Massive Vodafone bill - please help\

DevilsAdvocate1 · 22 November 2017 at 8:34PM

I've always been worried about getting a big mobile phone bill, so when I go on holiday I always use a PAYG sim.

I often work away from home and need to send large files to the companies I work for each evening. After being sick of having problems connecting to hotel wifi, I bought a modem from Vodafone and have been paying £30 a month for 50 GB of data.

The thing that really swayed me when I took out the contract was that the salesman said "The beauty of this plan is that it is capped, so you can't go over". Because this is something which I worry about I then took out the plan.

Everything was fine for 10 months. Last month I went over my allowance which I didn't think was possible. I went over by 24GB, using 74GB instead of the 50GB that I pay for. The first I knew was when I received a text to say that I had to ring them. I went into the store and they told me that I had been cut off because I owed them £694 - they charged me £664 for going 24GB over my allowance. They have taken this money out of my account, leaving me massively overdrawn.

The store said I had to ring customer services. I recorded the call and the third advisor I spoke to actually said "Its well known within Vodafone that the staff say the tariff is capped to get the sale". So basically, they lie to customers. I would not have taken this tariff out if I had known what I am now being told which is that they don't cap dongles or modems.

They tell me as I've used the data, I owe the money and that's that. I was offered a £50 goodwill gesture which I refused. I made a formal complaint and have just had a phone call to say they can offer me a 10% discount off the bill - so £69.40. They have said that is all they can do and the account is now in deadlock.

Can anyone advise where I go from here? I have 2 problems really. The first is that I was told it was capped, so I shouldn't be in this position in the first place. The second is that the cost for going over seems completely disproportionate given that I pay £30 for 50GB and they have taken £664 for 24GB.

Please help.

stuartJo1989 · 22 November 2017 at 9:33PM

You'd need to prove that you were told a lie...

You may benefit from requesting a transcript of the call where they admitted that it was common practice for people to lie about making a sale. It may cost up to £10 for this. This could be a very good piece of evidence for you.

Other than that, you should be careful and mindful about your own data usage. I'd sort of understand going over by 1/2 gb, but 24gb is quite excessive! A bit harder to play dumb in such a scenario.

If vodafone have their data charges (abroad) clearly documented on your contract/their Ts and Cs then they'll have a fairly strong case. They can take you to small claims court and that will give you the opportunity to dispute it.

DevilsAdvocate1 · 22 November 2017 at 9:52PM

stuartJo1989 wrote: »

You'd need to prove that you were told a lie...

You may benefit from requesting a transcript of the call where they admitted that it was common practice for people to lie about making a sale. It may cost up to £10 for this. This could be a very good piece of evidence for you.

Other than that, you should be careful and mindful about your own data usage. I'd sort of understand going over by 1/2 gb, but 24gb is quite excessive! A bit harder to play dumb in such a scenario.

If vodafone have their data charges (abroad) clearly documented on your contract/their Ts and Cs then they'll have a fairly strong case. They can take you to small claims court and that will give you the opportunity to dispute it.

I wasn't abroad, I was in the UK. I upload big files to companies I work for, often uploading up to 10GB at a time, but only on a couple of days a month. I actually thought I'd used around 30GB and was surprised I'd gone over as I was only 1 week into the current month. Never hit the limit previously.

I already have a copy of the call as I recorded it. I also told him I was recording the call at the beginning so presume I can use this.

Ames · 22 November 2017 at 10:26PM

Did you buy the modem as a business customer? I think that changes the laws that apply.

stuartJo1989 · 22 November 2017 at 10:57PM

DevilsAdvocate1 wrote: »

I wasn't abroad, I was in the UK.

I don't mean this in a nasty way, but I don't care where you were

You went over your data plan by 24gb.

I upload big files to companies I work for, often uploading up to 10GB at a time, but only on a couple of days a month. I actually thought I'd used around 30GB and was surprised I'd gone over as I was only 1 week into the current month. Never hit the limit previously.

You should keep track of this, not least because these "big files" would have been restricted from being sent had the 50GB limit actually cut you off...

But aside from that, your main aim is to establish liability on Vodafone's part.

I already have a copy of the call as I recorded it. I also told him I was recording the call at the beginning so presume I can use this.

Yea, you'd probably be able to use that in your defence. What about maybe emailing vodafone with the sound file attached, or referring to it, to show that their agent admitted liability?

pmduk · 23 November 2017 at 9:17AM

You've a tough case to fight here, hopefully, the rep's admission will help your case. However, if you're uploading up to 10Gb at a time your allowance will soon disappear and the onus is on you to check your balance, but this is easy to say with hindsight.

DevilsAdvocate1 · 23 November 2017 at 10:15AM

I don't know why the onus is on me when I was told it was capped. Surely they shouldn't be giving completely wrong information and then charging so massively. If you go overdrawn at a bank they make a charge but not by several hundred pounds. It seems completely out of proportion and if they are going to charge so much extra it should be made clear before you sign up.

I've never gone over before. It would have been fine if it had just stopped at 50GB and failed the transfers, that was what I expected would happen.

BoGoF · 23 November 2017 at 10:36AM

The onus is on you to check the detail of what you are signing up for. After a 2 minute look at the vodafone website I know that they charge £6.50 for every 250mb over the limit. It does not say it is capped at 50mb - although I imagine there may be something in your online settings to set a limit.

nomoneytoday · 23 November 2017 at 5:28PM

If it's for business purposes, can you recharge any of the costs to your business?

pmduk · 23 November 2017 at 7:09PM

DevilsAdvocate1 wrote: »

I don't know why the onus is on me when I was told it was capped. Surely they shouldn't be giving completely wrong information and then charging so massively. If you go overdrawn at a bank they make a charge but not by several hundred pounds. It seems completely out of proportion and if they are going to charge so much extra it should be made clear before you sign up.

Sadly your first mistake was trusting a phone salesperson. They'll all tell you what you want to hear. I've worked in the industry and spent hours clearing up their lies.
All networks charge huge amounts for usage outside your contract allowance. It is always important to keep an eye on your usage. All networks offer you the tools to do this. Finally, the onus is on you, because it is your fingers on the keypad, nobody else's - and you're the one stuck with a huge bill if you go wrong.

stuartJo1989 · 24 November 2017 at 8:45PM

DevilsAdvocate1 wrote: »

I don't know why the onus is on me when I was told it was capped. Surely they shouldn't be giving completely wrong information and then charging so massively.

Well yes, they shouldn't give false information! That's absolutely wrong of them to do so!

Only thing is that any third party (me + court of law for example) have no way of telling what was said etc. We'd need evidence of mis-selling, otherwise it would be hard to take your word on it! Without evidence, we'd *likely* conclude that, on the balance of probabilities, you weren't mis-sold and entered into the contract with terms as stated (different story if it isn't in the contract).

If you go overdrawn at a bank they make a charge but not by several hundred pounds. It seems completely out of proportion and if they are going to charge so much extra it should be made clear before you sign up.

Well... I think that it probably IS clear before you sign up! Your beef is that it didn't cut you off automatically at 50 GB (when you were told it does; mis-selling aspect), which is completely different to the charges not being clear when signing up.

I've never gone over before. It would have been fine if it had just stopped at 50GB and failed the transfers, that was what I expected would happen.

Yea, I appreciate that.

I'd say maybe go to the Citizen's Advice Bureau and see what they can suggest

If you've got the evidence then you have a fairly strong case I'd say, I just don't know what steps you could take at this stage (aside from notifying Vodafone of the evidence + waiting for them to initiate court action then defend it).

Massive Vodafone bill - please help\

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