[mcav]

I know this may seem obvious - but I still think it is important to mention

DO NOT JOIN THE THREE NETWORK.

After a year of hell, including constant dropped calls, non existant walled garden internet, little or no decent content, a rubbish email service, and an absolutely apalling customer service. I am STILL recieving marketing messages from three network to my new handset on vodaphone. (marketing only from 3 alerts i may add)

I requested that they do not send me marketing in may 2004 - and every month since then i have called to hear someone in mumbai called "jeeves" or "kevin" or "smithers" that they promise i will not get marketing texts or calls. And I got them ALL THE TIME.

The call tarrifs look attractive - the price looks good and their claimed coverage looks good too. It is all a lie.

Their coverage is garbage! Their signal quality a joke and their internet access is so slow and restricted, it completely wastes the 3g service. vodaphone live 2.5g is faster!

Please take this advice - do not join three network. You will so very regret it.

[thfccambs]

Been on 3 for 18 months and never had one problem at all.

[ad47uk]

I got no intention of using 3. In fact I got no intentions of going anywhere near anything to do with 3G.

But to be fair, my nephew uses 3 and have very few problems, but then it depends where you live. He has a contract as he say it is better than pay as you go.

[Bristol Pete]

Terrible problems with 3. In the end I cancelled my direct debit, sent the phone back with a letter stating that the service was not good enough for several reasons. They are now pursuing a debt from me.........

Pete.

Originally Posted by mcav

I know this may seem obvious - but I still think it is important to mention

DO NOT JOIN THE THREE NETWORK.

After a year of hell, including constant dropped calls, non existant walled garden internet, little or no decent content, a rubbish email service, and an absolutely apalling customer service. I am STILL recieving marketing messages from three network to my new handset on vodaphone. (marketing only from 3 alerts i may add)

I requested that they do not send me marketing in may 2004 - and every month since then i have called to hear someone in mumbai called "jeeves" or "kevin" or "smithers" that they promise i will not get marketing texts or calls. And I got them ALL THE TIME.

The call tarrifs look attractive - the price looks good and their claimed coverage looks good too. It is all a lie.

Their coverage is garbage! Their signal quality a joke and their internet access is so slow and restricted, it completely wastes the 3g service. vodaphone live 2.5g is faster!

Please take this advice - do not join three network. You will so very regret it.

could not agree more in what you have said my son and his friends have experienced most if not all the same problems

Originally Posted by Captain Benefit

Terrible problems with 3. In the end I cancelled my direct debit, sent the phone back with a letter stating that the service was not good enough for several reasons. They are now pursuing a debt from me.........

Pete.

buy your FREE CAPTAIN BENEFIT / CAPTAIN BENEFIT IS INNOCENT
t.shirts from here

[ad47uk]

I will certainly leave any 3G well alone, at least with the GSM system it is relaible most of the time.

[Bristol Pete]

FREE CAPTAIN BENEFIT / CAPTAIN BENEFIT IS INNOCENT
t.shirts from here

Perhaps it should say 'Captain Benefit is definately not 3'

I found them the worst network ever.

The worst hyandsets, the worst signal and the worst ever customer service I have ever encountered.

I lost my phone (which was fully covered by their insurance) and it took me 2 months to get a replacement that actually allowed me to make calls and send texts.

[General Skanky]

I used 3 for a year with faultless service etc.

I'd argue that if you asked everyone in the UK what problems they've had with phone companies it'd all be the same.

For the record, I now have a Vodaphone company phone, had grief from Orange about it! They want to sell me their stuff on it. Do they believe me that's it's not their phone, let alone even mine? Not a chance, however I'd still benefit from extra texts for a small fee............

[pjclark1]

I have three from "3", no problems at all (newest is 6 months old now)
when one of them broke they sent a courier out the next day to deliver a replacement and collect the broken phone.
can't fault them in any way, and at £5 a month for 500 mins + 100 txts, can't beat em on price either.

