Provider breached my contract?

brookvilla

Can anyone please help me with my legal position?
In October I signed a new contract with a mobile phone service provider. I was an existing customer but they gave me a good deal so i signed up for 2 years. Paid for a new phone from them and all started well. I went my inclusive minutes in December/January as i was not aware (hadn't been told by Vodafone) that I could check my balance by calling 44555. I did this and throughout the next few weeks I checked my balance and monitored my account. Later that month, i realised i was going to exceed my call allowance again. I upped my tariff to take this into account. I continued to track my usage via 44555. However after a week the amount of minutes available froze at 219 minutes and the amount payable started to increase. For the next week the minutes left stayed at 219 but the balance payable continued to grow. I contacted Vodafone and they said because i had changed tariff during a billing period they could not give me a usage update (the internet gave me the same info as stated above). I used my mobile vet conservatively for the last weeks of the payment period. I contacted them twice more to try and get an upto date balance but they were unable to provide it. The month went on and at the end of February I received a bill for £179, my tariff was £26. I challenged Vodafone and they effectively said tough. I wrote (a letter not an email) to them saying that as they had breached the terms of my contract by being unable to give me the account usage information they said they would I wished for them to either except payment for my standard tariff or if they wouldn't accept this offer then to send me my PAC code and i would leave them. They did not respond but several days later sent me my PAC code. Then they sent me a bill for early cancellation of the contract! They now claim I owe the £179 for calls and £440 for early cancellation.
My question is did Vodafone breach the terms of my contract as they failed to provide the 44555 service as promised? And if you consider they did I am right to fight this demand for payment?
Thanks M
ark

Annie._2

When you upgrade or change your tariff, your account is always reset back to 0 and your usage up to the date of your billing cycle will be charged on a pro rata basis and, as line rental is always in advance, you are charged one extra months line rental. You would also see a credit on your next bill for line rental paid in advance before the upgrade or change of tariff.

During the pro rata period, you are unable to get an accurate account of your minutes but if you are aware of your billing date, you would be able to calculate this for yourself by subtracting the number of days and dividing the total allowance.

This is not a breech of contract, it is normal amongst all the networks and your responsibility to keep track of your own usage. If you had checked your online account, you would have been able to see the excess out of bundle charges.

You have used the allowance which now has to be paid. You must have been quite aware of the length of time you had spent on your phone.

Buzby

I don't wish to appear unhelpful, but whose Terms & Conditions are you reading? A look at the current one makes no mention of any requirement or obligation to supply mid-month balance details, only that they bill you monthly and you pay promptly - so there is no 'breach' to complain about.

Where is this 'promise' to provide access to any particular number shown? Your apparent petulance in wishing to leave would not be resisted, as it is your right, but only under the terms of your agreement. Surely you did not think they would metaphorically shrug their corporate shoulders and let you go without you paying the relevant termination fees?

The proper course of action would be to modify your use to get a better idea of what it was all costing you, and either change tariff to one more attuned to your needs, to see out your minimum term and go to a network that had charges you believed were good value?

As your contract is now cancelled, you need to pay the fees demanded or see your credit file wrecked with the default imposed by the network - again, something you explicitly agreed to.

grumbler

Buzby wrote: »

...As your contract is now cancelled, you need to pay the fees demanded or see your credit file wrecked with the default imposed by the network - again, something you explicitly agreed to.

As the OP was sent the PAC the contract cannot be not cancelled by Vodafone unless the OP uses the PAC to port the number.

ellieellieellie

I would contact Vodafone, explain the situation, and ask if they can give you a reduction on the out of plan costs. I doubt they'll waive them altogether, but they might be able to make them a bit more manageable. If you don't ask, you don't get.

If you cancel the contract early, you have to pay the cancellation fees (unless you were mis-sold the plan, which you weren't) - that's something YOU agreed to when you signed the contract.

Going in all guns blazing is not the way to go; I think you've made the situation more complicated by essentially issuing Vodafone with an ultimatum. They may now be less open to gentler negotiation.

The out of plan minutes you're being charged for aren't for going over your plan, they're for making calls etc, when you were, essentially, between plans. The reason you weren't able to check your allowance is that you didn't have one. I fully agree that all mobile networks repeatedly fail to explain this properly. Generally speaking, you should assume your in-plan allowances don't apply for the first five days of the contract.

It's always a bad idea to change plans mid-month. If nothing else, please learn the lesson from this and make sure you have an adequate number of inclusive minutes. If (like me) you're on the edge of your allowance, it's better to plan to pay £5 extra per month than be stuck with a large and unexpected bill. I know this is what you were trying to do, but you should have done it after the first two months you went over. At least you'll know for next time

Vodafone

Hi brookvilla,

Although I appreciate that your bill came as quite a shock as you couldn’t access 44555 to monitor your allowance, it is your responsibility to manage your usage.

If you would like to discuss it in more detail, you can contact me personally via the address here with WRT135 FAO Heidi in the subject.

Please also include a link to your post and a contact number so that I can give you a call.

Many thanks,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK