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Vodafone a nightmare

Ronald Boivin

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2021
On getting to Almería to do the Camino Mozarabe, I purchased a Vodafone SIM card for my iPhone 4. I was charged 40€ even though my receipt only showed 20€. Three days later, when my phone did not work properly, I realize got scammed out of 20€ cash by the clerk at Vodafone. Reported it to police but they could do nothing. I could NOT access telephone signal on many occasions during my first three weeks in the camino which put me at risk. I went to Vodafone in Grenada And Córdoba and No competent clerk could help fix the problem. I could not recharge the card online! I spent another 20€ for a total of 6O € for three weeks casi-service. finally in Merida I got a Digit mobile SIM card which works fine.
Vodafone is not made to access service in rural areas not in the city if Grenada.

In speaking to locals, they often smiled saying “Now you know about Vodafone,

I should have bought Moviestar SIM card I stead in Almería
 
Altus 24 Liters daypack (DENON 24 H30)
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Oh my, you are having a rough trot. First the credit card problems and then Vodafone not working.
Personally, in 3 Caminos I have never had a problem with either Visa or Mastercard, and my Vodafone is perfect - especially the great value international roaming, and it works everywhere (unlike at home!).
 
I ran into a similar scam a few years ago with an Orange simcard account recharge. It was early in the morning and the clerk said the Internet was down so I needed to pay cash. Fool me once…..
 
Altus ANDES 400 H30 sleeping bag
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
When you are a foreign roaming customer you have access to more networks than with a local sim so usually you will get better coverage, at a price.
 
Had a 2 month, 4 total cards used, no problem whatsoever in Spain, Portugal and France .. and covered all rural areas including much of LaMancha, over the Pyrenees, southern most Portugal... 4 because we had two phones and I was buying the 1 month cards... Not saying anything disparaging .. just saying it's not an "always and everytime" thing ..
 
Altus ANDES 400 H30 sleeping bag
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
I have had good coverage so far with Vodafone. I did initially have issues with 2 step verification with my bank when booking ahead with my travel card as I was using a Spanish SIM card and a Spanish number that had to be changed with the bank (a major issue). This was resolved once I had the correct mobile number and no prefixes with the number. I found a Vodafone shop in Bilbao - the staff was not interested in helping me so I located another Vodafone shop and had a great experience with the staff member at this shop. With Google translate we discovered what we needed to do to rectify the problem.
 
We just finished our Camino (last 100km from Lugo) last September. We are from Canada and had no issue using our credit cards (issued also by Scotiabank) in Portugal and Spain. We also had no issue with Vodafone. We bought 20€ SIM card from Porto airport. It worked well in Portugal, Spain and Gibraltar. I hope that you have a better luck in your next Camino. It's been an amazing experience for us.
 
Not wishing to go off on a tangent, but...........

You are using an iPhone 4?

That is a 12 year old phone and was designed to operate on the 3G network as far as I know.

Very few carriers still maintain 3G networks. Most are using 4G and often 5G
Not sure if Vodafone in Spain still have 3G.....

Though this site shows a bit of 3G coverage still......
Looks like 4G mostly. Maybe that's part of the problem?

I could be wrong. I'm not very techie.....

Vodafone Movil 3G / 4G / 5G coverage in Amés, Spain - nPerf.com

Compare the network coverage of mobile operators and check their performance at home !
www.nperf.com


.
 
Camino Inglés Walking Holiday - UK
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Robo said:
That is a 12 year old phone and was designed to operate on the 3G network as far as I know.
Click to expand...
I think you are right - most of Spain is on 4g-5g now, and older phones simply won't connect to the network, even with a valid SIM and credits.

Obviously getting charged $40 for $20 credits is awful, but I wonder if putting the SIM in a newer phone would actually work.
 
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