Vodafone messed my credit rating

helplessTD

Hi all,

I recently discovered that Vodafone has put a default on my credit file when I went to apply for an account with HSBC. Its a very intersting story so please read on.

I was a Vodafone customer until June2010 thats when the existing contract with Vodafone ended. At that point I was with Vodafone for 7 years. I moved over to O2 after getting a PAC code from vodafone who would only let me have the PAC if I wanted to end the contract. I worte to vodafone in that effect and then spoke to vodafone customer support to confirm that my account was cleared.

After this I moved house and didnt feel it was necessary to change my address with Vodafone as it didnt make any sense as I wasnt their customer anymore.

As it turns out, vodafone kept charging me even after the termination of contract and it built up to £152 and as they 'allegedly' heard no response from me, ended up defaulting my file. I have religiously visited my old residence periodically and never received a single piece of communication.

So, as I was surprised as it is I spoke to Vodafone customer services and a very helpful lady (Shereen) listened to me and confirmed it was a mistake. She immediately cleared the £152 balance from my account and confirmed that the credit management team will remove the default from my file. So with a sigh of relief I rested for a a week or so hoping that it would be removed from my experion report.

After waiting a couple of weeks I spoke to Tom from customer service who confirmed that the account is settled but the default will be marked as settled not removed.

Which left me slightly short of furious and I wrote Vodafone a very humble letter saying

"Dear Sir/Madam,

It was recently brought up to my knowledge that there was an outstanding balance of £152 on my Vodafone account which reflected as a default on my credit file. As I was completely unaware of it, I spoke to Shereen from customer services on 17th March where we came to the conclusion that it was a misunderstanding and the outstanding amount was cancelled immediately. Shereen also advised that the default from my credit file will be removed as it shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
Today (31st March) I spoke to Tom from the customer services from Cardiff call centre who advised the default has been settled and not removed. I must mention Tom did an excellent job and explained to me that I should write to you about it.
I have learned that the default will affect my financial decisions for years to come. Dear Sir/madam, I am writing to put in a very humble and polite request that the default should be removed as its affecting mine and my family’s personal life beyond imagination. I request you to have a look at my account history and perhaps all the prompt payments I may have made in the past. If anything, please consider removing it as a sheer goodwill gesture.
My contact details are given below. Please feel free to contact in case further information is needed.
Thanking you in anticipation."

After I sent this letter I spoke to experion guys who said that Vodafone is going back on their words and they are going to leave the default on my account.

Now I am wondering if I have any rights at all to take this further. Whether there is any chnce that Vodafone teams communicat with each other and save me the inconvenience. This problem is further hardhitting as we are looking to get a mortgage now which is nearly impossible with a default on my account.
Anyone wish to direct me?
Thanks in advance.

arcon5

Write a formal complaint to them and demand they have the faults removed and account shown as settled from the correct date. This will probably get better results than a telephone call.

I'd also contact the reference agency to discuss your options with them since you have proof the debt did not exist.

There is no way in hell they should be just marking it as 'settled'. There was nothing to settle in the first place! What tools

InsideInsurance

Why did "Tom" or the others say that the default would not be removed?

How long ago did this all happen given you are saying you spoke to their call centres in March and we are only in February now? If it was almost a year ago what has happened since?

Never had to escalate a complaint too high in Vodafone but would find the name of a relevant executive and write to them unless their rational for leaving the default is in anyway reasonable.

My experience of CRAs is that it takes at least a month from when they are informed of the change for it to reflect through so there is going to be no quick fixes.

helplessTD

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Why did "Tom" or the others say that the default would not be removed?

How long ago did this all happen given you are saying you spoke to their call centres in March and we are only in February now? If it was almost a year ago what has happened since?

Never had to escalate a complaint too high in Vodafone but would find the name of a relevant executive and write to them unless their rational for leaving the default is in anyway reasonable.

My experience of CRAs is that it takes at least a month from when they are informed of the change for it to reflect through so there is going to be no quick fixes.

It all kicked off last year and the 'March' is March 2011. This problem kind of went off sight but now as we need to worry about mrtgage etc so it has to end.

I get easily repelled by call centres and try to avoid them as much so yes I am going to take up writing them.

I have already sent them above letter but nothing came back. It was sent by recorded post so I have the ammo in case I need to use it.