[avjon]

I have had no problems with 3 at all - the coverage covers exactly what their site says - I live in a valley where there is no coverage according to their site - and I don't get any (it uses O2), but I work 6 miles away where they say I do get coverage and I do. I admit that I don't really ever use the 3G network facilities but their tariff was great and I've found custoner service to be fine. I have been on Orange, O2, BT cellnet, BT mobile and they all appear to have their problems. I suppose that every provider has problems.

[Razor]

I have swapped from orange which I was a customer with for over 7 years. The reception from orange in my area had gradualy decreased to zero. To make a call I had to stand at the back of my garden. My monthly bill from orange was around the £300+ mark. I have since swapped to 3 network and I have gone for the 2000 minutes package for £100 per month.

Inclusive Text Messages (Peak Rate) 300
Inclusive Picture Messages 100
Inclusive Video Messages 100

Reception is far better than my orange ever was and my bill hasn't gone over the £100 mark. In four months I have saved over £900 and I am contactable all the time as the receiption in my area is always on full.

It took me many months to pluck up the courage to swap from orange to 3. The way I looked at it in the end was I had 2 weeks in which to reject the contract if I wasnt happy.

My only gripe is the battery life on the motorola E1000 isnt the best.

Overall I am over the moon with my 3 phone and the savings I am making.

My advice would be to try and make up your own mind.

BTW I live in Epsom Surrey and I spend alot of time in London as this is where my business is set up.

[emporer]

I completely agree with all your comments. I was on 3 for a short time, and although the deals are seemingly good, something has to give. You get what you pay for. I had crap signal and couldn't get 3g anywhere, and the phones were all crap.

BUT, the absolute worst was the (lack of) customer service. Now, i'm no racist but when you put you call centre in India or somewhere in that region you are gonna have problems. I'm sure it's done this way not just for cost purposes, but to put people off as much as possible. Every time I phoned them they couldn't grasp any thing of what I was trying to say, not even a simple question could be answered properly. If they insist on having customer services like that, they could at leasty make sure that they speak english ( a prime requisite i'd have thought ) and understand somebody that is english.

Originally Posted by mcav

I know this may seem obvious - but I still think it is important to mention

DO NOT JOIN THE THREE NETWORK.

After a year of hell, including constant dropped calls, non existant walled garden internet, little or no decent content, a rubbish email service, and an absolutely apalling customer service. I am STILL recieving marketing messages from three network to my new handset on vodaphone. (marketing only from 3 alerts i may add)

I requested that they do not send me marketing in may 2004 - and every month since then i have called to hear someone in mumbai called "jeeves" or "kevin" or "smithers" that they promise i will not get marketing texts or calls. And I got them ALL THE TIME.

The call tarrifs look attractive - the price looks good and their claimed coverage looks good too. It is all a lie.

Their coverage is garbage! Their signal quality a joke and their internet access is so slow and restricted, it completely wastes the 3g service. vodaphone live 2.5g is faster!

Please take this advice - do not join three network. You will so very regret it.

The reception on my phone was awful. I live in Manchester, and the phone kept swapping between 2g and 3g, resulting in it dropped calls and drained battery. What I did notice was that when I was in deepest darkest rural Cumbria, I had great signal, as it was always on 2g and the battery life was far better.

[Daddy k]

i actually sell 3 and know a lot of behind the scenes politics that happen
now the customer service!
they are so amusing! now ur bored and give em a ring, in a very indian accent you hear "hello my name is william"
so you say how are u? did u see the game? they usually know the answer (they get meeting each day lol) then say where do you live? hell say something like york to which you reply oh yeah i only live 10 mins from there you know brighton? they usually say oh yes i know it lol
anyway my point being yeah its terrible!!! never the same answer twice.

now the dropped calls when roaming from 3g (3) to 2.5g (o2)
o2 said they cannot take over the swap without dropping the call (tech reasons)
3 went to court about it claiming the facty how come 02 2.5 can seamlessly swap to 3g without a drop etc. 3 won o2 were pulling a fast one with the way they handle the calls and very very very soon! your call will not drop when switching between 2.5 and 3g.


network coverage! its mostly down to the handset! after all your running on 2 networks! if you cant get the 3g it will switch to o2.

however i am not with 3 as i dont like the restrictions theyve placed on handsets ie no full internet access etc.

