Australian law firm Piper Alderman is calling for angry customers to register their interest in participating in a class action law suit against Vodafone, following the mobile telco’s recent spate of outages and technical glitches that has left some with a temporarily degraded level of service.
A spokesperson for the law firm did not immediately return a call tonight asking for further details of its intentions, but Piper Alderman has published a brief statement on its web site asking for Vodafone customers to register to take part in the action.
“Calls dropping out, reception issues, poor data performance – this is not what Vodafone customers signed up for,” the site states. “Vodafone, however, has continued to charge customers on its mobile plans, without providing the service it promised.”
“Customers who signed up with Vodafone over the last three years may be entitled to compensation if they were misled into signing contracts or if Vodafone did not live up to its end of the bargain.”
The firm said it was investigating a class action against the telco to recover losses suffered by customers over the past three years — “plus interest”. In addition, it promised customers who agreed to take part in the legal move that there would be “nothing to pay” unless compensation was won from the telco.
A Vodafone spokesperson issued a statement tonight noting the telco was aware of Piper Alderman’s move. “The most important thing we can do is to remain focused on improving our customers’ experience of our network, and keep working with our customers, individually, to understand their experience, resolve it and make it up to them,” they said.
“There’s no higher priority than making sure customers are happy with their service and I am very sorry that some have not been happy recently. We are also in contact with the ACCC and other consumer groups to advise them of what we are doing to improve network performance and service to our customers, and are keeping our customers across changes through our website.”
The spokesperson added that Vodafone’s network performance was improving, and it was confident things would get better as it continued to roll out extra capacity across its network.
Piper Alderman’s legal move — if it goes ahead — won’t be the first class action the company has undertaken this year. In July the company targeted financial rating agency Standard & Poor’s on behalf of 12 local councils that lost money after buying assets with the highest rating level — AAA — sold by investing bank ABN Amro.
In addition, a section of the law firm’s site details its action representing councils against global financial services firm Lehman Brothers, and the company was also in discussions with councils about a similar action against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Vodafone customers have been complaining about the network issues on a number of online forums, with the most visible being Vodafail.com, a site set up by Sydney resident Adam Brimo to discuss his problems with the telco and share stories.
Image credit: Vodafone
i have had the same problems lately, it took some time and a lot of frustation before i became aware of the cause
i mailed vodaphone no reply
you don,t need to be to smart to know what i am doing when the contract runs out
and i won,t be alone
We have 2 mobile services with vodaphone. We operate in Perth and have got very bad coverage. I have received messages 3 days late. My clients are unhappy because they can not contact us! We have lost a lot of bussiness and respect from this useless phone company. Don’t bother contacting them because they don,t want to know about it, As soon as you sign the contract that’s it for customer service. Cant wait for contracts to end!!!!!!!! Why can’t we brake contracts with no penality as they are not holding there end of the agreement.
Service has been terrible and no response to calls made. I will be changing too!!!!
I’ve been a customer for 2 years. Happy with service. Doesn’t help when I leave the coast but we knew that when we signed on. The customer support on phone and in person has been fine. Better service on my daughter’s contract with Telstra but it’s also more expensive. You get what you pay for.
I signed up with Vodafone Broad Band Wireless about 20 Month ago for a Monthly 3 GB for $40.00.
It may as well have been 50 GB because I could only rarely get any connection.When I complained the Lady said she could not get better than that and to Complain by Phone which got me someone in the Philipines who could or would not help,after several tries I gave up and will be very glad to be rid of Vodafone at the end of my Contract.
I have missed casting calls, had phone calls drop out, not received sms for days, no reception and vocemail pathetic. Customer service keeps telling me I am doing things differently (NOT). Guess what I will do when my contract runs out???
We run an IT business in Rockingham. I am sick of constant low signal coverage and lack of reception, on contacting customer service and asking if they have a responsibility toward the my contract in supplying a resonable coverage i was instructed to turn my phone to 2g rather than the contracted 3g service. I constantly have failed calls an then have to redial numerous times to get a connection. I have been with vodafone for many years but at the end of this contract they can sit on it and rotate.
