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Vodafone vs Phones4U - Fed up!!
This is quite a long one, so please bear with me.
I have an issue that I think is between Vodafone & Phones4U, but I'm not getting answers from either side so I would like some advice.
Here's the deal -
In August 2009 I visited Vodafone and got a Blackberry Storm. I didn't like it one bit and was having serious issues with it, so after trying and failing to get Vodafone to help, I went to Phones4U.
March 2010: After Vodafone refused to sort me out with a better phone than the Blackberry Storm, I went to Phones4U.
I explained that I was unhappy with the Storm, but was only 7 months into a 24 month contract.
I was told I could get a BB Curve 8520, on a £30p/m contract, sell the Storm handset to Envirophone, and then continue with the Storm contract, lowering it by £5p/m taking it to £20p/m from £35p/m once I was 9 months into the original 24 month contract. This would run alongside the £30p/m Curve.
He gave me £129 cash, and told me to sell the Storm handset to Envirophone for £70.
I banked the cash and sent the phone off as soon as possible. I received the cheque from Envirophone a week later, paid it in, and then paid the £200 to Vodafone, on my Storm contract, meaning it was in credit.
May 1st 2010: I spoke to a Vodafone employee via their chat function to determine the earliest date I could start lowering the tariff. He stated:
Nilam: You can downgrade your price plan once you have completed the first 9 months of your commitment.
Nilam: So you can downgrade on or after the 25th of May 2010.
Nilam: You can downgrade £5.00 including VAT on the line rental every month.
Nilam: The lowest price plan available with us is for £20.00 including VAT.
May 25th 2010: I called Vodafone to lower the tariff. I was told this was impossible on the type of contract that I was on. I called Phones4U and was told that I was probably put through to someone who couldn’t be bothered to help, and to try again. I called Vodafone again, and was told that I could not lower my contract. So I phoned Phones4U again who asked if I could go into the store to resolve it. I informed them that I would be returning home from university imminently and could not make it to the store. So they put my boyfriend’s name on my file so he could go in and sort it.
31st May 2010: My boyfriend went into the store and spoke to the manager, who said they were really busy but if I called the store he would discuss it with me and sort it out. I called them later, and spoke to the manager again. He asked what had happened, I explained and he said he would speak to someone he knew at Vodafone “after hours” and call me back the following morning.
1st June 2010: I didn’t hear anything from them before 12pm, so I called the store and spoke to him again. He said he had not sorted anything out, but the man who dealt with me originally was available so he would discuss it with him and would let me know the “worst case scenario” by the end of the day.
At 15.32, they called me and asked again what had happened. I told him and he told me to call Vodafone again using the original Storm SIM card, tell them that the phone had been lost and ask them to remove the Blackberry bolt on from the account, and then lower the tariff, and then phone him back once I had done this.
I phoned Vodafone at 15.44 and spoke to James. He said that he was not supposed to, but would remove the BB bolt on as he could see that I was not using it.
I then asked if he could lower the tariff and he said he could not do it at all. I asked why and he said that when Vodafone developed the tariff, they would allow customers to lower them after the first nine months of the contract out of goodwill.
However, over March/April 2009 this gesture had been changed, and Vodafone changed the rules to state that NO contract can be altered during any stage of the contract. He also stated that all of Vodafone’s partners – Phones4U, Carphone Warehouse etc – we made aware of this as the rule came into effect.
I then phoned Phones4U back at 15.51 and asked to speak to the original employee. The manager answered but said he was with a customer but would call me back before the store closed at 17.30.
I had heard nothing back by 17.15, so I called them back and was told that he was still with a customer. I asked the employee to please ensure that he called me back as it was quite important, but heard nothing.
2nd June 2010: My boyfriend went back into the store and was told that it still had not been resolved, but Vodafone were willing to give me a cheque for £60, and Phones4U would give me some free accessories. My boyfriend told them that this was not good enough, as it would not cover what I would lose in total by not being able to downgrade the contract. He mentioned Trading Standards and the manager said he would have to double check, but Phones4U might be able to chip in £60 as well, which would give me £120.
This would cover the £10 I lose a month from August 2010 to August 2011, but I'm still losing out on June & July. So I'd like to know what I should be pushing for - shall I try and get the exact amount of money, or more, or just settle for £120?
Any advice would be appreciated!
I have an issue that I think is between Vodafone & Phones4U, but I'm not getting answers from either side so I would like some advice.
Here's the deal -
In August 2009 I visited Vodafone and got a Blackberry Storm. I didn't like it one bit and was having serious issues with it, so after trying and failing to get Vodafone to help, I went to Phones4U.
