Problem with Vodafone and third-party authorisation

jeanh149

Hello there,

As the next of kin of a 72-year-old man with mental health issues, I've been trying to cancel a contract with Vodafone for a Samsung tablet, taken out after pressure from a saleswoman in May 2020. My brother is at present in a psychiatric unit in a Birmingham hospital, being treated for severe depression: he was admitted on 2nd December 2020. I should point out that he is a complete technophobe: he has no IT equipment, nor does he have broadband installed at home.

I live in Reading, and have been unable to visit my brother to sort out anything because of the various lockdowns in force since December. I've been trying to avoid causing him any worry by taking on this task.

I have been assured by my local CAB  and Mind, the mental health charity, that a letter of authorisation from my brother should be sufficient to enable me to deal with Vodafone on this matter, as I have no legal document such as an LPA. I contacted them on 11th January intially, and had very intermittent contact from a customer services agent up to 24th February - despite a promise on their website that matters would be resolved in 5 days, or I would be updated on progress. During this time, I had provided a letter of authorisation from my brother, one from the hospital trust stating when he was admitted for treatment, and two proofs of my ID, but this was not enough, apparently.

I then wrote to the Customer Relations Director, Shelley Malton, on 25th February, and had a phone call from a different customer services agent on 27th February. She thought the matter could be resolved quickly, and asked me to provide a differently-worded letter of authorisation, which I duly did, together with my proofs of ID. When I had heard nothing by this Monday, I wrote again to Shelley Malton. The outcome was a phone call on 10th March, saying that they would only deal with my brother as the contract-holder (quoting GDPR law as the stumbling block), and they would write to him at his home address, even though he is in hospital and they have that address! I pointed out that there is no-one else there, as he is single, but the agent said thay had to send any communication to the address with which he was registered.

Apart from causing more work for the hospital staff, in taking him home to collect a letter which may be there by the end of next week and helping him respond to it, I'd really like to know whether Vodafone are acting within the law.

Many thanks for reading this: I hope you can help!

Jean

Thrugelmir

jeanh149 said:

taken out after pressure from a saleswoman in May 2020.

What evidence do you have to support this assertion?  

dunstonh

What is the Coronavirus issue in this saga?  It appears to be missing from your post.

Skiddaw1

Thrugelmir said:

jeanh149 said:

taken out after pressure from a saleswoman in May 2020.

What evidence do you have to support this assertion?  

Well, based on what the OP says, her brother is both elderly and mentally ill so I'd imagine she has evidence.

OP, whilst you've probably posted on the wrong part of the forum, I just wanted to say I really know where you're coming from. When my father died (in his mid 80's) we had the most terrible time trying to cancel his vodaphone contract. Honestly, they were impossible to deal with despite me having had POA for him (and being the executor of his will). I nearly lost the will to live. They kept insisting that only he could cancel his contract (they just couldn't get their heads around the fact that he was deceased). In the end (and I kid you not) my husband rang them, pretended to be my father and cancelled the contract... if he hadn't have done so I think we'd still be trying to sort it out 10 years later. All I can say is good luck.

zzyzx1221

Skiddaw1 said:

Thrugelmir said:

jeanh149 said:

taken out after pressure from a saleswoman in May 2020.

What evidence do you have to support this assertion?  

her brother is both elderly and mentally ill so I'd imagine she has evidence.

How does him being elderly and mentally ill mean she has evidence that the contract was taken out after pressure from a saleswoman?  Merely being old or mentally ill doesn't mean everyone suddenly turns up the pressure tactics.

Skiddaw1

No, but it surely makes anyone in that situation significantly more vulnerable. What I meant was that I'd imagine the OP knows her brother/the circumstances sufficiently to believe he was pressured. It happens all too often based on my previous experience.

elsien

Next of kin is meaningless in legal terms, but they should be accepting a third party mandate from your brother.

What outcome is it that you are trying to achieve? 

You say you want to cancel the contract - where is the tablet now and has it been set up? 

zzyzx1221

Skiddaw1 said:

No, but it surely makes anyone in that situation significantly more vulnerable. What I meant was that I'd imagine the OP knows her brother/the circumstances sufficiently to believe he was pressured. It happens all too often based on my previous experience.

Or he just blindly accepted whatever was put in front of him, as some people in that scenario do.  I actually don't think the OP (or OP's in general) would automatically know enough about their family or the circumstances to have a reasonable belief in these things.  In many cases, the family are the worst judges in these things, as they're too emotionally involved and often think far more highly of their family members than they perhaps should.

Thrugelmir

Skiddaw1 said:

No, but it surely makes anyone in that situation significantly more vulnerable. What I meant was that I'd imagine the OP knows her brother/the circumstances sufficiently to believe he was pressured. It happens all too often based on my previous experience.

The shops were closed at the time.