high vodaphone bill

1979jenny_penny

Does anyone have any advice... My daughter has a vodaphone contract that has 2g data. She is only 14 so when we took contract out we asked if we could cap usage and was told this is not possible. Her contract is £31 per month... This month her bill was £551. It turns out she had used an additional 28g of data and this was the charges for it. As the bill is paid by direct debit the money has already left the account and paid the bill so vodaphone will not do anything to help. Surely they have a duty of care and common sense to think that a £32 bill going to £551 is going to cause an issue and good customer service would have been to make contact or cut off not allowing her bill to get so high. Does anyone have any advice on how to end this contract legally or how I can get some money back and pay it offmonthly ??:mad::mad:

DCFC79

Why go with Vodafone?

Why not go with Tesco mobile who do actually cap the bill ?

mije1983

You can end the contract legally by asking them how much the ETC is, and paying it.

Then if you really must give your daughter a contract (why not the safety of PAYG though?), as DCFC79 says go with Tesco Mobile who can cap the bill for her.

You say Vodafone should have used common sense, but your daughter needs to take responsibility for the bill she ran up and use her common sense to know she has far exceeded her allowance.

You could write to Vodafone and request a payment plan, but if they have already taken the money then I wouldn't hold my breath for that. They are not known for their exceptional CS, and unfortunately good CS is not a legal requirement.

1979jenny_penny

Thanks for your reply... I've always had vodaphone without issues.. No more ! I will look at Tesco .. Thanks

1979jenny_penny

Thank you for ur reply.... I will look at Tesco if I can get out of this contract ... But that seems unlikely. We had no notifications that she had exceeded her limit, which I found strange however when talking to Vodaphone they confirmed they hadn't made contact about the over use as its not there policy. I have certainly learnt a lesson ... A very expensive lesson. Thanks

Ian011

In the meantime, install an app such as 3G Watchdog and it will show you exactly how much data is being used.

Charges for out of allowance usage are extortionate. With calls and texts most people will have some sort of idea how much they have talked and how many messages they have sent. With data, there is no way to know how much has been used without installing an app.

wongataa

Ian011 wrote: »

In the meantime, install an app such as 3G Watchdog and it will show you exactly how much data is being used.

Charges for out of allowance usage are extortionate. With calls and texts most people will have some sort of idea how much they have talked and how many messages they have sent. With data, there is no way to know bow much has been used without installing an app.

Why install an app when data counters are built in?

cookie365

Ian011 wrote: »

In the meantime, install an app such as 3G Watchdog and it will show you exactly how much data is being used.

Charges for out of allowance usage are extortionate. With calls and texts most people will have some sort of idea how much they have talked and how many messages they have sent. With data, there is no way to know how much has been used without installing an app.

Most phones can happily do what you're describing without installing any extra apps.

In addition, Vodafone does have their own app which will show you exactly what your usage is against your account in real time.

The info was already available to the OP's daughter, she just chose not to use it.

OP, this site is littered with threads from people belatedly realising just what a bad idea it is to take out mobile phone contracts for children. You'd be far far better getting her a pay as you go sim that allows you to buy a monthly bundle. Difference between that and a post-pay contract is that when the bundle is used up, you pay out of credit, and when that's used up, that's it. Plenty of providers offer this.

In the meantime, you don't really have much leverage with Vodafone, except to plead for a bit of goodwill.

macman

Voda will not offer any goodwill now the DD has already gone out, the time to query it was when the bill arrived, which was obviously not looked at. OP, no mobile provider cuts people off for overusage, because there are genuine reasons why people normally spending £31 a month might suddenly run up a huge bill (a medical emergency abroad, for example). Cutting them off would lead to potential claims for damages. It's your contract (not your daughter's) and it's up to you to monitor usage and billing if she cannot be trusted to do so.
As above, if you are approaching the end of the minimum term then switch to a Tesco Mobile SIM only contract, which can be capped. They start at £7.50 a month.

datlex

£31 a month for 2gb is excessive. I am guessing that it included a flashy phone? I pay £20 a month for 20gb which included a choice of Netflix/ Now / Spotify and a couple of others I cannot remember for a year. If your daughter uses a lot of data streaming videos etc you may want to look at what programs she uses. Also is she taking advantage of WIFI at home or at close friends/family?