Vodafone Complaint - do I have a case?

buffness

Hello,

I sent an email to Vodafone Customer Services back in October 2012 (I still have a copy) highlighting my intentions to terminate my contract due to the 2.4% contract price increase:

_____________________________

RE: Price increase from 1st November 2012



Dear Sirs,

I have received notification of an increase to my monthly line rental cost for both telephone numbers stated above under one account number. You state that you’ve made every effort to minimise the impact and have kept this increase below inflation (as measured by what is known as the Retail Price Index (RPI)).

As per information located on the Office for National Statistics’ website, annual inflation stands at 2.9% for August 2012.

I understand that Ofcom are currently investigating these price increases and are due to announce their findings some time in autumn. The fact that the regulator of the UK Communications Industry is investigating this suggests that the legality and/or fairness of this decision is being questioned.

As per Clause 11b of the Vodafone Pay Monthly Airtime Conditions:

“You may end this agreement by writing to us if:

• we don’t do something fundamental that we should have done under this agreement (for example, if there is a complete failure of the network for seven days in a row due to something we have done), within seven days of you asking us in writing;
• we tell you that there will be an increase in the line-rental charge (unless we increase line rental because of a rise in VAT) by more than the increase in the retail price index (worked out as a percentage) since the last line-rental increase and you write to us before the increase applies;
• we increase your charges in the UK which has the effect of increasing your total charges (based on your usage in any of the previous three months) by more than 10% and you write to us before the increase applies; or
• we change this agreement to your significant disadvantage including changing or withdrawing services (we will tell you if this is the case) and you write to us within one month of us telling you about the change. This does not apply if the change or withdrawal relates to services which you can cancel without us ending this agreement.”



You have changed this agreement to my significant disadvantage as I budget my spending each month and this extra spend (which works out to more than £6.00 for the remainder of my contracts) will cause an adverse affect on my finances.

The dictionary definition of “significant” is as follows:

“Important; of consequence”

Your announced price increase is important and of consequence to me, as detailed above.

I believe that this price increase has been sneaked in as part of what I consider to be an unfair Term & Condition, which is illegal. This price increase is the maximum amount you can apply on the basis of RPI being set at 2.9% for August 2012, which I also consider to be underhand.

Please accept this letter as 30 days notice for the termination of my contract with Vodafone, due to your announced price increase being to my significant disadvantage. Obviously, I will owe and pay any line rental up until the 23-11-2012 which is 30 days from the date of this letter and which I accept part of will be at the increased price between Thursday 1 November 2012 and 23-11-2012

I will be cancelling my Direct Debit to Vodafone from January 2013.

It is with regret that I am being forced to take this action. As required, my mobile telephone numbers are at the top of this letter and my signature is at the bottom. I wish for BOTH numbers to be cancelled.

I will not enter into any correspondence regarding this matter and require written confirmation of the termination of my contracts and that no further costs will be incurred from 23-11-2012. Please also provide me with a PAC so that I can transfer my telephone numbers to another provider.

Failure to terminate my contract with Vodafone will result in me seeking legal advice and if necessary, taking court action.

________________


I can see from a MSE article posted back in 2012 (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/phones/2012/10/vodafone-to-raise-pay-monthly-prices) states that customers can cancel if they notify Vodafone in November 2012. The email sent above was completed on the 24th October 2012 so I was well within the specified timeframe.

I have just checked my credit file and the account is in default by £290.00 I received no acknowledgement to the email I sent therefore they may have ignored it.

Do you think I have a case if I complained to have the default and late payments removed?

Thanks

NittyGritty

if you feel you have a case, then take it to CISAS, the worst they can say is no, on the other hand if they side with you (assuming you put in a compensation claim on top when you file a case) then you be quids in, and they will have no option but to amend the defaults etc

gjchester

buffness wrote: »

I sent an email to Vodafone Customer Services back in October 2012 (I still have a copy)

The problem with email is it's easy to lose, either accidentally or deliberately. It could have gone to a unmonitored email address, never made it to Vodafone, or been spam filtered just as easily as being deleted. Recorded post is best as it shows its got to a location, but that's the benefit of hindsight.


You also don't say what the £290 is owed for. Could it be accrued line rental, or is it the account was closed and you were charged an early termination fee. Cancelling the DD 12 months ago would put your cost at about £30 Per calendar month if it's accrued bills. An early termination fee is usually the same as the cost of the remaining line rental to the minimum term.


You say the price rise to you was 2.4% but RPI was 2.9% which was permitted under the contract you had signed, and an increase of 50P a month is unlikely to be seen as significant disadvantage. The fact Ofcom were investigating was not relevant, at that time it could have gone either way.


Do you have any way to show the cancellation request arrived there? You specifically asked for written confirmation but say you received nothing, so why did you not chase it?


Please don't think I'm on Vodafones side, but you need to find out what that £290 is for, and also what happened. Its not clear you had any rights to cancel the contract, you simply removed the payment mechanism by cancelling the DD, and so the charges built up.


You also asked for a PAC, If one was issued but not used it then the contract continues, and you cannot have a contract on notice to cancel and have a PAC code. By asking for a PAC and not using one you haven't cancelled the contract, just left it running but removed the means to pay.


Get to the bottom of the charges then it may be easier to see a way forward.

Vodafone

Hi buffness,

Thanks for making me aware of this.

If you'd like me to get things 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'll 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

Vodafone UK