about to default on credit - help!

luberluber

Hi all,

My father has been sprung by Vodafone with a very large bill (4 figures), which he strongly disputes - so much so that that he has gone and cancelled the direct debit.

My big concern is that he needs to get a re-mortgage - and this is going to go down as a default on his credit file with Experian and the like! The default hasn't appeared yet at the credit ref agencies since the outstanding amount was only due a couple of days ago. The money in fact came out of his account, however due to cancelling the direct debit yesterday the transaction has subsequently disappeared (like it never happened). So I presume Vodafone have not been paid.

What can I/we do to prevent him getting a default? Call Vodafone and pay it by debit card now, and ask for an assurance that they won't regard it as a default? Then dispute the bill with them after in the normal way?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Aced2016

He wouldn't get a default at this stage at all, that's way down the line.

If you call up and try and figure out the charges. If it's truly not owed then fine, if it is it will need to be paid asap to avoid a late payment mark on his credit file.

Do you know what the charges are for ?

luberluber

Thanks Aced. The charges are for excess data use and Vodafone are adamant that the charges are legitimate. I should have said "late payment" rather than default really.

Given that their direct debit failed (or rather went through, but then was recovered by our bank almost same day), does anyone know the grace period to pay it before Vodafone report this month as a late payment to the credit agencies?

Aced2016

You will have around 2 weeks then Vodafone will look to mark it as late.

First thing to do is turn off his mobile data on his phone to stop this happening again. If he has internet in the house connect him to wifi.

Data charges sadly cost a fortune so it may be it needs to be paid but I would get him to pass dpa then he can put you in the phone to gain more info.

Be nice and hopefully Vodafone can reduce it possibly.

luberluber

Thanks Aced. Will pay it pronto, well under 2 weeks after the normal due date. And then see if I can get involved.

Do you think once it's paid, that it will be hard to get them to refund any money even if it turns out they were at all at fault? I.e. then they've already got the money so it's easier for them to say no!

sourcrates

There is a vodaphone rep on the forums, posts on debt free wannabe a lot.

Maybe message him about this also ?

Whistler23

RE: Vodafone rep. I found him/her in the Mobile Phone section.bthere is a sticky and a process to follow. It's something like Social Media Representative.

Fill in the form, very helpful and had my matter resolved based on the information given. Not often I've anything good to say about them, but their CS Rep on this forum is great.

Vodafone

Hi luberluber,

I'm sorry to hear of the problems your father has had.

So we can take a look into this for your father, please ask him to email us via the 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,

Carly

Social Media Operations