March 2010: After Vodafone refused to sort me out with a better phone than the Blackberry Storm, I went to Phones4U.
I explained that I was unhappy with the Storm, but was only 7 months into a 24 month contract.
I was told I could get a BB Curve 8520, on a £30p/m contract, sell the Storm handset to Envirophone, and then continue with the Storm contract, lowering it by £5p/m taking it to £20p/m from £35p/m once I was 9 months into the original 24 month contract. This would run alongside the £30p/m Curve.
He gave me £129 cash, and told me to sell the Storm handset to Envirophone for £70.
I banked the cash and sent the phone off as soon as possible. I received the cheque from Envirophone a week later, paid it in, and then paid the £200 to Vodafone, on my Storm contract, meaning it was in credit.
May 1st 2010: I spoke to a Vodafone employee via their chat function to determine the earliest date I could start lowering the tariff. He stated:
Nilam: You can downgrade your price plan once you have completed the first 9 months of your commitment.
Nilam: So you can downgrade on or after the 25th of May 2010.
Nilam: You can downgrade £5.00 including VAT on the line rental every month.
Nilam: The lowest price plan available with us is for £20.00 including VAT.
May 25th 2010: I called Vodafone to lower the tariff. I was told this was impossible on the type of contract that I was on. I called Phones4U and was told that I was probably put through to someone who couldn’t be bothered to help, and to try again. I called Vodafone again, and was told that I could not lower my contract. So I phoned Phones4U again who asked if I could go into the store to resolve it. I informed them that I would be returning home from university imminently and could not make it to the store. So they put my boyfriend’s name on my file so he could go in and sort it.
31st May 2010: My boyfriend went into the store and spoke to the manager, who said they were really busy but if I called the store he would discuss it with me and sort it out. I called them later, and spoke to the manager again. He asked what had happened, I explained and he said he would speak to someone he knew at Vodafone “after hours” and call me back the following morning.
1st June 2010: I didn’t hear anything from them before 12pm, so I called the store and spoke to him again. He said he had not sorted anything out, but the man who dealt with me originally was available so he would discuss it with him and would let me know the “worst case scenario” by the end of the day.
At 15.32, they called me and asked again what had happened. I told him and he told me to call Vodafone again using the original Storm SIM card, tell them that the phone had been lost and ask them to remove the Blackberry bolt on from the account, and then lower the tariff, and then phone him back once I had done this.
I phoned Vodafone at 15.44 and spoke to James. He said that he was not supposed to, but would remove the BB bolt on as he could see that I was not using it.
I then asked if he could lower the tariff and he said he could not do it at all. I asked why and he said that when Vodafone developed the tariff, they would allow customers to lower them after the first nine months of the contract out of goodwill.
However, over March/April 2009 this gesture had been changed, and Vodafone changed the rules to state that NO contract can be altered during any stage of the contract. He also stated that all of Vodafone’s partners – Phones4U, Carphone Warehouse etc – we made aware of this as the rule came into effect.
I then phoned Phones4U back at 15.51 and asked to speak to the original employee. The manager answered but said he was with a customer but would call me back before the store closed at 17.30.
I had heard nothing back by 17.15, so I called them back and was told that he was still with a customer. I asked the employee to please ensure that he called me back as it was quite important, but heard nothing.
2nd June 2010: My boyfriend went back into the store and was told that it still had not been resolved, but Vodafone were willing to give me a cheque for £60, and Phones4U would give me some free accessories. My boyfriend told them that this was not good enough, as it would not cover what I would lose in total by not being able to downgrade the contract. He mentioned Trading Standards and the manager said he would have to double check, but Phones4U might be able to chip in £60 as well, which would give me £120.
This would cover the £10 I lose a month from August 2010 to August 2011, but I'm still losing out on June & July. So I'd like to know what I should be pushing for - shall I try and get the exact amount of money, or more, or just settle for £120?
Any advice would be appreciated!
0
Comments
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Unfortunalty it looks like P4U basically lied or missed bits of the story to get you to sign up.
Vodafone have been pretty generous to you, they could have held you to the full contract you signed up for, retaining the bolt on. P4U should have known the rules but yet misled you either through malice or negligence,or bad training.
Best way forward is probably small claims court, but it one persone word against another, especially if nothing is written down.0 -
Sorry I cant be of any help but my boyfriend is having the same problem with phones4u and vodafone at the moment as well. His phone has broke after 2 months of having it and neither of them refused to help until we went in store and then were told to ring HTC (he has a HTC-HD2) and thankfully they are fixing it at the moment.However, over March/April 2009 this gesture had been changed, and Vodafone changed the rules to state that NO contract can be altered during any stage of the contract. He also stated that all of Vodafone’s partners – Phones4U, Carphone Warehouse etc – we made aware of this as the rule came into effect.
