Database Users

Vodafone nightmare ends in tears

I've had a vodafone nightmare.
I called to get a pac code last week in order to migrate from vodafone to O2 to get an Exec. I was literally in the middle of ordering an Exec when Vodafone called me back and said, "We know you're leaving because you can't get an HTC Universal from us, well we've found one for you, we call it the Qtek 1620."
Erm, I said, that's not a Universal, it's a Blue Angel. Queue a long debate on the phone with them, the guy assures me it's definitely a Universal and even describes the rotating screen. I say fine, but please record my concerns...
Then followed days of broken promises regarding delivery... mistake after mistake, somehow they sent it to Newbury instead of Sheffield (easy mistake to make, of course!) and ultimately it arrived this morning... and guess what I received: A Vodafone VPA 1620, aka a Blue Angel. Grrr.
More long converstations resulted in, 'sorry but there's nothing we can do.'
So now I'm waiting for news on my order with O2 and deciding whether to return the 1620 or ebay it and maintain the minimum payments on the contract - I'd only be about £30 up in the long run but the cash in hand would be nice for Christmas.
And pity my poor work colleagues who've had to put up with my moaning about all this for the last week!
Matt S.

I'd return it - claim compo for being blatantly lied to and demand your release code and if anyone refuses you, escalate to the highest possible.

Returning my VPA 1620 to vodafone. They've given me some credit on my account (which is fine since my wife still has a vodafone handset on the same account) and made the expected copious apologies.
Ordered an xda exec from Mobilefun.co.uk which went through smoothly except for a statement at about 2pm 'yes it's in stock, in fact yours is being prepared for dispatch right now' to, at 4pm, "sorry we're out of stock - we should get some more in on Friday".
I'm beginning to think somebody upstairs doesn't want me to get a Universal!

This just isn't meant to be. Mobilefun now say they won't be getting any on Friday as O2 can't supply them, and they can't give any update on when they'll be able to. What a mess!

o2 stores have them in stock - either that or try onestopphoneshop

Probably because every man and his dog are buying them on cheap contract then ebaying them for a profit...
Not that its not a good idea, but a bit greedy and upsets the poorer people that want the phone and contract but dont have oooodles of money.

In Europe during the first 6 workdays after signing and 'activating the service of a contract' it can be cancelled without any reprecussions. During the first 2 weeks after something was 'bought' it can be returned to the seller to get a refund when a product doesn't do what you expect from it. Perhaps something to think of. This is settled by law and even if companies say it is impossible they never are above the law.
grtzzzz roel..

I'm not really sure whats going on with the o2 EXEC.
They are giving them away .. by the thousand weight.
I'm still waiting for one now, its on 'back order' and has been for some two weeks. They've even offered me an XDA IIi for free on o2 200!
I suspect they will either not have anymore of these coming in or something will change, probably the price or locking the sim/software to deter reselling.
Just hoping I get one now for the pre-agreed price and within my lifetime.
*sniff

onestopphoneshop don't have any. O2 say they do, but only at £150 :-(

hi
try this , a dedicated thread about how to get exec cheap
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=32105

Thanks but I am getting it cheap ..
£149 + £15 a month o2 400
I just dont seem to be getting the f*** handset.
Still waiting after two weeks!

