I’ve seen the growth of mobile phones from the famous “Brick” to the slim and efficient devices we know today, and I’ve been part of the process since about 1994. It’s been quite a trip, but it’s been fun. For all but the last 12 months of my usage I’ve been a Tesltra customer and have been very happy with their service. However, when I changed phones last I did so because I wanted a phone that would have Windows 6.1, would synchronise its calendar with Microsoft Outlook and would have a decent camera. The phone that I found that suited all of my requirements and more was the Samsung i900 Omina.
Unfortunately, Telstra did not offer the phone as a handset for their 3G network so I switched to Vodafone who did.
Their service has been excellent and I love the phone, but Vodafone’s coverage is appallingly bad, even in my local suburb but even more so in the country. The impact that this has had on touring is enormus. While travelling with friends up the Oxley earlier on this year, I had no coverage for nearly the whole 4 days while a friend who is with Telstra had full service all the time.
So, I wrote to Vodafone and asked to have my contract terminated on the basis of poor service and the fact that I felt I had been misled about their coverage when I signed up. No surprise today to receive a letter saying their sorry, but the contract can only be rescinded if the complaint is made within the first 14 days of ownership. They suggested I talk to Customer Care who might be able to help me.
I’ve just finished a half hour phone call with an earnest young Indian man in Mumbai somewhere who took down all my details and said that someone will get back to me.
I’m not holding my breath.