My Meteor nightmare

msg11

I have a thread over on the talk to forums with Meteor

http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2057095336

This is an going issue that Meteor don't seem to bothered about the only one that seems to care is Bobby from Meteor in fairness to him but the replys via this site take ages.

Heres the story so far.

01.12.2013 (Phone calls to Meteor and cardphone warehouse took place between the 27/11/13 and the 1/12/13)
Last Sunday (24/11/13) I bought a phone in the Cardphone Warehouse. It's the Sony Experia Z1 it's on the 4G plan for 49.99 PM. Anyway, I noticed Friday that the phone was not locking onto the 4G network at all.

I found it weird that I never got a new Sim for the 4G network, so after a quick call to Meteor I was told I needed a 4G Sim. Also at this stage I was getting text messages from Meteor stating that I had gone over my internet allowance (keep in mind this plan is unlimited data and the fact I have the phone from Sunday I couldn't have gone over 3GB of data in one week. Even at that that 3GB of data is for the 4G network which the phone cannot get connected to so the 3G data allowance of 15GB kicks in so 15GB of data allowance in one week is non sense)

I popped back down to the CPW and I got a new Sim card. I was told in the shop that my PAYG service was never 'turned off' and the 'migration' to the new bill pay plan had never happened.

So the guy in the CPW gave me a new Sim card and told me that the 'migration' was successful. I then went home and pop the new Sim into the phone and again still no 4G service. I decided again to call Meteor only to be told that the Sim card was still a 3G Sim and wouldn't not work with the 4G network as it was not a U Sim (universal). I rang the CPW back again and que today getting a 4G Sim and again I go home only to find it will not connect to the 4G network.

I decided to ring Meteor again, only to be told there was an issue to do with GPRS (can't get my head around what GPRS has to do with 4G) she told me it should work now and to turn it on and off. I done this while on the phone and still it would only connect to the 3G network. She then told me to manually select a network at this stage she was ushering me off the phone as if the call was starting to take up time.

I am still here at home, with a 4G phone a 4G plan and no access to the 4G network. Meteor are not forfilling there part of the contract. First I was left without access and vital part of the phone in the CPW IE the Sim card. 4G won't work without the correct Sim. So how many of these phones have been sold to people with 3G Sim cards and have no access to the network. In the shop I heard someone refer to the 4G Sim card as a replacement Sim card. How is it a replacement sim? I am not replacing my Sim if anything it's an upgrade Sim card as the phone will not access 4G services without the 4G Sim card which the CPW failed to supply twice, if they are selling Meteor services they should be providing all the parts of the phone, it's like saying do you have a charger at phone if not we will give you a replacement charger. Now that's the first problem.

My second problem is that despipe the 49.99 4G plan been branded as Unlimited from the start of my bill last Sunday I have managed to some how be charge 1.60 for Data. I have got two texts from Meteor stating that I have gone over my internet allowance and I will be charged a daily rate. This has cost be 80c today and 80c yesterday. I tried to explain this to the girl on the phone today that I have been charged for Data as I have gone over my allowance. She tried to tell me that I have used 3GBs of Data on the 4G network since last Sunday. How can I have firstly used 3GBs of Data since last Sunday and secondly how the hell could I use it when I have no access to the 4G network ! So she proceeds to then tell me that I have gone over the Data allowance on the 3G network, I asked her what the allowance on that network is and only to be told its 15GBs so I have gone over 15GB's of Data transfer since Sunday according to the girl on the phone.

I am posting here in the hope that someone can fix this problem. I have been more than patient with Meteor, but I am not getting the service I am paying for I have no access to the 4G network and to make matters worse I am now been billed for my Data traffic on my phone on an apparently unlimited plan. I feel like I am been rushed off the phone and no one wants to fix my problem. I have tried the Sim in another 4G phone the Samsung Galaxy Express and still no 4G network.

03.12.2013

So the nightmare continues. After my internet completely failing today. Both the 3G service and the never working 4G service I again had the pleasure of calling Meteor to again explain the situation.

