STOPP CONTRIBUTING TO VODAFONE\'S PROFITS

Avoid contracts with this company in Germany as a private mobile services customer - unless you want to be ripped off monthly and really have a bad time both in terms of phone usability and service!

Here are some episodes of my 2 years saga with the \'blood drop company\':

- I had to use the phone in an emergency abroad and had to conduct several lengthy calls. Before the monthly bill arrived, my phone was blocked without any further notice. Upon contacting the customer service to find out why the phone wasn\'t operating, I am bluntly informed that the phone was blocked \'because my phoning behaviour was different from that of previous months\' !!!

- my bills from Ratingen, the company\'s billing location, need in average 10 days to reach destination; why would the company care to change its private snail mail provider when it simultaneously issues late payment notices for which each customer is charged €5 - an amount that exponentially increases with any consecutive bill invoiced! A perfect method to increase profits it seems!

- My repeated clarification attempts have been ignored by the billing services - despite reassurance obtained via phone from the customer service that I was going to be credited for the incorrect billing amount!

- My attemts to legally respond to this imposed threat weren\'t fruitfull and just added to the unjustified charges since a) lawyers\' remuneration in Germany for such cases is inferior to the efforts spent and b) judges are looking at cases whose compensation charges start with double digit figures

With its 10 managing directors united in a management board and 10 additional directors in an advisory board, Vodafone\'s modus operandi in Germany is indicative for customer neglect and hence of its core business - a sad fact in today\'s telecoms environment! We\'ll wait until the next consolidation wave...

In conclusion, my friend and I will stay away from Vodafone - we\'ve reckoned that there\'s a more appropriate place to donate blood - it\'s called the Red Cross!