We also got told that after 9 months of the contract he could lower the tariff and we told this 2 months ago so clearly they havent made it clear to phones4u...
Both these companies just dont seem to want to deal with any of their customers problems and just pass you back and forth. The amount of time we get kept on the phone as well just for them to come back and say "its not our problem ring the other company" is ridiculous as well!0 -
Sorry I cant be of any help but my boyfriend is having the same problem with phones4u and vodafone at the moment as well. His phone has broke after 2 months of having it and neither of them refused to help until we went in store and then were told to ring HTC (he has a HTC-HD2) and thankfully they are fixing it at the moment.
We also got told that after 9 months of the contract he could lower the tariff and we told this 2 months ago so clearly they havent made it clear to phones4u...
Both these companies just dont seem to want to deal with any of their customers problems and just pass you back and forth. The amount of time we get kept on the phone as well just for them to come back and say "its not our problem ring the other company" is ridiculous as well!
If the phone came from P4U they have to organise a fix, thats basic sale of goods act. They may ask you to try the maker but the fact is P4U are responsible as the vendor.
Again with the contract issue the issue is with P4U they misled / mis sold it, Vodafone are not your retailer and are not responsible. Vodafone have told P4U they have not passed it on.
Good luck...0 -
Kaoslisa, out of interest which branch of Phones4U did you go to?0
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Kaoslisa, out of interest which branch of Phones4U did you go to?
Cardiff.
Phone is on its way back today. Stuck indoors on a lovely day unfortunately as they could turn up anytime between 9 and 5
If the phone came from P4U they have to organise a fix, thats basic sale of goods act. They may ask you to try the maker but the fact is P4U are responsible as the vendor.
Again with the contract issue the issue is with P4U they misled / mis sold it, Vodafone are not your retailer and are not responsible. Vodafone have told P4U they have not passed it on.
Good luck...
We rung P4U first and they said to go to vodafone, who then told us to ring back to P4U and after getting no where for the 3rd time we went instore and thankfully the woman there was lovely and sorted it straight away.0 -
See that is interesting because I also went to the Cardiff store. I wonder if that particular branch haven't been informed of the change of rules from Vodafone??0
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See that is interesting because I also went to the Cardiff store. I wonder if that particular branch haven't been informed of the change of rules from Vodafone??
When we went back to the store we got informed that the guy who sold us the phone (i cant remember his name my bf knows though) has now been sacked as he wasnt doing his job correctly...not that its any use now as hes stuck with the contract.
We'll just have to wait and see when it comes to the time to 9 months and he tries to downgrade his contract...0 -
It would be very interesting to know his name if your boyfriend can remember it, would give myself more ammunition to get the money I feel I should receive if it has happened before...
I wouldn't hold much hope about whether or not he can downgrade after nine months. Vodafone made it crystal clear that it is impossible to do so now, and has been since March 2009. I wouldn't be surprised if this is literally a lack of communication between Vodafone and the Cardiff Phones4U branch, which is why I am going to push for £135 - the amount of money I will lose for not being able to downgrade.0 -
Im not being funny but you took out a Blackberry storm on a 24 month contract. You said you were unhappy with the phone, why didnt you do some research before you signed up? you have not said the phone was faulty so why should they help you get a different phone.
In my experience going to phones4u was a bad idea because they sell you anything and just want a sale. The people who work in them shops are too pushy.0 -
Vodafone and Phones 4U are two separate companies.
Phones 4U sold you an additional line whilst the Vodafone contract was still running which would either need to run its full term or be terminated with a early termination penalty charge.
Phones 4U gave you some cash which was the maximum amount they would be able to give to 'buy out of your contract'. If you sold the contract handset from Vodafone, it would have still not have been adequate to pay off the Vodafone contract.
The additional line was set up by Phones 4U who are a third party retailer who would have then passed on your details to Vodafone to supply the airtime on their behalf.
You were incorrectly advised by Phones 4U and this additional line is not Vodafone's responsibility and there is no reason for Vodafone to communicate with Phones 4U. The dispute is between your boyfriend and Phones 4U.
Vodafone have already been generous to you and removed the add on which you had on the contract.
Contracts cannot be downgraded at nine months, the only alternative is to continue paying Vodafone or pay off the remainder of the contract.
It would have been a lot cheaper to have bought a SIM free phone of your choice and carried on using the Vodafone contract.0
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