Vodafone - Extortionate Costs!

Terrysdelight

Hi

Been back from holiday about 10 days and just had my latest bill.

I almost had a heart attack - normally about £35, but it is now £161.

Before I went away, I contacted Vodafone as I used to have passport, they said I no longer have it but for the cost of £2, per day my calls abroad, could come out of my minutes package. I told them I'd be on a cruise visiting several different countries and they went through all the costs I'd incur - basically around 9p per minute to receive calls - around 28p per minute to make calls.

Anyway - my bill doesn't reflect this - it looks like whilst at sea I've connected up to some strange network and been charged over £1 per minute. I am gutted as this is such a shock when I took care to make sure what I'd be charged. I feel I should have been told.

Has anyone come across this before? I haven't phoned Vodafone yet and wondered how I should handle this?

I'm guessing I will probably have no choice but to pay up.

[Deleted User]

Been a while since I was on a cruise but I seem to remember something about the ship having it's own network. Obviously when you're at sea you're unlikely to pick up a normal mobile signal as their coverage doesn't extend far from the coast. I believe the ship has it's own network mast in effect but when you use this the costs are pretty high.

tehone

Whilst on the cruise ship, you'd have been connecting via a network that the passport didn't apply to, its only when on land that you'd have connected to a partner network

Annie._2

If you go to the Travelling Abroad section of the Vodafone website, there is a country on the list for cruise ships.

Make a call £1.65 per min
Receive a call £1.30 per min
Send a text 35 p plus a domestic rate
send a picture message 37p
Data £3 per MB up to 5 MB then £15 for every 5MB after

Terrysdelight

Thanks everyone. I will have to put this down to my live and learn experiences. It's definitely not going to happen again :eek:

spiro

I remember a post from someone that had used a ferry across the North Sea, they thought they were lucky to be getting a phone signal but did not realise it was the ships 'network' and they got stung with high charges.

Vodafone

Hi Terrysdelight,

I am sorry to hear that your bill is higher than expected. Ann S is spot on with her response in reference to the charging.

If you would like me to look into this in more detail, you can contact me here with WRT135 FAO Heidi in the subject.

If you could also include a link to your post and a contact number, I will get in touch.

Kind regards,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

Terrysdelight

Vodafone_company_representative wrote: »

Hi Terrysdelight,

I am sorry to hear that your bill is higher than expected. Ann S is spot on with her response in reference to the charging.

If you would like me to look into this in more detail, you can contact me here with WRT135 FAO Heidi in the subject.

If you could also include a link to your post and a contact number, I will get in touch.

Kind regards,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

Thank you, I have supplied all the information. I won't cross my fingers! If I get good news I will update the forum.

I did do all I could to make sure I avoided high costs and I wasn't informed about accidentally hooking up to other networks.

merib

Hi,
I was in Australia for only 12 day this month. Despite advising Vodafone of where I was going in order to ensure service, they cut off my phone with no warning after 8 days leaving me without contact, alone in a foreign city. I returned after 12 days to discover that my bill had exceeded £1000! Initially Vodafone said that there must have been some mistake and advised me to cancel my standing order whilst they sorted it out & suggested I phone on the 24/10 when they would have all the information to hand. On the 22/10 I received a phonecall from their 'bully boy' insisting that Vodafone never make mistakes and threatening to cut my phone off within 2 hours if I did not pay £800 immediately. I felt very pressured and agreed to pay £650 on the spot, which I now regret. I have been a Vodafone customer for over 15 years and the disputed bill for which I have been required to make advance payment is not actually due until the 15th November. Any advice please?

grumbler

Obvious questions:
Have you seen the bill or the online account statement?
What are the charges for?
Do you disagree with the charges and why?

diamonds

Vodafone Europe is £3 a day & not on cruise ship roaming so they told you incorrect info, gotta love Voda third party customer care, you pay for thier errors !