I spoke to experion and they have confirmed vodafone is going to leave the default on. I mean can they even do that? If the account was settled without me needing to pay, doesnt it say it all. Afterall they want money for the service I havent used and my account was not terminated as and when it should have been.

helplessTD

Thanks arcon5. I agree. What a pain!

Vodafone

Hi helplessTD,

I am sorry to hear that your credit file was not correctly updated when this issue was resolved. If it’s a genuine mistake on our part then we will certainly remove the default.

If you could email me via the address here with WRT135 FAO Heidi in the subject, I will liaise with our Quality Assurance team who are responsible for recording the correct information on our customer credit files.

Please include a link to your post and the mobile/account number when emailing.

Many thanks,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

helplessTD

I have contacted the company rep, lets see if she can sort it out.

Not looking for compensation here for the distress caused but just to have my life back and the ability to dream again.

DVardysShadow

helplessTD wrote: »

I have contacted the company rep, lets see if she can sort it out.

Not looking for compensation here for the distress caused but just to have my life back and the ability to dream again.

If the company representative does not sort this matter out to your satisfaction within 28 days, take it to the Information Commissioners Office as inappropriate processing of data.

Plainly, a debt should never have been recorded on your file and it is unacceptable and shoddy customer service to merely mark a false debt as settled.

Vodafone

Hi helplessTD,

I haven't yet received your email. Did you put WRT135 FAO Heidi in the subject?

You should have received an auto response email with a reference number in it. If you have the reference I can find it and contact you today.

Many thanks,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

helplessTD

Vodafone_company_representative wrote: »

Hi helplessTD,

I haven't yet received your email. Did you put WRT135 FAO Heidi in the subject?

You should have received an auto response email with a reference number in it. If you have the reference I can find it and contact you today.

Many thanks,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

Yes I did. The ref number is 8407843.

Thanks.

helplessTD

Just to update you all on this battle, I received a call from Vodafone rep the next day after I contacted her. She spent some time looking at the details and came back to say that default is valid.

Heres the email I received which summarises the events with the dates as on Vodafone system.

Hi Mr. *****,
Thank you for your time and patience over the last two days whilst I have investigated the events on your account.
As promised I will summarise the events on your account that led to you being defaulted for none payment.
16/06/2010 - You request PAC codes for both of your numbers.
15/07/2010 - Your account first went overdue.
17/072010 - o2 ported your number ending 703 from us which meant you were no longer billed for this number. The other number was not ported from us and continued to be billed as normal.04/08/2010 - We sent you a letter notifying you that the account was suspended and overdue.
24/10/2010 - We sent you another letter confirming that the account was now cancelled and you were pending a default on your credit file for none payment of £152.73.07/11/2010 - Your account was then passed to Capquest, a third party collections company.
17/03/2011 - You spoke to Shereen who wiped the outstanding balance purely as a gesture of goodwill.
23/05/2011 - You disputed the balance via Experian and our agent, Daniel investigated the events leading up to the default. He concluded your credit file correctly recorded the balance.
09/02/2012 - I contacted you regarding your posts on the Money Saving Expert forum. I can conclude that the default has been recorded correctly and we will not be making any adjustments.
I understand that this is not the answer you were hoping for however we have fulfilled our obligations to record your payment history on your credit file correctly. This includes late payments and defaulting on your account.
If you have any other questions or would like another call from me just let me know in a reply to this email. Be sure to leave ‘WRT135’ in the subject to get through to my team.
Thanks
Holly
Web Relations Team

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Just to give a recap, I cancelled both my contracts as it was the end of contract period and asked for the PAC codes. I used only one PAC code so vodafone 'allegedly' continued providing service to my other number which I thought was cancelled as a normal rational thinking person would. The vodafone rep said that asking for a PAC code superceded the cancellation of service hence vodafone kept charging me.

I explained to the lady that there was no way of knowing that I owed vodafone any money even if I legitimately did. She agreed but said that the team has decided that the default should stand. It all seems just very convenient flexing of policy or perhaps they are making the rules as they go. There was no communication sent, the lady said they texted me on my phone which was out of use which is no good. Also there were couple of letter sent and even though I had moved house I was constantly going there to collect post and I never received a single paper.

Above everything else, why did they choose to keep my sim active even after I asked for the service to be stopped? This outstanding amount finally lead to the default.

Seem like I ought to give Vodafone a default rather than them giving me one.

My credit file reads 'status-Default; balance-satisfied' is that correct or it should say 'status-settled; balance-satisfied' as the balance is zero now.

Any suggestions?