Again girl on the phone then onto the tech department. The problem this time was the 4G network didn't work with the listed phone. According to Meteor the CPW had inputted the handset into the system as a Song Experia L1 and this handset would not work on the network as the network is blocking the handset as it's not 4G completable and only allow default 3G access this is according to Meteor.

A quick search on Google. It turns out that in fact the Song Experia L1 is in fact 4G/LTE ready. '4G LTE connectivity' http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/2013/11/08/sony-xperia-l1-render-with-pedestrian-specs/

Also according to Meteor I would have to go back to the CPW and get them to edit the phone on Meteors system. I questioned firstly who I was in contract with if it was Meteor or the CPW and I was told Meteor. But according to Meteor they cannot edit phones on there network/within there system at this stage the girl ask her supervisor if she could edit it. Only to be told that no that CPW had to edit it and we should contact CPW also a note would be left on the file explaining the situation. I think Meteor should have a quick read over the Sale of Goods and Supply Services Act, 1980 which consumer contracts are protected by


'Under this Act the purchaser of goods has a number of rights - the main ones are

Goods must be of merchantable quality – goods should be of reasonable quality taking into account what they are meant to do, their durability and their price
Goods must be fit for their purpose – they must do what they are reasonably expected to do
Goods must be as described - the buyer must not be mislead into buying something by the description of goods or services given orally by a salesperson or an advertisement.

[*]
When you buy goods in a sale you have the same rights as when you pay full price for the goods.
If you have a contract with a supplier of services you can expect that:

The supplier has the necessary skill to provide the service
The service will be provided with proper care and diligence
The materials used will be sound and that goods supplied with the service will be of merchantable quality'

[*]

So my provider Meteor who my contract is with is telling me to go back to the CPW to get them to fix a problem on Meteors system as they cannot fix it. Bizarre to say the leased.

A call to CPW, and the manager of the shop had no idea what this girl was talking about as CPW input phones based on the IMEI number and the details show up on screen and that why Meteor would tell us that there was a note left on the file for them to see as they have no access to Meteors system.

He got in touch with Meteor himself and then called me back now I am not entirely sure but according to him the 4G was never activated for my plan. I got some form of ticket ID and was told the problem should be fixed within 48 hours! I am going to post again tomorrow when I get charged 80c again for going over my data allowance for the day and still have no 4G access.

I have also been charged again 80c for going over my daily allowance. So my Data cost so far is now mounting up. All Meteor keep saying is that the 4G network is only unlimited and the 3G network is capped, again it falls on deaf ears that in fact my 4G network is not working. And I could not have used 3GB of Data in 8/9days.

So this is now another day, Meteor washing there hands of the situation, a data bill that is going up by the day and still no access to the 4G network.

Today.

I have emailed Com Reg , I don't know what to do. Meteor won't help and the CPW keep on dealing with Meteor and Meteor are just saying to the CPW 48 hours or 24 hours and then no contact.

Really just on here to see if anyone's got any advise ?

ScouseMouse

Try and bounce it off Grainne over on the talkto forum, here on boards.

They seem to get good results to problems....

msg11

superscouse wrote: »

Try and bounce it off Grainne over on the talkto forum, here on boards.

They seem to get good results to problems....

I have been talking to Bobby. Even more annoying is my data charges are now at €3.22 and I don't even know why. I keep getting message about my data allowance for the day has been used up (50MB) you will now be charged per MB of data.

Any call to the help desk results in someone talking bull and quick calls to the tech department then been ushered off the phone without any resolution to the problem. Or the new one is that I am in a Q for investigation I have been in this line now 60+ hours !

Can I cancel this contract and just give the phone back?

foggy_lad

You need to stop talking and start writing to Meteor!

Write an old fashioned letter to them outlining all that has happened and the current issues, give them ten days to reply with a resolution or a plan of action.