Im with crazy john they share the same network. I work and live in the bush. The tower in gorgetown goes down very often. 3 months ago I had to cancel builders and 5 ton of cement because of rain the next day. surprise the tower went down and next morning up turned cement and builders we had to pour it out and waste it . It then cost me to wait for the cement to dry and had to pay for removal. The week before xmas the tower went down all afternoon tue wed and 2 and half hrs fri . I cant run a job with this phone system I have since found out I lost 2 jobs my oposition informed me. I really want to get away from crazy johns. When I want to complain I ring the number and get someone in India who cant speak english properly. My mrs has a work phone with telstra and never goes down . Just goes to show a second rate company gives second rate service . They even closed the shop in Launceston Tasmania the idiot in India said the nearest shop is in Melbourne and to go there to complain
There was not one single other phone anywhere in the town at all?
Sorry you wasted your cement, but blaming Vodafone because you didn’t think to find and use another phone – (given the situation) – is not a fair thing to throw at Vodafone.
Hi michael I was droped of at a job site ( I dont have a car lic ) about 25 kms in the bush not in a town and the only phone I had was crazy john (vodaphone) I was to prepare for pouring a slab for a house. I was nowwhere a town or phone. Some Australians believe it or not choose to live in the bush
In a location like you describe, I wouldn’t mind betting that Optus and Telstra would have similar reception issues.
Vodafone’s network performance has been unacceptable of late, but not a single carrier guarantees 100% uptime (unless you pay for it). If your phone is business critical, have a backup plan or wear the risk.
Been with them for 10 years but the last 1.5 to 2 years has been hell, something changed with customer service is the worst i ever seen it and they charge me more they upgraded me to a new phone told me there was no difference in contracts. there was
They charge me for excess data fees that never use to be there limited calls in certain categorys so you can be surcharged without even going over your cap.
I am locked into a contract I have never seen, don’t know how that works. But they assure me its there despite there inability to provide me a copy with repeated requests.
6 months left and then thats it never again will i go on a plan with any telco especially vodafone they are the worst ever.
I have been with vodafone for 2-3 years and it is fine while I am in a big city but recently on a trip to Tasmania I only got reception 3 times (Hobart,Launceston & Davenport) the rest of the country zilch.
Then here near home there are a lot of dead spots, travel to my Daughters at Boonah 1 and a bit hours west of Gold Coast and can’t get reception till Beaudesert then not again till Boonah and only in some places. I got stuck in flood waters boxing day and could not tell anyone as no reception. Telstra has reception all the way. But I like the deal I get with Vodafone. My daughter sent me 4 photos 26thDec. got 2 straight away the next couple came through at 3.30 am not happy.
I hardly ever get coverage, and depending on the type of phone i use the coverage differs and let me tell you it doenst get better, I am pretty much over vodafone and more than likely will be changing my plan, although i dont want to, i am just over receiving my messages and phone calls that have been missed days late!!!
what a heap of shit vodaphone is , no reception , no text , have tried many times to contact them and only after 40 minutes or longer , finally get through only to speak to someone that carnt speak english and when i complain about the service the phone goes dead , what a bunch of wankers , stick there vodaphone right up there arse ,
vodaphone = vodafone
carnt = can’t
there = their
Sounding a bit bitchy there michael! Yr obviously a vodafone employee or associate. Or are u a plant airing just 2 fire things up on this page 2make it more interesting? I hv been with vf for 7yrs. I used 2 sing their praises, however, t last 2yrs hv been vry trying -especially t last 5mnths. Actually, since t 3networks alliance its been appalling! Not sure if that hs any impact on all of vf’s problems? In t past when i hv called vf, my nokia handset ws always blamed. I hv been experiencing dropout, delayed txts, can’t hear person on other end of phone, shocking reception -smtimes no reception at all, poor data reception (if at all)& vry slow, and calls not received, just 2 name a few. Im a fair person, but even i hv 2 concede that vf is not supplying t same standard of service that it hs in t past. At present, Vf is inferior!!
Hilarious!
Check with Renai – he know’s my background, and it has nothing to do with Vodafone or any other telco.
