Am I entitled to compensation from Vodafone?!

kayteaaa

So, I've had issues with Vodafone since my initial contract finished. I was paying £60pm for two years without issue. Then I asked them to continue with a sim only deal for about 16pm in about May. Several months later I realised they were still charging me at £60pm, so I called them in October and they agreed they had been overcharging me. 

I originally asked at that point if I could just cancel the contract, they said they would then retain the money they had overcharged me as a cancellation fee. So I agreed to stick with the contract I had agreed to in May. I'd just lost my job and it was over £200 They owed me so I felt I had to agree. They said that contract was no longer available and I would have to sign up to a new one starting from October. I again asked if I could leave, as I had not agreed to that contract and was getting annoyed with their customer service. I was again told they would not refund me the money I was owed as it would be retained as a cancellation fee, despite the fact I had not agreed to any contract with them at that point. 

So I then signed up to a new contract I did not want just so I could get the money I was due. Fast forward a few months and I realised I'd been ripped off, so again I contacted them to try and cancel and they agreed to change my end date to May.

Once my contract finished, I immediately cancelled and contacted their office to complain about the service after. She offered me £100 in Vodafone credit to apologise, stating that it wasn't illegal, I had just been misadvised. After she saw I had already cancelled my contract, she said that she would make sure I received no further issues and that I wouldn't be charged anything more for my final month. I didn't believe that for a second, so I cancelled my direct debit.
I then received an email a few weeks later saying I had an outstanding balance for my final month and that if I didn't pay it, my credit would be affected. I contacted them again to complain, and again they agreed to remove the outstanding balance as previously agreed. I've just had another call today, stating that I still have an outstanding balance and... They were going to remove it today. They have asked if they can now close my complaint, to which I said no, I want it adding to my previous one.

I can only find correspondence from about 5 weeks ago regarding my initial complaint, so I have been forwarding them an email each week requesting a deadlock letter which has simply been ignored. I am waiting to take this to cicas, but I have another 3 weeks before I can start this as they are refusing the deadlock letter.

Part of me wants to just forget about it, I have borderline and it's making me ridiculously angry and I'm really struggling to deal with it, but the other part knows I'm in the right and to carry on until they pay me in cash. She said that they can only offer me credit as giving me cash would be money laundering which just sounds ridiculous. Will cicas be able to force them to pay out, or will I have to take them to court?

dreamypuma

Confused. What have you been paying, from when and what were the terms? Keep it a brief as possible.

You mention that you feel you have been ripped off. Why is this? Have you since seen a better deal?

If you had a contract for £60 per month, then at the end of that minimum term, it will continue on a rolling basis month by month at the agreed cost until you agree something else or terminate. 

Cancelling a direct debit solves nothing, and certainly does not terminate your contract.

DCFC79

Cancelling the direct debit is a bad idea, a very bad one.
As to whether your entitled to any compensation Im not sure (I cant tell as its too long) but if your going to complain you will need to reduce that down.

One question, so from May to October you weren't paying the £16pm but £60pm, how can you notice you werent paying £16 ?

Id ditch Vodafone and get a sim only plan on another network.

sdduk

To be honest i couldn't work out head or tail what you were saying it's far to long but i do agree with the guys above.
As above the worst thing you could of done was cancel you DD because they will put late payments on your credit file and once they are on they are very hard to remove. 

TempUsername192020

Too late for you, but do NOT under any circumstances buy ANY product or service from Vodafone EVER. To my mind, they are are fraudulent organisation that does not operate honestly. There’s a reason they come at the BOTTOM of every customer satisfaction survey. Do NOT be seduced by any “deals” as these are illusory and it will take you YEARS to fix any problems.
Better to just walk away immediately. Vodafone are woefully ill equipped to deal with even the SLIGHTEST issue. Call center staff are naturally useless, but all the head office staff are illiterate also. You won’t get a simple answer out of ANY of them.

I've found the culture at Vodafone is very much one of “lie, deny, and do nothing” which is something that as a paying customer you can do without. That comes from the top down. The CEO is an absolute joke and their "executive relations" team may as well be a bunch of interns for all the good they are.

PLEASE do not use Vodafone for anything. Use any other phone or broadband provider. You have been warned. I can provide details and correspondence to back up everything I say. Keep away. Dealing with Vodafone can seriously damage your health.

frederick1950

They might be poorly trained and lack communication skills but they do not  " lie and deny." 
Some of your post borders on libellous .
A lot of such situations are caused by customers who dont know how to talk to people properly , are aggressive and are incapable of explaining anything clearly without entering a lengthy rant.
Anyone who considers cancelling a direct debit as a means to solving a problem shouldn't be allowed out alone without their carer or they are just borderline stupid.