Vodafone complaints

Gareth_M1

Hi orion_jon,

I apologise for the issues that you have encountered from Vodafone.
Just to let you know, there are a few ways in which you can resolve this issue.

1. You can refuse delivery of the handset, it will be returned to the warehouse and it will be cancelled.

2. If you have already received the handset, you can call customer services on 191 and they can send a returns bag to you as you have 7 days to legally return it, although we allow upto 10 days to allow for delivery times.

I hope this helps.

Any more problems give me a shout.

Many Regards,

Gareth
Vodafone UK

samnagr8

Hi, i've just spent the whole day really stressed out! When i heard about vodafones customer services i decided to not renew my contract after the initial 12 months but then i was offered a good deal so i decided to stay. My 12 month contract ended on the 1st October which is when i told them i wanted my new contract to start otherwise i said i didn't want it because i would lose out on my final cashback worth £70. The gentleman assured me that definately my tarrif would not change until the 1st October.When i received my bill this morning imagine my shock when i saw that he had infact changed it that day on the 22nd! I've rung up vodafone and was first told by a man they couldn't go back in time to change my tariff back. Then i spoke to phones 4 u who confirmed my fears. I then rang vodafone again and this time they said to ring the number the rep gave me. But as i told her already everytime i ring the number it goes to leave a message! This is not fair that i am being treated like this, I am not the one who made the mistake so why should it cost me £70? we are already on a tight budget and this is making me very stressed out.

Pete_Hall

I'd just like to add my story, in the interests of balance - in late December 2008 my contract was due for renewal, and I was planning on switching to PAYG to save a lot of money. I phoned up Vodafone and was offered 100 mins and 50 texts for £9 per month on a 12 month contract. Sounded good, so I accepted.

I check my account online at least once per month - when I checked it yesterday, it was showing that I owed £20 for my latest bill. Did a bit of Googling and found out that, like many others, I had been misled back in December, and the discount would actually only apply for the first 9 months of the contract.

I called up Vodafone's helpline this morning, expecting conflict and stonewalling. Instead, I spoke to a nice chap called Ian who listened to my complaint and resolved the situation to my satisfaction.

I'm still not happy that I was misled into this contract. On the whole I've been happy with Vodafone, and certainly back in January I was very enamoured of their customer retentions department - I felt like they had been very accommodating and friendly. Learning of this subterfuge has greatly undermined my trust in them.

Assuming that no other hiccups occur, and I am offered the same tariff, I will renew my contract when the time comes. My only concern is knowing what questions to ask to make sure that I'm not being tricked.

Thanks for reading,

Pete

£note

samnagr8 wrote: »

Hi, i've just spent the whole day really stressed out! When i heard about vodafones customer services i decided to not renew my contract after the initial 12 months but then i was offered a good deal so i decided to stay. My 12 month contract ended on the 1st October which is when i told them i wanted my new contract to start otherwise i said i didn't want it because i would lose out on my final cashback worth £70. The gentleman assured me that definately my tarrif would not change until the 1st October.When i received my bill this morning imagine my shock when i saw that he had infact changed it that day on the 22nd! I've rung up vodafone and was first told by a man they couldn't go back in time to change my tariff back. Then i spoke to phones 4 u who confirmed my fears. I then rang vodafone again and this time they said to ring the number the rep gave me. But as i told her already everytime i ring the number it goes to leave a message! This is not fair that i am being treated like this, I am not the one who made the mistake so why should it cost me £70? we are already on a tight budget and this is making me very stressed out.

I had exactly the same thing happen to me when I last renewed. As it was Vodafone's mistake that prevented me from making my final cashback claim which was worth £125 they applied that amount to my account as a credit. You should insist that they do the same for you.

AndyHorne_2

I was with Vodafone for years and they were a right pain, over priced bills, hidden charges......awful, then i changed to O2 only really to get the iPhone, but i must say they are fantastic. The same network coverage as Vodafone but without the rip off bills and the crap customer service.

