Vodafone unsympathetic

Vodafone

Hi scaredmum,

Thanks for making me aware of this.

For further help with this, ask your son to email me with his details via the link in our profile here.

All he'll need to do is copy and paste the link into his web browser and it'll take him to the Contact us form on our website. To make sure it reaches me, he'll also need to quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line.

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

Kind regards,

Lee

Social Media Comms

Vodafone UK

SeduLOUs

Buzby wrote: »

So you think you have a special case that somehow merits a waiver? We are all responsible for our actions. If your son was capable of entering into a legally binding contract, then it is your duty as parent or guardian to protect him from himself. Your expectation that he should be treated as a special needs customer will be met providing he stays within the terms of his agreement. If he cannot or is incapable of understanding then it remains your duty to ensure he is protected.

If you cannot see how the default may prevent you bring placed in a similar situation again (for 6 years) as an advantage for your son you may be in line for other shocks that you cannot control. With PAYG, you all stay in control and have no need to beg for charitable dispositions.

I completely appreciate what you are saying and would normally take the hard line of "you spent it, pay it" no matter what. But after listening to a recent podcast with Martin Lewis discussing the difficulties surrounding mental health and debt it opened my eyes as to just how complicated this can actually be, so am much more sympathetic than I might have been just two weeks ago.

Even if he is now off the meds, I do agree that it would be sensible not to have a contract phone and to avoid this potentially happening in the future. But on the other hand are we also going to suggest that people with mental health issues should never be allowed phones, mortgages, overdrafts or credit cards, just in case?

It's a very difficult area, but I don't think it's outside of the realms of possibility for a waiver to happen for a first time offence - it was a mistake that appears to have been caused by medication and has been confirmed by a medical professional. Particularly when I got more than double the amount in question waivered in a case of pure stupidity with no medical reasons or valid excuses just a few months ago (albeit by a different mobile provider).

If the contract is to be kept open and the same thing happens down the line, then I would probably not expect Vodafone or anyone else to be quite so lenient. It is unfair to expect the family to foresee every eventually of an illness, but I am sure that now this discovery has come to light they will try as best they can to be more vigilant to avoid similar situations arising in the future.

matelodave

I'd guess it would be hard for Vodafone to do too much. If all he was doing was making phone calls or using data then that's within VF's remit to either waive or reduce the charges however if he was ramping up charges via a gambling site which is charging VF then VF will still have to pay the site and presumably won't be everso happy to have to pay out when they are not going to be reimbursed via the user. It's not VF's fault nor their responsibility to take the hit whether its medically induced or not


I do wonder however how someone with a mental illness can get a phone on a £50 a month contract without anyone, either you or his medical advisors, keeping a bit of an eye on him. Is he the account holder?. Would you give a £50 a month contract phone to a child - if you would, then I'm afraid you'd have to suffer the consequences.


In the end when people don't actually take responsibility for their actions someone else ends up paying and indirectly it's all of us because VF or anyone else will just recover their losses by putting up their prices.

grumbler

matelodave wrote: »

... if he was ramping up charges via a gambling site which is charging VF then VF will still have to pay the site and presumably won't be everso happy to have to pay out when they are not going to be reimbursed via the user.

For this sort of payments it's pretty much a norm for networks to share the loot ~50/50 with the companies.

scaredmum

BUZBY - If you had read my post you would know that my son offered to pay this off at £30 a week and Vodafone refused. My son had this account for six months with no problems at all. It was only after his medication was changed that the problems began. No-one could have foreseen what would happen and it happened over four weeks. I am not asking for him to be treated as special needs as you put it. His contract has been cancelled, and I am glad. I do everything I can to help my son lead as normal a life as possible. It was NOT my fault that due to medication he finds himself in this situation and don't you dare keep implying that I have failed as a mother. My son is 19 years old and I cannot be looking over his shoulder 24 hours a day. Please do not judge me or my son when you don't even know us.


SEDULOUS - Thank you for your understanding and kind comments.


MATELODAVE - As I said above he was fine for six months and this happened over such a short period of time no-one could foresee it.


GRUMBLER - you are right phone companies do get a percentage

scaredmum

Hi Lee
Thanks for looking into this. Reference number is WRT135 - MSE [#7126887]

JJ_Egan

We are seeing more and more of this type of post over the last few months .
More and more people who try to live a normal life are getting in to trouble with varying bills.

scaredmum

Saddest thing is my son had a bright future ahead of him. He passed 11 gcse's and was doing A levels and an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering and then all of a sudden he got paranoid and had hallucinations. He didn't wan't to go to college or go out with friends and that's when he was diagnosed with psychosis 18 months ago. There is still such a stigma concerning mental health but it can affect anyone at any time.

Anoneemoose

scaredmum wrote: »

Saddest thing is my son had a bright future ahead of him. He passed 11 gcse's and was doing A levels and an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering and then all of a sudden he got paranoid and had hallucinations. He didn't wan't to go to college or go out with friends and that's when he was diagnosed with psychosis 18 months ago. There is still such a stigma concerning mental health but it can affect anyone at any time.

I know. It is difficult - I have OCD, but not in the way people think like checking things etc. Because of this, it is very difficult for people to 'get it' as it can't be seen. I have spent a lot of time over the years in utter despair and it is truly horrible.

I know when I worked for Orange there was a procedure where in the situation you describe, the balance would remain on their credit file, but the customer would not be chased for it. It also safeguards the network from the customer being able to get more contracts and running up more bills because they would be flagged.

I hope you get something sorted.

scaredmum

Thank you for your reply. Its true that unless people can see a condition they really don't understand it. Best wishes to you.