Vodafone Still Charging For Expired Contract

zebbydog

In October 2015 my vodafone contract came to end, I decided I would not be renewing and duly rang and informed Vodafone CS 30 days before the end of the contract. A month after the contract had ended Vodafone took another payment from my bank. I immediately cancelled the direct debit and called Vodafone CS. They checked my account and said I should not have been charged and there was nothing owing and would refund the payment that had been taken, this they have not done. In fact they have continued to send a bill every month, finally culminating in a threatening letter being sent to me a month ago for none payment. I called Vodafone CS again in August 2016 and pointed out there was no contract it expired in October 2015 and the account had not been used since its expiry. They did some checking and said not to worry I did not owe anything and it would be sorted within 48 hours I asked for this in writing which they promised they would do, they did not do this. I also wrote to Vodafone and explained the situation and demanded they write to me with a satisfactory explanation. Today I received a letter from Vodafone stating that they have now cancelled the contract that expired a year ago and deny that they ever received a request from my end back in 2015 and to please consider this letter as cancellation confirmation. They then go on to say that their billing system is accurate and no charges will be waived. These charges are all for the monthly line rental on a contract that expired a year ago (no calls or data used) finally the letter ends with the usual threats of debt collectors credit file defaults etc.
So what now? Can they really charge me an extra years payments for an unused expired account which I informed them I was not renewing.

d123

It's for you prove you terminated, as contracts don't expire they simply reach the end of the minimum term.

Could you prove to the satisfaction of a court that you terminated the contract? If not, you will have a job getting anywhere with your complaint.

Did you request a PAC when you phoned to keep your number? If so, and didn't use it, it will allow your contract to continue.

Best advice to terminate a contract is to always get a PAC and use it, even if you don't want the number anymore, just port it to a PAYG sim.

mobilejunkie

Meanwhile, your external credit files are now wrecked and will stay that way for the next six years - as you're discover next time to ask for any type of credit.

zebbydog

Yes I did get a pac but didnt use it. I spoke to CS exactly 30 days before contract end so surely they would have a record of that conversation even though they say they dont. The letter they sent me contradicts itself. The first para says. "Thank you for contacting Voda CS and I can certainly understand that you have requested the cancellation of your Voda account back in 2015 after completion of commitment, period however you are still receiving demands for payment. I apologise if any inconvenience caused to you." Yet the second para says they have not received any request for cancellation. So they are apologising for something they say never happened. Strange. And also strange they never chased or queried any so called missed payments until 10 months later, and indeed the chap from CS that promised to sort the problems within 48 hours told me he was spending a lot of his time trying to sort out contracts that should have been cancelled but were not, although I suppose they will also lie about that conversation

zebbydog

mobilejunkie wrote: »

Meanwhile, your external credit files are now wrecked and will stay that way for the next six years - as you're discover next time to ask for any type of credit.

Not got that far yet, another and supposedly final bill to come next month

mije1983

zebbydog wrote: »

Yes I did get a pac but didnt use it.

On the face of it, this is the root of your problem and where the issue started. You can't request a PAC and give your 30 days notice. It's one or the other.

The contract ends when you use the PAC, if you don't use it the contract carries on. A request for a PAC overrides any cancellation notice.

Kim_13

mije1983 wrote: »

On the face of it, this is the root of your problem and where the issue started. You can't request a PAC and give your 30 days notice. It's one or the other.

The contract ends when you use the PAC, if you don't use it the contract carries on. A request for a PAC overrides any cancellation notice.

This. Any decent operator will warn you of this fact, as O2 did when I was terminating with them. Vodafone CS presumably avoid doing so, going from the reviews they get on here.

zebbydog

I think my next step is to write back the the CS chap who in his first para of the letter admits "you have requested cancellation back in 2015 and apologises for inconvenience caused yet then goes on to say they no have no record of cancellation. I will also ask for under the data protection act all information they hold on me including records of telephone conversations with customer services.. Would it be wise to complain to the regulator as well or should I give them a final chance to put this right first?

mobilejunkie

You haven't got a leg to stand on. You requested cancellation, but then you cancelled that notice by requesting the PAC. Having not used the PAC you were still in contract. End of.

You could do the only thing which ever gets anyone anywhere with Vodafone and follow the endlessly repeated instructions to contact the WRT on the main Vodafone complaints thread. Or you could wastge more of your time !!!!ing in the wind... though anything the WRT would do would be purely as a gesture.

d123

zebbydog wrote: »

I think my next step is to write back the the CS chap who in his first para of the letter admits "you have requested cancellation back in 2015 and apologises for inconvenience caused yet then goes on to say they no have no record of cancellation. I will also ask for under the data protection act all information they hold on me including records of telephone conversations with customer services.. Would it be wise to complain to the regulator as well or should I give them a final chance to put this right first?

If you asked for the PAC you didn't request cancellation, you requested a PAC that has an end result of cancellation only if you successfully use the PAC. It's PAC or notice of cancellation, not both.

You had 30 days to use the PAC, by failing to do so the account continues on a 30 day rolling plan.

zebbydog

d123 wrote: »

If you asked for the PAC you didn't request cancellation, you requested a PAC that has an end result of cancellation only if you successfully use the PAC. It's PAC or notice of cancellation, not both.

You had 30 days to use the PAC, by failing to do so the account continues on a 30 day rolling plan.

But how on earth could I have requested a pac if, as they say I never spoke to them in the first place :rotfl: Clearly someone in CS has dropped a gooly I suspect this is what happened


Vodafone have seen a spike in complaints, regarding poor customer service and issues with billing services.

So what's been going down? Well, Vodafone have switched their customer service and billing platforms over to a new system, which has been causing no end of trouble.

Some figures show that their complaints have tripled in the last few weeks.

One common problem, is that some people have seen payments being taken after they've cancelled their contracts, while others have been charged more than once for services.