*cough* yeah Michael doesn’t work for Vodafone ;)
If the towers are going down for repairs why dont they sms users they know who we are because we get bills and signed a contract. we could make other arangments to use a different more relibable system pigions or smoke signals. Comms are really bad in Tasmania. I will have to move soon for work . If they dont supply coverage does my contract become void ? You would be crazy going for crazy john telco in Tasmania. There is no coverage between launceston and hobart yet telstra have towers all the way.
Why in the name of God and all things Holy would anyone with any intelligence go with Vodafone. The reason you get a mobile is to be in contact with others. I have friends with Voda whose phone drops out two or three times during a call. Go top shelf (Telstra) life is too short to slum it.
How can anyone trust a company that employs supposed men wearing pink skinny jeans?? You tell me how in the hell those men can fit into those jeans without tucking their dongs between their legs?? Do they even have wangs?
What do you mean Mike? Do you suggest that because some of us got suckered into a second rate company we should have a contract with a relibable company as back up? As I have said my partner has a phone from telstra so I can really do a comparison test . I cannot get a landline in because i am on an internal block and to get a landline will cost thousands to get the line laid down my 250 mt drive. I was not informed that back up was in India and was very hard to understand and they have no idea about locations ( they told me to go to my nearest crazy john in Melbourne. I live in Tas. I checked the coverage map and it is misleading. NO WAY does the map relate to the truth about coverage. If I ran my company this way I would be sued. I pay for a service and I expect it
you pay for a service and you assume that it’ll always be available…..would be interesting reading the fine print about service availability and see if they guarantee, that sms messages will arrive promptly, that calls won’t be dropped and that you’ll always be able to get signal etc.
I’m with vodafone and I do get delayed sms messages/dropped calls/bad signal in certain areas (where the coverage map says I should be fine)
I know I will be leaving vodafone when my 12month contract is up.
Although I get pretty well perfect signal in the Melbourne CBD
I know with Internet providers, certain ones do not guarantee a 100% uptime or a time to resolve you’re issue unless you have a business plan with them
I live in suburban, northern Perth and I have a contract with Crazy John’s. I thought the problems I was suffering were due to the handset I had decided to go for (the much maligned n900), especially after I dropped it in a bucket of water :)
Now I discover that my co workers (vodafone customers) were experiencing the same issues and that it was almost impossible to make a Vodafone to Vodafone call, even in the city. We’d all been assuming it was handset issues (Iphone, n900, e71), or because one of us was on hands free, or in a tower block etc etc. However after signing my partner up to a Crazy John’s plan I have noticed she is experiencing similar issues to myself. SMS received hours later, voicemail delivered late, “Connection Error’s”, “Cellular data not available”, “Network Busy” etc etc.
My situation isn’t helped by my handset taking a beating a few months back but I’m very very disappointed with Vodafone. I had a Virgin prepay before signing up to Crazy John and I never had problems to the same extent – I mean let’s be honest which company doesn’t have problems from time to time?
It pains me to say it …but I think I will be moving to Telstra. Great coverage when I’m in Kalgoorlie, good metro coverage for data (currently using a wireless usb dongle) and apart from their incompetent customer service structure, they seem to fix technical issues in a more acceptable timeframe.
I would be happy to pay a heavily reduced “exit fee” from Vodafone/ Crazy John’s if they admitted they were liable.
In my previous place when I started using Vodafone I thought it might be because of that place but network problems persisted when I moved.
Haha, On 21 December, Vodafone CEO Nigel Dewes issued a statement on the company’s website apologising for “recent intermittent network issues”. He went on to say: “Having customers who are happy with their service and their network experience is central to us, but unfortunately in recent weeks, some customers have had a disappointing and frustrating experience which I am very sorry for.”
When are businesses going to learn that sometimes words are just not enough. Sorry doesn’t mean a thing if Vodafone is taking my money and offering poor or no service.
Btw I live in Brisbane 4000 postcode, my 3G hardly works on my phone, calls drop out (about 6 a day), I can see the reception bars go up and down to nothing every time I look at my phone.
I’ll be seeking compensation and joining Piper Alderman’s class action. Lets take them down!
You live surrounded by skyscrapers and your calls drop out ? *shock!
I have the exact same problem with “3” . Does anyone know if vodaphone and “3” connected / use same network? There shops now are together, so just wondering if networks are.
