Vodafone PAYG call details

seeing_red

Dear Martin,

I have two mobiles registered with Vodafone, they used to be on monthly contract, but because I didn't use them much and they were costing me a lot of money, I swapped them to PAYG.

I manage my accounts on-line and add top-ups once in a while, as required. Last night, I tried to get details of the calls I had made, but could find no facility to do this from my on-line account. I, therefore, sent an email to Vodafone asking how I could access this information. I received a reply this morning, asking me to send:-

- A description of the personal information that you would like a copy of
- Confirmation of the password or passcode with which you have secured your account
- Confirmation of your registered address (eg copy of utility bill); and
- A cheque or postal order for £10.00

to the Data Protection Manager!

This means I pay them a given ammount of money and they use that money against my phone usage and I have no way of checking the validity of their charges without going through the rigmarole mentioned above.

Is this normal practice? Is it legal?

Regards. s_r

grumbler

Firstly, it's a public forum, not Matin's mailbox.

The information on PAYG on the website is very clear:

What do I get?

Top up your phone, and get more from your phones and devices

With a Pay as you go account you can check your credit and top up your phone online. You can also buy Extras packs that let you talk and text for less.
When you register for My account, you can do all this online whenever you want. It’s quick. It’s convenient. And best of all, it’s free.

• Check your credit and top up your phone anytime.
• Buy Extras packs.
• Set up and manage Vodafone Family.
• Change your phone settings, including content control.

Can I get an itemised bill and find out what numbers I have called ...

No. Pay as you go is a non-billing service so your calls are not recorded on any billing system.

We can only generate itemised bills for pay monthly customers.

However, under the DPA they are obliged to supply you with any information they have on you, but they don't have to do it for free. They are allowed to charge you £10 for this.

billsavings

If itemised billing is important to you then your normally need a pay monthly contract ,;) because by there nature payg calls are not normally recorded on the billing system.

seeing_red

Thanyou to both respondents.

That is perfectly clear.

So, apart from paying the £10 requested, there is no way of telling what they are charging you for your calls is correct.

I guess, I'll just have to trust them!

Regards, s_r

grumbler

You can monitor your remaining balance closely and thus know how much your most recent call(s) cost you.