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“FOUND ! The Uk ' s Most Expensive Mobile Broadband ??”

written by amfawcett on 10/07/2009

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FOUND ! The Uk ' s Most Expensive Mobile Broadband ??

In February 2009 I purchased a T-Mobile Dongle and ShareDock from the York T-Mobile shop. After just over two weeks the unit ceased to work. After several phone calls I took it back to the shop from which I purchased it and was told that as it was more than 14 days old it needed to be returned for repair. I was given the telephone number to call T-Mobile (at 10p per minute) and after some delay got to speak to an operator. I was told that a returns bag would be despatched to me and the item would be returned for repair and that this would normally take up to 28 days. I asked if it was possible to have a replacement unit whilst it was in for repair and the shop said this was against T-Mobile policy (even though they clearly had stock and demonstration units in the store). I explained that I felt this unfair as I was being charged for a service which I had - through no fault of my own - no means to access.

Three weeks passed (during which the line rental was efficiently taken from my account as it has been on a monthly basis since) and no returns bag appeared. As I needed mobile access I took out a Pay as You Go deal with another service provider to tide me over. Total cost was now approaching £200 for two weeks T-Mobile broadband access.

Several phone calls via India later I was told to take the USB stick back into the shop, which I did. The shop agreed to return it on my behalf and ' marked it on the system as urgent ' .

By May I had still not heard anything. The unit was variously described as ' being tested 'and ' on its way back to me ' . My frustration was starting to show with the help desk. I had to repeatedly relay the whole story to several people on each call as they tried to help me. On two occasions I was mysteriously ' cut off 'in the process and consigned to the back of a 20 minute (at 10p per minute) queue.

In June I finally lost patience with T_Mobile. I expressed my utter outrage at the way I had been treated. The complaints' team escalated the case and investigated. I was informed that the unit had already been sent back by recorded delivery. Eventually they ascertained it had been sent back to the shop (not to my home address as I had been told) four weeks ago and was ready for collection. The shop had apparently sent me a text message to inform me of this. Problem was that without the Dongle I had no means to receive said text message. D ' Oh (in Homers words) To rub in the salt the shop assistant told me that they were aware of this but there was nothing else they could do (but were happy to sit on it " marked as urgent, or so I was told, for four weeks or more). I was also given an interesting insight into what the shop thought of the helpdesk.

I contacted the complaints team again and demanded that they cancel my contract. This was refused. A ' final 'offer of the balance one months free line rental was made.

By all accounts I think I deserve more having spent well over £150 per week and counting (yes, you read it correctly) for T-Mobile Broadband Access " Is this some sort of a record I wonder (perhaps you can poll your readers?). I have been five months without (and paying for) a service which I am physically unable to access due to the suppliers incompetence and no fault on my part whatsoever. I am similarly bound into a contract upon which I believe t-Mobile have defaulted.

If the rumours are true and Vodafone are about to buy T-Mobile I hope they can sort them out. They certainly cannot make it worse from my experience.