Vodafone won't compromise tariff, when in financial difficulty

chr1s984

Hi all,

This is my first post, and really could do with some advice please.

I'm with Vodafone with approximately 6 months remaining on my contract. Now my average bill is £80 with a dongle, I know this is rather expensive but this was all agreed while I was living with parents and only my self to look after. Now my personal circumstances have changed: I'm married have 2 year old boy and finally moving onto our own place in 6 weeks, and to me a roof over my, families head is more important. Everything added together adds up to more then my income.

My question is: were do I stand legally in regards to reducing my tariff?
I read on other posts it's possible
Downgrade your tariff with 6 months remaining is this true?


Vodafone are insisting in till oct to upgrade early, after many aguments. I still need a contract phone for work, but because of their attitude toward me was terrible I'd prefere the change.

All advice will be greatly appreciated

Thanks
Chr1s984

OneADay

You agreed to a contract and you are stuck with it till such point you are allowed to change it.

Next time find something cheaper than £80 - thats just bizarre amount to spend a month.

If you are paying £80 as a result of calls/texts outside of your monthly allowance, get a second cheap pay and go with lots of minutes for as little as £5 a month.

Guys_Dad

Whilst being sympathetic with your position, I have to agree with OneADay.

You signed a 2 year deal and legally you are stuck with it. I have to advise that you should see it through to prevent your credit record being trashed for years.

By all means try appealing to the network for some goodwill relief, but don't hold your breath. And next time, forget any shiny handsets or other inducements - go for what you need and no more.

chr1s984

In addition to what I wrote I now feel the need to justify why by bill is so high,

Firstly I'm an Ou student studying for a degree in my own time to give my self a better future, hence the dongle with a note pad-£25, and yes my iPhone 3GS bill is £45 a month, but this was agreed in writing well before my personal circumstances, before I was even in a committed relationship.

I do appreciate your bluntness, but to be fair I wrote on this forum for advice not criticism of the choices I've made.

However thank you for your response.

Occams_Razor_2

what do you expect anyone to say?

baza52

how long was the contract? if you are "now" married with a 2 year old it must av been a 3yr+ contract????
or am i missing something here?

Can you not sell the iphone or laptop/dongle and use the money raised to pay off the remainder of the contract?

Guys_Dad

chr1s984 wrote: »

In addition to what I wrote I now feel the need to justify why by bill is so high,

Firstly I'm an Ou student studying for a degree in my own time to give my self a better future, hence the dongle with a note pad-£25, and yes my iPhone 3GS bill is £45 a month, but this was agreed in writing well before my personal circumstances, before I was even in a committed relationship.

I do appreciate your bluntness, but to be fair I wrote on this forum for advice not criticism of the choices I've made.

However thank you for your response.

You asked where you stood legally and we told you.
You asked for advice, and were recommended to see the contract out to avoid credit record black marks. Also advised to appeal to the network - try their head office.
Also advised to go for basic contract - (sim-only or even giff-gaff PAYG) next time.

There is no point is MSE members saying what you want to hear just to make you feel better. Best to know where you stand so you can plan accordingly.

In business, your changing circumstances are not the concern of any person with whom you have a contract, I am afraid.

FB13

£45+£25=£70. So if you are paying £80, I'm gussing that you have £10 worth of overages.

You should easily be able to get under your contract limits and save that £10. Download the Skype app and use that to reduce the number of minutes you use. Instead of texting, send emails or IMs (there are a number of apps that use data rather than SMS to send messages) to people with smartphones. You're paying for the iphone, you might as well take full advantage of it.

chanz4

Your right vodafone should let you off, can someone explain what a contract is as the op is confussed

Vodafone

Hi chr1s984,

I can undertsand that you are looking to reduce your outgoings due to a change in your circumstances. In order for me to advise on this, I would need to take a look at your account to see what kind of plan and contract you are currently on.

Can you email your details to me via the email address here. Please include WRT135 FAO Heidi in the subject so that it reaches me personally and include a link to this thread.

On any of our Your Plan tariffs, you cannot reduce down to a lower plan mid contract. We do now offer early upgrades online which may mean you can negotiate a new deal.

I am more than happy to discuss this further with you if you get in touch.

Kind regards,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

izools

Although some people instore can do tricks, especially if its near the end of the month and they're behind on target.

EG a friend of mine had a Sony X10 and a 3G contract that came with a laptop. Both were mid contract. She was paying a total of £70 a month.

She took out a new contract with a Samsung Galaxy S2 @ £40 / month and they dropped the line rental on her other two lines to £10 a month mid term, so she now pays £60 / month (£10 a month less) for more

The store will probably fail audit after having done that but I don't think any of the stores give a crap about that otherwise I wouldn't have been victim to the plethora of incompetence thrown my way by Vodafail lately