Tag Archives: three

Upgrading 3 (Three) Pay as You Go phones

I have my ups and downs with 3 (Three, otherwise known as Hutchinson 3G) – just recently I was raving about their speedy customer service.

Sadly, today I have a small complaint to 3 – their handling of Pay as You Go phone upgrades. It seems to be non-existent. I called up 3’s customer service asking about upgrading my current Nokia 3120 Classic and I was told that there was no way possible of upgrading 3 Pay as You Go phones. I was also told that 3 only dealt with contract upgrades.

I am somewhat confused. How can you have a huge mobile phone company and not deal with Pay as You Go upgrades? Surely someone must have come across this problem before.

I’ve searched and searched across the net but right now I can’t find anybody who has tried to upgrade their pay as you go 3 phone.

I don’t particularly want to move to contract as I don’t like having to be subject to payments when I might not take full advantage of included texts and minutes.

I’ve emailed 3’s support team to ask why they don’t have an upgrade plan for Pay as You Go users. I shall await a response and see what they tell me.

Has anybody else had the same problem with 3?

3 Customer Support is improving…

I’m very glad to report that 3’s (Hutchinson 3G’s) Customer Service is finally improving.

I’ve had to speak with various people at 3 today because my local 3G mast has become unavailable, leaving me with very little coverage. The only way I can currently get coverage is by using Orange’s backup 2G network.

I spoke to 3 today and told them about the issue. To be truthful, I spoke to a technician online first (as 3 provides online chat as well as free telephone customer support), but he was very helpful and quickly reported the issue for investigation.

I then got a text from 3 this afternoon saying that they’d tried to call me back but I wasn’t available. I was glad to hear they had tried (how many times has a company promised you a call back, but not bothered?), but as I was out at that time I couldn’t take the call. In the text they provided me with an 0845 number to call them back with, and despite having to wait a little while for an advisor, I did get through to a very helpful man.

He told me that the problem would be investigated and gave me some instructions to make sure my 3G connectivity was available as soon as possible. He was very apologetic and promised me the problem would be solved within 21 days.

After lots of discussion, the man finally said that 3 may call me in the next few weeks to check the 3G coverage is available again. I was fine with this and the man I spoke to was very thankful for my co-operation.

In the end, I was also promised a little compensation for the lack of service. I didn’t ask for it – it was simply offered to me, so I willingly accepted it. This means I will receive a free top-up to the value of £10 (so I am told).  I haven’t received the compensation yet, but I have been promised it within the next 24 hours so hopefully I shall get it soon.

In conclusion, I am very happy with the service I received today. There are countless reports of poor customer service, but if you have a little patience and don’t loose your temper, the customer service is really efficient and helpful.

3 (Three) Mobile introduces free texts and internet on Pay As You Go

3 (Three) UK Mobile has today introduced free texts and internet to users topping up. It looks like a really nice addition to pay as you go on Three and has definately made me glad to be on Three.

From today (June 2nd 2009), 3 are giving away free texts and internet usage every time you top up.

Here’s how it goes…

Mobile Internet

From now on, you get 150MB of free internet access with every top up no matter how big or small. You must use it within 90 days.

Free texts

This is how it goes:

  • Top up £5 and you’ll get 25 free texts to use within 90 days. You can only top up by £5 online.
  • Top up £10 and you’ll get 300 free texts to use within 90 days. Top up online and you’ll get an extra 300 texts (meaning 600 in total).
  • Top up £15 and you’ll get 500 free texts to use within 90 days. Top up online and you’ll get an extra 500 texts (meaning 1000 in total).
  • Top up £20 and you’ll get 1000 free texts to use within 90 days. Top up online and you’ll get an extra 1000 texts (meaning 2000 in total).
  • Top up £25 and you’ll get unlimited free texts to use within 90 days, whether you top up in a shop or online.

It’s so amazing and I’m very happy about it. It almost makes Pay As You Go better value than contract now! The best bit is that you get 90 days to use your free rewards, rather than the cruddy 30 days most mobile providers give.

I can’t get over how good it is and am trying to top up now to get my first reward! Thanks 3!

Three UK announces unlimited Skype for everyone, forever

Three UK mobile announced on 1st May 2009 that it was editing its usage policy of Skype on user’s mobiles. From now on, all users of Three mobiles will receive unlimited usage on Skype no matter whether you top up or not. So basically that means that users can now have free calls to anybody in the world, as long as they are on Skype.

The plan used to be that Pay As You Go customers had make a £5 top up once every three months to get Skype calls, and Pay Monthly customers had to have an internet plan. From now on, as long as you are on a 3 mobile you will get free Skype calls anytime, to anyone (on Skype).

I am glad that Three are finally using VoIP to a new level, and hopefully this will cause other mobile operators to follow on.

3 (Three/Hutchison 3G) UK Mobile Pay as you Go – Full and thorough review!

I’ve been with 3 (Three) for just under 6 months, so I feel it’s about time I do a full review. There’s much argument on the internet as to whether 3 is really a good company or whether it isn’t to be used. I have summed up most of the features available on 3 and how well they compare to other mobile operators in the UK.

Bare in mind, this review is based on pay as you go usage, but some categories (such as Coverage) apply to both PAYG and Pay Monthly.

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