Talkmobile All Talk...No Mobile
I am writing this blog in the hope that if other Talkmobile clients have had the same issue they might be able to advise a way forward. On the other hand if you are stuck with the same issue then maybe learning about my experience might give you extra leverage when complaining yourself. It is also a positive way for me to express my frustration. Finally if anyone is thinking of joining Talkmobile, I think it is fair that they know just how long they take to address a technical issue. One more thing, I am writing this at the height of frustration so apologies for any spelling mistakes or bad grammar.
17 April 2012
Received my Galaxy S2 from Talkmobile. Delivery was timely and number porting was completed within time stated so that was definitely a plus. I inserted the SIM card and the phone connected the network straight away. Bingo! However, when I tried to use the mobile internet I was unable to get their 3G or HSDPA signal. I immediately contacted customer services who helped me to enter the settings manually but to no avail. I was then advised to go to a carphone warehouse where staff would test the handset for any faults.
18 April 2012
I went to the store in the evening where I was seen by their technical team. At first they re-entered the internet settings only to find out that the phone still did not work. Next they tried to use the SIM of a different mobile operator. As the phone connected to the internet on a different network, I was advised that I had been given a faulty SIM card. The staff issued me with a new SIM and arranged for Talkmobile to update their systems. I was advised to wait for 2 to 24 hours for the SIM to be activated. I left the store hoping that my issue had been dealt with appropriately and resolved. However my hopes soon faded when 24 hrs later I was still unable to connect to the mobile internet.
19 April 2012
Time to visit the carphone warehouse again. I popped into their Tottenham court road branch where a staff member offered to swap my handset. However when the new SIM that I received yesterday was put into the new phone, I was still unable to access the mobile internet. A customer standing nearby overheard my conversation with the store manager and explained how he had the same problem with a different network and that he had to swap three different SIM cards until it worked. The store manager kindly agreed to give me a further SIM. Again I was advised to wait up to 24 hrs for activation.
20 April 2012
24 hours have passed and the internet connection is still not working. I decide to pick up the phone to Talkmobile again. I spent approximately 10-15mins explaining to the call centre staff that I had tried a SIM swap and that the handset had already been looked at (believe it or not, they suggested I return to the store for a 3rd time). Eventually, the call centre staff offered to refer the matter to their IT department. I was advised that it would take them up to FIVE WORKING DAYS to investigate the fault.
21 to 24 April 2012
During this time I have called Talkmobile once a day to follow up on their investigation. However on each occasion I have never been able to establish what progress has been made. All I am told is that the fault is being investigated by the IT department and that I need to wait for five working days until they get back to me.
25 April 2012
Called customer services again to follow up. Apparently the staff member who initially raised my issue with their IT/ operational department is on leave for the day. As such I was told that they could not access my case reference number to chase this issue with IT/ operations.
I am wondering just how many more days before I am going to return the handset and request a PAC code to port my number to a different network. What is also annoying is that there is no real response on their part when I voice my intention to return the handset and cancel the contract.
What I find also very concerning is that despite my tweets to Talkmobile UK on the Twitter, the issue is still unresolved. Their staff on twitter simply keep repeating the same message i.e. that the matter is being investigated. I really hoped that by tweeting them I might be able to accelerate the process but that does not seem to work. I also informed them that I would start writing a blog but they have shown no real desire to speed up their investigation. Maybe I am too demanding but I do not think that in this day and age a technical fault should take over a week to investigate.
If you are reading this please be aware that other clients have faced similar issues with mobile internet (http://gibbalog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/moving-to-talkmobile.html). It seems as if this is a recurring problem. I was also informed by Talkmobile customer services that they have been issued with three batches of faulty SIMs so chances are that until these are identified and recalled you are likely to face similar problems! It is up to you of course what you make of this post but be advised that joining Talkmobile is not going to be easy!
26 April 2012
Time for an update. Phoned Talkmobile yesterday evening to see if any progress had been made with their investigations. Had some difficulties getting through as their automated system was unable to connect the call. After trying repeatedly, I was able to speak to a customer service adviser who asked if anyone had given me a call back? She sounded rather baffled when I said I did not. Was left wondering whether I was scheduled for a call back and why I was never phoned. Unfortunately, on this occasion too, I was told that because the staff member who escalated my problem to the technical department was not in, they were unable to follow up to see if any progress had been made. I was rather astounded to hear this and was left wondering about their administrative processes. For all I know if this person suddenly vanishes I would be left high and dry because nobody else (apparently not even management) is able to access they system this person used to escalate the technical fault I reported.
27 April 2012
The five working days deadline agreed to by Talkmobile is up today so phoned for an update. It would seem that yet again the person who initially escalated the technical fault is, believe it or not, on leave once more. Again, no other staff member seems able to access details of my complaint. Asked to a speak to a manager and being told that even if I do, they will not be able to obtain further details until the staff member in question returns. The supervisor I spoke confirmed that she too would be unable to access the details of my complaint. I have now asked for the contact details of their complaints department and will copy my email to the managing director of Carphonewarehouse.
27 April 2012 - Update - Talkmobile are on the case :---)
Finally got a call back from a lovely lady whose name shall, of course, remain a secret. H is her intial. Lady H has been able to get an initial response from the IT/ operations team. It would appear that the port settings are different for Android Ice Cream Sandwich so we tried that (Proxy Settings are 212.183.137.12 instead of Proxy:212.183.137.012). Did not seem to work for me though. Well at least she tried! Apparently I will get a further call back from them later today to confirm if the technical team have identified a problem on the line. It looks like it will take more time because they need to check the line settings with Vodafone. The plus is that Lady H has agreed to open a return for me if the issue does not get resolved by Monday. Opening a return means that Talkmobile will extend my cool off period by 7 days. Think that is kind of them. You see...! Like to share the good news too. After all they have some high quality staff who have shown brilliant communication skills. However their processes are not helping them to serve clients well enough. Well, my thanks again to Lady H.
30 April 2012
So....the saga has finally come to an end. 1am Saturday 28 April 2012, and the mobile internet finally went live! Not sure how or why but the "H" icon suddenly appeared and I was surfing practically at the speed of light! So my heartlfelt thanks to Talkmobile for finally getting it sorted. Lady H phoned both Saturday and earlier this morning to see that everything was working fine and indeed it is. The great thing is that they have agreed to a 50% line rental discount on my next bill. On hindsight perhaps I should have asked for more but I think 50% is fair. Guess the final question is would I recommend them? Mhm..tricky one...It took a while to get them to listen to my concerns and act, but once they got moving it all happened pretty fast. I think it is a shame that I had to put up a blog and make so much noise. Just wished they had listened earlier. I think overall they are a good company and their staff are polite and have good communication skills. However their processes need to improve to help them respond to customers more effectively. For example, I don't think it is acceptable that information processed by one staff member can not be accessed by a colleague if the former is away. Glad it got all sorted in the end and I can now move on.
