Problems with Vodafone, contract cancelled!

odawire

Hi, thanks in advance for any advice.

I have had a business contract with Vodafone for about 10 years and have never had an issue until a recent upgrade.

The sent me out my new phone (Sony xperia z3icompact) which I was very happy with until the screen stopped responding after around three weeks.

When I spoke to them they told me that I would have send it back to be repaired.

I was not happy with this (I expected a replacement or exchange).

After talking to lots of different people there it became clear the they were only going to repair it.

I had previously been a blackberry user so my new sim would not work in any other phone I had access to and the fact the screen was not responding made it impossible to answer phonecalls, reply to text msg, use any kind of touch tone menu although i could dial out to previously saved contacts.

I told them I was not happy with a repair (a phone sold on a 24 month contract that stops working after 3 weeks, is clearly not fit for purpose) and I would be terminating the contract.

To cut a long story short I immediately started a new contract with another company and got a new phone the next day. Assuming I could move my numbers over.

They told me they would not give me my PAC code until they received the phone back, which seemed fair enough but I waited for 2 weeks with no sign of their 'returns pack' turning up. During this time i was phoning them every day chasing the returns pack, every time being assured it would 'be there the next day' I also offered to pay for the postage myself or take it to a depot somewhere but was told I had to use their returns pack.

Yesterday I had enough and went to the ofcom website and one thing I read was that mobile phone companies cannot withhold your PAC code even if you owe them money. When I phoned them up and told them this they did give me the code but told me they would be charging me for the phone and a fee for cancelling the contract (well over £1000 in total). I didn't agree to this but told them I needed the PAC code at all costs.

What I need advice on is the legal definition of the phone/contract.

If they had just sold me a phone I'm pretty sure I would be well within my rights to demand my money back but does the fact that they refused to replace or exchange the phone allow me to void the contract? (As the phone was not fit for purpose and this is basic sales law).

Also I might persue Vodafone for compensation as this number is my business line that I have been using for over 10 years (its the only number I've ever had) and at one if the busiest times of the year for me my customers could not contact me.
I am aware of around £2000 worth of work I have missed out on because of this and any advice on this would be appreciated.

Basically I think this might go to court and my defence is going to be that they didn't uphold my consumer rights by refusing to replace/exchange a defective product and as such the contract it was sold with is invalid. Will that stand up?

Thanks for reading, Ihope its clear.

Mark

AJXX

odawire wrote: »

Hi, thanks in advance for any advice.

I have had a business contract with Vodafone for about 10 years and have never had an issue until a recent upgrade.

I am aware of around £2000 worth of work I have missed out on because of this and any advice on this would be appreciated.

Basically I think this might go to court and my defence is going to be that they didn't uphold my consumer rights by refusing to replace/exchange a defective product and as such the contract it was sold with is invalid. Will that stand up?

Forget it, if you're acting as a business you don't have any consumer rights.

To cut a long story short I immediately started a new contract with another company and got a new phone the next day. Assuming I could move my numbers over.

If you've lost £2,000 worth of work you've got nobody to blame but yourself IMO. "Assuming" without doing prior research is entirely your fault. They offered to repair the device, you didn't accept it, thus you caused this entire headache.

Surely for the sake of 2 grand you could have got yourself a cheap android to pop your sim card in for 2 weeks or asked them to divert calls to another phone? Instead of throwing a fit and going after the PAC and causing all of this mess (especially as you admit you've been happy with them for 10 years!)

Take it on the chin and don't be so entitled next time, put your business first.

grumbler

odawire wrote: »

They told me they would not give me my PAC code until they received the phone back,

This was against Ofcom's regulations, and you can try claiming some compensation for this.

Yesterday I had enough and went to the ofcom website and one thing I read was that mobile phone companies cannot withhold your PAC code even if you owe them money. When I phoned them up and told them this they did give me the code but told me they would be charging me for the phone and a fee for cancelling the contract (well over £1000 in total). I didn't agree to this but told them I needed the PAC code at all costs.

They should have given you the PAC (not PAC code: The 10 worst acronyms if you’re a pedant)

What I need advice on is the legal definition of the phone/contract.

