topic Re: Unable to receive calls/texts in Other Devices

Unable to receive calls/texts

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 23:45:39 GMT

So this is a bit of a long standing problem and I'll try and keep it brief.

I signed up to o2 on the 8th of July for a pay monthly contract. I didn't port my number at the time of signing up since I wanted to ensure I could get a reasonable signal at two locations. After receiving the handset and testing it out, the signal strength was great so I used their online number porting form to submit my pac. I left it for a few days then contacted them to ask how it's progressing. Nothing had been done so they did it and a couple of days later the number was ported...sort of.

As has been reported on these forums a fair number of times, I was unable to receive calls or text messages. I could phone out with my ported number, but anyone contacting me was just given an automated reply stating "Press 1 to let the person you are calling know that you tried to contact them". This then led me to over a month of calling and using their online chat sessions.

I very quickly diagnosed that it wasn't an issue with the phone as swapping the sim out with several other phones resulted in exactly the same issues, regardless of handset. Of course o2 won't accept this and made it very clear that they won’t do anything until I go into a store and speak to a guru. I told them I would be unable to make into a store for a couple of weeks dues to working commitments and if there was anything else I could do. They just rudely kept ignoring my questions and telling me to go into a store (I have the chat logs if anyone wants a laugh). I have no choice but to agree. To keep up this endless dance of evasive answering and rude responses was just getting tedious.

So two weeks pass and I'm finally able to get into a store. I explain everything (once again), to one of their staff. Who passes me onto someone else who I have to explain everything again. They test the sim in one of their handsets and have the same issue. They try a few hash commands (as I had done during many of the previous sessions), and still no resolving the issue. They confirmed that it wasn't the handset (hallelujah). They contact someone on the phone who tells them that they've had a lot of issues with number ports from a couple of networks, they'll fix it and I will have service within 24 hours. I thank the young lad that was assisting me and left, faintly reassured that this would finally sort the problem out… Nope.

I leave it a few days to give it a chance then once again contact o2. They try to get me to start messing with the handset again, which I refuse. They now have to listen to me since one of their own confirmed what I’d been stating all along. They have no choice but to accept that there is something wrong with the account itself. The work involved in getting to this stage is quite astonishing, frankly. But at least I can now get them to do what I asked them to do a few weeks earlier. They raised the issue with some support team that deals with porting issues and they would be in touch within a couple of working days. Since this was close to the weekend, they said they would contact me by Wednesday the following week. This of course never happened, so I phoned up again on the Thursday and after once again explaining everything, they said they would personally raise the issue and contact me back. This was another lie and heard nothing for a couple of days so once again contacted o2 (online). Explained everything again and got the same answers again. They would personally look into it and contact me. I told them I wasn’t happy with this answer due to past history and they would then only reply telling me to phone o2. I was passed onto a floor supervisor, who I hoped would be able to answer a question for me regarding the legality of me ending my contract with them due to them failing to fulfil their side of the contract. This just put me into that position again of the endless dance of evasive and fairly rude answers. FYI ‘floor supervisors’ are just someone that you’re fobbed off onto so tech support can get back to work. They are pretty dumb and rude, will ignore what you ask them and give very short and irrelevant answers.

So it’s been over a month that I’ve been without the ability to make use of my phone. My number is used for business purposes, and as a result I’ve lost out on quite a bit of work. This has equated to a fairly sizable loss of income. I’ve spent countless hours dealing with all this and I’m no further forward to fixing it than I was a month ago. My advice to anyone still reading this is to avoid o2 altogether. Ignore any tempting offers you see, it’s really not worth it. For those that are currently with them, really consider leaving them for a better provider. Look for independent reviews and make an informed decision. If anything goes wrong, you will be forced into an agonising system of being passed from ‘pillar to post’, and lots of lies and false promises. It's just not worth it.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 05:48:25 GMT

Hi and Welcome to the Community Forum.

I'm sorry to see your first experience with O2 has been a negative one. 😞

We do hear of people who have ported particularly from the Orange Network having porting issues.

I assume you've been speaking to the Online Live Chat, as you mentioned "chat logs"

Live Chat are non Uk Call-centres who are generally ok for low level general enquiries.

We don't generally suggest a person uses them for account based enquiries based on past posts from People who have had negative experiences with this department.

However you weren't to know that.

We always suggest speaking to Uk Customer Services on 202 for Pay Monthly and 4445 for Payg.

It certainly will be worth making this official here : http://www.o2.co.uk/how-to-complain/complain

I hope this is sorted out ASAP for you and please do let us know how you get on.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Cleoriff — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 07:50:18 GMT

What a nightmare experience!

It does appear that the OP has explored every avenue open to them and has been more than patient...

Of course complaining is another route to go down and should be followed... but meantime @Anonymous is left without a working phone and is losing business

I am just wondering whether our Community Co-ordinator @Toby may be able to intervene on the ops behalf?

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

MI5 — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 08:55:34 GMT

Have you tried contacting your old network?
It sounds like they may not have fully released your number.
It does happen and esp. common coming from one of EE's group of networks.....

