Vodafone cancelled my insurance the day after my claim and wont fix my phone

cvernon152

I received a letter in April from Vodafone to declare that my iPhone insurance would be discontinued. After several phone calls to the customer services department I was able to explain that two of the faults fixed with the phone should have been made under the twelve month warranty.

The advisor took instruction from a manager that this was in fact correct and that a mistake had been made on their behalf. I was ensured that the insurance would be reinstated and a reimbursement for £50.99 would be credited to my account for the hassle caused.

I continued to pay my phone bills including a £9.99 cover me insurance premium. When I dropped my phone and damaged the screen I rang customer services only to be told that my insurance had not been reinstated and that there was nothing they could do except refund the premiums that had been taken.

After multiple phone calls lasting over an hour, Vodafone made an offer that they would replace the phone with an iPhone 8GB refurbished model, or upgrade me to an iPhone 4 for the price of £500.00. I refused this offer as my phone is a 16GB model.
I was also told by a Vodafone customer advisor that even if my phone had been insured that damage to the screen or water damage would not be covered, it clearly shows on their website that this statement was false.

I asked in store when my insurance had been cancelled and was told the 14th of July 2011, I made my claim in the 13th July 2011. The insurance part of Vodafone has said they did not get the money from Vodafone therefore they are taking no responsibility.

Another 10 phone calls later at least and after numerous attempts to speak to a manager and being assured I would be called back by one...which I was not he eventually told me there was nothing he would do about this, they have basically washed their hands of it.
Basically it says on my bills I was insured and I assumed this meant I was, is there anything I can do about this as the customer service at Vodafone I have experience so far has be less than useless!!!

Also each customer advisor has told me different things, I have been made promises such as the phone will be fixed and then when I ring back there is no record of this, I am put on hold and disconnected repeatedly....i don’t know if this is a ploy to try and make me give up but it is extremely frustrating.

ridethelightning

Write vodafail a letter entitled "Letter before action" with all the FACTS informing them they have 7 days to sort out the problem before taking the matter to small claims court. Ensure you send it recorded delivery and keep a copy for yourself, along with any emails and times of calls you made to them.

If you do not recieve a response after 7 days, begin the process of taking them to small claims.

cvernon152

Vodafone now have an online chat help service...its just as useless

Me: would you not consider that as a significant disadvantage for me then
Vodafone representative : i understand your point
Vodafone representative : that is why
Vodafone representative : i am asking you to wait for the letter you got
Vodafone representative : and as your case is already at higher level
Me: but thats not an answer to my question, would you not consider that as a significant disadvantage for me then for the service that is being provided
Vodafone representative : Chris
Vodafone representative : i cannot change your plan
Vodafone representative : and as of now cannot say anything about insuracne
Vodafone representative : Is there anything else I can do for you today?
Me: i am asking a question of would you not consider that as a significant disadvantage for me then for the service that is being provided?
Vodafone representative : my answer is the same
Vodafone representative : please wait till this issue is resolved
Me: you did not give me an answer, would you be able to ask a manager
Vodafone representative : Chris
Vodafone representative : i already said
Me: would you not consider that as a significant disadvantage for me then for the service that is being provided? yes/no?
Vodafone representative : that my manager's manager is working on this
Vodafone representative : Is there anything else I can do for you today?
Me: but i am asking the question now which i did not ask earlier...would you not consider that as a significant disadvantage for me then for the service that is being provided?
Vodafone representative : Is there anything else I can do for you today?
Me: you are just repeating yourself and not answering what i have asked
Vodafone representative : i said
Me: its a yes no question
Vodafone representative : your case is being handled at higher level
Vodafone representative : please wait for the letter
Me: thats not my question
Me: would you not consider that as a significant disadvantage for me then for the service that is being provided?
Vodafone representative : i have no answer to your question
Vodafone representative : becuase
Me: can you ask a manager now then
Vodafone representative : as per policy
Vodafone representative : first of all
Vodafone representative : an insurance cannot be reinstated
Vodafone representative : however i believe you
Vodafone representative : as you said it
Me: that was NEVER clearly stated to me
Vodafone representative : this is the center of issue
Me: under no circumstances have i ever been told "insurance cannot be reinstated"
Vodafone representative : if the insurance could be, it would be
Me: why would i continue to pay for it??
Vodafone representative : Chris
Vodafone representative : i am saying again
Vodafone representative : please wait for that letter
Vodafone representative : try to understand that
Vodafone representative : and for the DPA letter
Vodafone representative : you will get the information which you requested
Me: how was i supposed to know that insurance cannot be reinstated, i was not fully informed
Vodafone representative : Chris
Vodafone representative : there is nothing i can do in this
Vodafone representative : Is there anything else I can do for you today?

Techhead_2

Badgering someone like that does not put you in a good light. The essence of a good complaint is straightforward, to the point, unemotional and factual.
Especially when dealing with a company with such broken processes as Vodafone.

DUTR

Techhead wrote: »

Badgering someone like that does not put you in a good light. The essence of a good complaint is straightforward, to the point, unemotional and factual.
Especially when dealing with a company with such broken processes as Vodafone.

I must agree, the OP is 'barking' at the wrong tree and it is not the way to 'win' a complaint, he needs to understand it is no point raising too much point with the CS rep, and once the complaint is with the 'higher' level then the proceedure has to be followed.

MisterBrico

If everything is as you say then I would write an email to their executive office or find the CEO's email on the web, he/she will never respond but usually some high level people do.

And like others have said, the standard CS guys have no power to help you so while we all can see how much of a pain this is, making their day crap to feel a tad better dosn't help in the long run, if anything it works against you because as soon as some one will pick up your call they will see notes basically saying your a pain.

Any hoo... Good luck

cvernon152

I suppose your right, but over 20 hours of being passed about through customer services tends to drive you a bit insane Especially when that higher manager doesn't send the conformation email you asked for

Belnahua

Sorry, but the online chat page looks a bit of a fake to me? I cannot believe they would make such errors in the text, which actually are very similar to the OP's grammatical errors?

Sorry, call me cynical, but think this whole post is a fake.

DUTR

Belnahua wrote: »

Sorry, but the online chat page looks a bit of a fake to me? I cannot believe they would make such errors in the text, which actually are very similar to the OP's grammatical errors?

Sorry, call me cynical, but think this whole post is a fake.

I don't think the whole episode is a fake, but for me I usually switch off when iphone and insurance are mentioned, especially when the type of handset is irrelavant to the whole saga, I have always had my suspicions as that when the next iphone is announced and then launched then the horror stories of insurance claims or wanting to get out of a comittment will increase

cvernon152

im sure i could think of better things to do with my time than make up stories about vodafone, by the sounds of his name, he was foreign, along with their call centre which is based in Egypt. We cant all have outstanding English like you Belnahua

cvernon152

DUTR wrote: »

I don't think the whole episode is a fake, but for me I usually switch off when iphone and insurance are mentioned, especially when the type of handset is irrelavant to the whole saga, I have always had my suspicions as that when the next iphone is announced and then launched then the horror stories of insurance claims or wanting to get out of a comittment will increase

...i dont want out of the contract, i just want my phone fixed, thats what i pay insurance for.