Huge £230 Contract Bill, What Can Be Done About It?

p0ssumman

Hi all, just got a question about mobile phone contracts, my girlfriend's got a 600 min + unlimited texts contract with Vodafone, she's just got her October bill through and there's a whopping £230 extra to pay! Unfortunately checking the Vodafone website it seems this may not be a mistake, a quick sum works it out to be around 35 hours of calls made that month when the contract only allows 10 hours (based on 15p per minute for calls outside of contract 10 hours) which is possible.

I'm just wondering if anything can be done about this, I remember a few years back when we went over our monthly download limit on our broadband and would have had £80 to pay for the extra downloads, however BT allowed us to just switch to the unlimited package starting from that previous month so we didnt have to pay for the extra downloads. I was kinda hoping that someone might know that the same could apply in this situation. Another worry is that the contract could have been exceeded last month too, meaning the possibility of another bill the size of this one!! :eek:

Was hoping someone would have some advice on things that could be done to lessen the blow of these bills, or any general advice really! We've had a lot of problems with Vodafone in the past, this current phone has been in for repair 3 times, the 3rd time a refurb was issued as a replacement, about a week ago the refurb broke! Should vodafone not have informed her sooner about how much the contract had been exceeded?

Cheers all!

JJ_Egan

You could write to the provider and ask them to take a look at the bill .
Ask the provider can they swap tariffs as the user needs a much higher amount of calls swap to higher payment tariff that is . Or transfer to PAYG .

Should vodafone not have informed her sooner about how much the contract had been exceeded?

Can the account not be accessed on line to check on usage .Could she have not checked as i don't personally see why the provider should be responsible .

jje

baywood_2

My daughter was on the same tarrif and she had £160 extra 2 months running.When i asked them they said they don't usually do anything until it reached £200, and refused to cap it. She is now back on PAYG and i will not return to vodafone.

cgk1

Your best bet is to get them to put her on a higher tarrif. You have little or no chance of getting them to reduce the current bill. Moreover, best to keep checking how many minutes you are using by phoning the automated customers services number or by checking online.

nickmack

p0ssumman wrote: »

Hi all, just got a question about mobile phone contracts, my girlfriend's got a 600 min + unlimited texts contract with Vodafone, she's just got her October bill through and there's a whopping £230 extra to pay! Unfortunately checking the Vodafone website it seems this may not be a mistake, a quick sum works it out to be around 35 hours of calls made that month when the contract only allows 10 hours (based on 15p per minute for calls outside of contract 10 hours) which is possible.

35 hours in a month is quite alot of talk time, more than an hour every day on average. If you're not disputing these calls were made, there's not much you can do about the bill.

VF are unlikely to change her tariff retrospectively, but it could be worth asking.

chuckley

virgin did to me, try charge me for internet even though i have 1GB allowance. was over £100 for the net alone.

check the bill with voda. maybe get them to reduce the cap.

Guys_Dad

p0ssumman wrote: »

Was hoping someone would have some advice on things that could be done to lessen the blow of these bills, or any general advice really! We've had a lot of problems with Vodafone in the past, this current phone has been in for repair 3 times, the 3rd time a refurb was issued as a replacement, about a week ago the refurb broke! Should vodafone not have informed her sooner about how much the contract had been exceeded?

Cheers all!

Sounds like a broken phone might be the answer to the £230 bill!!

Seriously, though, This is 100% down to her - at least that's what your post says. People have to take responsibility for their actions and surely anyone would know that 35 hours ott is going to cost! In other fields, reckless excess can lead to people maxing out their credit cards or finding they are a size 20 and weigh 17 stone.

It's not the network's fault - get that clear. She needs to either increase her minutes per month or - possibly for the benefit of your ears in future years - stop nattering so much :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

amcluesent

IF the calls were actually made, and there's more exceeding the tariff this month, then ask to be put through to the 'bill shock' team. You can try asking them to waive the extra, first time it's happened, g/f crying etc. etc. but the quid-pro-quo is they'll likely ask you to sign-up for at least an 18 month contract, likely on a higher use tariff, starting today.

You'll need to do the sums and maybe just take the hit now vs. lock-in to a contract. Then again if g/f really is chatting that much...

Guys_Dad

amcluesent wrote: »

..............., then ask to be put through to the 'bill shock' team. You can try asking them to waive the extra, ...............

That will be a shock wave then?????

Vodafone

Hi

I understand that your bill may have come as a bit of a shock to you.

Although I could not guarantee an outcome, it would be useful for us to look at your account and assess your price plan, and if required, a payment plan could be agreed.

If you could contact us on this link http://goo.gl/LqgN with WRT135 in the title, we will be more than happy to take a look at this for you.

Kind Regards,

Simon
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

Annie._2

If you agree a payment plan with Vodafone, the phone will be restricted until the payments are up to date.

Your girlfriend will most probably be able to receive calls but will be unable to make any calls or send texts.