where would we stand, contract wise with this..

paddyw_2

hello - my son and his partner have had vodaphone contract on both their phone for eighteen months. They never had any problem so at the end of the contract, renewed, got one new phone and were happy with the tariff which included mobile internet (sorry, im not too well up on the terms - but it meant they could access the internet without being near the wi fi). Ever since they renewed, neither of them has been able to access the internet unless they are using the wifi. My son has spent hours on the phone being passed from one hapless advisor to another, has long long online chat with support, He is fed up with it and said to one particularly dismissive call centre operative that he wants to cancel as he is not getting the service he is paying for, Advisor told him he could cancel at a cost of £400! My son said he will go to ofcom as Vodafone are in breach of contract by charging him for a service he isnt receiving. The advisor said he wont get any where with of com...so now it looks like theyre stuck with this contract being charged for web data they cant actually use. Any advice welcome

flashg67

Did they have working mobile internet before? - coverage is pretty good nowadays but there are still 'dead' spots/areas. Is this problem just at home or everywhere?

Have they turned 'data' on on their phones - there are two ways to get internet on a phone - wifi and 3g/4g (uses the mobile companies signal) and the data needs to be turned on so the phone looks for the signal when it can't use wifi

Presume their phone(s) are capable of receiving internet (usually needs a modern 'smart' phone)
If they truly believe they should have the service, and are not getting it, then they can go to Ofcom, but I believe they'll need to have exhausted Vodaphone's complaint process and either have waited 8 weeks for them to sort the complaint, or received a 'deadlock' letter to take to Ofcom

grumbler

After exhausting the internal complaints procedure the next step is the ombudsman, not Ofcom. The latter doesn't deal with individual cases.

My first contact would be the nearest Voda shop, not some useless telephone people. In a shop they can at least make sure whether the fault is with the phone or with the sim/network. Most likely it's just some phone settings that need changing.

paddyw_2

Thanks for your replies. Both phones were able to access the internet before. They did get a new phone but has kept using his old phone and I am using the new one as my old phone was broken.

So they are both using the same phones as before with which they had internet access.

He has exhausted all avenues - been into the shop and spoke a stroppy manager who said he cant do anything, My son is quite well up on things like settings etc so we dont think its that - he has checked everything that has been suggested.
I am interested to know more if possible about
1 - the deadlock letter - this was mentioned by the dismissive call centre guy, briefly mentiioned having said there was no chance of getting one
2 - the ombudsman - how can we contact them

many thanks

grumbler

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/about-us/code-of-practice/

Unfortunately, the ombudsman gives companies 8 weeks to keep giving their customers runaround, but after 8 weeks your don't need a deadlock letter.

paddyw_2

Thanks for the link - looks like thats the route to go down. Just wondering, is the 8 weeks from the date of my complaint letter or from the first time i reported the complaint to the shop/helpline?

grumbler

I don't think that it has to be a letter.
Just post the chronology of all events when complaining to the ombudsman and mention that they refused to issue the deadlock letter when you asked.

diamonds

paddyw wrote: »

Thanks for the link - looks like thats the route to go down. Just wondering, is the 8 weeks from the date of my complaint letter or from the first time i reported the complaint to the shop/helpline?

8 weeks from the complaint, you can argue your first contact was a complaint and Voda never processed that first contact as a official complaint.

I have had all the big 4 try pull that one, the code of conduct guidance from Ofcom states you call, email or send a letter.

Call centres are notorious regardless of industry at not logging a complaint as such, a official complaint.


As grumbler... state the date of the call where the third party Voda monkey broke Ofcom regulations by stating you would not get a deadlock letter.

Firstly under Data Protection Act request Subject Access Request for all account notes and all call recordings. Nothing like using a companies own stored data against them.


The first 3 listed PDF files https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=opera&q=voda+subject+access+request&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

paddyw_2

I have written to Vodaphone - no reply. The letter has been received as I sent it recorded delivery. I'm sure there was a link to the ombudsman on here but it seems to have disappeared. How do I go about contacting them?

grumbler

The link is on Voda's website. See the link above.