[access-uk] Re: UK Mobile Phone Service Providers in 2014: Experiences, suggestions

  • From: "Steve Nutt" <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 12:05:59 +0100

Hi Richard,

That's correct.  Although it may have changed now because Apple now
recognises Giffgaff as an operator.  I got an update to the Giffgaff carrier
settings.

All the best

Steve

All the best

Steve

--
Computer Room Services
77 Exeter Close
Stevenage
Hertfordshire
SG1 4PW
Tel: +44(0)1438-742286
Mob: +44(0)7956-334938
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Email: steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Web: http://www.comproom.co.uk

-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Richard Godfrey-McKay
Sent: 26 September 2014 14:26
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: UK Mobile Phone Service Providers in 2014:
Experiences, suggestions

Steve, but you can't tether your iPhone with it, I believe?   


  

Richard

Richard Godfrey-McKay

Telephone: 01738-445 880

Mobile: 07791 452 593

 


-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Steve Nutt
Sent: 26 September 2014 14:19
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: UK Mobile Phone Service Providers in 2014:
Experiences, suggestions

Hi Mo,

Giffgaff is a great option, but be aware that you can't top up without
Internet, unless you buy Giffgaff vouchers.  I found this out the hard way
when I gave a Giffgaff sim to a customer who is not Internet savvy.  She
didn't like it because she couldn't top up with a credit card, you have to
go buy a Giffgaff voucher.  This is silly, considering you can with O2.

The top up number is 43430, but again, you have to buy a voucher before you
can top up.

Otherwise, I love Giffgaff.

All the best

Steve

--
Computer Room Services
77 Exeter Close
Stevenage
Hertfordshire
SG1 4PW
Tel: +44(0)1438-742286
Mob: +44(0)7956-334938
Fax: +44(0)1438-759589
Email: steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Web: http://www.comproom.co.uk

-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Mobeen Iqbal
Sent: 25 September 2014 11:01
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: UK Mobile Phone Service Providers in 2014:
Experiences, suggestions

Hello Matt.

The below is just my experience, it'll be interesting to see what others
come back with. recently, i moved house and the signal in the lincolnshire
countryside wasn't great at all. i'd been with o2 since the 90's, and always
found them to be fantastic in terms of customer service and accessibility,
it helps that they have a dedicated accessibility team to improve things
like the website etc. i've never had any problems when administering my
account online, and its very easy to administer multiple accounts if you
have family members with other contracts but you're paying the bills.
Tesco's website account manager is also ok, my brother's contract is with
them and i can highly rate their customer service response times as well as
the level of helpfullness. not to mention the fact that you can claim plenty
of club card points in various ways. Giffgaff could also be an option for
you. i've used them in the past, and generally found them to be ok but all
the support you receive is web based. you can't speak to someone and they
use the o2 network, so they weren't an option for me. I proceeded to obtain
sim cards from all the major networks to find out which had the best
coverage across the county, as well as looking on the network coverage
checkers for each provider. I also called customer services for each
provider and put them through their paces, buying contracts, cancelling
contracts, etc. O2 came out on top, which i found consistent with online
surveys they're always winning awards a long with tesco, but unfortunately
they only cover around 90% of the UK and they weren't an option for me. I
then tried three. their customer service is based in India. they're ok for
the most part, but i found that while on pay as you go with them, sometimes
you'd send texts and they wouldn't arrive until days later. that could've
been a glitch but this went on for weeks as my brother was with them. we
tried different phones and different message center numbers all to no avail.
they're very easy to sign up with though and coverage is OK in most areas,
i'd double check your area before hand. the website account manager is very
easy to use and displays all your account information in an easy layout.

Vodafone came next. coverage wasn't that great in my area, and i had some
bad experiences with customer services unfortunately. they'd leave me
holding for ages if they didn't cut me off, and when i'd try and top up my
sim card, the card would be fine in terms of funds/expirey etc but i'd more
often than not get transfered to customer services as the automated service
would refuse to accept my card details. i also found the website not to be
fantastic in terms of useability. they were also rated worst for customer
service in a survey conducted not long ago by offcom.

Next i decided to try the last network, EE. on the hole, my experience has
been pretty good with them. they may not always have the cheapest deals, but
you can't go wrong in terms of coverage. the network has been very good when
i've been travelling over the UK, certainly on a 3G connection. i haven't
been to London so can't comment if the network congestion is bad down south,
but in terms of customer service they're ok. most of its based in the UK,
and if you don't mind holding for a bit then you eventually get through to
someone who can resolve your issue. 
the website account manager is also quite useable, and they're the only UK
network offering shared plans for families, ideal for me. i'm paying
£39 a month for unlimited calls and texts, 20GB of data and each extra sim
costs me £12 and i can have up to 5 on my plan. the others then share my
data allowance. not bad when you consider the amount of data and a motorola
moto G 4G thrown in for free. the sims you receive are also 4G compatible so
no matter what kind of handset you have it'll work using the best connection
possible in your area. virgin are also worth looking at. i haven't used them
but they use the EE network and i've heard good things about their customer
service. This is just my opinion/experiences, i hope they help you in making
a decision. I dare say that others have had bad experiences where i've had
good ones, the best thing you can do is take them for a spin your self. my
priorities have always been customer service and coverage. if i can be of
any further help, please don't hesitate to drop me a note either on or off
list and i'd be more than happy to go in to more detail on any of the above
providers. telecoms is always something i've had a keen interest in, and
whenever a new provider comes a long, i like to take them for a spin to see
what they're like. i must remember to try out the Co-Op next.

all the best,

Mo.

On 25/09/2014 09:04, MJ Williams wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I am shopping around for a good-value iPhone package. So, your 
> experiences of dealing with mobile phone companies (operating in the 
> UK).  What to look for, what to avoid.  vodafon used to give you a 
> free screen reader with your handset; everything else about them left 
> a lot to be desired.  Is Orange / EE the best or the worst in terms of 
> customer support? You just don't know who to believe, a lot of people 
> on both sides of the divide.  I am hoping that in the relatively 
> collegiate atmosphere of Access-uk we are better able to keep the 
> discussion basically factual and therefore objective *smile*
>
> Over to you folks.
> Cheers, Matt
>
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