Anyone else disappointed with 02?

Anonymous · ‎07-01-2009

Okay so I've been an 02 customer for 4 years and have never yet considered changing networks until now.

Until recently ive only been able to view my bills online and my credit allowance, which i find would have been usefull at the beginning of my contract when i would have known im going over. This isn't so much my problem but could have saved me a little cash.

So on the topic of money, the last 2 years ive had a contract and find that value for money is well... shocking at best. i had a sony ericsson w850i on £20 a month contract for m first year with 50 minutes and 200 texts, which didnt bother me so much because i liked the phone, but even so, the credit allowance is nothing, i always went over.

So they offer me a new contract after a year telling me i can have any handset i want, so i chose the LG viewty... only to have the reply... we cant offer you that on your contract we can only give that to you on a £25 a month contract, fair enough.... except ive been paying for a £30 a month contract, so over the last year I've overpaid by £60. whts even worse is the 200 minute and 400 text allowance. Checking other networks ive found that you can get up to 4 times as many minutes and unlimited texts for the same price ahnd pretty much any handset going.

Which brings me to my final point and that is 02 you have failed in my eyes, and come march on my renewal there better be a change or you will find yourself 1 customer short, and a vote for your competitors. Thanks for the year of misery.

Anonymous · ‎09-01-2009

I agree with your point about rubbish packages! I upgraded a few months ago and was told that as my contract no longer existed with it being 12 months i could not have any phone for free as i was going to be seen as a new customer. This really annoyed me because after a couple of years i expected to be rewarded not discarded my bills were always stupidly high my line rental being £25 but bills about £80. Eventually they decided if i went on a £35 a month 18 month contract i could have the Viewty for free and a bolt on so chose unlimited internet. Great for me as i used internet on my N95 all the time but my bills were still coming out at £80 so queried this and was told internet bolt on was never applied and i could only be reimbursed £7.50 which i accepted as i did not want to argue with the girl on the phone (its not her fault after all) and since that call my bolt on has been added so they have redeemed themselves very slightly!

Linzi, you really should phone up and ask for a bill recalculation. If you should have had a bolt-on on there then it should be added on. If there are no notes on the account then request to see if the advisor can have the call listened to if it was recorded if they start kicking up a fuss.

Anonymous · ‎13-01-2009

I've been with o2 since they were BTcellnet and never really had any isses with them until today.

I've recently changed job roles at work and need a phone which is more of an all-rounder which will let me surf the web for info in more detail, receive emails etc. The only problem is - I am only just over halfway through my current 18 month contract.

I find that this is very inflexible, I offered to pay more money per month if necessary to get what I need, but was flatly told no due to company policies. This will seriousy hinder my new role at work, meaning that I will now need to be near to a computer with internet access to get what I need. When circumstances change and you offer more money to get what you need from a service, you expect a little bit of flexibilty, especially if it means more revenue for o2.

I also mentioned on the two separate phone calls I made that I was looking to take out a second contract as a birthday present for my other half, but neither advisor asked me anything further with regards to this - which makes you wonder just how sales orientated o2 are.

There was a time that o2 couldn't do enough for it's customers but now it is evident that they don't have retentions procedures at all anymore. It has left me with little option but to look elsewhere for what I need, and I am very disappointed as a result.

13 years loyalty - unlucky for some! (and bring back 12 month contracts!)

Anonymous · ‎13-01-2009

I've been with o2 since they were BTcellnet and never really had any isses with them until today.
I've recently changed job roles at work and need a phone which is more of an all-rounder which will let me surf the web for info in more detail, receive emails etc. The only problem is - I am only just over halfway through my current 18 month contract.
I find that this is very inflexible, I offered to pay more money per month if necessary to get what I need, but was flatly told no due to company policies. This will seriousy hinder my new role at work, meaning that I will now need to be near to a computer with internet access to get what I need. When circumstances change and you offer more money to get what you need from a service, you expect a little bit of flexibilty, especially if it means more revenue for o2.
I also mentioned on the two separate phone calls I made that I was looking to take out a second contract as a birthday present for my other half, but neither advisor asked me anything further with regards to this - which makes you wonder just how sales orientated o2 are.
There was a time that o2 couldn't do enough for it's customers but now it is evident that they don't have retentions procedures at all anymore. It has left me with little option but to look elsewhere for what I need, and I am very disappointed as a result.
13 years loyalty - unlucky for some! (and bring back 12 month contracts!)

I understand what you mean about o2 gaining more from you if they did let you upgrade early, but the fact of the matter is that your locked into a monthly contract, the length of 12,18 or 24 months is there for a reason, if o2 let you upgrade after 6 months for example, what would be the point in having an 18 month contract in the first place.

