Class Action Against Vodacom

V

VMS

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
456
Reaction score
0
Location
Centurion
Here is letter that I am posting to Vodacom support


Hi N______

I just had a visit from another unhappy 3G client, that told me of more unhappy clients. We have problems everywhere in Pretoria and Centurion. It seems that if you guys are going to come out just to help me that it won't make a difference to the bigger picture. Problem is even if you pitch on Monday and sort out my problems it will already be the 30th and I would lose 550MB of bandwidth.

I posted a letter suggesting that Vodacom discount us from the time that the problem started (Wednesday last week) or agrees to roll over any unused data. So far I got no response back from Jannie.

So what we (our local group) are planning is mass action ( like the American class action suits). I think if we can lobby to at least 1000 3G users to join we can legally force Vodacom to come to some acceptable agreement.

What needs to stop is us paying for Vodacom's development problems.

V_____


I am sick and tired of having problems and still having to pay for it. I don't blame the hard working techies, V3G or even the problems. I do have issues with the fact that I am launching a new site this month and have serious problems uploading data.

All over Pretoria and Centurion the link only lasts a minute or so. I am now at mercy of my client to get internet access during the day ( and it is really slow). I have even given up and agreed to getting a Telkom line so that we can do the dial-up thing when it really gets bad.

Problems to be resolved:
* Higher Quality of service:
# SMTP server on at least 99 %
# Better signal stability (keeping cell breathing in mind).
# Connections (tower side) not falling away (like what is happening now)
# 4Me balances available at the end of the month
* Per day compensation from Vodacom. This month currently looks like a 25%+ loss already
* Data rollover (if not financially compensated), due to low or no service.

Please add demands as you see fit (reasonable demands please).

What we probably need to do is to suggest a way to get all the participating parties together and to obtain legal representation to lead this exersize.


This is costing me R300 worth of bandwidth this month. What is it costing you in both fees and loss of income?


Sorry V3G, I don't think you have enough pull anymore. I suggest that we group up and demand tangible results from Vodacom.

VMS
 
The only major issue I am experiencing at this point in time is disonnects. I can never stay online for more than 20minutes without a disconnect, however I am online for more than 9 hours at a time with MTN without any disconnects.

2hr 48min right now, with MTN

Data carry-over needs to be sorted out, tariffs need to be lowered.
Data Balances HAVE to ALWAYS be shown or otherwise SMS'd at like 9AM every morning to the clients.
 
Skeptik said:
I dunno if the mods like anything anti-vodacon. My signature about voda **** service keeps disappearing and I've had some nasty pms from moderator ic. Coincidence!?!
Click to expand...

why can't we all just play nice for once??? :cool:
 
3G is all fine in Stellenbosch, but i was in Centurion last week trying to be cool with my 3G in a guest house . Every night had alot of frustration with disconnects and error 619s :( . Signal strength was exactly as i have in Stellenbosch (2-3 bars), just everything being very unstable over there. Almost thought it was a sofware issue, now im back in the cape and it all works just fine again.

Granted, it was pouring and looked like hail coming down at one stage , not sure how much weather affects 3G networks.

But yea, back to the point of the thread. If a company wants to charge a monthly subscription fee and cant deliver then surely one must get a discount. Either Vodacom has to start working that into their budgets OR they must change it to have:

1. Carry Over [will solve alot of problems ;) ]
2. Prepaid Bundles [only buy when you need]
3. Pay a constant p/MB rate with a smaller per/month "subscription"
i.e. pay R100 p/m [part of of the contract] and pay R1 p/MB . (Same way you pay less p/minute the higher your contract subscription amount).
 
I am not saying they suck, or they should die or anything that nasty.

I am saying that we are being screwed ever so slightly and that we should fight for our rights. I am also saying that we should be compensated and that if they don't agree that some legal pressure must be applied.

Please don't take me the wrong way. I like 3G (when it works) and will probably keep my connection for years to come, but if it stops working and I still have to pay then all hell will break lose, not necessarily from my side.

Please Vodacom, I am losing money, and not just the few Rand I am paying for a non-stable connection.

If a 1000 users could only use 1/2 their bandwidth then Vodacom raked in R300 000 in unused bandwidth. Add that to the inconvenience of looking at a flickering blue light after just a few minutes of on-time and then look at the total cost (present and future).


VMS
 
I feel, and I'm sure all of you as well, that when you purchase something, for instance, SMS bundles, Data bundles, or whatever, you paid for it. Why, and what law give them the right to take that from you. They should let it roll over, not only one month, but as long as you have it availible.

This is bloody nonsense that nothing get carried over. And it's not only cellphone companies, it's internet companies as well.
 
Funny. When I warned people against these packages when they became available, everybody told me to shut up. Now that they are experiencing problems, they want the roll-over that I said was the only fair option... Oh well, that's life! :rolleyes:
 
I feel that they should have it like voice, where you can roll over 6x your monthly bundle. ie if you have a 150MB, you can roll over up to 900MB, etc.

Only fair
 
diabolus said:
3G is all fine in Stellenbosch, but i was in Centurion last week trying to be cool with my 3G in a guest house .
Click to expand...
My sister experiences something similar in the same location. I get the impression 3G is still some grand live experiment that we have to pay for. GPRS is also constantly being "updated" which they often use as an excuse.
 
