Breach of Direct Debit Guarentee Vodafone

Vodafone

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Vodafone UK

Armorica

Legally, Vodafone were in breach of the Direct Debit rules they signed up to as an originator. This requires them to provide advance notice of the amount. They didn't.

https://gocardless.com/guides/posts/advance-notice/

You would be entitled to refunds (although as you say, you did actually receive the service paid for). What might be more important to escalate would be via your bank to Vodafone's bank about whether Vodafone should be sanctioned for failing to provide notice. That wouldn't necessary see you getting any compensation. But it would create an incentive for them to sort their systems out.

fifken - loss doesn't need to be demonstrated under the direct debit guarantee. A failure to provide advance notice is sufficient. The DDG isn't a compensation scheme - it's a refund scheme. (Although slightly circular as she'd invariably still be considered to owe them the money for the service provided but the theory is that she would control the timing of any subsequent payment rather than V)

Ben8282

It would appear that Vodafone have breached the direct debit guarantee and that you may be entitled to reclaim the amounts paid under the direct debits from your bank. Doing so will not, however, absolve you of the responsibility for paying your bills and if your bank were to agree to refund you and re-debit Vodafone the only result would be a massive debit balance on your Vodafone account which you would obviously have to pay immediately or the account would be defaulted and passed to collectors.
I do think though that your bank may well question the length of time that you have allowed this to continue.
I agree that it would have been inconvenient for you to call Vodafone every month to ask the amount of your bill, but if knowing the exact amount of the direct debit each month was SO IMPORTANT you could have done it (and used the opportunity to complain again about the lack of online access or paper bills). Had you actually done this and clearly stated 'I NEED ONLINE ACCESS TO VIEW MY BILLS OR I NEED A PAPER BILL' something would have happened. Or you could have written, made a formal complaint about the situation. But you didn't, did you?
That is of course the real problem. You agreed to paperless billing but were unable to access your online account for 4 years. That is what you should be complaining about. Surely during the course of FOUR YEARS you could have somehow got access again OR somehow got a paper bill sent. After all, you have said that the bills were ALWAYS over your price plan; surely you were curious about that?
I don't believe that you are entitled to any further compensation.

colsten

You have left this dragging on for 4 years? Four years?

macman

If your monthly usage was always more than your allowance, then why didn't you just upgrade to a better tariff? That would have cost you vastly less than just paying the out of bundle charges.
And in 4 years on your tight budget, you must have been out of minimum term at least once if not twice?
I can see no grounds for compo, because you have suffered no quantifiable loss-unless you can prove mis-billing.
Take the £20 and run.

Armorica

Ben8282 wrote: »

I do think though that your bank may well question the length of time that you have allowed this to continue.
...
Or you could have written, made a formal complaint about the situation. But you didn't, did you?
...
I don't believe that you are entitled to any further compensation.

The first two statements don't matter. That small print doesn't appear in the direct debit guarantee. The burden of proof is on vodafone.

Ben8282

Armorica wrote: »

The first two statements don't matter. That small print doesn't appear in the direct debit guarantee. The burden of proof is on vodafone.

Very true. But why encourage the op? All it will achieve is a default and referral to a DCA. Credit rating destroyed for the next 6 years.