Diji1
09-13-2007, 03:30 AM
Hi everyone, nice to see most of the old faces and some new ones and that the forum is still ticking along still. It's been a while since I posted anything here (over 6 months!).
My friends, I have a strange tale to tell. Myself would be disbelieving of this from some sources, so please don't lambast me if you think I'm making this up.
It started, or rather I found out about it, around about 6 weeks ago. My friend emailed me saying that she'd tried to call me and got an Asian woman who didn't know who I was, she'd tried it 3 times and kept getting this woman answering on my number. I was perplexed as their was no indication at all of calls on my handset.
So next day I thought to tery and ring my number on my handset: it rung and then to my amazement an Asian sounding woman answered. I repeat: I rang my mobile number, on my handset - and someone answered it! I have never met this woman, never recieved her number... sort of - well, I called her on my mobile number!
I told the woman about my friend trying to reach me and she confirmed that a woman had call asking for D*** (my name, not Dick ...or Duck ;) ). She then said something which completely freaked me out... according to her, various people had been calling her phone, every now and then, for a few MONTHS asking for D***. Months. I asked her to tell me her phone number: she said my number exactly. I asked her to repeat it because I was sort of in disbelief. We talked a little bit more: same network, same city... same number.
Anyhow, I called 3 (my... our network provider) and informed their helpdesk. I already knew their helpdesk was usually less than helpful from previous experience. The person who answered first had to be walked through the whole process (which took a little while ... fair enough I guess). When he understood what I was saying he said it's "totally impossible" (I would have thought so too as I have a very vague understanding of telcocommunications, enough to get that one must have a unique number for each and every SIM right!). I insisted for a long time, he ended up agreeing with me and I got the impression that he wasn't taking me seriously - like i was a sort of moron or playing a practical joke, but he said he'd look into it. He rang me: it went to my phone...
I tried to repeat the phenomenon again for 2 weeks or so (no call from 3 in that time) - it didn't happen. Then it happened again: same woman, same number... and same number apparently. It happend on my Pocket PC Phone Edition this time, not N73, so it's probably not a handset issue I surmised.
I rang 3 again: I repeated the explain it very slowly and basically and saying "I know it sounds impossible" etc. and the helpdesk person again tried calling me - again I answered. Same speech of "we'll find out what's happening etc."
So, again, I was told a week or whatever later by someone trying to reach me that they called this woman who has my number (sometimes - I have it mostly although how her friends dial her number and never get me is fairly surprising and worrying for me). Again I tried to repeat it for some time... and after a few days it happened again: same woman.
I rang 3 in the morning, pretty furious and determined to get something done about it. Again with the explaining the problem (I was beginning to thing they weren't writing this comnplaint down cos they kept referring to another, maybe related problem with call waiting on n73) I told them that if they didn't have some sort of resolution by the afternoon I would be cancelling my contract... the sales (oh, sorry, helpdesk) person duly became extremely **** kissy and said they'd resolve it of course, 3's here to help me have a great time, blah, blah etc.
Well, come 4:30 or so, no call from 3 so I went out to the local Telstra shop and signed up.
Then came fun part: cancelling contracts... somehow 3 managed to make this a particuarly unpleasant experience. First I had to (again) go through the whole problem again... after that I had to say 3 or 10 times "I want to cancel my contract". Between me saying "cancel etc." she went on the offensive: first she said it was a handset problem (I'd already told them about the fact it wasn't), then she wanted me to borrow, steal, procure somehow a 3 SIM card to use in my phone to see if it's the SIM... and 3 wouldn't lend me one of course. Then she wanted me to bring the handset into a 3 store so they can look at it (HAHAHA,... put in a corner for a week and call me to pick it up more like) and I can have a replacement handset. Then she insisted that call diversion was on, despite me saying that I'd never used it, always had it off and I was looking at my phone and repeatedly pushing "Turn all diverts off" In between her "helping resolve the problem" I kept interjecting with "I want to cancel my contract". Then she says that now she'll put me through to the "cancellation department" (is there such a thing??).
The next guy at the cancellation department was a different beast. First thing he said was "What's the problem?" I asked him to tell me - and he told me about the call waiting problem - and nothing else. I waited then said "Um... and..." and he goes "Oh yeah, here's something else...". FH. After explaining everything again (again...), I am not joking about this: I kept on saying, in a calmish, measured tone:
"Please terminate my contract".
... and he would reply with a completely unrelated topic, like "Let us help you", I'd say "Please terminate my contract",
he'd say:
"If you don't bring your phone in we won't know if it's a handset problem" and:
"How is you day been so far, and:
"Are you happy with your service so far with 3?"
... like 2 people having two different conversations. In two different rooms on the other side of the world in different languages.
Eventually I got my contract terminated. After a long, long, frustrating time.
I liked 3: the problem was they didn't seem to believe me, I could not demonstrate it to them because it only happened intermittently... I was literally in an impossible situation: no way to fix it and I sure as F*** wasn't going to have my calls going to another person. In the end I had to change networks... no choice.
I've no idea at all of how many calls I missed - who knows?