Orange SPV M3000 --> pissed off @ orange

Hey,
Last saturday i picked up my new Orange SPV M3000 (Wizard) after having the M500 for only a few months. At first I was thrilled with it but shortly after that I discovery a strange problem.
After having the phone in my pocket for a little while, the screen gets a strange spot on it. Like there is water "behind" the screen. Like you have installed an screenprotector with water behind it.
The spot does shrink after a while and disappears completely after about 15 min. But with a new phone this expensive, I do want PERFECT model.
I rang Orange helpdesk. They dídn't really know what was the problem. I asked them if there still was a cover on it or something wich i couldn't see or feel. They adivsed me to stop by the Orange shop.
I was as sick as an dog these past few days so only by this Wednesday I had time/enough strengh to go to the Orange shop. Asked them ... 3 people looked at him and they called it "pressure problems". They wanted to blame me.... me .... an senior manager at one of the biggest hardware PC webshop in NL .... me .... an PDA user with more then 3 years of expierence. Couldn't stop to yell at them. Because I didn't buy the "Orange Premier" package (7,5 euros a month ... that's 90 euro a year!! That's about 23% of my monthly mobile costs!!!) and I didn't report the problem within 48 hours, they told me they could do an on-site swap.
Now they took it for repair. Because Orange are idiots and they have to outsource it ... it's going to take 2,5 weeks!!! And also because they are not entirely sure if the warranty will cover it... so I may end up with more costs.
This sure isn't normal ... I buy an brand new phone (wich is quite expensive I must add) and it's broken from day one. And now I have to wait weeks and prob end up paying for it. Is it even legal??
Btw Orange shop here in Eindhoven, Nederland. (Stad... niet WinkelCentrumWoensel)

Interesting
Interesting post on this international site........

Anyone having the same problem ??

In the UK they say if you upgrade you cannot return within 14 days. This however does not effect the statury rights of purchace. Do you not have a law in the Netherlands protecting you from recieving faulty goods and giving you the right to return for a refund or replacement?

wardy said:
In the UK they say if you upgrade you cannot return within 14 days. This however does not effect the statury rights of purchace. Do you not have a law in the Netherlands protecting you from recieving faulty goods and giving you the right to return for a refund or replacement?
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Yes all goods must be taken back within 7 days if the reasons are valid. Offcourse there are exceptions but this one does not count.
The problem is ... to enforce such a law, a consumer can do 2 things:
- Force the shop by taking back the goods by making the shopworkers "afraid". This usually works and I have some expierence with this method and worked like a charm everytime. The problem is... Orange employees simply do not care. They kiss your ass to make you an customer but once you're one and have bought the "premium" package... you can fall dead.
- Take legal actions by writing them an official letter of even sueing them.
Just rang Orange helpdesk. They said I should have gotten a new mobile because I reported the problem Sunday night by phone. Orange shop idiots. Gotta wait another 2 weeks

None of that sounds legal to me... nor at all fair.. what kind of consumer rights do you guys have in the Nederlands??

philtech44 said:
None of that sounds legal to me... nor at all fair.. what kind of consumer rights do you guys have in the Nederlands??
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Most of these rights count when "buying from distance". Meaning online or by phone etc. Buying in shops is almost lawless.

Advice please, thinking of getting a mini s or a Qtek

Hi,
I'm going to change over my phone again and was just after everyones opinions/advice.
I had an original XDA and sold it after a few weeks as at the time i found it too big. Then i got the XDA II on a whim and sold that after a few weeks, as i again found it too big (expecially when wearing jeans!)
Now then i like the functionality of the XDA, but the size was a problem. I've just noticed that the mini S is basically like an XDA but smaller, so i'm thinking this could be the way to go, as i really don't want to be selling it as quickly as i did the original XDA's!
I'm keen to stay with orange, as i have a great number and its on a free monthly contract (that they can't cancel and no longer offer aparently) Having the phone as orange or unlocked would mean i could sim swap easily.
So if i get an O2 phone i would want it unlocked-hopefully easy on these phones
Best deal i can find so far is O2 Mini s for free, on O2 250 +60 texts @ £35 a month for 12 months. (year = £ 420)
I've also found that QTek make a version of this and its available on Orange. For £39.99 i can get it on orange anytime 200 plus free weekend calls for 6 months for £30 a month. (year = £400) With orange i could change to a cheap price plan to bring the cost down.
So thing is, am i better off getting an O2 branded or Qtek one? I read that the imate has a aluminium case whereas the qtek has a plastic one. Is this still the case, and what does the O2 one have?
Will i easily be able to unlock the 02 version?
Is there any operational benefits or use benefits of either branded model?
Are there any better deals then the ones i've mentioned above. I really don't use the phone much, so cheaper yearly cost the better!
Cheers

