Question on cancelling upgrade wwith Vodafone

OfficeJockey

Hi,

I recently (literally yesterday) upgraded my contract with Vodafone to a new tariff and new device.

I did this with my online Vodafone account.

Today, my husband phoned and said that he'd got me a new phone on HIS (Vodafone) contract, since he new I was due to upgrade soon.

So my one-day old contract is now not needed!

I phoned Vodafone, who said that I had contacted them within 7 days and so they would take the return of the new device. Unfortunately, the chap I spoke to was not able to confirm whether this return counts as also cancelling the upgrade/contract.

Does anyone know if this is the case? Will I have to contact Vodafone after the phone is received safely by them (which is only fair) to cancel the contract?

Sorry for the questions, but in light of the fact that Vodafone are blameless in this scenario, I want to make sure that I don't fall foul of any cooling off period or cancellation fee, etc.

Many thanks in advance,

OJ

(Oh, and since I've just noticed a spinning Martin, I've put it here for no other reason than that it made me giggle! :money:)

MataNui

I think you need to be very careful here. People have posted before to say:
1. Upgrades are not treated like new contracts and are not subject to the 7 days you have to cancel.
2. Returning a handset does not count as a cancellation.

So you may very well now be left with no handset and still stuck in the new contract. Contact VF again an make sure you record the conversation.

Herongull

MataNui's advice about recording your next conversation is spot on.

The Distance Selling Regs gives you 7 working days to cancel. Contrary to what some people say, upgrades are not an exception under the Regs.

However, you can agree to waive your rights to the 7 day cooling off period IF the contract involves services as well as goods (as mobile contracts do) AND you want the service to start before the end of the cooling off period.

This can make upgrades a bit of a grey area, as phone companies can argue that with contract upgrades, the new service starts straight away and therefore you have agreed to waive your rights to the cooling off period by agreeing to the upgrade. This is a bit iffy as people are not told that they are waiving their rights and therefore I'm not sure how they can agree to waive them if they don't know they are doing so.

This has not been tested in court (AFAIK), so it remains a grey area and mobile companies often do have T&Cs that say no cooling off period with upgrades (which might be contrary to the legislation, but not clearcut without a court case).

The upshot of this is (as MataNui says) record future conversations and then if they later change their mind (as sometimes happens) you can take them to the ombudsman.

Vodafone

Hi OJ,

I can confirm that returning the phone within the seven working day cooling off period would enable us to cancel the upgrade.

In regard to cancelling the account, you'll still need to give us 30 days notice.

For further help with this, 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, quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line.

Once sent, you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post back with this and I’ll check I've received it.

Kind regards,

Lee

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