It is very important that you use the term "Formal Complaint" in the heading of the letter, otherwise it might not be treated as a complaint by Meteor. It also puts your current troubleshooting calls on a more formal footing in preparation for a complaint to ComReg.

msg11

foggy_lad wrote: »

You need to stop talking and start writing to Meteor!

Write an old fashioned letter to them outlining all that has happened and the current issues, give them ten days to reply with a resolution or a plan of action.

It is very important that you use the term "Formal Complaint" in the heading of the letter, otherwise it might not be treated as a complaint by Meteor. It also puts your current troubleshooting calls on a more formal footing in preparation for a complaint to ComReg.

I have actually fired off an e-mail to ComReg about this situation. I am sure they will advise me of the correct course of action to be taken. But I rather Meteor just sorted it out.

foggy_lad

msg11 wrote: »

I have actually fired off an e-mail to ComReg about this situation. I am sure they will advise me of the correct course of action to be taken. But I rather Meteor just sorted it out.

Sounds like an issue with their rollout of 4g in your area rather than a phone/sim fault, this could take several months to pin down and fix and will have to be escalated beyond customer care which rarely happens without a complaint being made and ComReg getting involved.

msg11

foggy_lad wrote: »

Sounds like an issue with their rollout of 4g in your area rather than a phone/sim fault, this could take several months to pin down and fix and will have to be escalated beyond customer care which rarely happens without a complaint being made and ComReg getting involved.

How long do ComReg take to start taking action. I would be in a fairly highly populated area in Dublin and one which the guys on the phone said would and such be an excellent coverage area and I should get the full speed !

mgbgt1978

Comreg will not do anything until you have "exhausted all other avenues" with Meteor.
This means that you will have to make a formal complaint to Meteor (usually by Letter), then give Meteor time to sort the issue.
After that Comreg might be willing to listen to your problem.
How are you paying your bill ? Is it by direct debit, or credit card ?
If you were to cease payment (due to 'denial of service') they might start contacting you instead of you doing all the calling.

TheBandicoot

I found this official tech sheet on Sony's site(warning: PDF) http://www-support-downloads.sonymobile.com/c6902/whitepaper_EN_c6902(l39h)_xperia_z1.pdf

It seems to me that phone is not actually 4G compatible. The networks it supports(on page 6) are GPRS(2g), EDGE(2.5g) and HS[U|D]PA(3g). There is no mention anywhere in the document of LTE or 4G.

Perhaps I am misinterpreting things though.

msg11

TheBandicoot wrote: »

I found this official tech sheet on Sony's site(warning: PDF) http://www-support-downloads.sonymobile.com/c6902/whitepaper_EN_c6902(l39h)_xperia_z1.pdf

It seems to me that phone is not actually 4G compatible. The networks it supports(on page 6) are GPRS(2g), EDGE(2.5g) and HS[U|D]PA(3g). There is no mention anywhere in the document of LTE or 4G.

Perhaps I am misinterpreting things though.

I can see what you mean but I have tried the Sim card in a Samsung Galaxy Express and it still won't lock onto the 4G network.

http://developer.sonymobile.com/tag/l39h/

Today, we’ve just announced the Sony Xperia™ Z1, the newest addition to the premium Z series of products. Xperia™ Z1 features a QualComm® Snapdragon™ 800 processor with a 2.2 GHz quad-core CPU, and a 5” Full HD TRILUMINOS™ display. And when it comes to the camera specs, Xperia™ Z1 comes with a 1/2.3-type 20.7MP CMOS image sensor. Xperia™ Z1 also includes support for LTE, NFC, and ANT+. You’ll find the complete specs and features in the full post.

They seem to say includes support for LTE rather than LTE ready ?

foggy_lad

msg11 wrote: »

How long do ComReg take to start taking action. I would be in a fairly highly populated area in Dublin and one which the guys on the phone said would and such be an excellent coverage area and I should get the full speed !

