Vodafone ruins another life!

life_ruined

I have been to the bank today to look into getting a mortgage. . and was absolutely devastated to find that Vodafone have ruined any chance of that for the next 6-7years. . I am utterly amazed that they have the ability to do that. . They made my life hell for several months after i had cancelled my contract, which i did with notice and after my 18month contract had expired. They started sending me letters saying i had cancelled my contract early and owed them money as a result, letters, e-mails and conversations went backwards and forwards, they didn't get it, they had me on screen as a 24 month contract (i would never have agreed to this) unfortunately i agreed to my contract over the phone from a sales rep, and never received a written contract from them, which i didn't think was a problem, till the letters started coming. I basically told them, prove to me that i agreed to a 24 month contract, listen to the recorded call where i had the discussion and i will gladly pay what they said i owed. They couldn't do this, as there was no evidence, so they passed it on to a debt recovery service. . more letters, i spoke to the debt recovery people and explained the situation and they told me that vodafone had given them a different reason to chase the 'debt' and as a result they were referring it back to vodafone, which they did. More letters from vodafone. .i asked them to prove it again,but no they couldn't. Then the letters stopped and i thought Yay they've finally resolved it. . Till i went to the bank!!!! Defaulted they said, can't proceed with a mortgage they said. . How is it possible for them to do this?? Just because they say i had a 24 month contract and have no evidence of this . . .they now have the right to ruin my life??? I cannot buy my ex-husband out of my house and am now at his mercy to pay the mortgage, if he defaults (possible as he isn't working). .then because i can't get a mortgage, me and the kids will be homeless. .

ZhugeEX

How did you cancel the contract in the first place? If it truly was a 24 month contract then they wouldn't have let you cancel in the first place.

Did you receive any written confirmation from Vodafone about the cancellation being successful? Or did you just cancel the direct debit without speaking to vodafone first?

Also what happened to the debt?

grumbler

You should have paid and then sued !!!!!!!s for this amount plus all costs. It was very easy to do.
Now you still can do this, but it's more complicated as you would want to get the credit history cleaned, not just the money.

Gordon_Hose

You would have received some paperwork, regardless of where you purchased the phone.

What did that paperwork say?

grumbler

ZhugeEX wrote: »

How did you cancel the contract in the first place?

life_ruined wrote: »

i had cancelled my contract, which i did with notice and after my 18month contract had expired.

ZhugeEX wrote: »

If it truly was a 24 month contract then they wouldn't have let you cancel in the first place. Did you receive any written confirmation from Vodafone about the cancellation being successful? Or did you just cancel the direct debit without speaking to vodafone first?

life_ruined wrote: »

they had me on screen as a 24 month contract (i would never have agreed to this) unfortunately i agreed to my contract over the phone from a sales rep, and never received a written contract from them,
...
I basically told them, prove to me that i agreed to a 24 month contract, listen to the recorded call where i had the discussion and i will gladly pay what they said i owed. They couldn't do this, as there was no evidence,

ZhugeEX wrote: »

Also what happened to the debt?

life_ruined wrote: »

they passed it on to a debt recovery service.

ZhugeEX

grumbler wrote: »

Sorry, i'm having one of those days where i can't read properly or something

But with the debt i mean afterwards. Surely vodafone would have kept requesting for it to be paid.

macman

Voda sold the debt on and at that point it would have been flagged as a default.
OP, what did you think was going to happen if the issue remained unresolved? You mention phone calls and emails, but did you ever make a proper written complaint to Voda? Once things get to that stage, phone and emailing are futile.

gjchester

life_ruined wrote: »

Till i went to the bank!!!! Defaulted they said, can't proceed with a mortgage they said. . How is it possible for them to do this?? Just because they say i had a 24 month contract and have no evidence of this

Verbal contracts carry the same power as written ones just are harder to prove later on, that said every contract I've taken out over the phone comes with something in with the phone in writing to confirm the contract terms. Have you checked the phone box again (if you have it).

Go back to the bank and ask them what is the issue. One default on file is unlikely to stop you getting a mortgage, it may alter the rate you pay, or it may be you need to use a different mortgage provider, but it's not the end of the world.

County Court Judgements may make a mortgage harder to get but not one default to a company unless there are other defaults on record you've not mentioned.

Vodafone

Hi life_ruined,

I can appreciate the concerns you have here and would be happy to get this looked into further.

To enable me to do this 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 make sure it reaches me could you also quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line?

Once sent you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. So I can make sure I've got it could you update the thread with this and I'll get back to you as soon as possible?

Kind regards,

Lee

Web Relations Team

Vodafone UK

AngelsMadv

I'll vouch for Lee. He's the top man in these circumstances. I too was having trouble with a similar issue and he sorted it out no problem.

Good luck with your home purchase- remember, even with a default, all is not lost. You may just pay a little more. HTH

dealer_wins

Lesson here is to not assume anything, and get everything in writing.