vodafone charging me for a phone i didnt have / help!

neal83

First of all thanks for reading,

Im looking for some advice from someone that may have tread this ground before.

My girlfriend had a contract with vodafone which was supposed to end feb last year, when her contract was nearly up the carphone warehouse had informed her of another deal with orange which she was happy to switch to.

She informed vodafone that she would not like her contract to roll over and exchanged her old phone for a new one and got a new number with orange.

I must add that my girlfriend was a supervisor in a very busy restaurant and some weeks she may work 50-60 hours, her father is in his late 70's and is partially deaf, her mother is elderly and my girlfriend is the sole earner for the household (not including her parents state pension).

She found out in november that she had been paying her old vodafone contract as though it had rolled over, when she contacted vodafone they said they had no record of her calling to cancel, she then cancelled the direct debit, they are now wanting £123 for the outstanding balance and an early cancellation fee.

Essentially she has paid in the region of £600 and never used a minute call time nor a single text.

I have told her to dispute the debt and i have drafted a letter with which we will send £1 for information on her account as outlined in the consmer credit act of 1974.

This is new ground for me, i am not certain this is the right move i was hoping for some advice as to what we should do or what mite happen, in all reasonableness i think shes owed a refund, what do you guys think.

Kind regards and thanks for reading :T


Neal

NFH

neal83 wrote: »

She found out in november that she had been paying her old vodafone contract as though it had rolled over, when she contacted vodafone they said they had no record of her calling to cancel, she then cancelled the direct debit, they are now wanting £123 for the outstanding balance and an early cancellation fee.

If she didn't notice the money going out of her bank account between February and November, then it can't be a significant amount of money for her to lose.

The best thing she can do is to quote to Vodafone the date and time of the call and the name of the person she spoke to in February last year to cancel the contract. Assuming she phoned from her Vodafone phone, Vodafone should have a record of the call on their billing system, even though it probably doesn't appear on the bill, being a free call.

neal83

With it being some time ago she cant remember who she spoke to or which phone she called from but she is certain she called.

She has been paying £45 a month, although im aware they didnt have to call her why she wasnt using any mins or texts or internet i think it a little unfair they didnt give her a customer service call considering what she was paying.

Also they have denied that she contacted them altogether, i will have to review her contract to see what they are obligated to provide in the contract that she had with them.

grumbler

neal83 wrote: »

...they said they had no record of her calling to cancel,

Is the itemised bill available showing this call? That said, she should have requested a confirmation of cancellation and made sure she received it.

she then cancelled the direct debit,

Does she realise that this can ruin her credit history?

they are now wanting £123 for the outstanding balance and an early cancellation fee.

Essentially she has paid in the region of £600

The figures make no sense to me.

I have told her to dispute the debt and i have drafted a letter with which we will send £1 for information on her account as outlined in the consmer credit act of 1974.

I think it is Data Protection Act and more than £1 (up to £10 AFAIK).

NFH

neal83 wrote: »

With it being some time ago she cant remember who she spoke to or which phone she called from but she is certain she called.

Without a record of the call, you're going to have a hard time proving that she made the call. Did she not make a record of the date and time of the call and the name of the person she spoke to?

neal83 wrote: »

She has been paying £45 a month, although im aware they didnt have to call her why she wasnt using any mins or texts or internet i think it a little unfair they didnt give her a customer service call considering what she was paying.

They wouldn't do this, as they don't have the resources to monitor individual accounts and employ staff to make phone calls to customers about their usage. Lots of people pay £45/month, particularly for expensive phones like £500 iPhones.

Your best bet is a record of the outgoing call from a phone line (whether fixed or mobile) to Vodafone rather than the non-existent customer service records.

neal83

no she dosnt have her itemised bill, im hoping this will be sent out.
no i didnt know that could ruin someones credit history either.
the figures make no sense to me either, i should have mentioned however that originally it was an 18 month contract.

as a new user i cannot post a links but if you google 'oft consumer credit act sections 77' the first document is from the oft explaining the consumer credit act of 1974 sections 77 through 79, check out page 37

grumbler

neal83 wrote: »

however that originally it was an 18 month contract.

After the minimum term expired the contract continued as a rolling one with 1 month notice.

as a new user i cannot post a links but if you google 'oft consumer credit act sections 77' the first document is from the oft explaining the consumer credit act of 1974 sections 77 through 79, check out page 37

I may be blind, but I don't see anything like this on page 37.

neal83

Taken from the OFT

"Need information about your credit or hire agreement?
Your consumer credit and consumer hire rights explained
Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 you have the right to request certain
information about your credit or hire agreement, from the lender or owner, for a
fee of £1.
If you do want this information about your agreement, including terms and
conditions and an account statement, you can request this from the lender (or
owner, in the case of hire agreements). To do this you must apply in writing and
pay the fee.
What information can you request and what should you expect to receive?
You can ask for a copy of your original contract and for information on the
current state of your account. You can ask for this whether you have a fixed
term loan, a running account loan such as a credit card, or a hire agreement.
The lender needs to provide you with an accurate copy of your contract. The
copy they send you does not have to be the original document, or a photocopy
of the one that you signed, and it can be recreated by the lender, but it should
• show you the original terms and conditions and any later variations
• contain all the information and statements of protection and remedies
required by the Consumer Credit Act 1974
• be easy to read.
The lender should also give you a copy of any documents that are referred to in
your agreement.
If you ask for details of the state of your account the lender must also provide
this to you. Your statement must include the
• total amount that you have paid
OFT1175con | 29
• amount that you owe
• separate amounts that make up the total of what you owe and when each
payment is due.
What if the lender does not comply with the request?
Your lender must provide you with the information within 12 working days of
receiving your request. After the 12 days are up, if the lender has not provided
the information then the agreement is unenforceable until they do provide the
information."

grumbler

I think mobile contract is neither a credit nor a hire agreement.
However, even if it is, I don't quite understand what exactly from the below you want to get.

• show you the original terms and conditions and any later variations
• contain all the information and statements of protection and remedies
required by the Consumer Credit Act 1974
• be easy to read.
The lender should also give you a copy of any documents that are referred to in
your agreement.
If you ask for details of the state of your account the lender must also provide
this to you. Your statement must include the
• total amount that you have paid
OFT1175con | 29
• amount that you owe
• separate amounts that make up the total of what you owe and when each
payment is due.

The only thing that can really help you is the record/transcript of the phone call if it exists.
You don't have to pay even £1 for an explanation of the amount that they think you owe them.

neal83

That is what i was hoping for , i believe that it is totally unreasonable to charge someone £600 for a phone they didnt use, the records will show she never used the phone

grumbler

neal83 wrote: »

...i believe that it is totally unreasonable to charge someone £600 for a phone they didnt use, the records will show she never used the phone

Your belief is wrong. What you say is correct for PAYG, not for a contract.

Your point is that she instructed Vodafone to cancel the contract, but they failed to do this.