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

jonsie — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 09:36:33 GMT

That should be your next step, contacting your previous network. The porting hasn't been done properly and the number not released. Obviously raise a complaint if you haven't already done so but in the meantime contact your originating network.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 19:08:15 GMT

Thanks for the prompt replies and the kind welcome. I have indeed used the online chat sessions, as well as phoning o2. The last thing someone on the phone told me was "I'm really not sure what I can do for you", then telling me they were going to contact some relevant department and call me back. This of course didn’t happen. My reason for using the online chat system is often because I work until fairly late, and I only wanted to know whether there was any information in my file to let me know something was happening in the background.

Contact has indeed been made with my old provider (T Mobile), and as far as they're concerned, the porting has been carried out successfully. This is the point where some specialist team within o2 would investigate and let me know within 2 working days as to what's going on... nearly two weeks ago.

I shall do as has been suggested regarding filing an official complaint. I'm contemplating now though just paying off the remainder on the handset I got from o2 and just ending the contract. Ironically I could have probably paid the whole contract off for the 24 months with the income I've lost. I'm thinking this would be a cheaper and quicker option in the long term.

Again, I can't stress enough that people should consider looking elewhere for a mobile provider. If we support companies like this with shockingly poor customer services, nothing will ever change or improve.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 19:10:37 GMT

Your welcome and good luck.

Let us know how this goes please.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

jonsie — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 19:11:06 GMT

If that is indeed the route you are going to take it would be as well to get the phone unlocked before you leave. It's free whilst you are on contract. Unlock form is in the links in my signature.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

MI5 — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 19:24:23 GMT

Whilst I appreciate you are upset with O2 this is nothing new to us on here - The porting issues are always with EE (inc Orange and T Mobile) and it is always EE that have failed to do something correctly in releasing the number.
Moan about O2 all you like but this won't be fixed until someone at EE presses the correct button manually.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

aldaweb — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 20:15:38 GMT

They (EE) even have trouble porting between their own networks. as I found to my cost.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 21:40:01 GMT

I feel my 'moans' about o2 are justified when they fail to follow up on the things they say they will do (such as phoning me back), be evasive and rude in tone when being asked reasonable and polite questions, offer no other solutions other than me having to get into a store before they will even entertain that there could be problems with the account (despite me carrying out more than reasonable tests to ascertain that the fault wasn't with the device). I could go on but then I'd evidently just be 'moaning'.

Look, I feel I'm in my rights to share my experiences for, what I feel is, the benefit of others. I've received some useful advice, which is a bonus and I will gratefully take on board. o2 are not free from blame in this. If it is as you say a common problem, maybe the support staff should have a vague clue as to what the problem could be?

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

jonsie — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 22:06:57 GMT

After a full month of trying to get this sorted I too would be disgusted over the inability of the two networks to sort out a simple porting process. Both companies have specialist porting teams who must have come across this problem many times in the past. Good luck with the complaint and keep us updated when you some form of resolution to this ridiculous mess.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Cleoriff — Sat, 16 Aug 2014 22:17:33 GMT

@Anonymous. You are absolutely right to share your experience on here. The more people that fhat do put their complaints out in the open then hopefully things MAY improve.

As you said in your first post, you have lost out on a lot of business due to all your problems with your phone.

I hope you get this sorted and soon ....

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 05:37:29 GMT

Hi @Anonymous

It's sometimes good to vent to release the frustration your obviously feeling with this ongoing situation.

Albeit not one you should find yourself in. 😞

I'm hoping @Anonymous , @Toby and @Anonymous who are the O2 Community Management here will take this criticism on board and feed this back up the chain so that lessons can hopefully be learned.

Take care.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Cleoriff — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 07:54:44 GMT

Or even better, as I suggested in post 3 of this thread....maybe @Toby could get involved to assist @Anonymous

getting this issue sorted...

This OP is losing business on a daily basis due to being passed around by various CS, who have as yet, failed to help solve the ongoing problem

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 08:00:37 GMT

As the OP has made the complaint official by the online complaint form link ,as from past experience from Toby he will need to let them take this onboard and go through the process.

I wish the op well in this.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Cleoriff — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 08:08:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
As the OP has made the complaint official by the online complaint form link ,as from past experience from Toby he will need to let them take this onboard and go through the process.

I wish the op well in this.

True BoB...however he still loses business whilst waiting for this 'complaint to be reviewed'

I know only too well the impact this can have on people.

I am not inferring that @Toby WILL be able to assist. It is however another avenue to be explored ...

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 08:09:16 GMT

I agree all the help they can get can only be a good thing.

We have heard of people being given goodwill gestures to cover issues so perhaps O2 will do the same here.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

jonsie — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 10:11:13 GMT

Goodwill gestures he may get but unfortunately they won't cover loss of business. I'm just wondering whether call forwarding to another phone would be an option as suggested previously but if the number can't be dialled I don't think it would work. Unfortunately the complaints process will take 7-10 days so I wish the OP a speedy resolution.

Re: Unable to receive calls/texts

MI5 — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 10:21:31 GMT

I did say that I appreciated where you were coming from and was offering you the benefit of our experience on here by passing on the the only resolution we know of, which is for you to contact T Mobile.
However, based on what we know of their cs standards, that's not as easy as it should be either 😞
Please vent all you wish, but my point is that it's not going to help in resolution, sadly....