[General Skanky]

What?

[barongreenback]

Awful network - I would NEVER go with them again. The handsets were bad enough but the service was beyond belief.

[Razor]

If I read this thread I would of never of got a three phone, I m glad I didnt as I am saving over £200 per month and the receiption is fine. Is there anyone from London that uses Three? Are you as happy as me with your Three phone?

Mercury one to one was like this when it was first released about 10 years ago. Great in London and no signal outside of the M25.

[Madcarpy]

Agree razor. I have just swapped from Orange to 3 as there is a certain part of the country where I spend a lot of time. There was never any sevice from Orange but on the 3 network, its fine Also the savings I will make over the 18 months is well worth changing networks alone. I reckon I will be several hunderd pounds better off after this 18 months. Happy days

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Madcarpy

Agree razor. I have just swapped from Orange to 3 as there is a certain part of the country where I spend a lot of time. There was never any sevice from Orange but on the 3 network, its fine Also the savings I will make over the 18 months is well worth changing networks alone. I reckon I will be several hunderd pounds better off after this 18 months. Happy days

Madcarpy

Where are you based?

I have already used my savings to go to the Red Sea in Egypt. Saved over £600 in 3 months

[Madcarpy]

Near Bristol mate I am saving my dosh for a new (expensive) camera lens!

[SeaneyC]

Been on Vodafone, O2, Orange, and T-Mobile, all in the last 2.5 years, and none of them have been as woefully dire as 3, given experiences from every single one of my friends who made the mistake of signing up to 3. Fortunately they have all finished their contract period now, and have all moved to other networks!

[mickey]

gone from o2 to 3 and my 3 phone is miles better thn my o2 was. at the moment no dropped calls, definatly better reception and cheaper, emails dont interest me neither does web access, i have a pc at home or at work for that. but for a clear call and a good camera if i need to send a pic to the office , I am well sattified. Cheers Mike

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Madcarpy

Near Bristol mate I am saving my dosh for a new (expensive) camera lens!

LOL.... Freebies all round

I'm off on more hols in 3-4 months thanks to Three

[dazzafact]

ive been on 3 for a year now, my first phone was an lg, which kept crashing, and cs kept sending me replacements that were refurbished. After 5 new/refurbished phones i got sick and contacted oftel who gave me 3's proper customer services in scotland(cant remember what they were called) They sent me a brand spankers moto a1000. I have since had no problems. i do understand coverage is an issue, but what can you do!! broadband still aint available everywhere!!! Price plans are a bargain, and if you can live with leaving your surfin til you get home then your onto a winner!! Oh aslong as you pick a decent phone!!

[Throttle]

Ive got a three motorola e1000 and apart from the battery not lasting too long ive not had much trouble with signal or calls i sometimes get callers getting a echo but thats it the main thing i dont like is the limited to three internet services
Ive had more signal problems with my orange p910i so far not that ive had much trouble with orange and least they do have free roaming internet access though that can be bit dodgy on connecting at times ! Lol

[ad47uk]

I see people on here syaing they are saving £200 a month, they must use their phone hell of a lot to get bills high enough to save that amount.

Most people I doubt would save very little if nothing by going with 3, by the seems of it.

I do not use my phone a lot, which is why I use Pay as you go, I was looking at 3 system a couple of weeks back, but their pay as you go is not very good.

I sent an email to 3 and they told me it was not a PAYG system, but just a way to allow people to use 3 who do not want a contract.

TBH, I do not really want a phone with everything on it, so I suppose 3 is not really for me and the signal is not that great here, as my nephew got 3.


I am still looking for a nice phone, not too expensive, with no fancy stuff on.

[Matt Horne]

I'm with 3 on 2 lines.. not had major issues like some.. but only 2 weeks til I can get the PAC numbers