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Comreg will not do anything until you have "exhausted all other avenues" with Meteor.
This means that you will have to make a formal complaint to Meteor (usually by Letter), then give Meteor time to sort the issue.
After that Comreg might be willing to listen to your problem.
How are you paying your bill ? Is it by direct debit, or credit card ?
If you were to cease payment (due to 'denial of service') they might start contacting you instead of you doing all the calling.

Once you have followed all reasonable advice and instructions from Customer care such as replacement sim cards and trying the sim in a different phone then you should be writing a formal complaint and when the issue is not resolved within a week to ten days you can contact ComReg. they will then contact Mteor who will suddenly spring into action and provide all the information to the regulator on what they have done so far. Usually at this stage they will escalate your complaint to a customer care manager who will liaise with their networks teams and give you weekly updates.

msg11

foggy_lad wrote: »

Once you have followed all reasonable advice and instructions from Customer care such as replacement sim cards and trying the sim in a different phone then you should be writing a formal complaint and when the issue is not resolved within a week to ten days you can contact ComReg. they will then contact Mteor who will suddenly spring into action and provide all the information to the regulator on what they have done so far. Usually at this stage they will escalate your complaint to a customer care manager who will liaise with their networks teams and give you weekly updates.

I actually got my Sim card replaced as CPW failed to give me the U-sim that the phone needs for the 4G network. When I got this replacement Sim from them (CPW) it was in fact a 3G sim ! So back again to get another Sim this time the U-Sim. I then tried that in a Samsung Galaxy Express and no joy.

Should this letter to Meteor be registered post and can I format/write it out on the computer. Should I just outline the steps I have taken so far in the letter I don't want to be ranting and raving I just want them to know what I have done and just want this problem fixed. In fairness I shouldn't really have to writing letters or contact ComReg. I am fairly sure there is something really simple behind this. I mean no one else is having this issue ? !

msg11

According to Wikipedia Meteor use the following Frequencies for 4G/LTE

1800Mhz Band 3
800Mhz Band 20

But the phone seems to only work on the

UMTS HSPA+ 850 (Band V), 900 (Band VIII), 1700 (Band IV),
1900 (Band II), 2100 (Band I) MHz
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz

Neither of which seem to be supported by the phone?

Are Meteor advertising a phone as 4G on the network when in fact there network won't support the usage of there phone.

The Galaxy Express supports 4G on the following

800 / 900 / 1800 / 2600MHz

So it should technically work on the Galaxy Express ? Interesting, I will have to double check if it dose not work in the Galaxy Express.

Sony.ie says the phone should support band 3 and 20

drunkmonkey

It's become pretty apparent it's time to hand the phone back, it doesn't do 4G as advertised and the plan is not as advertised either.
Take the whole thing back to carphone and get the contract terminated before things get any worse. Cancel any DD that's set up as anything is liable to come out if your bank account as the data is being calculated wrong.

wmpdd3

Time to end the contract, get cpw to do this. It is with them that you have your consumer contract, not meteor, only deal with cpw from now on.

Go in on a week day with everything that came with the phone and tell them you are canceling with in the cooling off period. Do not leave until they have sent in a fax / email to meteor.

Do not leave your phone in the store until your contract is canceled and get the name of the person dealing with you.

msg11

How long is the cooling off period?

joostl

even if the cooling off period is offer, it shouldn't matter as they are not providing the services you signed up for. You should be able to cancell

keithclancy

Check the Model Number:

Xperia Z1 C6903 (LTE)
Xperia Z1 C6902 (Global HSPA+)

If its the C6903 its should work on LTE, if its the C6902 then it will never work on LTE.

msg11

keithclancy wrote: »

Check the Model Number:

Xperia Z1 C6903 (LTE)
Xperia Z1 C6902 (Global HSPA+)

If its the C6903 its should work on LTE, if its the C6902 then it will never work on LTE.

Will look into it.

But it should technically still work in my phone the Galaxy Express ?