Andy

samnagr8

The person who offered me the "deal" Said "oh don't worry and ring me on this number if there are any problems" Every time i've rang that number he gave it goes straight to messages and a voice says "please leave your name and number and we will get back to you in 24 hours and so i leave a message each time. I've counted 8 messages i've left and still no call back and it has now gone over 24 hours. I'm thankful that you've posted your experience £note because i thought maybe i was the only one, it's nice to know there might be a chance they might do that for me. I'm going to keep ringing and posting messages till this is sorted out because i can't afford to lose £70. I am glad others have had good experiences and i can only hope my story has a happy ending

Guys_Dad

samnagr8 wrote: »

Hi, i've just spent the whole day really stressed out! .....................My 12 month contract ended on the 1st October which is when i told them i wanted my new contract to start otherwise i said i didn't want it because i would lose out on my final cashback worth £70. The gentleman assured me that definately my tarrif would not change until the 1st October..

Could be a very simple one, I think. Vodafone's only proof of your agreement to renew/upgrade is the telephone call you made to them. If you specifically made the demand to have the new contract run on, then that would be in the recorded conversation.

If they have no recorded conversation, they have no proof that you asked for an extension or on what contract terms. You rang to cancel, remember.

So demand that they dig out the recording and scrutinise the contents. At the very least, they should credit your account with a similar sum to the amount you have lost. (It doesn't really matter where the £70 comes from, does it?).

samnagr8

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Could be a very simple one, I think. Vodafone's only proof of your agreement to renew/upgrade is the telephone call you made to them. If you specifically made the demand to have the new contract run on, then that would be in the recorded conversation.

If they have no recorded conversation, they have no proof that you asked for an extension or on what contract terms. You rang to cancel, remember.

So demand that they dig out the recording and scrutinise the contents. At the very least, they should credit your account with a similar sum to the amount you have lost. (It doesn't really matter where the £70 comes from, does it?).

Thank you alot for your advice,you are right, i really wouldn't mind how my money was paid to me. If they credited my account with the sum then i would be happy. The man who gave me the deal phoned me himself and said he was from the head office sales team (do they even exist i wonder now?). He knew i wanted to cancel so was offering me something to make me stay. I will keep asking for help/advice everywhere i can until they give me my money back. This is such a shame because i have always recommended vodafone to everyone and now feel cheated.

howey78

I’ve also had problems with Vodafone. I've been a loyal customer for over 10 years, But since my last upgrade over 20 months ago I have had nothing but problems with my phone.

It keeps freezing, people phone me hear it ringing their end but It doesn't even register as a missed call my end let alone ring, I rarely get a good connection (like I have done/do with other phones) and I also keep getting cut off calls, which require me to switch the phone off and on again to work.

I called customer services within the first few weeks a number of times, they said that they would send me an envelope, enabling me to send my phone back for repairs,

.............yup you guessed it they never arrived, I just gave up in the end and struggled on.
I phoned up today eagerly wanting an upgrade and was basically told that to have a half decent phone e.g. "Samsung Jet" I would have to pay more a month than I am now and have a worse package. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. After all that I had put up with over the last two years and being a loyal customer I was outraged that they wanted MORE money out of me and were going to give me LESS. I shall be taking my custom elsewhere, where there are much better deals with a much better customer service.

Well thats my rant over, I've sent an e-mail but doubt anything will come from it.

howey78

LEWA27

:mad:I have lost the will to live when it comes to Vodafone below is a letter I have sent to them in an attempt for someone to do something anything for me. They are completly useless I have never dealt with such a bunch of idiots in all my life!!

'
Well where to start with the debacle that has been my dealings with your company! In July I made the fatal error of deciding to take a phone contract out with your company and have regretted it every day since.

I signed up online and the phone was delivered two days later, the phone was fine but the SIM card had just been thrown into the delivery bag with no paper work from yourselves or any indication on who to phone to activate it. Slightly concerned by this I decided to go down to my local Vodafone store and ask for advice, they gave me your customer service department number. By this point I had also noticed that the back of the phone wasn’t closing correctly, the store managed to resolve this for me but at the same time gave me a returns envelope in case I had any more problems. That afternoon I called the call centre and was advised that there were two accounts open for me, I asked that they cancel one as it shouldn’t be there and activate the SIM card for me. The lady advised that it would take up to 24 hours to activate.