I've got one of each. Qtek on my personal SIM and Mini S on my work one. The screen is richer, the backlight on the keyboard brighter and the overall build quality seems higher on the Mini S.
My Expansys Qtek has no £(gbp) sign on the keyboard but the Mini S does.
Having said that, people see the O2 badged phone and don't need to ask where you got it, whereas an 'unbranded' Qtek has people saying, 'hey, that's neat, where d'ya get it?'...
You can get the Mini S for £80 and then £8 +Vat per month on O2 Data 5. You may even be able to swing a £50 part-ex for an old phone (although not in the Leeds shops :-( ). Dunno what Orange charge.
I stupidly 'unlocked' my Mini S before reading that they're not locked out of the box... Doh!
As 'our Graham' used to say to Cilla, the choice is yours... ;-)
Regards,
Dox

That o2 data 5 sounds good, as i'm not bothered by inclusive calls or anything.
Is that something that O2 publicise, as on their website they don't seem to offer it as a tariff for the phones.
Will the O2 shop try and bullhang me if i ask for an XDA mini s on this tariff?
The sound of getting £50 for my old phone sounds perfect. Whats the deal with that, and do all shops do it? I've got an old original nokia (with pull out aerial) still ahve the manual and charger, although the battery doesn't hold charge anymore.
That would be fantastic if i could get the phone for £30 and on £8+vat a month tariff

XDA-PLUS said:
That o2 data 5 sounds good, as i'm not bothered by inclusive calls or anything.
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I only wanted the phone to put my work SIM in, and £9.40 inc VAT was low enough to forget each month..
XDA-PLUS said:
Is that something that O2 publicise, as on their website they don't seem to offer it as a tariff for the phones.
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It's shown as a data tariff, which they would normally do as an add-on to a regular voice tariff.
XDA-PLUS said:
Will the O2 shop try and bullhang me if i ask for an XDA mini s on this tariff?
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They couldn't find it when I bought mine, so I went for the O2 25 which is £16/month I think. I came home and found it on the website, called customer service and asked to change as it was what I'd originally asked for when I bought the phone. They said I'd need to go back to the shop, cancel my old contact under the 14day cooling off, and get a new one. When I told the shop what CS had said, they were fine. A large part of my day job is convincing people to do things they hadn't realised they wanted to do for me, so I was very pleasant to the people in the shop, and they were happy to help ;-)
XDA-PLUS said:
The sound of getting £50 for my old phone sounds perfect. Whats the deal with that, and do all shops do it? I've got an old original nokia (with pull out aerial) still ahve the manual and charger, although the battery doesn't hold charge anymore.
That would be fantastic if i could get the phone for £30 and on £8+vat a month tariff
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Click to collapse
Originally, the phone was £199 with £50 off. There's a thread on here about how they dropped the price to £80 but left the £50 trade-in on the EPOS systems by mistake. Some shops honoured that, but when I was in, they weren't having any of it. "It's a mistake" they claimed "trade-in's are at staff discretion but I'd get sacked for selling you a £200 phone for £30" they said.. Several people around here did better than me, but I thought less than £200 spread over a year was okay. Less than £150 would have been better, but hey...
I have to say, although I only used them for a cheap phone, O2 have been a pleasure to deal with. Then again, my Qtek is on Vodafone and they've been okay and I only ported from 4 years with T-mobile as they told me they had no plans for the Vario in the UK (three weeks before it actually came out)... I can't get Orange signal at home, so have never considered them as a supplier...
The phone's great though, I'd highly recommend it. My problem now is with two Wizards and a iPAQ hx4700 I'm a bit top heavy with PDA's. I really only use the 4700 for TomTom now, but its VGA screen is glorious... Still, ebay maybe a calling... ;-)
Dox