Just off the phone to the CPW, Meteor are saying it is still in the Q to be looked at. I inquired with him about cancelling the contract, he said it should not be a problem as Meteor are not providing the service.

The phone is now intermittently switching off the network as in its saying Sim card not registered on network, then it flicks back on then off. So even the 3G/GSM service is not working!

Even with such a technical fault with the network I must be low priority considering I am waiting since Tuesday.

keithclancy

Probably a stupid question, but are you in an area covered by Meteors 4G ?

Have you tried using it somewhere else?

http://www.meteor.ie/internet-coverage/

wmpdd3

msg11 wrote: »

Will look into it.

But it should technically still work in my phone the Galaxy Express ?

Just off the phone to the CPW, Meteor are saying it is still in the Q to be looked at. I inquired with him about cancelling the contract, he said it should not be a problem as Meteor are not providing the service.

The phone is now intermittently switching off the network as in its saying Sim card not registered on network, then it flicks back on then off. So even the 3G/GSM service is not working!

Even with such a technical fault with the network I must be low priority considering I am waiting since Tuesday.

What a disaster, get your into the store and cancel ASAP, a guy saying 'should be no problem' s not the same as being released from a 24 month contract at whatever monthly cost.

thalia_13

I left Meteor over a very similar issue, after weeks of calling them, and never getting call backs, I had a smart phone that didnt connect to internet at all unless on wifi, didn't receive picture messages! I went through 4 new sims and the rigmarole of porting (?)... The customer service was atrocious both in.shop and on the phone.
I was exhausted calling them, for them to keep suggesting the same solution, their tech staff were useless.
Anyways long story short, i went back in the shop, the manager who had tried to fix the issue for me was exasperated that Tech kept fobbing me off, so took the phone back and gave me a full refund.
Ultimately she agreed that they were not fulfilling their part of the contract, as the.phone was not fit for purpose.
I took that refund and left Meteor forever.
Hopefully you can get a full refund! Good luck though, they are absolutely useless

Faz6r

hi i own a z1 c6903, but i only have a 3g contract with meteor
but 4g can be turned on and off
if you goto settings, personalisation, quick settings and then tick the box next to lte
hope this helps u out

msg11

Don't like to leave threads unresolved without word.

Meteor fixed the problem, I think ComReg rang them and asked what was going on and they got the finger out.

The service is fast when it works, sometimes there's no internet access.

My advise keep away from any type of 4G for about 12 months the service has some serious flaws in it and instead of going with the normal testing of a few users on the network its been released to everyone and I think all the mobile operators are in rush to get this network up and out there without testing.

4G is fast and excellent but with a 3GB cap it's next to useless.

Whats needed in the mobile network world is a mobile operator that says, for 30 Euro P/M you will have access to all of our network no caps your speed will be 10Mbps and no charges for calls or texts. People will flood to that network. I think the future is not been charged for calls or texts and instead paying for outright access to the network and expecting to be able to do calls and texts as part of the access to the network.

Faz6r

msg11 wrote: »

Don't like to leave threads unresolved without word.
Whats needed in the mobile network world is a mobile operator that says, for 30 Euro P/M you will have access to all of our network no caps your speed will be 10Mbps and no charges for calls or texts. People will flood to that network. I think the future is not been charged for calls or texts and instead paying for outright access to the network and expecting to be able to do calls and texts as part of the access to the network.

theres already a network like that, its called blueface, 29pm for unlimited calls, text, data to ireland and the uk

beauf

Faz6r wrote: »

theres already a network like that, its called blueface, 29pm for unlimited calls, text, data to ireland and the uk

€29 ex VAT

http://www.blueface.ie/mobile.php

Faz6r

beauf wrote: »

€29 ex VAT

http://www.blueface.ie/mobile.php

if you look a bit closer, its gone down to 25 ex vat
bringing it to 29 including vat

beauf

Is that not different it excludes the uk?

chri

Just an FYI
My mate was over charged on his meteor bill
He rang them to see what was the story
They said he was sending a lot of mms

