back to article Vodafone customers fume over iPhone 4S delays

UK iPhone lovers who chose to pre-order the iPhone 4S from Vodafone, so they could use the souped-up Jesus mobes before anyone else, have been left fuming as shops fill with stock while their promised iPhone packages have yet to arrive. One such user is Johny, a Reg reader, who wrote in to say: The whole iphone 4S launch on …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    haha

    Get a decent phone instead

  2. Paul 164

    Happy Orange customer!

    I pre-ordered my 4s on the 9th direct via Orange. Was told I would have to wait up to 30 days to receive it as they had been inundated with pre-orders.

    All smiles as Friday 14th at 8.30 I received notification that it had been shipped and would be with me first thing Saturday 15th. Very relieved I didn't have to wait up to those 30 days :)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Joke

      Ah but you did have to wait UP TO 30 days....

      ... in the same way most UK customers receive UP TO X megabit broadband.

  3. D@v3
    WTF?

    Surely the lesson here is to just chill out, and then go and buy one, from the shop.

  4. Naughtyhorse

    whaaaaaaa!

    fanbois spitting dummies out left right and centre.

    doncha just love it when stuff just works :-D

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Look after the undecideds

    Those who pre-ordered are probably die hard fanbois who will put up with being fucked about and forget all about it once they get their hands on the latest bit of look at me bling. I predict they will also pre-order the iPhone 5, 6, 7...

    This also applies to people who stick with the same insurance provider, don't switch banks regulary and so on. Loyal customers get shafted, new customers get the deals.

  6. Real Name
    WTF?

    Pre-ordered on the 7th...

    and it arrived on the 14th in the vodafone store. Went and picked it up at lunch time on the 14th with no issue.

    System was a bit slow, mind.

    Only issue I did have was porting my number... they have a huge backlog of porters going on it seems... But eventually happened late Monday night.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Why did I pre-order?"

    'Cos your a div!

    Pre-ordering is, most of the time, pointless. You can usually wander down the shops on release day and find some stock.

    Has no one learned anything from the 360 and PS3 releases, when there was tons of release day stock on the high street?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Vodafone your not alone

    Vodafone customers are not alone, I share their grief.

    I placed a pre-order for an o2 iPhone 4S upgrade last Monday via the Carphone Wharehouse web site. The phone was to be delivered to store on Friday, but it never arrived.

    The yodel tracking reference has given its location at the Litchfield service center since the 13th October with no further updates.

    I checked with the store yesterday, but it still hadn't come in. But I was told that they had received a batch of iPhone 4s that morning. When I asked could I not have one of them, I was informed I would have to wait on my order to come in. I contacted carphone wharehouse customer care, and they weren't able to help either. I would just have to wait, but I was informed that I should have it Tuesday or Wednesday.

    Checked today, still not arrived. Still plenty of iPhone 4S in stock in store, but not allowed to take one home because I have to have the one allocated to me. You would think it would be fairly easy for this to be sorted. i.e. I take a phone from the store stock and when the one I order final arrives for it to go back into the stores stock. Carphone Wharehouse please get your act together, you would think the stores and web site belonged to 2 different companies.

  9. emmanuel goldstein
    Facepalm

    "I have spoken to vodaphone more than I speak to friends and family this week"

    'nuff said

    1. defiler

      Can't normally speak to his friends and family

      Dodgy aerial on his phone. That's why he wants the 4S, see? Poor soul!

  10. Alan Denman

    4th day of xmas.............

    Obviously once you get to day 4 and don't have the iPhone it's at least 'four mockingbirds'.

    1. Jedit Silver badge

      It's "calling birds" or "collie birds"

      Depending on which version you recall.

  11. scorpio2010

    Misleading stock availability

    Vodafone website still showing 'in stock' availability for all 4S models but like many others I've since discovered that this is not the case. After I ordered yesterday Vodafone send me a message saying my order will be delayed with no indication of how long.....

    1. Hardcastle the ancient

      touchstone business.

      I don't think any of the mobile operators could run a florists. Imagine telling people that the wedding flowers were going to be 3 weeks late...

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yep, about right!

    Pre-ordered with vodafone a week before release like many. Release date came and went, no phone, called up and was told that somehow through some vodafone cockup my phone ended up on back order even though according to their customer support and website the phone had never gone out of stock at any point.