28 hours later the SIM card wasn’t active I called up again, to again be advised I had two accounts! Again I asked they cancel one and asked why the SIM card was not yet activated. I was advised that they had been unable to activate the SIM for some reason. I at this point decided that I didn’t want the phone anymore the service hadn’t been great from your staff and it seemed like too much hassle. I was transferred to someone in cancellations who couldn’t find my account and after 20 mins of looking gave up and transferred me to someone else. Why the cancellations department couldn’t find an account I do not know as I had two open? Anyway upon been transferred to someone else I got through to the rudest person I have ever had the misfortune of speaking to. He again couldn’t find the account so all I asked for was to be transferred through to someone who could help me. At which point I was told that I was been very rude by implying he couldn’t do his job and then blind transferred me to someone else. At this point I had given the phone to my partner due to the sheer frustration of trying to get sense out of your staff. They conducted no DPA checks at all but other than that were very helpful and told us to put everything we had received into the bag and send it back, once it had been received the account would be cancelled.

One week after this conversation I got a call from someone advising that my credit check had been successful and I would be receiving my phone shortly?!? I advised the person that I had received the phone and sent it back already so this was irrelevant. I decided to call your call centre to check that the phone had gone back and everything had been cancelled. The answer was no, it hadn’t been cancelled, I asked if they could find out if the phone had been received, after 20 minutes on hold I was told that yes the phone had been received into the warehouse and the account would now be cancelled.

The following week I received another SIM card, no idea why so I decided to send that back also just in case. By this point it was towards the end of July and after having no further contact from your company assumed everything was resolved and finished with, WRONG!

Mid August I got a bill for £53, interesting amount considering the contract was for £35, the SIM had never been activated and the phone had only ever been turned on once! So I called the billing department advised them of the mistake and asked the money was not taken from the account and repeatedly asked that the account be cancelled. Again I was assured that it would be cancelled and the money would not be taken from my account. I asked to be sent a letter to advise it was closed and was told not to worry it was been cancelled and she would send me a letter.

I have never received a letter but also I never received another bill, so call me stupid again I had faith that the account had been cancelled, silly me!!!

On Friday 9th October I decided to go to my bank to check that all my rent was in my account in preparation for my rent coming on Monday 19th, when looking at the mini statement it showed a direct debit coming out for £36. Unsure what this was for I went into the bank and was told Vodaphone had taken it. £36 may not sound like a lot to you but as a student living by herself and working a part time minimum wage job it has now left me with not enough money to pay my rent. The rent that was due out on Monday, this has now left me with bank charges due to you inability to manage your accounts. I went into your Vodaphone store and luckily was speaking to a really nice member of staff who spoke to your ‘customer service’ department. He was told that they had added a charge of £750 for non return of equipment!

Are you for real?!? The phone was returned months ago and receipt had been confirmed by YOUR STAFF! This charge was cancelled after a lot of debate but did not solve the issue of the £36 you effectively stole from my bank. In the middle of your shop on the phone to your customer service department I was reduced to tears at the prospect of been unable to pay my rent. It was 5pm on a Friday my bank closes all weekend what was I supposed to do??? I was told 5 to 10 working days is the quickest it could be returned. You never even sent me out a bill to tell me you were going to take the money, how is this legal never mind fair?!

I am disgusted to say the least at the way I have been treated by your company and to reduce someone to tears in the middle of a shop is inexcusable. I am beyond frustrated/annoyed/upset by your company and would really like a response either in writing or by phone.

I apologise for the lack of dates/names included in this letter but I really never expected it to get to the point where I had to make a complaint. For you information I have also forwarded this letter to OFCOM and the ombudsman as I am getting no where with your company.'

If i don't get a response I don't know what else to do, I have just come off the phone to them and this time they couldn't find my account 25mins on hold later they have found me, carried out no DPA checks so I am questioning whether they even found my account and told me yep the refund is goind through. I am inclined not to believe them though considering everything. If i get a reply to this letter i am going to request a copy of all the notes on my case to see if they actually noted anything i have spoken to them about.

[EMAIL="annem_86@hotmail.com"][/EMAIL]