:huh:
You have the contract. Just read it.

If they had just sold me a phone I'm pretty sure I would be well within my rights to demand my money back but does the fact that they refused to replace or exchange the phone allow me to void the contract?

This depends on what the contract says. Most likely you are deluded about your rights. For consumers (not businesses) there is no such right under the SoGA.

(As the phone was not fit for purpose and this is basic sales law).

It's not as 'basic' as you wrongly assume.

Also I might persue Vodafone for compensation as this number is my business line that I have been using for over 10 years (its the only number I've ever had) and at one if the busiest times of the year for me my customers could not contact me.

You can try pursuing them, but so far they breached only Ofcom regulations, that aren't a law. And you could have easily used the sim in any other unlocked phone without porting the number. The cheapest smartphones are available for £20+, and it didn't even have to be a smartphone for customers to be able to contact you via your number that your were so desperate to port out.

chanz4

none starter if you were a trading business fully, you would be aware that they have a choice to repair or replace. This is not your choice.

gycraig_2

Surely getting a pac code is cancelling the contract ?. At which point your liable to pay the amount you have signed up to.

Phones are a consumable item at some point in your life one WILL need a warrantee repair. It's just a fact of life if you have lost 2k of business for sake of buying a 10 quid phone that's ridiculous

grumbler

gycraig wrote: »

Surely getting a pac [STRIKE] code [/STRIKE]is cancelling the contract ?. At which point your liable to pay the amount you have signed up to.

And? Ofcom made it very clear that issuing the PAC can't be stopped by any outstanding debt.

diamonds

From the order I'm reading:


Given Voda agreed to a return pack and not a repair they agreed to the return of the item it seems and that would imply termination of contract.


Keep evidence of all your calls to Vodafone on bills, download them if online access before you send the below request.




Send the form completed below by next day 1pm delivery (cheapest option) to




Legal Notice
Vodafone Group Plc
Vodafone House
The Connection
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 2FN
England


http://www.vodafone.co.uk/cs/groups/public/documents/webcontent/vftst031658.pdf

leeroy2009

I don't know about all your issues, but yet again I see Vodafone refusing to give out pac codes, they tried this with me and another poster I read about, they need taking to task about this. as its clear we have not all spoke to the sam ill informed advisor but this is some kind of official intenal policy to deny pac codes when ever they feel like it!!


this needs bringing to ofcoms attention asap


once again, you could owe Vodafone a million pound yet they would still have to give the pac code.

AJXX

leeroy2009 wrote: »

I don't know about all your issues, but yet again I see Vodafone refusing to give out pac codes, they tried this with me and another poster I read about, they need taking to task about this. as its clear we have not all spoke to the sam ill informed advisor but this is some kind of official intenal policy to deny pac codes when ever they feel like it!!


this needs bringing to ofcoms attention asap


once again, you could owe Vodafone a million pound yet they would still have to give the pac code.

Just to play devil's advocate they didn't actually "refuse" to give him the PAC (please note it's just 'PAC', not 'PAC code', the C stands for Code it's an abbreviation - if you're going to have a good moan to ofcom about it then at least use the correct terminally so to not look like an idiot).

So they offered kind of incorrect advise in that he must return the phone first, but they're not explicitly saying "no you can't have it".

My partner recently rang them up for her PAC on two different lines; they gave her both PAC's over the phone in 10 minutes.... so it isn't some "official internal policy" at all.

grumbler

AJXX wrote: »

So they offered kind of incorrect advise in that he must return the phone first, but they're not explicitly saying "no you can't have it".

Do you really call this "kind of ... advice"? (not advise).
Also, I guess you meant 'terminology', not 'terminally' (bloody autocorrection!).

odawire wrote: »

...They told me they would not give me my PAC [STRIKE]code [/STRIKE]until they received the phone back,

I call this "blackmail".

My partner recently rang them up for her PAC on two different lines; they gave her both PAC's over the phone in 10 minutes.... so it isn't some "official internal policy" at all.

Was it well before the minimum term expired with the ETC outstanding? The policy obviously is to use the PAC as a debt collection tool.