Experiences with 3mobile?? Are they reputable - well as much as a phone co can be ;)

[jackrose]

I was approached by a 3mobile salesperson who wants to buy our business from Optus. Honestly, I am more then happy to say goodbye to Optus as they have been so dodgy in terms of customer service and I believe we are paying heaps more on our bills than we could if re-jigged them. I am so sick of dealing with their 'customer service', waiting on the phone for service, having to make 3-4 calls to get simple things sorted out, being transferred around departments and never getting anywhere... the usual

I am having a meeting with the 3mobile rep next week and will probably move if they can better the phone plan but I am just not sure if they do offer good coverage as they claim they do. I have had experiences before when Vodafone claimed to have good coverage then when we switched, the phones dropped out all the time. All of a sudden they were not so interested working things out with us.

I am in Melbourne and we don't use the phones in the country much, just around town. Does anyone use 3mobile and how have you found their coverage/service?

I am not expecting customer service to be any better than Optus, but would be interested to hear any stories about them if they are particularly bad! I just really want to make sure we don't sign up with dud phone coverage/service.

[Sopdet]

I didn't like 3s customer service (off-shore call centre), but then again isn't most telcos off-shore now.

I had issues with 3 with coverage, but that now will depend on who 3 is in bed with, with regards to coverage outside of the 3 area.

I went to the ombudsman to get out of my 3 contract, even though 3 should have let me out because of things they'd listed in their contract with me and they never came through with, they refused so I had to take it further.

[allycat06]

I was with 3 a few years ago, the coverage in my area (inner south east melb) was pretty bad. Calls would drop out all the time and looking at the screen to see 'no reception' was a fairly common occurrence. The customer service is pretty hopeless but you'll find that with any telco provider I guess. When I called to end my contract they kept transferring me to various departments trying to get to me stay. I know they're just doing their job but just cancel my account already! I've now switched to Optus and the coverage is much better but apart from that I don't find the 2 be any different. Not sure whereabouts you are in Melbourne, I suspect if you are closer to the CBD the coverage would be considerably better.

HTH

[Rainbow_Mumma]

you could not pay me to go back with 3, never again!

First of all my brand new phone had some issue the screen just kept going white so sent it in to be fixed no problems, get a phone call 2 weeks later with them wanting to charge me over $100 for repairs I said it was under warrenty im not paying i shouldnt have to anyway they sent the phone back and it still had the same issues plus my back cover didnt go on properly anymore (they had bent it slightly as it was metal) i rang up to complain and they said they wanted to charge me for the repairs because of the back cover that THEY had damaged. I was fuming, i cancelled all my services with 3 then got a $3000 bill 9 months later because although they cancelled my service they kept billing me, it took months and months of calling them daily, for hours on end, being passed from person to person and lots of tears to sort it out in the end it ended up going on my credit rating because they refused to do anything and convieniantly couldnt find any of the recorded phone calls

[Kazzo]

I am with 3 but I live in the Southern highlands in NSW. I don't really have much trouble with them and I am not near the CBD. Also 3 is now under Vodaphone so if you were not happy with them then you might not want to go with 3. I have never had trouble with the customer service. I just find that it is easier to go into a store if I am having any problems that don't need immediate attention. The only thing is they don't offer any insurance on their phones, they say to put it under home contents insurance.

[ShootingStar]

I am currently with 3 and think they are great. I use to work for Optus, thus had my phones with them. Not long after i left my job Optus went down hill big time. Back then 3 were known to be bad. However.. now, alongside Vodaphone (as they are now technically the same thing) i believe 3 are one of the best. We live in a remote location. I have perfect service out here, whereas DH with Optus (and eggarly awaiting his contract to expire) never has any service. The thing with 3 and vodaphone now is, if you dont have coverage with their particular towers, as a default you go onto Telstra's towers. So the coverage is just as good, if not better, than telstra.
So in my opinion, either 3 or Vodaphone atm are the way to go.

[Beatrix]

Im with 3 and I love them, they have just bent over backwards to let me out of my old contract and upgraded me to Iphone4 for nothing and I was only 12mths into old 24th contract.
And we live in a area that is classed country and reception is fine, I even have mobile plug in broadband with them out here to wan while its not as fast as cable braodband its still good!

[shellbell3]

I've been with 3 for a few years now and had no issues.
Don't know about customer service line cause if I've ever had an issue I go into the store and get them to help sort it.

[feeb]

DH has mobile with them and has no issues using in Melbourne, Sydney and a few major country vic areas.

[Feijoa Mum]

I am with 3 too and have been for about three years now so you could say im pretty happy with them.
DH did have some issues with coverage a while ago but he was working in a very remote part of country at the time.
They have recently merged with Vodafone so they now have a bigger network and it also means free calls to vodafone too

[indie24]

I have been with 3 twice with phones. The first time coverage was shocking so switched providers for a couple of years. When I changed back to 3 I found the coverage much better than previously. I never had any problems in the city with them. Coverage in the country can be hit or miss. I really don't like their customer service line at all.

[onthefly]

My only issue has been spotty coverage.
I've only used customer support a couple of times and found it fine. No problem with my phone (but I was careful not to get a nokia)
I went with them as they have a $19 plan, which suits me.

[jackrose]

Thank you so much for all taking the time to reply. What a range of experiences!

I can't really believe we have to put up with such poor service from all of our choices of phone providers. Looks like they are all as bad as each other at worst.

I am glad to hear of some good experiences and hope that those of you with bad experiences feel just a bit better for having vented! I am grateful for the heads up. Sadly, I have similar experiences to some of you with Optus... Arrrgh!

Phew, not really any closer to knowing what to do, but I am pleased to hear of the Vodafone merge/Telstra tower use...

[Maisy]

I'm with 3 and they are okay. Customer service is a bit annoying (offshore) but they do always help me out when I need it. My DH always complains about the coverage but I dont have too many drop outs (though he is on the phone a lot more than me!). I have heard a lot of bad things about optus and everyone I know who is with them complains a lot. I dont think any of the telco's are great here so its a matter of choosing one that has the best phone/plan for you.

[shellbell3]

I had issues with one of my phones sent it for repair under warranty so ok, couple weeks after getting back same problem by then out of warranty but they were good and had the date of the prob originally so I was still covered then they couldn't properly fix issue so replaced phone with brand new one. Can't complain there. Got replacement phone to use while all this was happening

[Fleur]

Im with 3 and I love them, they have just bent over backwards to let me out of my old contract and upgraded me to Iphone4 for nothing and I was only 12mths into old 24th contract.

Lucky you!!

We've been with 3 for about five or six years, haven't had any problems...coverage hasn't been an issue for us, but then we haven't been out of the way much.

Probably my only complaint is that when I went to upgrade my phone (cause I drowned my old one ) I knew I would have to pay for it over 2 years; they didn't explain to me that I would then be stuck with that phone for the two years. Previously I have been able to upgrade for free after 18 months.... so I thought I could pay for this one for 2 years but still get my upgrade to another Anyhoo. It's not really a biggie.

We also love their free 3 to 3 calls... so DH & I and DD1 & DS1 are all on 3, so are PILS. We get value out of that.