Warning to Vodafone customers - wealth by stealth...

howtohelp

Ever wondered how Vodafone has become the multi million pound organisation we see today?? Well one way is through the unsolicited plundering of money from my bank account for services NEVER requested! I am now several hundred pounds out of pocket and Vodafone are refusing to reimburse the money that they have wrongfully taken.

To cut a long story short I cancelled my contract in Feb 2013, but money continued to be taken from my account for months afterwards. I made so many phone calls to try to sort the situation I lost count. Then, additional to that, I also discovered that I had been charged for a separate number for 4 years that I had never ordered!! More time wasted on calls and letters and all to no avail! Vodafone are refusing to pay back the money they have taken from me. :wall: In desperation and at the end of my tether, I clawed some back through the direct debit guarantee and so their bullying tactics came to the fore - hello debt collection agency.

And all for 10 years of being a loyal customer! I am completely disgusted to say the least!! I would really appreciate some advice from you savvy moneysavingexperts on the best way of getting reimbursement from them as I just don't know how they can justify not refunding money immediately that should never have been taken. Is it not theft?

Is it best to go to lawyers or the ombudsman first? Can I do both? What about the small claims court and trading standards? Or can I approach all of them at the same time? And what about the many hours spent on making phone calls and writing letters to them and the debt collection agency - can I claim for all of my time wasted on a situation that I should never have been placed in?

Thanks for any advice you can give. I really appreciate your help with such a frustrating and worrying situation.

mobilejunkie

It seems, like many on here, that you don't check your bank statements for years on end. Paying for 4 years for an account (you say) you never had is almost unbelievable - more so than believing you should never have had the account. Waiting months whilst money went out for the contract you cancelled is also rather incredible. I wouldn't sue on that basis as it sounds like you wouldn't be able to prove anything (unless you do, in fact, have confirmation of cancellation acceptance in writing). You'd have to make a formal complaint to Vodafone and wait at least 8 weeks before the ombudsman (CISAS) would look at it - but they too like proof.

Although I know exactly how bad this organisation can be, I am sometimes bewildered by the complaints against them (and I've had innumerable ones). Your only real hope is to contact the WRT - go to the Vodafone complaints thread and follow the instructions on there.

ballyblack

well shareholders are getting a big pay out


http://www.theguardian.com/business/marketforceslive/2014/feb/19/vodafone-shareholder-payout-avanti

kingrulzuk

Its not just Vodafone. All the bustards are doing the same and they get away with it

redux

If you give notice to close the account and obtain a PAC to keep and transfer out the number, then if you don't use the PAC the account will continue.

I'm not saying this is what happened, but it's a guess which might go part of the way to explaining it.

howtohelp

Hi mobilejunkie,

Many thanks for your advice - I do appreciate you taking the time to reply and I will certainly follow the instructions on the thread.

But just to clarify as I feel may have been misunderstood in my earlier explanation. I certainly do check my bank statements. To explain further, I had a monthly contract with Vodafone for one number which I took out in November 2008 which they were legitimately charging for and for which I was paying a fluctuating amount each month which would appear on my statement. But in January 2010 as I have discovered, they started charging me for a number which I had not ordered - they lumped it all together with the legitimate payment that I had been making from years before. So it all appeared as one payment coming out of my bank account each month and I was none the wiser that anything had changed and that I was being charged for something I had never ordered.

With regard to "Waiting months whilst money went out for the contract you cancelled " - that too did not happen. I contacted them very shortly after I realised, which was 1-2 months after the event. I had so many phone calls to try to sort out the problem I can't tell you, and nothing worked!! I was reluctant to cancel the direct debit guarantee for fear I would get a bad credit name, but in the end I had no choice at all - it was either that or let them continue to extort money from me. That is when they called in the debt collectors for reclaiming the payments that had been fraudulently taken after the contract had been cancelled!

So you see what I have been foolish not to do is to log into my Vodafone account to check the fine detail of the Vodafone bill each month. But they chose to stop sending me paper bills - I never had a say in that matter. And the fact is that now the situation has been brought to light, how can they justify not reimbursing money that is rightfully mine? If I stole someone's car and it went unnoticed for a while - wouldn't I still be charged with theft once it was discovered?

howtohelp

Hi redux,

I did request the PAC code and it was given to a new provider (Talkmobile) the very next day and the transfer happened a couple of days later. But Vodafone kept on telling me the number had never been transferred even though all calls that were being made were through Talkmobile's network and none through Vodafone's, which they could see. One of the numerous calls that I had with their customer relations team even lasted an
hour to try to sort this out - I would come off the phone thinking that the problem had been sorted :eek: and then discover the following month that money continued to be taken.
I was tearing my hair out!

mobilejunkie

You should definitely contact the WRT - see the Vodafone complaints thread. Failing that (and if you can prove all this) make a formal complaint, wait another 8 weeks and then take it to CISAS - but in my experience (LOTS of problems over numerous contracts with Vodafone) the WRT may be able to help.

Vodafone

Hi howtohelp,

Thanks for making me aware of this.

When you emailed us yesterday you will have received an automated reply with a reference number. To make sure it's reached me could you update the thread with this and I'll get back to you as soon as I can?

Kind regards,

Lee

Web Relations

Vodafone UK

howtohelp

Thanks mobilejunkie - that's really helpful - I will definitely be looking in more detail at both options and will be contacting them asap. I can't let this rest and especially with the debt collectors at my heels. In the meantime I'll see what Vodafone come back with though I know I shouldn't hold my breath judging by the experience I've had with them so far! I'll keep you posted how I get on.

Lee - the reference number is WRT165 [#6203691]

Vodafone

Hi howtohelp,

Thanks for coming back to me.

Having checked that reference I can see that someone has replied earlier this morning asking for further information.

When you reply with it, could you amend the code in the subject line from WRT165 to WRT135 - MSE?

Kind regards,

Lee

Web Relations

Vodafone UK