£2,027.88 debt shock with Vodafone! Please help!

nick.j.hird

Hi guys. I sincerely hope this is the right thread, I've tried searching this kind of thing and cant find it on the forum and ive also tried looking for the most appropriate place to post...I believe this is it.

Basically. I set a direct debit up while taking out my contract with Vodafone over the phone (during the recorded call) and my bank say they set it up but have NEVER requested money. I called to block a phone that was lost and Vodafone told me the account was overdue and direct debit was NEVER taken. Yet they never informed me payment wasn't received in well over a year!!!

I have called them 7/8 times and offered a credit agreement Of some form (initially £20 a month as it's their fault) their only compromise was 3 payments over 3 months of £433+ to cover the £1400 "dept" now they have sent a final demand letter asking for £2,027.88 to pay the bill and cancel the contract!

I've tried calling (no help) live chat (no help) emailing (no help - they tell me to live chat!) I'm at my wits end. It's the first time I've ever been in debt and my bank tell me I did my bit as Iset up the direct debit and Vodafone set it up but never requested payment. I also tried the financial services ombudsman who said they can't help. Here's my last email to Vodafone :

"Good evening,



I would like to make a complaint due to poor service from Vodafone.



I set up a direct debit with Vodafone a couple of years ago (Vodafone messed up the direct debit, no payment was taken and i was left with a bill of approx £400).! I paid this in one go and asked to leave as i was near the end of my contract.! The lady on the phone convinced me to stay with Vodafone (I made clear in this phone call on several occasions that I would stay PROVIDING Vodafone definitely set up my direct debit correctly.! The Vodafone representative promised this would be done.



I called up about three months ago to cancel my phone as i had lost it, it was at this point i was informed that money was outstanding on my account, i told them this was impossible as i set up a direct debit to cover ALL bills (not a minimum payment).! It turned out that the Direct Debit was never completed (and Vodafone never informed me once by email, voicemail, phone call or post) that any money was outstanding or that there was an issue with payment.! THIS WAS LEFT OVER A YEAR and only surfaced due to ME calling Vodafone!

The outstanding amount is £1300!! Vodafone then told me this was the banks fault.



I called Halifax! Bank who told me that this is ENTIRELY Vodafones fault (they informed me Vodafone set up the direct debit request, however i am told it is VODAFONES duty to send a request to the bank each month for the value to be taken from my account.! My bank confirmed that this request NEVER happened, not even once.! They told me the blame lies fully with Vodafone (as a direct debit is set up solely for the modern day, understanding people have busy lives and various bills and direct debits which they cannot chase up each week - hence direct debits).



I called Vodafone and confirmed i would start paying my bill in full and would pay an additional £20 a month until the remaining balance was settled.! The useless Vodafone representative told me that he would break the payment into three (expecting me to stump up £433+ a month for three months - out of nowhere, no notice at all).! I told him (as i am sure you can understand) he is disillusion and requesting this is NOT possible, especially when the fault lays with Vodafone for not providing the service that a contract was agreed upon (check the recording of my contract for reference).



Vodafone also cut me off until payment was made.! I have since switched and pay monthly on Giff Gaff.! I have since had a letter from Vodafone requesting £2000+ to settle the bill and pay to finish my contract early (not a chance in hell).



I am happy to work with Vodafone to get a resolve.! I refuse to pay to cancel a contract (as the issues causing me to cancel are caused by Vodafone, but happy to settle the £1300 with a mutual payment plan."

(The above email was sent before they sent the bill threatening debt collection and update £2027.88)

Please help!!!

Thanks so much for your time!

Nick

samperry209

Snap read my thread!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5186202

Vodafone never did proper checks! and my wonderful brother managed to impersonate me 4 times. It's wrong it really is!

glentoran99

Vodafone would have sent you a bill every month, did you not look at it? Did you not wonder why no money was being debited from your account?

Yes vodafone made mistakes in not requesting the payment but surely you knew they werent being paid?

For several years did you not wonder why you werent paying a bill for your mobile phone?

bbk87

Did you not realise the money wasn't being taken from your account?

