HTC Wildfire Not working due to Network Lock

[Whitevermin]

Hi all, first post and probably not going to be my last after the way I have been treated by Virgin Mobile. 

I have recently upgraded from PAYG to monthly and chose the HTC Wildfire, boy do I wish I had just gone to O2 or Orange etc... Received the phone, charged it and popped my SIM card in. Got the "Network Locked" message as soon as startup had completed. Having looked through the forums this has been happening to people since June 2010 and Virgin are still sending these units out and not informing customers that there may be an issue. How poor is this from a so called global organisation. And don't get me started on the useless South African call centre. Firstly they kept passing me through to technical support who must not exsist as I held for nearly 3 hours with no one answering. Eventually I called back at about 17:10pm on Saturday evening and was told I needed to go back through to Tech Support, at this point I thought I would ask if they were actually open, after a short pause the operator advised me that they closed at 5pm!!! If I hadn't of asked they would of put me through and let me hold to a closed department! Then I was told to call back at 8am on Sunday morning and they would be 100% open. Called at 8am and the operator told me that tech support opened at 9!! Another lie!!! I called at 9am, was on hold till 10 and nothing still, rang back to South Africa and demanded a call from a manager, they said I would receive a call by 12pm. 12:05 nothing, called back again (bearing in mind that this is costing me each time I call) and was told "sorry our systems are down"!! How useless are Virgin Mobile????

I would be grateful if someone from Virgin Mobile reads this post and does something about it. I even called my local store and was told that my SIM card is out of date, again this is not correct as it works on anyone else's phone, just not the phone sent out by Virgin Mobile. I have seen posts from users that have somehow managed to get through to tech support and their phone has been unlocked within 2 minutes. maybe UK CALL CENTRES WOULD BE MORE EFFICIENT!!! Everyone on previous posts has only had any help from a UK based operator. I have had isues with the Indian call centres in the past and as soon as I dialled the "do you wish to leave Virgin" line I get through to an English call centre and everything is explained properly and sorted out straight away.

Needless to say the phone is now boxed back up and ready to be sent back to Virgin Mobile. I have already sent a detailed mail and written letter to OFCOM, not that it will probably do anything but I can't see how a company can get away with this.

Sorry for the long rant but I am extremely angry and frustrated at the pathetic customer service and pathetic after sales support offered. 

[HmmmUK]

As you say, this is a well known issue - searching for 'wildfire network locked' shows lots of posts.

My Wildfire was also locked but I was lucky to get through to a support person that could help - it all seems to be luck of the draw!

Customer Service seems wildly variable - the only thing I can say is I think most of the mobile phone companies are equally as bad

[Whitevermin]

I can kind of see where your coming from HmmmUK, but would another mobile phone operator send out a phone that they know does not work and then not give you any support in getting it to work? VM have known about this issue since June/July 2010, surely as soon as the first 10 isues arose they should of sent back their bulk buy of phones and repalced them for unlocked units?? It just feels like a scam to get you to phone a pay number numerous times and get charged for zero help.

[donny111]

I wander if you can therefor even if opened charged and try the phone return it  without payment or claim back in credit for the time not being able to use and the cost of calls you should not have had to make?.

[Trickiejohn]

HTC did send some lock phone to Virgin and it caused a few red faces,

You could alway use this website:

http://www.saynoto0870.com/

[Whitevermin]

Thanks to Chirs based at the Teeside offices my phone is working. Strange how the UK based call centres can resolve the issue within 10 minutes.

My advice to anyone that has this problem, call on a weekday before 6pm and select the code to cancel your contract, do not select tech support as you will go through to a foreign call centre.

[Trickiejohn]

There is no direct line to tech support, their calls are all filtered before your connected to them

[siva12]

hi i got my htc wildfire mobile unlocked to network from theunlockspot here they ask me the country and the network name to which my mobile is locked then the imei number of my mobile .finally they send me codes to unlock my mobile .