The joys of mobile broadband

EE stands for Everything Everywhere but take it from me that does not include customer service, that comes under NN Nothing Nowhere. The amalgamation of Orange and T Mobile resulted in EE and would save each company overheads and link the transmitting masts for use by subscribers to both the old networks.
So why do they try to fleece customers of their money, Ofcom say they are the most complained about phone company with changing terms and conditions being a big complaint.

Now I have had an account with Orange for the mobile/cell phone for almost 20 years. The plan I have includes 400 minutes to all other networks, 300 texts and un-limited calls to landline phones plus 500 mb of data. I never use all my allowance and as I get a free phone each time I negotiate a new contract I think the £16 ($24) is not a bad deal. now these figures I`m sure can be beaten by some readers but my 20 year loyalty stems from the fact I find the network coverage as a continuous cruiser pretty good so why risk changing networks.

My connection with T Mobile goes back about 7 years and came about by Orange being bad for mobile internet coverage. Nowadays we have the benefit of using both companies masts. My present contract costs £15 for a 5GB allowance which includes the device that sends a signal around the boat,  and like the phone the allowance was rarely all used. If it did go over T Mobile had a fair use policy that states they will restrict your download capabilities but you can still browse the internet and send e mail. tried to get a link to this but it seems they are trying to edge it out the door as it`s very hard to find the wording.
Now checking T Mobile U.S.A. that 5Gb costs $40 plus $7 over 24 months of contract for the mobile broadband Mi-fi device. So $47 (£29.70). Oh plus a one off $10 for the sim. So double my UK plan.
I have heard the 3 network here in UK has started phasing out their all you can eat data allowance on mobile internet via a modem. Some folk use their phone as a base but this is now being stopped.
So perhaps the bandwidths are getting clogged and the networks are trying to cut down on big users.

Now the point of this blog post is to warn others in a similar contract to beware. Just recently Jaq was watching the Olympics live on the internet and of course the allowance was gobbled up at a fast rate. No worries the fair use policy will kick in and all will be good.

Wrong. T mobile or should we say EE started adding charges of £3 each time the internet was used for any amount of time. I tried 3 times to communicate via my on line account until finally someone E mailed back saying they do not deal with mobile broadband and I should dial 150 from an EE phone.

Wonderful advice seeing as I had previously done this only to be told that as I phoned via Orange and my broadband was T Mobile they would have to transfer me!!!!!! So it seems EE is not the new company and the others still deal independently. What a mess. EE or Every Excuse not to help you. Not quite true because they did offer to transfer me back to the same dept....twice and when correcting this they cut me off....twice hence the 3 E mails.

So back to dialling 150 and after 2 goes got through to someone who cared. Gavvy was her name, remembered because it was the only good point of 2 hours on the phone. Now it turns out the fair use policy was not included in my new contract. Why, who knows. Gavvy and I have no clue but from Ofcom this seems to be a big complaint, terms and condition changes without telling the customer.

So the best Gavvy could do was reduce the next bill by 50% and re instate the fair use policy. With your back against the wall it`s always best to take what you can and regroup for the next attack.  Now my next move will have to be a letter to head office to get the other 50%  refunded.

Customer service in this country stinks. Jaq is appalled at the way us Brits are treated. Just as an example she is having a problem with her new glasses so she phoned the U.S. to ask about her last prescription and even though she told them she was living in the UK they phoned back within 10 mins of her message with all the details of her last eye test. Not just customer service but past customer service, they knew she was not coming back to them but still gave good service.

So folks be warned that when you change your contract with any provider just check that the terms have not changed.