O2 XDA Exec (aka Universial) porting desktop app to WM5.0

I have a project where I will be porting an application (VB and SQL) to WM5.0 and the target is expected to be an O2XDA Exec, Orange SPV M5000 etc... Universal??
Anyway I am trying to figure out if these are dodgey at all but there seem to be plenty of new O2XDA Exec on ebay with prices way below what the same units would/should cost from O2 et al without contracts.
I expect a few members might have bought from ebay??? so asking what peeps views are.
The sellers always seem to have 20 or so units but everything is anonymous and seem to have to part with money in advance and cannot do this in person so more than a bit cautious.
I am going to need a couple for development and testing.
Regards,
Dom

Universal from Ebay
I bought my brandnew O2 XDA Exec from Ebay for less than 2/3 the price you would pay for it from any 02 shop. No problems at all

OP, you've just described Ebay as whole ;-D
I suppose it's like everything else on that site: sometimes you get a good deal, sometimes you get burned. Personally I had good and bad experiences on Ebay, just like any other 'ad board' site or magazine.
EDIT: check out this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=53525&highlight= for a cautionary tale...

Re: Universal from Ebay
elkitos said:
I bought my brandnew O2 XDA Exec from Ebay for less than 2/3 the price you would pay for it from any 02 shop. No problems at all
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From an individual or a trader outlet?
Sorry to ask but these are not cheap enough to make a mistake.
Regards,
Dom

mdaexecfan said:
OP, you've just described Ebay as whole ;-D
I suppose it's like everything else on that site: sometimes you get a good deal, sometimes you get burned. Personally I had good and bad experiences on Ebay, just like any other 'ad board' site or magazine.
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Click to collapse
Ditto, why I was asking. Don't want to get burned for £500 and no XDA's.
Found what seemed to be a good deal at about 2/3 (£280) of the RRP (£400 ish) from one ebay trader. I wanted to exchange cash in person and all of a sudden it wasn't possible and there was this reason and that reason why they couldn't... all sounded far too dodgey to me.
BTW it was someone from O2 shop that said look on ebay when I said I just wanted the phones without the contract.
Dom

I got my MDA Pro from eBay for £250. It was brand new and sealed, I am very happy with it.
You have to be very careful when you buy from eBay.
Always email the seller and ask if you can collect and pay cash. If they refuse then ask yourself why? Maybe its dodgy - sometimes it maybe genuine.
Also check their previous selling history - if they have never ever sold any pdas/phone and suddenly they have 20 PDA's for sale then be careful - usually very dodgy.
Good Luck...

On the matter of refusing to accept cash to be fair I suppose I'd be the same. When you bet on something it clearly tells you how the payments are accepted: usually paypal.
Personally if someone bought my 500pounds device and wanted to switch the payment mode to cash right after winning the option, the alarms bells would be ringing too. I'd probably just say no and explain the above but some people don't like saying no and rather make crappy excuses instead... in which case the alarm bells would then be ringing in the buyer's ears this time round...

From an individual.

mdaexecfan said:
On the matter of refusing to accept cash to be fair I suppose I'd be the same. When you bet on something it clearly tells you how the payments are accepted: usually paypal.
Personally if someone bought my 500pounds device and wanted to switch the payment mode to cash right after winning the option, the alarms bells would be ringing too. I'd probably just say no and explain the above but some people don't like saying no and rather make crappy excuses instead... in which case the alarm bells would then be ringing in the buyer's ears this time round...
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Oh wasn't before winning, insisted on emails with bidders before he would accept any bids from you. Would cancel bids otherwise.
It looked like he had the items as a fixed price and would sell direct just not through ebay and so no ebay protection etc... why I asked face to face and cash.
Regards,
Dom

what kinda apps r u gona be porting?

I am porting amateur radio logging, prediction and rig control software(last one a bit of a non-starter as these do not have USB host and not sure can get rs232 connectivity working).
There will also be some additional Oracle, sql2000 and sql2005 monitoring apps written using VB .net
Regards,
Dom

I bought my O2 XDA Exec from Ebay, Paid $650.00 for it new in box and have had no problems with it. The seller was UK based and I live in the USA.

Well, my contract with O2 was up for renewal a couple of months ago and I said that I wanted my PAC code as I was going to switch to Orange as I wanted a Universal. In the end O2 said I could have a new O2 Exec for FREE on a O2 500 tarrif for £25/mth. Of course I accepted.