The problem here is that although it may be Vodafone's fault for not setting up the DD, however it can be said that you are partially to blame for the high bill, as it is your responsibility to ensure that it is being paid. They could argue that the possibility of you not knowing the DD's weren't coming out to be quite small.

On a side note, the complaint email you have sent to them is way too long and wordy. When complaining it needs to be simple. Set out your issues in bullet point form.

sourcrates

So basically what your saying is, you got a phone contract, set up DD, then never checked to see if it was been paid in over a year ?

Have to agree with Glentoran obviously you understood you would be liable for the monthly line rental, and other charges, the fault i`m afraid, lies as much with you, as it does vodaphone.

Do you not check your bank account on a regular basis ?

Always check your accounts regularly, that way mistakes like this wont happen.
To my mind, both you and Vodaphone are each 50% liable, they should of noticed no payments were been made, and so should you.

There is an adjudication/ombudsman service you can complain to :

http://www.ombudsman-services.org/what-can-we-deal-with-communications.html

They would more than likely reach the same conclusion as me on this.

glentoran99

sourcrates wrote: »

So basically what your saying is, you got a phone contract, set up DD, then never checked to see if it was been paid in over a year ?

Have to agree with Glentoran obviously you understood you would be liable for the monthly line rental, and other charges, the fault i`m afraid, lies as much with you, as it does vodaphone.

Do you not check your bank account on a regular basis ?

Always check your accounts regularly, that way mistakes like this wont happen.
To my mind, both you and Vodaphone are each 50% liable, they should of noticed no payments were been made, and so should you.

There is an adjudication/ombudsman service you can complain to :

http://www.ombudsman-services.org/what-can-we-deal-with-communications.html

They would more than likely reach the same conclusion as me on this.

Actually just re-reading this this was the second time the same thing occured, so even more reason to check it was actually being paid

set up a direct debit with Vodafone a couple of years ago (Vodafone
messed up the direct debit, no payment was taken and i was left with a bill of
approx £400).! I paid this in one go and asked to leave as i was near the end of
my contract.! The lady on the phone convinced me to stay with Vodafone (I made
clear in this phone call on several occasions that I would stay PROVIDING
Vodafone definitely set up my direct debit correctly.! The Vodafone
representative promised this would be done.

andyfromotley

Hi Nick,

whilst in general i do agree with the posters above that this is partly your fault for not checking you were paying your bills, that is of little hep to you now. I have no great insight into the best way to resolve this. But here are my thoughts.

Write a letter, send it by recorded delivery setting out the situation as you see it. Keep it short.
Tell them you are making a formal complaint about your treatment by vodaphone.
Tell them you accept the £1200 debt and you propose to pay it by way of x per month.
Tell them you are refusing to payy the extra to settle the contract as you were put in the position where they ended it by their inefficiency.

See where that gets you. Remember it may be somewhat of a negotiation and you may have to give a bit?

Obviously there is little doubt that you owe this money and are partly responsible for allowing the debt to build up. So they will have rights to enforce collection and knacker up your credit record i the process.

This is my own uneducated view of the way to tackle it. Read the thread linked for other ideas. Andy.

Vodafone

Hi Nick,

If you'd like any help from me, 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

Social Media Comms

Vodafone UK

Marktheshark

Do not do anything over the phone.
Writing only, last person on here who though they had sorted it ended up with CCJ papers on his door mat.

Go again at the ombudsman they can order them to make a payment plan as they caused the situation.
You have to appeal the decision of the ombudsman service to get your complaint seen by an actual ombudsman, first reply is always a fob off.

makey1976

After reading this. Why would you pay in full (first contract setting up), Then take out another contract. And not check at least first few month to see if payment was been taken.
Sound like you never check your account for a few years.
Must take some of the blame i think.

chrisw99

Do what the Vodafone rep above says and email them. You get through to a team which just seems more, well professional and able to get things done than the standard email/phone centres.


Every 2 years I never get the upgrade I want, complain on Vodafone's eForum, and these chaps sort me out !