3 mobile service poor what can i do?

[dammusernames]

Hi i have had a contract with 3 mobile and was wondering what kind of claim i have with them due to having no reception quite frequently,ive also had loads of problems with the phone ie phone resetting itself during various tasks, they have replaced my first phone with a reconditioned model, which i do not have a problem with at the moment but i only recived it today. the issues with the phone are know issues to both 3 and nokia. I have complained to 3 a couple of times about the issues i have had, and quoted the sale of goods act stating that if the phone keeps having these problems then it is not fit for purpose. All they say is send the phone back and we will take a look at it. I know i cant cancel my contract(or can i) but maybe i will have a claim at the end of it, which will not be March next year. So i have to put up with the crappy service till then.

Any advice or questions please

[callumsgran]

no if the phone is faulty you have a right to ask for a new one, tell them you dont want another'nokia' if the fault is a common one with nokia tell them you want a different make. as they have already replaced it with the same and youre having the same problem! i'm with 3 and got a new phone from them when my lg kept breaking down! the signal i'm afraid you cant do much about if its bad in your area, hope this helps?

[dammusernames]

but surely if i am paying for a service i am not getting all the time, i have some kind of claim. it is not my fault the signal doesnt reach my phone. its not like im locked in a metal box. an i am in the center of a major midland town.

[callumsgran]

i'm afraid its not their fault either, unless they knowingly sold you a phone they knew wouldnt work in that area! if the phone is the problem ask for a new one, maybe a friend has one that works ok so go for the same one!

[barracad]

Is the problem with getting no signal at all, or with "dropped calls" - i.e. calls cutting off part way through?

Although 3 covers 99% of the country for voice calls, it only covers around 77% of the country for video calls. If you are in a video call network (3G), all calls including voice will be routed through the 3G network.

Mobile phone networks work by splitting the country into lots of different "cells". If you are making voice calls usually as you pass from one cell to another the call is transferred seamlessly and you don't notice anything has happened - the call just continues. With 3 however, as your call is usually made over the 3G network, if you move from a cell with 3G coverage to one without, the call cannot be transferred to the ordinary voice network, so the call is terminated, hence why you get so many "dropped calls" on 3.

I'm not 100% certain but I think 3 have a clause about "dropped calls" in their T&Cs and/or contract.

[dammusernames]

Just to clarify, i do get signal most of the time , some times i have no signal at all and sometimes calls are dropped mid conversation. I will see if i can find the terms anywhere.

On another note, wicked site and will be donating my 5% without a doubt. Keep up the good work

[callumsgran]

Good luck with everything

[sequenci]

[quote=barracad]

Although 3 covers 99% of the country for voice calls, it only covers around 77% of the country for video calls. If you are in a video call network (3G), all calls including voice will be routed through the 3G network.

quote]

it is 99% of the population rather than geographic area.

where they do not have their own reception, 3 piggyback with o2. This can only be used for voice and texts though.

[seylectric]

3 network do have a coverage map on their site, if your area is covered by that map I would say you have a case.

Just as a point of interest Orange's 3G network transfer calls seamlessly to 2G if the 3G signal is lost, surprisingly they don't make much of a point of publicising this but they are the only network to transfer 3G calls to 2G in this way. It goes without saying that if you are making a video call the video signal will be lost if the call is transferred to 2G.

[dammusernames]

i just checked the coverage, and i am covered. I live in birmingham and the whole of it is covered video. most of my calls that fail are voice calls, aprox 8/10 calls a month fail. not a lot you may say but, people i know rarely have any calls fail on other networks. So why should i have to pay for a service i am not getting completly?

[kevcam]

I had the same problem with 3 Mobile around 18 months ago.

Doesn't sound like the service has improved.

I live in an area which was supposed to be supported by video calls, but I could'nt even make voice calls. It was really bad.

Keep on at their customer service, which is hard I know as most of their support calls were routed to India.

I ended up getting my contract cancelled by threatening to pursue them for a refund. They collected my mobiles (two of them) by courier. Had more problems because they tried to still charge after that, but it all got sorted out in the end.

Don't give up. They will cancel your contract.

Regards

Stuart

[evismaniac]

3 is rubbish. they use another network as their 'backup' network when it is out of 3g range. but when it switches over it cuts calls and takes around 20 seconds to gain a signal again.

you also get 2nd priority to the other networks customers so will see lots of network busy errors.

i was really glad to get shut of 3, even though they did offer to send me other phones to test the signal on those, but i knew other people with the same probs..

[ilfaychaud]

I telephoned another company and explained that tree were not treating me very well, but the reason i stayed was because of the 500 mins i got for 25 quid, the new mobile company offered to match that and charge me less, by letting me have a 500 minute B*lt *n, per month. pay as u go. if you ring up other mobile companys some will try and match their competitors.

[quincy]

FWIW - 3 will be using Orange as their 2g backup from next year - and it's supposed to offer seamless handover (in other words when you leave the "VIDEO SERVICE AREA" you'll not get a dropped call when your phone goes onto Orange.