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 Vodafone has been a farce. People who pre-ordered on 7th have still not received their phones, but people who ordered up to 13th have. Phoning up you get told that there is no stock yet their website clearly states that the device is in stock. No one can answer you correctly and emails have gone unanswered for 5 days.

Other Voda customers have been left staring at the door, waiting for the postman. And Twitter user Dr2Bricks appears to have been driven into an iPhone-deprived frenzy.

Aagghh! Pre-ordered iPhone4s might turn up next week, if stock arrives on Friday. There was stock in shops! Why did I pre-order?

In one case, Voda punter SPhi, posting on the telco's forums, says he simply wants the order information: "There was an error that said my order was still waiting to be approved and he just changed it! But I received an email saying it had been approved. I have spoken to vodaphone more than I speak to friends and family this week and it's driving me up the wall."

We understand that the credit checks are the main cause of the delays, and that orders are only placed in the queue once the customer's credit-worthiness has been ascertained, a process that could result in some orders leap-frogging others.

Vodafone assures us that the mobes are on their way. The mobile giant also said that most of the many iPhones pre-ordered through their site are already safely nestled in the restless hands of their new owners"

The vast majority of our customers who pre-ordered their device took delivery of it on the day of launch following huge demand for the iPhone 4S.

Though Voda admits that some deliveries have arrived late:

In a limited number of cases we despatched phones to arrive over the weekend and would now expect customers to have their iPhone 4S. ®