Also about the sales focus part, o2 customer services could transfer you through to new connections who could arrange a new contract for you, but they cant offer new contracts themselves as they dont have the systems to arrange a new contract for you.

Im sure o2 do appreciate your loyalty, and many others for that matter too, but in an ever changing, ever competative market, its getting harder and harder to show it, and as far as im aware, other providers wouldnt allow you to upgrade early either, unless you paid up the remaining months of your contract upfront.

Anonymous · ‎13-01-2009

The advisors I spoke with earlier were not sales advisors no, but I wasn't even given the opportunity to have my call transferred. I work in a sales environment myself - and at the minute all of our departments are transfering sales enquiries through at silly rates - we have had to take on more staff which in this market is great news - but neither advisor bothered to offer or ask any further questions (would have been minimum of £45pcm revenue...).

I understand policies very well after having to listen to earfuls from my customers on a near daily basis, but I always manage to bring them round towards the end of it or offer some sort of resolution for them. I feel however that I have ended my conversation in a negative way after having been dealt with so well in the past. Over the years, there always seems to have been someone who could offer a compromise or an alternative solution - but there must have been a lot of calls waiting because neither could get me off the phone quick enough! (and not because I was kicking off, I tend not to do this after having been on the receiving end!) Why have these policies changed now - at a time when businesses are competing so much for custom - surely there should be a bit more focus on retention. After all if 1 in 3 phone owners in UK are already with o2 do we not matter?

I just feel a bit undervalued at the minute by o2, and even though you have said that my loyalty is appreciated it doesn't feel like it right now. A few years ago when I was in Uni I called to transfer over to Pay-As-You-Go for the first time in years as I was concerned about running up high bills. The Contract advisor I spoke with on this occasion couldn't do enough to keep me on contract and offered me a £10 pcm contract with a free phone for 18months - wasn't going to get any better than that (and it probably ended up less than PAYG

) so I took it up. Until then I didn't even realise that contract ad PAYG were separate departments and compete for custom.

As I said though, it doesn't even feel like they're willing to keep their network competitors at bay... For me it is a case of necessity rather than rather than desire.

Thanks for your response by the way - I wasn't expecting one after whinging a bit

And now a bit more... I have been known for my waffling...

Anonymous · ‎19-01-2009

Well I got an X1 from o2 and my retentions offer was better than any of them new customer offers. If you are an existing customer go to retentions, dial 202 then option 2 and 2 again. Ask for your PAC code (means you are leaving to transfer your number to a better company), quote 1 of them offers you saw on the website (preferably from another company) and see what they offer! All depends on what you spend etc though.

Anonymous · ‎19-01-2009

Thanks

Just hope this is going to help me with my 'problem'

Would this work during my contract, or would it be wise to wait until my renewal date?

Thanks.

Anonymous · ‎19-01-2009

I've been with o2 since they were BTcellnet and never really had any isses with them until today.
I've recently changed job roles at work and need a phone which is more of an all-rounder which will let me surf the web for info in more detail, receive emails etc. The only problem is - I am only just over halfway through my current 18 month contract.
I find that this is very inflexible, I offered to pay more money per month if necessary to get what I need, but was flatly told no due to company policies. This will seriousy hinder my new role at work, meaning that I will now need to be near to a computer with internet access to get what I need. When circumstances change and you offer more money to get what you need from a service, you expect a little bit of flexibilty, especially if it means more revenue for o2.
I also mentioned on the two separate phone calls I made that I was looking to take out a second contract as a birthday present for my other half, but neither advisor asked me anything further with regards to this - which makes you wonder just how sales orientated o2 are.
There was a time that o2 couldn't do enough for it's customers but now it is evident that they don't have retentions procedures at all anymore. It has left me with little option but to look elsewhere for what I need, and I am very disappointed as a result.
13 years loyalty - unlucky for some! (and bring back 12 month contracts!)

To me that suggests you would like another subsidised phone earlier than the upgrade date. When you upgraded last, the cost of your new phone was included in the contract they offered you. This is why they will not let you upgrade early because they need to offset the handset cost by your overall contract value.

In my opinion you should just buy a new phone and sell your old one. You can't really expect them (they are a business remember) to offer you a new subsidised handset when your current contract probably hasn't made them barely any profit yet!

Anonymous · ‎19-01-2009

Thanks
Just hope this is going to help me with my 'problem'
Would this work during my contract, or would it be wise to wait until my renewal date?
Thanks.

Yea it will only work on your renewal date :robotsad: but this isn't really any different to any other network.

Anonymous · ‎19-01-2009

Thanks for the help

Roll on march

Anonymous · ‎19-01-2009

No probs, good luck!

O2