Has anybody else ever had something like this? Are there any telco techies out there that have any idea how this could happen? It happened on 2 different OS/handsets, happend both whilst the handsets were Roaming and not Roaming on 3 network.
My friends, I have a strange tale to tell. Myself would be disbelieving of this from some sources, so please don't lambast me if you think I'm making this up.
It started, or rather I found out about it, around about 6 weeks ago. My friend emailed me saying that she'd tried to call me and got an Asian woman who didn't know who I was, she'd tried it 3 times and kept getting this woman answering on my number. I was perplexed as their was no indication at all of calls on my handset.
So next day I thought to tery and ring my number on my handset: it rung and then to my amazement an Asian sounding woman answered. I repeat: I rang my mobile number, on my handset - and someone answered it! I have never met this woman, never recieved her number... sort of - well, I called her on my mobile number!
I told the woman about my friend trying to reach me and she confirmed that a woman had call asking for D*** (my name, not Dick ...or Duck ;) ). She then said something which completely freaked me out... according to her, various people had been calling her phone, every now and then, for a few MONTHS asking for D***. Months. I asked her to tell me her phone number: she said my number exactly. I asked her to repeat it because I was sort of in disbelief. We talked a little bit more: same network, same city... same number.
Anyhow, I called 3 (my... our network provider) and informed their helpdesk. I already knew their helpdesk was usually less than helpful from previous experience. The person who answered first had to be walked through the whole process (which took a little while ... fair enough I guess). When he understood what I was saying he said it's "totally impossible" (I would have thought so too as I have a very vague understanding of telcocommunications, enough to get that one must have a unique number for each and every SIM right!). I insisted for a long time, he ended up agreeing with me and I got the impression that he wasn't taking me seriously - like i was a sort of moron or playing a practical joke, but he said he'd look into it. He rang me: it went to my phone...
I tried to repeat the phenomenon again for 2 weeks or so (no call from 3 in that time) - it didn't happen. Then it happened again: same woman, same number... and same number apparently. It happend on my Pocket PC Phone Edition this time, not N73, so it's probably not a handset issue I surmised.
I rang 3 again: I repeated the explain it very slowly and basically and saying "I know it sounds impossible" etc. and the helpdesk person again tried calling me - again I answered. Same speech of "we'll find out what's happening etc."
So, again, I was told a week or whatever later by someone trying to reach me that they called this woman who has my number (sometimes - I have it mostly although how her friends dial her number and never get me is fairly surprising and worrying for me). Again I tried to repeat it for some time... and after a few days it happened again: same woman.
I rang 3 in the morning, pretty furious and determined to get something done about it. Again with the explaining the problem (I was beginning to thing they weren't writing this comnplaint down cos they kept referring to another, maybe related problem with call waiting on n73) I told them that if they didn't have some sort of resolution by the afternoon I would be cancelling my contract... the sales (oh, sorry, helpdesk) person duly became extremely **** kissy and said they'd resolve it of course, 3's here to help me have a great time, blah, blah etc.
Well, come 4:30 or so, no call from 3 so I went out to the local Telstra shop and signed up.
Then came fun part: cancelling contracts... somehow 3 managed to make this a particuarly unpleasant experience. First I had to (again) go through the whole problem again... after that I had to say 3 or 10 times "I want to cancel my contract". Between me saying "cancel etc." she went on the offensive: first she said it was a handset problem (I'd already told them about the fact it wasn't), then she wanted me to borrow, steal, procure somehow a 3 SIM card to use in my phone to see if it's the SIM... and 3 wouldn't lend me one of course. Then she wanted me to bring the handset into a 3 store so they can look at it (HAHAHA,... put in a corner for a week and call me to pick it up more like) and I can have a replacement handset. Then she insisted that call diversion was on, despite me saying that I'd never used it, always had it off and I was looking at my phone and repeatedly pushing "Turn all diverts off" In between her "helping resolve the problem" I kept interjecting with "I want to cancel my contract". Then she says that now she'll put me through to the "cancellation department" (is there such a thing??).
The next guy at the cancellation department was a different beast. First thing he said was "What's the problem?" I asked him to tell me - and he told me about the call waiting problem - and nothing else. I waited then said "Um... and..." and he goes "Oh yeah, here's something else...". FH. After explaining everything again (again...), I am not joking about this: I kept on saying, in a calmish, measured tone:
"Please terminate my contract".
... and he would reply with a completely unrelated topic, like "Let us help you", I'd say "Please terminate my contract",
he'd say:
"If you don't bring your phone in we won't know if it's a handset problem" and:
"How is you day been so far, and:
"Are you happy with your service so far with 3?"
... like 2 people having two different conversations. In two different rooms on the other side of the world in different languages.
Eventually I got my contract terminated. After a long, long, frustrating time.
I liked 3: the problem was they didn't seem to believe me, I could not demonstrate it to them because it only happened intermittently... I was literally in an impossible situation: no way to fix it and I sure as F*** wasn't going to have my calls going to another person. In the end I had to change networks... no choice.
I've no idea at all of how many calls I missed - who knows?
Has anybody else ever had something like this? Are there any telco techies out there that have any idea how this could happen? It happened on 2 different OS/handsets, happend both whilst the handsets were Roaming and not Roaming on 3 network.