read more