    No-one could tell me what was going on with my order or why it had happened. Outright lied to at times... "yes sir, your phone has been dispatched with parcelforce today and will be with you before 6pm".... that was Friday, and they refused to give me a parcelforce tracking number (seemingly because they were making it up!).

    Ended up cancelling my pre-order today (still none the wiser as to where the hell it was... I was quoted 2 weeks for it to be sent out at one point) and walked into an O2 store and picked one up off the shelf, lol.

    Great one vodafone!

    Goes to show that their IT systems obviously failed under the heavy demand. They probably should have just done what O2 did and not do pre-orders at all... then they wouldn't have had any of this hassle, just long queues for the customers.

  13. CatFunt
    Happy

    Why are the Fanbois surprised?

    This is Apple that's fucked them over, after all.

    Go and purchase a proper phone from a proper mobile company that doesn't overcharge for access to its walled garden!

    Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ah, the joys of not bothering with contracts any more. Simply order the phone off-contract from Apple's website, get a (cheaper) tariff separately, and off you go.

    Much less hassle. And, if this sort of thing appeals, you may even get the benefit of getting your greasy little fanboi hands on it early - my 4, 4S, iPad and iPad 2 all arrived the day before they were "released". Imagine, a whole extra 24 hours to swipe yourself into a frenzy.

  15. Big Knox

    Ordered from vosa at 9:30 on 7th. Arrived 14th at 15:05. Didn't get a dispatch email/text as promised but the important thing is the handset arrived. :)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      VOSA?

      You bought a phone from the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency?

  16. LarsG

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, oh dear me wasn't this predictable, soooooo predictable, oh let me wipe the tears from my eyes. It's the end of the world as we know it! Having to wait terrible its not fair. Oh you with such unfulfilled lives, you sad sad little nobodys, get some perspective.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hmm...

    I'm reminded of the simpsons:

    Mo: This thing'll flash fry a cow in thirty seconds

    Home: Thirty seconds? But I want it now!

  18. cortezcortez

    In other news. Motorola's Droid Razr was announced, and Galaxy Nexus specs and images were leaked.

  19. John Tserkezis

    Tell me, what does the 4S have the previous incarnations didn't?

    No wait, didn't they fix "that" antenna issue?

    Or was that slated to appear on the iPhone 5?

    Suckers. Really.

  20. A 31
    WTF?

    Amongst the retarded anti-fanboi comment (which are as bad as being a fanboi really, but I'll let your brain compute that one alone, never could understand the "them and us" based on a brand ... very very sad).

    Surely the saddest thing is to get upset over a mobile phone, whatever the brand, I don't feel sorry for people being sad about their delivery, more pitty really.

    What the hell have we become.Go out for a walk, for a pint, for a laugh, and forget about the sodding phone !

  21. iDavid

    Buy direct!

    Better to buy handset separate from carrier. Unlocked 4S ordered from Apple 7th, arrived 14th, pop in Voda SIM, activate, sell the IP4 for £350 on eBay, job done - and with a cheap SIM only data plan.

    Would you buy your PC from BT?

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The line "safely nestled in the restless hands of their new owners" is very misleading. We all know it is still owned by the ghost of Jobs, as is the fanboy holding it.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm happy

    I'm a new Vodafone customer, ordered online on 10th via Quidco and got tracking email on Thursday with tracking ref etc. Phone delivered Friday, number ported yesterday. All good for Voda from me :-)

  24. Fion

    HERE IS WHY

    Because it's only ceratin variations of iPhone 4S that are low in stock...

    16GB is pretty much all but gone - while 32 and 64 Gig versions are still being sent out at full throttle. Don't feel hard done by coz you picked the cheapest version.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Heart Transplant

    You know it is just a phone not heart you have pre-ordered. I am pretty sure your current phone will keep working and not cause loss of life over those couple of extra days. Given that it looks the same as the iphone 4 it's not even like you can brag you have it. Chill!

  26. Sordid Details
    Thumb Up

    Mobe?

    Didn't The Reg outlaw that moniker a little while back? Nice to see it back though. Like putting on an old pair of slippers.

  27. nichobe
    FAIL

    Coming out of the woodwork

    Vodafone are just reconnecting with their loyal customer base..... the supply chain just helped it along a bit.

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