Vodafone – Profits over bankruptcy of a vulnerable adult

markthemariner

I would like to express my views over recent interaction with Vodafone and the customer dis-service it provides.

This thread is on behalf of my cousin who has spina bifida, struggles physically so he can never work, on benefits, lives a very sheltered existence and has no concept of the day to day things in life. He is classed as a vulnerable adult and needs guidance with things like money, bills and even looking after himself. He has basically been a forgotten man and slipped through the system but does try to live independently as best as he can.

The family found out recently he has got himself into thousands of pounds worth of debt after the death of his Mother who had problems of her own. Regarding Vodafone he had a mobile contract with them previously but his phone was stolen because of his disbility and he is an easy target. Naively he called Vodafone to tell them and they sent him another phone. He didn’t realise that he was starting another contract so was now paying for two. He also didn’t understand and it wasn’t made clear that his 6GB data limit wasn’t capped and if he went over he would be stung an extra £6.50 per 250MB. I spoke to a Vodafone representative who said they don’t cap this service. I find this ridiculous as other providers do to stop situations exactly like this. His average bills from when he got the second contract in March have been £300+ instead of around £37.50. Because he has no concept of banking etc he wasn’t aware his bills weren’t being paid but Vodafone kept giving him the service so he could continue getting himself in debt, disgraceful.

Myself and other members of the family became aware of this when his Mother passed away a month or so back. Realising when we came across some of his bills how much debt he was in (we were lucky as he normally disposes of statements and bills). The Vodafone contract was a particularly big one, at that point around a month ago it was £2233.35. I called Vodafone while my cousin was present and had his permission to talk to the customer service girl. She said there was nothing she could do as it was now in the hands of debt collectors Vodafone use. We were advised to wait for them to make contact via letter. The next day I contacted them and they knew nothing about it but advised if it was a new case it might take a few days to get on the system. A week later I emailed then and then called and they had no record of the case.

Around this time Vodafone found it upon themselves to cut his service. I called Vodafone in a late afternoon again in the presence of my cousin to speak on his behalf. This time the customer service was from an overseas call centre. I explained everything I had done before and said I wanted the contract cancelling straight away. I expressed I wanted to pay the debt off of £2233.35 or thereabouts from my own credit card and then they cancel the contract. I was passed pillar to post and was then put through to a male Vodafone representative who explained I could pay off the balance but they wouldn’t cancel the contract unless I paid an amount totalling £3000+. Again I explained the situation but there was absolutely no apathy to the situation. I explained that because of this debt and others my cousin would stand a good chance of having to go bankrupt as there was so much debt. We were trying to prevent this and at least they would get there balance, he completely refused and kept saying they wanted the cancellation fees as well. I pointed out if he was to go bankrupt they would get nothing, again the response was disgusting with no compassion towards what they had helped create by letting him get more and more into debt. In the end I found the individual abhorrent and had to hang up. From my experience the Vodafone customer service is terrible and I’m so glad I am not with them.

So now we wait for a debt collector’s letter or a knock on the door at my cousins rented one bedroom flat. There is an extremely good chance now he will have to go bankrupt all because Vodafone wanted to make a little bit more money out of a disabled, vulnerable person. I find this pretty disgusting behaviour from a so called creditable company. They have absolutely no compassion even though they have to take some responsibility in the debt created in my cousin’s contract with them.

I will be looking for advice from the CAB but if anybody on here could help as well it would be very much appreciated. We are desperate to help my cousin and Vodafone certainly haven’t helped his situation that they have partly caused one bit.

Regards,

mobilejunkie

See the main Vodafone complaints thread on here and follow the instructions to contact the Web Relations Team. All other avenues are likely to lead to a dead end.

AndreaD_2

Hi. I've had so many problems with Voda. Fortunately I can manage my own finances etc. After over a year with problems with this company I ended up contacting the Ombudsman. My credit record was in ruins because Voda. I couldn't shop around for a new mortgage or even get a loan. First time in my life I have been refused credit. I would suggest you keep records, dates, conversations and give the Ombudsman as much information as possible. It may be long and drawn out but don't let Voda bully you. Good Luck 😀

AndreaD_2

Hi. I did this on numerous occasions. I have recorded calls that have lasted up to 4 hours at a time. Lots of promises that my complaint would be dealt with....and wasn't. Yes, this is the first port of call but if no progress I would suggest they take it further. I was a 'valued' customer with four accounts and never defaulted for 13 years. I had major issues over a simple data usage (one month) This escalated and Voda kept increasing my bill even after I closed my account. It went from £194 to £2048 even tho my contracts had ended. Nightmare.

elsien

Can he show that his disability affects his decision making abilities? Does he manage his own benefits or does he have an appointee?
I think aside from anything you need to consider if he has financial capacity, and if not look at someone acting as deputy for his financial affairs.
The starting point is that people are assumed to have capacity and to have the right to make bad decisions unless it can be demonstrated otherwise. I'm wondering if that needs to be the angle you start from.

mobilejunkie

That would not help. You cannot expect a sales person to know unless it is presented to them in some form at the time.

Vodafone

Hi markthemariner,

So we can help you with this issue, please email us via the Contact us form here.

To access the form you'll need to enter the code WRT135.

As well as stating your query in the question box, please also quote "MSE Forum".

Once sent, you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post it on here and we'll check we've received it.

Thanks,

Nathan

Social Media Operations

Vodafone UK

markthemariner

The Vodafone website won't allow me to progress as I am not logged in. I personally don't have a Vodafone account so can I send you this information another way..........email address...........phone number.........?


The Vodafone website is absolutely terrible and won't allow me to progress even thought I have now set up a login. It says it can't connect to the web address when I go to send the completed form. Please give me another way of contacting Vodafone to get to the correct department so we can resolve this issue.

d123

markthemariner wrote: »

The Vodafone website won't allow me to progress as I am not logged in. I personally don't have a Vodafone account so can I send you this information another way..........email address...........phone number.........?


The Vodafone website is absolutely terrible and won't allow me to progress even thought I have now set up a login. It says it can't connect to the web address when I go to send the completed form. Please give me another way of contacting Vodafone to get to the correct department so we can resolve this issue. No wonder there are so many complaints against Vodafone!

You don't log in.

Just follow the directions in the post above yours, they are pretty clear and easy to follow.

Open the link, type in WRT135, add your story on the page that opens.

It should be relatively foolproof for anyone capable of reading the instructions...

markthemariner

Dave,


I am fully aware how to complete a form and send it. However it keeps coming up with this message when I hit the send button......


This error (HTTP 403 Forbidden) means that Internet Explorer was able to connect to the website, but it does not have permission to view the webpage.


It won't allow the message and details to be sent. I have tried this now on two computers with the same outcome. Any ideas........?


Regards,

d123

markthemariner wrote: »

Dave,


I am fully aware how to complete a form and send it. However it keeps coming up with this message when I hit the send button......


This error (HTTP 403 Forbidden) means that Internet Explorer was able to connect to the website, but it does not have permission to view the webpage.


It won't allow the message and details to be sent. I have tried this now on two computers with the same outcome. Any ideas........?


Regards,

I made a dummy message and it sent first time using the link in the reps message.

This is the direct link: http://www.vodafone.co.uk/contact-form/index.htm

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