I have received the worst service I've experienced for a long time in the past 24 hours.
My wife's iPhone 11 packed up the other day, so it was quite urgent we found her a new phone. I logged on to the myO2 website and was initially a little surprised to discover that I had to go through a bit of a process to log in because it had changed and was now O2 and Virgin media. However, I did eventually get into my account and looked to upgrade my wife's phone. I chose an Iphone13 that was in stock, and the website informed me that if I ordered within the next 90 minutes I would get delivery the next day - which was what I needed.
I went through the ordering process, received the contracts by email and paid the required £1 deposit on my card. At the last stage of the process, I was suddenly greeted with a rather aggressive message stating that the credit control department needed to check my application and that they would get back to me within 24 hours. I was slightly surprised considering I have an excellent credit rating with all 3 of the main agencies and have been an O2 customer for years. I looked at how I might cancel the order and start again, thinking it might just be a glitch, but when I pressed the link to cancel the order I received a message stating that the order was in process and was I sure I wanted to cancel as doing such may affect my credit rating???
I decided to leave things as they were and resigned myself to the fact that I probably would not be getting the phone the next day.
By 2.30pm the next day I had still not had any communication from O2 regarding the order apart from an email received the night before stating:
'Thank you for your application. We need to take a look at your application. Hold tight and we'll get back to you within 24 hours.'
At 2.42pm I called 202 from my mobile to try and speak to someone. After about 20 minutes of the most tortuous automated call answering I have ever experienced, and I mean TORTUOUS, I eventually ended up speaking to an agent. I explained the situation and then was on hold for several more minutes whilst she tried to connect me to credit control. I eventually spoke to someone in credit control who went through a brief security check and then told me the order was confirmed, and I would receive a message asking me to make the required £1 payment again as it hadn't been taken. When I asked why there was a hold up with the order, she said it was a random security check to ensure I was who I said I was - and I would have received a message informing me that a security check would be required. I explained that I had not received any message about a security check and had only called because I hadn't heard anything for nearly 24 hours, to which she replied "you know how it is, sometimes systems crash..."
She explained that I would receive an email within 2 hours to finish the order process and that everything was now back on track. The whole call had lasted 38 minutes.
At 4.02pm I received a text message from 02 stating that they needed to do a quick security check on my recent order and asked me to call an 0800 number. Although a bit confused, I called the number as it was the only actual direct contact I had from O2 since the day before when I first made the order. I got through to an agent who took my details and asked for the order number. When I gave it to her, she informed me that the order had already been cleared and asked me why I was calling again. I explained that I had just received a text asking me to call. She said she wasn't sure why that was and that my order had been cleared at about 3.15pm so I would receive an email explaining how to confirm the order by 5.15pm.
By 7.30pm I had received nothing further and thinking that customer services probably closed at 8pm I called 202 again from my mobile. I managed to clear security without smashing my head repeatedly on the table, which was what I really wanted to do, and was placed in a queue. The trumpet Jazz that is played whilst you are on hold is clearly chosen to try and get you to hang up and the frequency with which you are informed that 'all our agents are busy on other calls' is so ridiculous as to be almost comical.
At precisely 8pm, 24 minutes and 30 seconds after I had made the call, the line went dead... and I smashed my head on the table.
In the 60 minutes or so since in the time it has taken me to calm down and compose this message, I have still received no further communication.
Can anyone please explain why I should continue to patronise O2 with my custom??
