Mobile internet - Word of caution: Vodafone = ?fraud?, Yoigo = less fraud but still?
Posted: 03 September 2011 08:22 PM  
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Since I am staying in Spain (20 min from Malaga) for a while I needed get connected in order to work. I had used Yoigo before and it was ok but since I was planning to stay 5-6 weeks this time I realised that it would be a bit on the expensive side at 3?/day (actually it?s more then that), when asking around I was recommended Vodafone ? BIG MISTAKE.
On paper it looks like a good offer, you buy for ex 1 or 2 GB and can then top up, 5, 10, 15? etc., at least that?s what I was told?
Went home, installed sim-card and it worked fine, second day, had to log in to my bank in the afternoon to pay an invoice, forget it, connection to slow (measured it to 12-14 kbps), timed out every time I tried to do a transaction. Oh well, will do it another day, thought I? Next day, at 10 AM (on a Sunday!) same problem (38 kbps?).
So, visit to Vodafone for an explanation ? I thought? ?The problem is probably your PC, you have to come back with it.?. I explaned that I had already used it (a ThinkPad X300) without problems; Yoigo in Spain, Mobistar in Belgium and Telia close to the arctic circle (for an on-line conference?) but to no avail?
New visit next day ? download of Vodafone software, etc. No change, still lousy performance ?I have never seen this before?? was their explanation.
At this point I gave up and left. I found that Vodafone works fine ? at night! And sometimes during the day so, for work, forget it!
Final nail in the coffin, decided to try and use it again a few weeks later and bought a ?top-up? as I had been told you could do (in 5? increments), does not work? Finally I call their customer service which explains that in my case I need to by a 4 or 8? recharge? ?But you only sell them in 5, 10?, etc.?! Yes?? I though that it was a misunderstanding but no, in order to buy a service which cost/is worth 8? you have to pay 10?? A bit fraudulent as practice I thought ? ?It is our policy Sir?? (at least the lady in customer service was polite).

Have gone back to Yoigo which had another surprise, in the store they had told me that it was 3?/day so I was a bit surprised when a 15? recharge stopped working after 4 days. New visit in the store ? ?yes that is normal, it is 3.52 per day. What??!!? Why did they write 3? (in large in their brochure) and told me that it was 3 per day?? ?It is the price without VAT?? The explanations as to why their prices were displayed ExVAT (unless you read the very fine, fine print) was a bit of a farce but anyway there you are, mobile internet here is a bit of a scam (compared to elsewhere, IMHO), at least now I know it.
It?s sunny though 😊

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Posted: 03 September 2011 11:30 PM   [ # 1 ]  
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welcome to the internet and there scams .... n

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Posted: 11 September 2011 02:34 PM   [ # 2 ]  
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Couple of years ago we bought an Orange dongle @ ?3 per day.  We’d rarely get more than 14K download speeds.  Even tried it at two locations 35 km apart, no joy.

Don’t know of the network is poor or what the problem was, but we got stopped using that dongle ASAP.

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Posted: 22 September 2011 04:35 AM   [ # 3 ]  
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Little update…

Found out that there is Carrefour Movil mobile broadband (read it on a forum somewhere), it’s the best deal I found during these two months.
Paid 20? for the SIM card and some 12-13 days of usage. Seems to be 5? for 4 days of connection, 100 Mb/day, at normal speed, then it drops.
Basically the same deal as Yoigo but a better price.
Bemols… Have to get it at Carrefour and, it seems, like you better recharge there as well (or some other reseller of their services), tried it via the web and that went south big time.
Also, customer service in any other language then Spanish was pretty limited, they have been very nice though.

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