My name is Phil Leggetter and I'm a Software Consultant, Engineer, Team Leader, Line Manager, Twitterer and general tech geek. I'm really into technology being applied in the social media space. For more information see the About Phil Leggetter page.
ScottGu’s Blog - Blog on IIS, ASP.NET, ASP.NET Ajax, CLR, Compact Framework, Windows Forms, Commerce Server, Visual Web Developer 2005 and Visual Studio Tools for WPF
My girlfriend was out at the Take That concert at Wembley so I was left on my own this Saturday afternoon. Not knowing what to do with myself as the evening approached I decided to go for a run. Normally I find running quite difficult. As I run my mind tends to concentrate on my breathing which puts me off the run. The difference today was that I went exploring.
I commute in to London most days from Hertford East. Over the past few weeks taking the train journey has been quite painful for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the heat on the train is really uncomfortable and secondly because the train goes through a beautifully scenic area between Hertford and Ware called Kings Mead which makes you wish were out walking through the nature reserve rather than in a hot stuffy carriage.
The stone that is shown right at the start of the video says “43 Feet” on it. It did have some other writing on it but I couldn’t get close enough to read it. The other interesting point in this video is the penalty of FIVE POUNDS for violating any of the rules on the sign. The sign could maybe do with being updated.
I finally managed to get the O2 XDA Serra (HTC Touch Pro) but boy was it a hassle! I had to start a new contract with O2 and lose my old one that I’d had since 2004. I now know that this means I’ve lost 5 years of loyalty bonus points (or similar). I only found this out when I tried to get my PAC for my old O2 contract and the “retention team” offered me 18 months free with 250 text messages and 75 minutes. Yes, FREE.
Other problems along the way were:
“You can’t take an existing simplicity tariff number onto a new O2 online tariff”
Paying for two contract for a number of days whilst O2 muddle along
O2 actually trying to get me to keep two mobile contracts. Why would I want two mobile phone contracts? I can only use one phone at a time!
Plenty of mis-communication
Numerous calls to and from O2 Customer Services
No offer of a “sweetener” to say sorry although they did end up manually transferring my phone number after I threatened to cancel both contracts.
When my 24 month contract is up I will do everything in my power to use an alternative mobile phone network.
I now have my O2 XDA Serra (HTC Touch Pro) and I’m very happy with it.
What I should have done
I should have phoned up and tried to cancel my contract as soon as I was displeased with the service. I then would have been put straight through to the “retention team” at O2 who would have done everything within their power to keep me. This most probably would have included getting the XDA Serra (HTC Touch Pro) for a discounted price and getting a better general tarriff. You live and learn.
I’ve been out of contract with O2 for probably around two years now and during this time I’ve been perfectly happy with the XDA IQ that I’ve got. I also carry around a Blackberry that I have for work so use that to browse the Internet, check email, and send tweets. I’ve not also got a 3G USB dongle from work that I can use on the train. All these gadgets have become a bit of a burden and I’ve been considering upgrading my phone to something that I can use as a 3G modem for my laptop, has a reasonable mobile browser, GPS, and has a good set of other applications for it such as Google Maps, a Twitter client, and a Yammer client. I want to replace three gadgets with one.
I’ve been looking at the HTC phones for quite a while since they run windows (I like Microsoft stuff), I can easily sync my contacts and calendar (ActiveSync is still the best for this), I can write .NET compact framework applications for it (I’ve already said I like Microsoft stuff), and HTC are generally up there as one of the best phone/PDA manufacturers.
HTC Touch Pro
So, I was delighted when I recently went to the O2 website to see that they have the XDA Serra which is actually the HTC Touch Pro. The HTC Touch Pro HD and HTC Touch Pro II are available but I would have needed to fork out for the whole phone myself. I’m an existing customer so I went straight to the Upgrades section of the website, requested my upgrade code, chose the Online 20 tariff, and looked for the Web Bolt-on to give me unlimited* data on my phone. The Web Bolt-on isn’t available.
O2 Upgrade Page
From here I decided to find out if I would get this option I were a new O2 customer. I found out that not only can a new customer add the Web bolt-on but also they get the O2 XDA Serra around £50 cheaper than an existing customer. So, I decided to phone up a “online upgrades advisor” (0800 1313136) to see if they could help me order by phone with the Web bolt-on and at the same price as a new customer would pay. The “online upgrades advisor” was of very little. I was informed that they “don’t have the phone on the system” so the only way to get it was to upgrade online (for a more expensive price and without the Web bolt-on) – No thanks!
O2 New Customer Page
After phone calls to O2’s main number as an existing customer (08442 020202) and customer services, and Hertford’s O2 shop I had to phone new sales. They informed me that since I was on the rolling Simplicity deal I would be treated as a new customer anyway. So, I had to set up a new contract, do a credit check, set up a new O2 account, and set up a new direct debit. I also now have to cancel my existing simplicity one when I get my new phone. In addition, if I could have done the upgrade one I could have selected where I wanted my new phone to be sent to. Since I’ve made my purchase of a new contract over the phone I’ve had to get my new phone delivered to my registered address and I know I won’t be in meaning I’ll have to drive out to the delivery depot to collect it.
What’s my point?
My point is that I wanted to pay £200 for a new phone and sign up for a 24 month contract worth a good few quid and nobody at O2 seemed too bothered to help me out. Also, I can’t believe that O2 force you to get your phone delivered to your registered address. Most people don’t work from home so won’t be there to receive the delivery. How much customer and delivery driver time must this waste?!
I’m sticking with O2 at the moment simply because they offer the best coverage for where I live. When this contract is up I’ll probably have moved so I’ll certainly consider another mobile provider above O2.
Jo and I have decided that we are going to start going for Sunday lunch and are going to keep a list of where we’ve been and what we thought of it. What better place to keep a note of this than on a blog. Here’s our first effort at a review.
I’ve been back at work a week now after my holiday on Colonsay and I still think that I could have done with another week on this beautiful Scottish Isle.
. The HTC Touch Pro HD and
are available but I would have needed to fork out for the whole phone myself. I’m an existing customer so I went straight to the Upgrades section of the website, requested my upgrade code, chose the Online 20 tariff, and looked for the Web Bolt-on to give me unlimited* data on my phone. The Web Bolt-on isn’t available.
