I have had a ridiculously long and difficult issue with O2 customer services, their ineptitude appears to know no bounds.
I have had countless exchanges with their online (Offshore) team, Customer review service and customer service number (202) and all have been quite frankly awful. What they have offered is not even close to customer service.
I'm really just putting this up for peoples information and so others are aware of how bad they are and maybe help to save them from some long and difficult issues.
My saga started over a month ago now. I have an iPhone 5 which I had been using for under a year, and the volume down button and the home button were faulty. I spoke to the online webchat team, as this is according to the O2 site the recommended way to communicate. I gave all my details etc and the agent told me that they would arrange the repair booking. So they put it all in, sent me the information to send it off and that was that.
Then proceeded to send it off, although had to pay for the postage costs as the 'Free postage' offered by O2 does not include any insurance, which is pointless as most phones I would imagine you want to insure as they are usually reasonably high value items.
Anyway, phone went off, and I then got a notification that the phone had been received. I waited about a week and my phone hadn't come back, so I thought it was taking a long time so I checked on the tracker only to find they had now said it was out of warranty and they they had raised a repair order to very nearly £200! I never received any notification of this, no letter, text, e-mail or phone call. It was only because I looked I found out it had been deemed out of warranty.
So back to webchat I go, agent tells me that they cover warranty and their are only two reasons that a phone would be deemed out of warranty. The usual Water damage, and I think the other one they said may have been jail-breaking it? I forget now, but even so. neither were the case. So the agent said he would speak to the repairs team and get it repaired for me and I would receive an e-mail within 24-48 hours.
Needless to say no e-mail ever arrived, so back I went again, this time told that they were not able to do anything as the phone was out of warranty. I believe, although this has still not been confirmed by any of the useless CS people of O2 that the phone warranty actually lapsed between when I reported the issue and when I sent the phone off (About a week as I had to get another handset to use in the meantime and back everything up etc). So I complained, they spoke to a manager and then stated that as I raised the issues whilst the phone WAS still within warranty, they would get it all fixed for me without charge. Again I could expect an e-mail within 24-48 hours.
Yet again, no mail received. Chased again to be told that I would have to pay the repair charges. There was nothing that could be done. So then demanded it be escalated, was given a Customer review e-mail address to contact. Did so and received what I can only say were short, not very polite or decent e-mail replies from an agent there.
Offered to send me a replacement handset, but as I am very very careful with my handsets and I knew there was zero scratches I said I was not interested unless they could guarantee that the replacement handset would be in the same condition, which no-one seemed willing to do. So after much conversation, eventually got an agreement that I would pay the repair costs, and then send the bill and it would be credited back to my O2 account.
So went to pay the costs, and suddenly it was showing up as completed. They sent my phone back un-repaired, with a ridiculous letter saying that as I had not contacted them they had not repaired it and sent it back.
So now they were unwilling to book it back in for another repair as it was out of warranty on their system so the only choice I now had was to take a replacement. Which I reluctantly had to accept. Finally got a replacement handset, and to be fair it was in mint condition so I accepted but given the over a month long battle I had with O2 and the terrible lack of CS I have already decided that I will be leaving O2 and do not wish to use them any longer. So asked them to unlock the phone, fine they said. I made very clear I had not used it since it was sent to me and that it was not in use at the moment, as I didn't want to set it all up to have to flatten it again to change over etc. No problem I was told. Phone will unlocked in 72 hours.
After 72 hours, not received any notification, so checked in with them, it's been declined, due to the fact I had never used my SIM in it. Again no comms from O2 at all, the only comms I have had with O2 throughout the entire time is those that I have instigated. So now I have to build the phone, put my SIM in and make a single call, wait 24 hours and then request the unlock again. So more of my time to be wasted (although I know some of this is out of O2's hands, they should have informed me of all this from the start).
So just a warning to all, if you need to deal with Customer Service, then don't get your hopes up for too much of a Service at all.