No rollover is disgusting profiteering - oh glory to be on the bandwagon :mad:
 
Once I got a 3g card from vodacom 5o test. it did not work most of the time and when it did It was slow. So decided to go the adsl route which has proved to be a better option. I cant travel with it but we cant all have our cake and eat it
 
VMS and other Pretorians (Is that a word?),

I've been feeding your complaints and observations to the relevant local and executive groups.

There are known problems in the area (as if I have to tell you...). I'm awaiting more feedback to pass back to you guys.
 
No offense V3G and Vodacom but I also went for 3G in a big way - even bought a 3G phone and waited patiently for my house to be covered with a 3 g signal.
This was July last year - to date, I can still not get 3g or EDGE at my house in w/boom south Pretoria. The maps indicate that only my street is not covered even though the rest of the suburb seems to be well covered - I do not live in a dip or have any large buildings around me - it just does not work - IBurst works excellently though.
I used IBurst but have cancelled and since got ADSL which is happyness (I switch between an IS and a TI account if one or the other gives k@k which happens a lot these days.
Must say ADSL is cheaper and more robust but obviously not mobile.
 
I am totally for any idea that will put an end to this crappy reception in Centurion. I am located right in the middle of a hugely populated are in Centurion (Doringkloof) and stopped counting the number of times that I could not make or receive a call. I have to drive at least three blocks closer to a tower before I get any reception whatsoever. My clients keep telling me that they could not reach me, because of the fact that they are being transferred to my voicemail all the time, even though the phone is on at all times. We now have cellphones connected to all three networks, and both MTN and Cell C are at full strength, while Vodacom shows one bar (if at all).

I have considered switching to MTN, but their Web Site is a joke and they are not always sporting the latest technology.

Does anyone know if these stickers with the metal strip on the one side really works to improve your signal?

Thanks.
 
Just a Thought

Hi Guys

Im just going on a thought here.
I will be truthfull i dont know weather or not this has been discussed with you
We have had a lot of our customers who either just fall out of the 3g area and so our solution was to have a 10 db arial made that costs about R1399. incl vat
Yes i do understand that you hav been paying alot and even losing alot this is just a bit of info ,this increased the signal alot, We have found anyway.

For those with 2 bars or more signal stupid but it helps me that little arial you got in your data card box actually helps the uplink how this helps you well your arial on your data card maybe finding it difficult to get that info to the tower because the signal that the tower is sending to your card so it just drops the signal and bam you get nomore internet dsconnect and reconnect .

I hope that some of you will give my 2c worth a go
for those of you who are still not winning we are here and someone will help
its a bit sad that its been left this long already. :(
 
Veritech said:
I am totally for any idea that will put an end to this crappy reception in Centurion. I am located right in the middle of a hugely populated are in Centurion (Doringkloof) and stopped counting the number of times that I could not make or receive a call. I have to drive at least three blocks closer to a tower before I get any reception whatsoever. My clients keep telling me that they could not reach me, because of the fact that they are being transferred to my voicemail all the time, even though the phone is on at all times. We now have cellphones connected to all three networks, and both MTN and Cell C are at full strength, while Vodacom shows one bar (if at all).

I have considered switching to MTN, but their Web Site is a joke and they are not always sporting the latest technology.

Does anyone know if these stickers with the metal strip on the one side really works to improve your signal?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I've passed your comments on but know the guys will need your physical address, cell number, contact details, etc.

Won't you PM it to me please?
 
Vodacom has been aware of coverage problems in Centurion from 1999 all ready. Why they do not want to assist their own clients, does not make business sense. They certainly are not battling for cash, or funds.

Maybe a class action would force them to provide QOS standards or levels , and penalties if they cannot supply them. Most companies have penalty clauses when requesting a service. Would be interesting class action, maybe we get some results like the Telkom one?
 
Reception and connections stayed stable for a few hours yesterday..and then it went worse than ever.

Today I am on GPRS. After a few minutes (still connected) the old problem of transmitting data with nothing coming back kicks in.

And 3G....what it 3G? 2 to 3 minutes tops. 3 bars but no stability.

Somebody did something yesterday to keep it stable for hours. Then they broke it again.

It has been a running joke. People stop me in the building and sarcatically ask :"How is Vodacom 3G today?". One of my co-workers told me today that there is no way that he is going to sign up for Vodacom. He is signing with MTN based on what he saw with my connection stability.

I have tested Vodacom 3G next to my wife's 6680 MTN GPRS on the same site. MTN (although they suck big time in customer support) kicked 3G's backside. DNS lookup and basic response was a lot better.

I don't know what to do anymore. I just know that I have megabytes left and that I have had basically no service for about 2 weeks. ...and there is still 1 year left on my contract.

So I still feel helpless. I know V3G is busy moving things along but it is like the ANC negotiating with the VF+. You know nobody is going to budge and time is just flying past.

I am going to wait till Wednesday to see if things are going to improve and then I am personally going to PM each member of this forum (probably using Denel's link) and all my other friends on internet to get things going.

VMS
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X