It turns out every time he used a smiley face :-(
In his text message
It turn a standard text in to an mms with meteor and there making a fortune over this

Faz6r

chri wrote: »

Just an FYI
My mate was over charged on his meteor bill
He rang them to see what was the story
They said he was sending a lot of mms

It turns out every time he used a smiley face :-(
In his text message
It turn a standard text in to an mms with meteor and there making a fortune over this

i send smiley faces all the time and ive never been charged extra
btw a smiley face doesnt turn an sms into an mms, if you add a photo, or video or music then it becomes an mms

dudara

A standard emoticon (i.e. ":" + ")" or ) will not turn an SMS into an MMS as it is just a combination of text characters.

I don't know these new emojicons things that integrate from apps would affect SMS though?

chri

Faz6r wrote: »

i send smiley faces all the time and ive never been charged extra
btw a smiley face doesnt turn an sms into an mms, if you add a photo, or video or music then it becomes an mms

I know what an mms is
I was just letting people know he was charged for sending a lot of mms and it turns out that every time he use a smiley face the txt message turned into a multy media message

Sonics2k

Faz6r wrote: »

i send smiley faces all the time and ive never been charged extra
btw a smiley face doesnt turn an sms into an mms, if you add a photo, or video or music then it becomes an mms

It does if you have a Galaxy S4 on Android 4.3. It's confirmed by O2 and a few others

Faz6r

Sonics2k wrote: »

It does if you have a Galaxy S4 on Android 4.3. It's confirmed by O2 and a few others

there are only a few others, do u have a link to support your wild fantasies,
what happens if the s4 is only on 4.2
next you will be saying smiley faces turn sms into coffee if running kitkat on your s4

chri

Faz6r wrote: »

there are only a few others, do u have a link to support your wild fantasies,
what happens if the s4 is only on 4.2
next you will be saying smiley faces turn sms into coffee if running kitkat on your s4

your just been silly now

markad1

I'm on the galaxy note 3 and in texts messages it turns smileys into mms so yes beware

chri

markad1 wrote: »

I'm on the galaxy note 3 and in texts messages it turns smileys into mms so yes beware

Thank you Thank you Thank you

Faz6r

i still see no links

Faz6r

chri wrote: »

your just been silly now

that makes 2 of us

beauf

3 of us

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=samsung+sms+change+to+mms

or more specifically

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=samsung+smiley+change+to+mms

Faz6r

beauf wrote: »

3 of us

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=samsung+sms+change+to+mms

or more specifically

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=samsung+smiley+change+to+mms

neither of these links relate to ireland or more specifically meteor

beauf

Hardly a stretch to see its a similar issue.

http://forums.meteor.ie/t5/Samsung/Galaxy-s4-updated-to-4-3/td-p/135188

Faz6r

if you actually read it talks about emoticons, chri originally posted smiley faces not emoticons
theres a big difference between : ) and an emoticon,

quote "It turns out every time he used a smiley face :-( "

chri

:-( turns in to a emoticons if you have the emoticons app

Faz6r

chri wrote: »

:-( turns in to a emoticons if you have the emoticons app

you never mentioned any apps to begin with, and standard html text does not turn into emoticons, emoticons use use completely different standard than html

chri

4.3 one of the features is the keyboard has being updated with emoticons...

only found out today

Faz6r

my own xperia z1 has the very same 4.3 with emoticons
but im gonna say again, you never mentioned emoticons to begin with

beauf

Sometimes you've got to join the dots to see the picture.

People often say one thing and mean another. Especially with tech.

Faz6r

beauf wrote: »

Sometimes you've got to join the dots to see the picture.

People often say one thing and mean another. Especially with tech.

tech is fairly specific, and saying one thing and meaning another, would be like comparing ios to android, they are both operating systems
but completely different code
sometimes its better to think before you speak or type
wouldnt you agree
i missed the dots plus i have no pen : (

beauf

Come back Swiss Toni all is forgiven.