My issue with Vodafone is their lying staff! I renewed my contract and was advised to take out insurance for an extra $10 a month… it’s a good thing to have I was told… you will only have to pay $300 excess if you lose/damage your phone within the first six months after that there is no excess.. Huh what a load of crap. Sixteen months into the twenty four month contract I dropped my phone and cracked the screen, sorry you will still have to pay over $250 excess however in February you can get an early upgrade and it will cost you zilch. As for the customer help line, don’t get me started on people who tell you that your account is up to date and then two days later you get a text saying you still owe the money that you paid two months earlier…. Yep.. to coin a perfect phrase Not Happy Jan!!!!!!
I have purchased a prepaid 2gig vodafone broadband stick 2 months ago and have topped it up once but have had
nothing but trouble with it , it has at times just dropped off others times it keeps giving me an error code 365 not allowing me access to the internet , my computer will not shut down if I use the broadband stick to get on the net , I have to force shut down , if I do not use the vodafone stick at all my computer will shut down . I have probably spent over $25 in calls to vodafone to try and fix these issues the last call was yesterday the 08-01-2011 and while I had to wait approx 10 to 15 mins , the 1 300 calls or not free on my mobile phone therefore incurring me significant cost trying to just get what I have paid for and after finally being answered I explained without swearing or abuse that I wanted a refund and was not happy , THEY HUNG UP ON ME ! I could not believe it , its noe to the point if there was a vodafone representative in front of me I would spit on them .
They also have the nerve to leave a recorded message while your waiting on the phone at your own expense saying SIT BACK RELAX & AND TAKE A BREATHER ! now why would anyone say that , obviously they must realize they are frustrating people but are not prepared to do any extra to relieve the problem . I just want my money back and never have anything to do with them again , I find them dishonest . I am in sydney trying to desperately buy a certain vehicle as I live up on the far north coast on a rural property and it is a must i have transport , also urgently needed to get home as Ballina airport has been closed often due to flooding my property is right on the river and it is urgent I get back , Vodafone have severely affected my time and opportunities .
I have been with vodaphone for years and never really had any problems until about 8 months ago. I got an iphone and for the first 2 or 3 months it was fine, but then I lost all reception from my home. Even when I have 3 or 4 bars, I still can’t make a call and if does work, its guaranteed to drop out within 20 seconds. I still have to wait a year before contract runs so another year paying for a phone that doesn’t work, just looks pretty! You know what they can do with their phones and contracts once mine’s over. “Stick it”!!!!!!
Hi guys suck sex. I Had a win. 2 weeks ago I complained to the federal Telecomucations on the bus man & hey presto crazy johns ( voda fraud) decided to let me cancell my contract half way through a 24 month contract ( no charge) because of coverage & relibilty. so guys ring the ferel on the bus man it works. cheers twistie
crazy johns all money and no responsibility taken,bastards.
Shades of Terry Pratchett’s ‘Going Postal’. Particularly the Voda spokes comments.
damn, I’ve signed for 24 months on all three phones with crazyjohns! All of them dropping and don’t reconnect without user intervention. now I can’t get my number back without penalty payments that’ll go above 2000$.
Vodafone just can’t get it right, bad service waiting forever on the customer care line. The reception is just below average over last few months. They have created more than one account for me, then now trying to charge me 219.05 saying I owe them because their account department is stupid.
I want to charge VF for medical expenses due to high blood pressure and anxiety and stress caused by their bullying and offensive behavior toward me as a customer.
I have been publicly bullied on their Facebook page by some of their staff, and as such, I now refuse to deal with them at all.
The TIO helped at first, but I’m even too scared to call them back because it will mean talking to VF again at some stage, and I just can’t do that…
Calls dropping out, reception issues, poor data performance, however i have continued to be charged, even to a point where they didn’t email my bill I had to ring and follow it up only to be told it was already over due and I only would be allowed a 1 week extension! And this was because they had techniqual issues!!!But then when I was 3 days late paying my bill.. Bang 10 dollar fee!!! I barely have reception and I have to rely on my own wi Fi at home to browse the Internet!!! Then when I asked when my contract ends they simply give me a date but tell me I still have one bill outstanding plus a further 69 dollars totaling in 180!!! Vodafone have been nothing more than a headache and I can’t wait until 10 April!!!
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