Did Vodafone Mis-Sell me an insurance policy?

KentishMaid

I was wondering if I could seek your opinion on this:
A few months ago I had a problem with my phone falling down a toilet which, understandably, caused it to malfunction. I took it to my nearest Vodafone shop, they sent it off, and a week or so later it came back "not economically viable" for repair as, at the time I was not insured with them.
I got the phone fixed elsewhere through my home insurance. I then went back to Vodafone with the same repaired phone and took out insurance with them on that phone "just in case". There were no qualms or quibbles, or request to check phone condition- my money was taken and the policy was set up.
Recently my phone has been playing up , but is now insured. I took it to a Vodafone shop, and explained the issue, and they agreed it needed to be investigated. They were just about to send it off when they scanned the IMEI mumber and it flashed up "warranty invalid due to water damage- no further repair permitted". This was the first I'd heard of it. I was never told when they returned my damaged phone, nor advised when I took out the insurance policy. I made no attempts to conceal the previous damage, it would have been there on my account to check.
So, technically it appears I have been paying for an invalid insurance policy. Was I mis-sold this policy? Should they have sold me the policy at all? Where do I stand?
Fuming. Vodafone say it's an insurance issue, but the insurance brokers say it's the fault of Vodafone.
Bottom line - They took my money which I provided in good faith, in expectation of receiving an insurance product.
They are now trying to fob me off with a simple refund of the insurance premium. I do not think this is acceptable, it feels like they are trying to "buy me out of a contract".
I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts or experiences.

DUTR

KentishMaid wrote: »

I was wondering if I could seek your opinion on this:
A few months ago I had a problem with my phone falling down a toilet which, understandably, caused it to malfunction. I took it to my nearest Vodafone shop, they sent it off, and a week or so later it came back "not economically viable" for repair as, at the time I was not insured with them.
I got the phone fixed elsewhere through my home insurance. I then went back to Vodafone with the same repaired phone and took out insurance with them on that phone "just in case". There were no qualms or quibbles, or request to check phone condition- my money was taken and the policy was set up.
Recently my phone has been playing up , but is now insured. I took it to a Vodafone shop, and explained the issue, and they agreed it needed to be investigated. They were just about to send it off when they scanned the IMEI mumber and it flashed up "warranty invalid due to water damage- no further repair permitted". This was the first I'd heard of it. I was never told when they returned my damaged phone, nor advised when I took out the insurance policy. I made no attempts to conceal the previous damage, it would have been there on my account to check.
So, technically it appears I have been paying for an invalid insurance policy. Was I mis-sold this policy? Should they have sold me the policy at all? Where do I stand?
Fuming. Vodafone say it's an insurance issue, but the insurance brokers say it's the fault of Vodafone.
Bottom line - They took my money which I provided in good faith, in expectation of receiving an insurance product.
They are now trying to fob me off with a simple refund of the insurance premium. I do not think this is acceptable, it feels like they are trying to "buy me out of a contract".
I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts or experiences.

Yep, they should not have accepted the premiums, and have offered to reurn them, you could lodge a complaint with the FSA, but what did the Policy and T&Cs show?

Vodafone

KentishMaid wrote: »

I was wondering if I could seek your opinion on this:
A few months ago I had a problem with my phone falling down a toilet which, understandably, caused it to malfunction. I took it to my nearest Vodafone shop, they sent it off, and a week or so later it came back "not economically viable" for repair as, at the time I was not insured with them.
I got the phone fixed elsewhere through my home insurance. I then went back to Vodafone with the same repaired phone and took out insurance with them on that phone "just in case". There were no qualms or quibbles, or request to check phone condition- my money was taken and the policy was set up.
Recently my phone has been playing up , but is now insured. I took it to a Vodafone shop, and explained the issue, and they agreed it needed to be investigated. They were just about to send it off when they scanned the IMEI mumber and it flashed up "warranty invalid due to water damage- no further repair permitted". This was the first I'd heard of it. I was never told when they returned my damaged phone, nor advised when I took out the insurance policy. I made no attempts to conceal the previous damage, it would have been there on my account to check.
So, technically it appears I have been paying for an invalid insurance policy. Was I mis-sold this policy? Should they have sold me the policy at all? Where do I stand?
Fuming. Vodafone say it's an insurance issue, but the insurance brokers say it's the fault of Vodafone.
Bottom line - They took my money which I provided in good faith, in expectation of receiving an insurance product.
They are now trying to fob me off with a simple refund of the insurance premium. I do not think this is acceptable, it feels like they are trying to "buy me out of a contract".
I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts or experiences.

Hi KentishMaid,

Thanks for making me aware of your concerns.

To enable me to get this looked into further could you email me with your details via the link in our profile here?

All you need to do is copy and paste the link into your web browser and it will take you to the Contact us form on our website.

To ensure that it reaches me could you also quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line and once our automated reply arrives update the thread with your email reference number and I'll get back to you as soon as possible?

Kind regards,

Lee

Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK

KentishMaid

Thank you,
My Email reference is #11196597

Vodafone

Hi KentishMaid,

Thanks for your time on the phone yesterday.

As promised, I'll be back in touch as soon as I have an update for you.

Kind regards,

Lee

Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK

KentishMaid

Thanks to Lee, this issue has now been resolved satifactorily

Vodafone

Hi KentishMaid,

Thanks for taking the time to update your thread to confirm that this has been resolved for you.

Kind regards,

Lee

Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK