Vodafone - Unfair Default

Simon_Swann

Hi All,

First time posting on these forums (or any forums really!) so firstly Hi to everyone.

Just wondering if anyone has experienced something similar to the current 'issue' i have with Vodafone.

To cut a long story short i decided i wanted to cancel my account back in July of 2008 and so rang up to do so. i was informed i needed to pay a final bill (£24.99) and also early termination (£87.80) as the contract ran until November of that year. I did both of those things via a Visa Debit card from by bank (Lloyds) and was then told to send a letter of confirmation which i also did.

Happy, i bought a new phone and contract with O2 and all i thought was well.

I then a few months later recieved a bill that i dont even remember the amount of, something nominal like £5.00 or so. I rang them, confused, and was told i could disregard the letter as my account was closed and apologies for the inconvienience. Few months later, the same happened, same phone call, same outcome.

A further few months on I was then shocked to find a letter from a collection agency, CapQuest, who wanted payment immediatley to the sum of £80. I rang them and all they were interested in was the money, regardless of a dispute with Vodafone.

Vodafone initially refused to answer my questions, cut me off numerous times if i remember rightly and eventually i spoke to somebody who said the original letter id sent cancelling along with authorisation numbers from Vodafones system could not be found due to a change in their systems and all she could do as "goodwill" was half the bill, which i had no choice in paying.

It took me a long time to locate the original letter (luckily i had emailed it to myself at work) but upon doing so ive spoken with a few people and they all seem to be sympathetic but without any real advice about what i can do about it. There is a default on my credit score and that really bugs me as ive always kept a hold on my debts and never missed any payments and i feel this is majorly unfair.

Currently have a dispute open with Vodafone and the 'Quality Assurance' team but im being given the run around by them aswell. Speaking to people i work with has led to them saying it should go to small claims court etc but im unsure if thats the best way.

Very sorry for rambling (sure i said id cut a long story short at the start...oops)

Any advice or just someone who wants to rant with me would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Si

OneADay

Contact the "vodafone rep" on these forum as suggested in this thread

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=295048&page=30

Simon_Swann

Thanks a lot for that - will give it a go

Vodafone

Hi Simon

I just wanted to jump on to let you know that we replied in the other thread about this.

I've just checked our email records and can't see you on there. Just in case you've not had this resolved yet feel free to drop us an email from here with a link to this thread and WRT135 in the subject line and I'll get back to you. If you've already emailed and need anymore help just let me know the reference number for your email and I'll be in touch.

OneADay - thanks so much for helping in my absence - You're a star!!

Take care

Kirsty
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

in_the_Cotswolds

Vodafone sh*fted me with a default notice in 2006. I didn't find out until last year when I applied for a loan. The person who was organising the loan kept asking me about a default notice, which I didn't realise I had. The debt has been paid. I really can't be bothered to persure this matter after reading about Vodafone's customer service.

Fire_Fox

I know it's easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but never respond to a formal letter or dispute a bill with a phone call. People get defaults because they don't deal with the correct person - with many organisations the phone operatives are not trained to deal with out of the ordinary occurrences. Letters or e-mails leave a paper trail, phone calls do not.

Vodafone

mechanic wrote: »

Vodafone sh*fted me with a default notice in 2006. I didn't find out until last year when I applied for a loan. The person who was organising the loan kept asking me about a default notice, which I didn't realise I had. The debt has been paid. I really can't be bothered to persure this matter after reading about Vodafone's customer service.

Hi mechanic,

As I understand it a default notice is required when a company which is regulated under the CCA is registering a default against a customer's credit file.

As our service agreements aren't regulated under the CCA there's no such requirement for us to do so. However, I would say that such action is seen as a last resort and usually only occurs when all efforts of contacting the customer about the status of their account have failed.

Should you feel that your default was recorded incorrectly then the Web Relations Team would be happy to take a closer look at things for you. To get in touch with us with your details you'll just need to send us an email via the Contact us form on our website.

To make sure your email comes through to us you'll just need to state the code WRT135 in the subject line and include a link to this thread together with your MSE username so we can identify your query.

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I know it's easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but never respond to a formal letter or dispute a bill with a phone call. People get defaults because they don't deal with the correct person - with many organisations the phone operatives are not trained to deal with out of the ordinary occurrences. Letters or e-mails leave a paper trail, phone calls do not.

Hi Fire Fox,

While it can be seen as time comsuming I'd certainly agree that this's the best approach when dealing with this sort of thing.

It definitely helps us to investigate things fully when there is paper trail and is more likely to hep us to get to the bottom of things quicker and also helps us in many cases to get things sorted out for the customer.

Thanks,

Lee

Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK