I am extremely frustrated with my recent experience with 3. A couple of months ago, I reached the end of one of my contracts and made an in-store change. However, I have just discovered that 3 continued to charge me for a tablet that was supposedly included for free with my phone under the old contract. It turns out that the cost of the tablet was actually hidden within my phone contract.
I assumed canceling this charge would be straightforward, but that has not been the case. I called 3 four times while I was in the store in Poole, Dorset, but was unable to pass the security checks because the wrong date of birth was recorded on my tablet/old phone contract. I have five different payments set up with 3—four of them have the correct date of birth, but the one associated with the tablet does not. The store staff advised me to call customer service with the correct date of birth that was recorded on that contract, which feels unfair due to their administrative error. When I did, I encountered even more issues. At one point during the call, I was told that no email was associated with that account, which is incredibly frustrating when all I want to do is cancel this charge.
After the store added my email, I called 3 again, and during this call, I was insulted by the representative’s comments about my speech, unable to understand my voice. When I challenged them on this they claimed that @bad network coverage was the problem, which I found hard to believe. I was told to call back the next day. When I mentioned that I might cancel the direct debit, I was informed that I would face a fine. This feels unjust and unprofessional
It’s disappointing that phone companies make it so difficult to cancel services in-store, as it seems like a deliberate tactic to retain customers against their will. I urge you to stop relying on scripted responses and truly listen to your customers’ concerns.
