Vodafone RIP OFF!!! unable to downgrade!!

soulful123

I took out a contract with vodafone which i really regret now!! I'm a student and at the time I had a part time job, but I've recently been advised that they will have to let me go! My line keeps getting restricted and I can't afford to pay so much. I've asked vodafone but apparently you can only upgrade but not downgrade!! When I first took out the contract it said everywhere that I could upgrade and had unlimited internet access for the first 3 months to ascertain my usage and discuss it with Vodafone. Ofcourse I assumed this will be of benefit to me aswell as Vodafone, but now I've realised it was only of benefit to them because you can ONLY UPGRADE!!!

Anyway I wish i stayed with orange, yes they were a bit more expensive but at the end of the day its alot stressful not being able to afford the tariff and not being able to do anything about it.

I am considering complaining to the Ombudsman Services
Communications and was wondering if anyone has done that before?

Thanks

19lottie82

I fail to see how you have been ripped off? You signed a 24 month contract and now you want out of it because you lost your job? And would I be right in guessing you took out an expensive contract because you wanted a top of the range phone?

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

soulful123 wrote: »

I took out a contract with vodafone which i really regret now!! I'm a student and at the time I had a part time job, but I've recently been advised that they will have to let me go! My line keeps getting restricted and I can't afford to pay so much. I've asked vodafone but apparently you can only upgrade but not downgrade!! When I first took out the contract it said everywhere that I could upgrade and had unlimited internet access for the first 3 months to ascertain my usage and discuss it with Vodafone. Ofcourse I assumed this will be of benefit to me aswell as Vodafone, but now I've realised it was only of benefit to them because you can ONLY UPGRADE!!!

Anyway I wish i stayed with orange, yes they were a bit more expensive but at the end of the day its alot stressful not being able to afford the tariff and not being able to do anything about it.

I am considering complaining to the Ombudsman Services
Communications and was wondering if anyone has done that before?

Thanks

Welcome to MSE :wave:

First time poster: CHECK
Uses term Rip Off: CHECK
Multiple exclamation marks: CHECK

You will need to exhaust Vodafone's complaints procedure before you can escalate your complaint.

gjchester

soulful123 wrote: »

When I first took out the contract it said everywhere that I could upgrade and had unlimited internet access for the first 3 months to ascertain my usage and discuss it with Vodafone. Ofcourse I assumed this will be of benefit to me aswell as Vodafone, but now I've realised it was only of benefit to them because you can ONLY UPGRADE!!!

It is a benefit to you.
If you took out a 250MB contract and used 1GB a month in the first few months then Vodafone will charge you an extra £18 each month for the 750GB. The Test Drive lets you see what you will use before you get a charge applied.

soulful123 wrote: »

Anyway I wish i stayed with orange, yes they were a bit more expensive but at the end of the day its alot stressful not being able to afford the tariff and not being able to do anything about it.

Most UK Networks removed the ability to downfrade before the minimum term a few years ago. The problem was that high piced tarrifs have high handset subsidies. The 3rd party compnaies sold a high priced phone on an expensive tarrif for very little advising their customers to downgrade after a few months. The networks didn;t like it so stopped allowing downgrades until the minimum term around 3 or 4 years ago.

soulful123 wrote: »

I am considering complaining to the Ombudsman Services
Communications and was wondering if anyone has done that before?

Thanks

It sounds like you read more into the contract than the contract said. If you were told you have a option to downgrade you may have a case, but if you simply assumed it then theres not a lot that can be done. Your employment status is of no relevent to Vodafone.

You could always try selling the handset while it's new and has a higher value and buying a cheap PAYG one. That way you can use the money from the sale of the handset to pay off some of the bill, but still use the contracted minutes and texts (and maybe internet depending on the phone you get).

macman

Why would a network let you have a 'free' handset (worth anything up to £500) and then let you downgrade only 3m into a 24m contract? How would they then recover the cost of the subsidised handset, let alone make a profit on the contract?
You have no basis for a complaint to anyone unless they told you that you could downgrade, which of course they didn't. How you assumed that you could completely baffles me.
As above, your only option is to sell the handset, downgrade to a cheap one SIM free, and use the proceeds to help you see out your contract.
Losing your job does not void your contract without penalty, only death or bankruptcy do that.

_Andy_

"I am considering complaining to the Ombudsman Services "

LOL!

mobilejunkie

Perhaps if the quality of education ever improves students will be clever enough to understand the basics in the real world (including punctuation) and stop blaming everyone else for their own basic mistakes.

Perhaps this is a private lesson which will be more effective.

Buzby

Afraid this is a well-trodden path. It was your error - indeed Orange wouldn't let you downgrade either so wishing you hadn't switched would still have the same issues. The reason?

Folk signed up to the highest tariff (to get the phone free or cheaper) whilst others knew their limits and paid more for their phones. A few months on, the first group downgraded and their costs dropped. Those that planned carefully were then fools for paying the higher cost for the handset. This had to stop - and you've experienced what the networks did to stop this abuse.

chanz4

Ann_S wrote: »

The Communications Ombudsman wont be one tiny bit interested or care about a student who committed to a contract which was unaffordable just because you wanted a top of the range phone.

You made an agreement to pay a minimum amount for a minimum terms and now you want to pay less on a monthly basis.

If you are having problems meeting the payments, a change of contract ownership to a trustworthy friend or relative could be an option. Otherwise, you are going to have to contact the network and make arrangements for a six month payment plan which will be reported on your credit file.

sell the cra phone, op will not get anywhere study the word contract

keystone

gjchester wrote: »

It sounds like you read more into the contract than the contract said.

It sounds as though they didn't read the contract.

Cheers

robbies_gal

Buzby wrote: »

Afraid this is a well-trodden path. It was your error - indeed Orange wouldn't let you downgrade either so wishing you hadn't switched would still have the same issues. The reason?

Folk signed up to the highest tariff (to get the phone free or cheaper) whilst others knew their limits and paid more for their phones. A few months on, the first group downgraded and their costs dropped. Those that planned carefully were then fools for paying the higher cost for the handset. This had to stop - and you've experienced what the networks did to stop this abuse.

have orange stopped this aswell i downgraded last december