HTC Desire Vodafone 500mb Fair Usage Policy

mr_bridger_2

Hi,
im having a similar issue. ive had the october 1st charging text, so phoned them. got told to email my request to cancel.

the respose i got was about my text message useage! lol.

i phoned again today, long conversation stating terms to them, and their announcment on the forum. they seemed to know nothing about it. shes now noted on my account, and im awaiting correspondance within 72 hrs.

this stinks! by charging if you go over 500 mb is clearly a limit! not unlimited!

let us know how u get on. i may need the directors office number or email address
®

DarkConvict

I don't see why there is so much hassle over this, if vodaphone want to add this charge they should simply implement it to new contracts only, so that terms and conditions are not changed.

I do not understand why vodafone have to be such a pain over it, they make and breaks promises and over moderate the forum.

Im not with vodafone anymore and am discussed by the way they are acting. This is a good example for where the regulator should step in and lay down the law on the matter so there is a fixed answer.

4$£&*(£$&*(!

This is the issue that is now irreparably damaging Voda's credibility in the UK. They are constantly changing the goalposts on this matter, all the signs say I now have the right to cancel, yet Sarah Green in the Director's office says no in my case even though their website FAQ on the matter and a moderator says different (after they have clarified it too!).

Now we could go one of several ways.

1. Sarah digs her heels in and finds some obscure and obtuse loophole to say I still cannot cancel for some bizarre reason despite Voda's forum link stating a customer can if the charge will increase their bill by 10% and they receive the text which mentions £5 which counts as notification. If it is this way, this changes the matter from a commercial decision to a personal decision relating directly to my account and I then have recourse to complain to Otelo (if you have been following the thread for some time, Vodafone are stating the £5 charge is a 'commercial decision' and as such falls out of Otelo's terms of reference, but making a decision that affects me differently to others in this change is no longer a commercial decision).

2. Sarah says actually, really sorry but no-one made the Director's office aware of the website information about the £5 text notification being recourse to cancel a contract. That was a mistake and it doesn't count as the ability to cancel your contract, and you're still stuck, very sorry but it's still a no. This would probably be the worst thing they can do because part of their FAQ on the link about this issue talks about how so many people have been told so many things, yet on this particular point there is proof in writing from a moderator who has 'clarified' the point and this does count as cancellation. A back-track on this would seriously undermine Vodafone's reputation about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing and, should this get media exposure, be a major embarrassment when the evidence is presented. One for my solicitor too.

3. Sarah reads the links on the Vodafone forum, particularly MartinB_Vodafone's clarified note that the £5 text counts as charging notification and decides she has made her initial decision to me unfairly. She has made a boo-boo and thought I was trying to cancel under a previous argument I made about Vodafone changing their terms and conditions, not under the 10% rule, and because she didn't read my letter properly along with checking I got the text about the £5 charge on Monday morning this week, she has probably based her decision on previous correspondence. As such, she either does the decent thing and says okay, there has been a foul-up, you're right we're wrong, let's cut our losses here is your PAC code and you can leave straight away with no penalty. Hurrah, credibility gained, little bit of pride swallowing but big conglomerate admits defeat and recognises what a pain in the backside they have actually been. Perfect outcome and one which would even leave me considering them again in the future if they demonstrate the ability to swallow their own pride and admit they are wrong.

4. The other possible end to point 3 could be a combination of points 1 and 3; Sarah decides I have a point but finds some loophole and says she wouldn't normally let me cancel however as a goodwill gesture as a recognition of all the sh.. I mean trouble they have caused me, they will let me out of my contract penalty free on this one occasion.

5. Vodafone has an executive team meeting and changes its policy on unlimited internet. Anyone who signed up to unlimited internet (i.e. ME and others on this thread) get to keep their truly unlimited internet, however anyone joining Vodafone as of 1 June has the hard cap. Previous joiners though get to use what they like. This is where we all party as we can now hammer our connections and they have put themselves in a worse position than before they introduced the hard cap being as all users joining before 1 June can keep on doing what they like. In reality this won't happen because if it did the network would be under more strain and Voda would rather charge people the £5 at risk of a few cancelling than give the okay for thousands of people with an unlimited pre-1 June contract the ability to cancel losing a bit of money in unfulfilled contracts. Unlimited internet in this instance could potentially halt their network if word got out there are no repercussions.

