Vodafone haven't been charging me for line rental. Now big bill.

epthree

Hi All,

I was wondering where I stand regarding Vodafone failing to charge me for line rental for 5 months.

I purchased an iPhone through mobiles.co.uk and Vodafone haven't been taking the money out of my account for line rental, I now have a big bill from them and was wondering where I stand.

I asked them if we could come to some sort of arrangement as I didn't not pay on purpose and this is a mistake on their behalf, all they could come up with was a payment plan!

All of the payment details are correct as extras that I have used (picture messages) have been billed for correctly.

I was under the impression that the money was coming out of my account as the My Vodafone app was reporting that the bills have been paid correctly.

Thanks in advance for your advise.

HappyMJ

epthree wrote: »

Hi All,

I was wondering where I stand regarding Vodafone failing to charge me for line rental for 5 months.

I purchased an iPhone through mobiles.co.uk and Vodafone haven't been taking the money out of my account for line rental, I now have a big bill from them and was wondering where I stand.

I asked them if we could come to some sort of arrangement as I didn't not pay on purpose and this is a mistake on their behalf, all they could come up with was a payment plan!

All of the payment details are correct as extras that I have used (picture messages) have been billed for correctly.

I was under the impression that the money was coming out of my account as the My Vodafone app was reporting that the bills have been paid correctly.

Thanks in advance for your advise.

You can usually come to an arrangement with most creditors to pay the bill over the same period that it accrued along with the ongoing bills.

Is that what the payment plan they offered was?

diamonds

Go to Ofcom and register a complaint, take that issued reference nimber to Voda and try set up a payment plan, ask them to divide the outstanding balance over the remaining minimum term as the error was theirs, maybe make a token payment of £50 and divide the rest over 19 months (assume 24 month contract).


http://www.vodafone.co.uk/vodafone-uk/forms/complaints/#

epthree

Thanks guys.

I can afford to pay it in one ago it's just annoying as this money will now come out of my savings.

I'll pay the lump sum I was just wondering if there was any way I could get them to reduce the total amount as a gesture of good will seeing as it was a mistake on their behalf, and I acted in good faith by calling them to let them know I think their is a problem with the bill. (I probably could of gone the full 24 months without paying a penny!)

Think this will be the last time I use Vodafone!

diamonds

epthree wrote: »

Thanks guys.

I can afford to pay it in one ago it's just annoying as this money will now come out of my savings.

I'll pay the lump sum I was just wondering if there was any way I could get them to reduce the total amount as a gesture of good will seeing as it was a mistake on their behalf, and I acted in good faith by calling them to let them know I think their is a problem with the bill. (I probably could of gone the full 24 months without paying a penny!)

Think this will be the last time I use Vodafone!

Do it all as posted above, make a request for compensation you had to abandon your savings account to pay their errors and wiping out your emergency savings account, take it to the ombudsman and it will cost Voda £500 by default.


Talking of defaults check your credit file reporting by Voda.

epthree

Thanks for the advice I'll register a complaint with the ombudsman.

I've just checked my credit file and there is no defaults listed, however the bill hasn't actually been sent to me yet.

It looks as if someone else on this forum (a post on the voda complaints thread.) has just been through a similar situation.

mobilejunkie

Let me get this straight.

1) They didn't take the money.

2) You didn't notice.

3) They are now asking for it.

4) You've been using what you agreed to pay for.

5) Meanwhile you've earned interest by having the money working for you in a savings account.

I think a payment plan is extremely generous and anything else remarkably unreasonable - and I expect any impartial body would find the same. You couldn't go to the Ombudsman without first raising a formal complaint with Vodafone and allowing them to respond in any case.

diamonds

mobilejunkie wrote: »

Let me get this straight.

1) They didn't take the money.

2) You didn't notice.

3) They are now asking for it.

4) You've been using what you agreed to pay for.

5) Meanwhile you've earned interest by having the money working for you in a savings account.

I think a payment plan is extremely generous and anything else remarkably unreasonable - and I expect any impartial body would find the same. You couldn't go to the Ombudsman without first raising a formal complaint with Vodafone and allowing them to respond in any case.

Admin of payment is Voda contracted job not the consumers once they have provided DD details. Ombudsman cannot hold a customer to account for V failures, quite reasonable you expect a contracted payment is being debited with a instruction in place. There are more than a few posts of this kind about V failure to collect DD, it is not even a isolated incident its a corporate admin failure to follow contracted instruction.


The more people who inform Ofcom and Ombudsman the better.


inept.

mobilejunkie

Then according to you they don't owe the money? I do wonder where you get your ideas from.

grumbler

diamonds wrote: »

Ombudsman cannot hold a customer to account for V failures...

Neither does it have any grounds for rewarding the customer with a compensation.
And did anybody say that the ombudsman could hold a customer to account?

diamonds

mobilejunkie wrote: »

Then according to you they don't owe the money? I do wonder where you get your ideas from.

No they had a legal right and obligation to collect payment and failed, to the other parties detriment, so of course Voda should apologise, set up a payment plan for the arrears they caused and compensate the customer for their incompetence in actually failing their contractual obligation to collect monthly payment under a customer authorised and Vodafone approved process.