Vodafone - Punished for complaining!

BarryBack

Please help!

I use my phone abroad a fair bit and i have the 25mg per day data usage included in my phone package. Whenever I've used this in the past i have recieved a meassage letting me know i have the data to use and that they will "let me know when i get close to that amount."

I have always just used as much data as i wanted until the text comes in to tell me i am almost at my limit. Then i turn the data off completely.

Whilst in Budapest i got the first message as usual every morning but never the message telling me i was close to using it all.

On the last day of the holiday at 4am i was woken up by 7 text messages saying i have almost used my allowance and one saying that i had reached my capped limit of £50 roaming and therefore my data will be cut off. My data was then cut off. (I had been recieving text messages fine all week)
I was a tad annoyed that i had spent £50 when I thought it was all free but accepted it.

When i got my bill, £500 of data had been charged! I contacted Vodafone CS by phone. They offered me 50% off the data and advised me if i wanted to attempt to negotiate further i would need to write a complaint in. I wrote in and sent a copy of the text messages. They simply denied any liability and stated i had to pay or i would be cut off.

I decided to cut my losses, called CS back to pay the account up to date only to be told that the 50% discount had been removed as i had complained and that the full amount must now be paid!!

They are being petty and childish (The last CS rep agreed!) and i have no idea where i stand.

If anyone has any good ideas i would appreciate it, really am at a loss!:(

Thanks

Barry

grumbler

No ideas, sorry.
Just want to say that you have to rely on some data counting app rather than on texts because UK networks get reports from other countries operators with a big delay.

Normally there is €50 monthly cap on data roaming in EU if you don't buy any bundles, but it is not clear if it was the case because you had something included in your package. See "Have you opted into the EU cut-off?" in the Cheap Data Roaming article.

Also, a similar recent post: Unfair billing by Vodafone

spiro

VF and the other providers must get loads of these every day based on posts on here. They offered you 50% as a goodwill gesture, you rejected it and decided to complain, they then decide to remove the goodwill gesture. May not be good but it is only a goodwill gesture they have no requirement to offer it.

Sorry but on most phones you can install an app to monitor data usage. You need to remember that texts can take more that a day to get to you, there are not guaranteed to be instantanious as most people think. Sorry if this sounds harsh but its reality.

gjchester

grumbler wrote: »

Normally there is €50 monthly cap on data roaming in EU if you don't buy any bundles, but it is not clear it it was the case because you had something included in your package. See "Have you opted into the EU cut-off?" in the Cheap Data Roaming article.

Vodafone treat opting in to any data package as opting out of the cap. I got a letter and text about it when the cap came in as I had ther £2/25mb passport package on my phone at the time the cap came in and they got in touch.

custardy

spiro wrote: »

VF and the other providers must get loads of these every day based on posts on here. They offered you 50% as a goodwill gesture, you rejected it and decided to complain, they then decide to remove the goodwill gesture. May not be good but it is only a goodwill gesture they have no requirement to offer it.

Sorry but on most phones you can install an app to monitor data usage. You need to remember that texts can take more that a day to get to you, there are not guaranteed to be instantanious as most people think. Sorry if this sounds harsh but its reality.

sums it up perfectly
it was a goodwill gesture

useless_git_requires_wife

Continue with your complaint seems like the best option.

Vodafone

Hi BarryBack,

I can certainly appreciate that this is a frustrating situation and I am happy to help in any way I can.

If you could send me an email to the address here with WRT135 FAO Heidi in the subject, I can take a look at your account. You will need to include a contact number and a link to your post.

Many thanks,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

custardy

Dont give in Vodafone rep
too many folks seem to think they can spend away with no repercussions

TakeThis

custardy wrote: »

Dont give in Vodafone rep
too many folks seem to think they can spend away with no repercussions

If he did not have a cap, then why does he write that he received a text message suggesting that he had reached his capped limit?

neil40

I would always take a payg sim when abroad.At least you know that you cant spend more than is on it as credit.