6. There is a big discussion about this and how do they come up with something I haven't thought of in points 1-5 after seeing this post themselves. Not being beancounters they forget that the average cost of a stage two complaint (which mine has already gone through) is about £153, then if it goes to the Chief Exec's office is around £300 - £500 to deal with. If it goes to legal or third party the cost shoots up to about £1,000. They will not make this revenue back but are so polarised about being right and getting one over the little man that they keep on going until they think of something to get one over what they consider to be a minority when in actualities this could be costing them big in underlying costs.

Anyone else come up with an alternative end?

mr_bridger_2

fantastic email i recieved... after detailing the full situation i got this..

> I'd like to let you know that the
> text message which you've received is correct as once you exceed the
> data access of 500MB(fair usage), you're charged another £5 for another
> 500 MB of data usage. However, if you don't exceed your monthly usage of
> 500 MB, you'll not be charged for internet.

if that dont clearly say i have a 500mb cap i dont know wat does! lol.

4$£&*(£$&*(!

Ha! So you've read this http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/forum-53/announcement-137-updated-10062010-mobile-internet-charging/ and seen you will have over a 10% increase in your bill.

You received the same text message I have which is detailed here http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/71647-mobile-internet-over-fup-limit-charges-are-coming/ and confirmed by MartinB_Vodafone, even clarified by him, that this text counts as notification and gives you the right to cancel.

You tell them all this and they do nothing! I suggest you post on the thread http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/71647-mobile-internet-over-fup-limit-charges-are-coming/ to share your experiences on the official Vodafone forum and to say like me, you too are having problems and want some answers.

Allan87

Had a couple of texts every month since June, pushed 1.2GB so far this month and no sign of this charging text

mr_bridger_2

CitySlicker wrote: »

Ha! So you've read this and seen you will have over a 10% increase in your bill.

You received the same text message I have which is detailed here
and confirmed by MartinB_Vodafone, even clarified by him, that this text counts as notification and gives you the right to cancel.

You tell them all this and they do nothing! I suggest you post on the thread to share your experiences on the official Vodafone forum and to say like me, you too are having problems and want some answers.

Yep, been through all of that, and loads on maemo.org too.

ive recieved and sent multiple emails, spoke to a few people, but as yet no definate answer. just lots of side stepping. i need to speak to someone higher i think. and maybe ofcom need to be involved.

gjchester

mr_bridger wrote: »

maybe ofcom need to be involved.

Ofcom are not interested. This is a commercial decision by Vodafone and outside their remit as stated by CitySlicker earlier (and a lot earlier in this thread)

4$£&*(£$&*(!

gjchester wrote: »

Ofcom are not interested. This is a commercial decision by Vodafone and outside their remit as stated by CitySlicker earlier (and a lot earlier in this thread)

You're right, Ofcom will not get involved. However the legal team I spoke to last night as part of my employee assistance programme said they have examined the statement on the Vodafone website about cancellation criterion, plus MartinB_Vodafone's note that the £5 text message counts as notification. They have suggested I have an excellent position and I should keep screen prints of this information as it may disappear soon.

They also confirmed the decision being commercial would have fallen outside Otelo's terms of reference and nothing can be actioned with them on the overall decision, but given the information posted on their forums now by Vodafone staff it appears the decision is being applied differently to different users and that is not outside Otelo's terms of reference as it is no longer a commercial decision by this point.

It has even been suggested from all the aggravation being caused in my particular case I should consider applying for emotional damages! I'm not quite at that stage yet (seems a bit claim culture style and that's not me), but the legal team said they would support such a claim if I wished to pursue it. This is getting very interesting.

4$£&*(£$&*(!

Someone else who has received the £5 text has now been told they have to pay the outstanding amount on their contract if they wish to leave.

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/topic/71647-mobile-internet-over-fup-limit-charges-are-coming/page__st__20