Dom,
I got a refurbished Vodafone V1640 from a business seller on ebay for £240! It came with everything in its original box. The only flaws were a small scratch on one of the hinges (stated in description) and a little polarisation flaw on the screen (NOT stated in description, but it's not too much of a problem). Overall I think I made a good purchase.

I STOOD ON MY XDA EXEC :: Q's about insurance

Hi I have looked on the forums and have found a bit about phone insurance. I stood on my XDA exec ( I know what a c**k) its knackered. The screen has popped the silver bit on the back has come up in one corner and the flip / rotate mech snapped so the screen flaps about in the wind.
Yes I was drunk
Yes I am stupid
Yes I have made a claim.
I have sent it in today to LSG (lloyds tsb phone insurnace). From looking at other web sites my concerns are as follows :-
1) They will not be able to get the parts to repair the exec.
2) If they replace my phone they will not be able to get an O2 one (I know the imate is the same but I like it in black).
From what I have read elsewhere people have had a real issue getting top of the range PDA's fixed (unless its by the network insurance when they mostly get new ones) Most of the time people get offerd a cash settlement.
Has anyone else claimed through Lloyds phone insurance or any other 3rd party insurance and got a replacement phone ?
If they want to settle for a cash sum. How much should it be ??
any help on this would be good ???

Have edited my first post to be more specific. Anyone ??

here is the answer to anyone who is interested. they tried to get me to take a nokia n91 or n80. I said no.
told them I wanted an exec or the cash. after about 10mins of holding ect I got a supervisor who tried to tell me how good the 91 was. I still said the same. put on hold again.
they came back on and said your exec is in the post.
here's the deal. full new boxed o2 xda exec.
I got my first on in feb 05. this one feels much more solid. the screen flip is much tighter it has come with new rom installed. seams faster.
phone signal is better.
the whole unit seams much more soild than the first one??
could it have been that my first unit was a recon ?
anyway very happy

It seams I spoke to soon. The screen has started to flicker (brown lines jumping all over the place) this is very random but the unit has done it about 5 times now.
It will have to go back.
Can I ask for Cash instead of a new phone ??

Phoned them. Sending it back.
Will make me a cash offer when the get the phone back.
Think im going to go back to Ipaq. Had nothing but problems with this phone.

Hi I have just had my claim paid up by the same insurance (lloyds bank) They told me they do not have any xda replacements and would either give me a nokia n91 or cash settlement I went for the cash they paid me £450 for a xda IIs (ba) £450 is the maximum they pay out so you would more than likely get the same.

I have been informed by a supervisor today that the max they will pay out is £600. They use GSMarena.com to price up what they pay out. Universal costs around 550 - 650 GBP depending on where you look.
The girl on the phone said they will price it on the day the get the damaged one they sent me back. They have 3 suppliers (she would not name them) and they take the average as the units value. I would think they then knock a bit off.
I expect at least £500.
andytl
How quickly did they pay you. I have read on other sites it takes them ages to sort it out.

If you look on there website it states a maximum figure of £450 I doubt they will go over it.

I am a platinum account holder and should be covered up to 600 GPB
We will see I will post when I find out.

Lloyds TSB insurance
Hi!
I've claimed for 2 Xda2i machines that I lost via lloyds TSB insurance which is part of my gold account. each time they've been great at sorting things out for me.
My last claim they informed me they had no replacements and so like others have already mentioned, went for the cash settlement. They paid me £450.
You can only claim twice in every yearly period so I've used up my 'allocation' as it were! I'll ring them next to see when I'm allowed to claim again if needs be. To minimise my risk, I've started carrying my phones in aluminium cases, in my pocket where they cannot fall out and get lost/broke screens again !
I recommend lloyds tsb insurance via lifestyle services group - quick hassle free insurance !
Cheers! Dennis! West London UK!!

Well got the call today. £569.00 offered and taken.
Going to jump ship to ipaq hw6915 here I come.
Ill no doubt be back.