Vodaphone mobile phone contract for a disabled man

kimla10

i have been trying for trying to sort the above for my student for ages. Vodafone Accessibility are appalling and ignore him all the time then if he rings due to his disability they put phone down on him. Lately, instead of emailing him back they've been texting him. Who texts a disabled person? We have been back n forth for a year now and I've been told he can stop his contract and get it restarted on grounds of a disabled man not fully understanding..... is that correct? my student cannot use a smartphone. i have been trying to teach him for months but we just got a Sony so we'll see. Thats another thing; on contract started w SE then sold as he told me couldnt use after new contract period to change anything was over so ended up buying a device himself and bought an iphone8 plus that we think a worker in his sheltered hsg place stole................... its has been all crazy.... He is absolutely happy with Vodafone landline and broadband that is part of contract......  any advice will immensely help ::))  xxxkim

MEM62

What is the question here?

[Deleted User]

kimla10 said:

 Who texts a disabled person? 

'Disabled' isn't a euphemism for 'unable to text'.

Has he (or you) spoken to Vodafone about preferred communication channels?

Ebe_Scrooge

I'm struggling to make sense of your post - perhaps you could make your actual question a little clearer?

kimla10 said:

I've been told he can stop his contract and get it restarted on grounds of a disabled man not fully understanding

Are you implying that you want to switch to a cheaper contract?  What did he not fully understand?

kimla10 said:

my student cannot use a smartphone.

ended up buying a device himself and bought an iphone8 plus

Why did he buy that if he can't use a smartphone?

kimla10 said:

bought an iphone8 plus that we think a worker in his sheltered hsg place stole

That's an entirely different matter.

Really, please can you repost so that we can actually understand what the issue is, and what advice you are looking for.  And the term "disabled" can cover a whole host of medical conditions, it's pretty meaningless in the context of this thread.  Is he blind, deaf, suffering from MS, autistic, dyslexic, an amputee ........ what?  Or, more specifically, in what way does his disability affect his ability to buy, use or understand a mobile phone?

kimla10

disabled man i teach means Cerebral Palsy and can't text on old Doro phone he is using at the moment. As soon as Sony phone arrives i will see. this is his first Smartphone and i am struggling to get him to actually use phone. i have made him all sorts as in holders because he has use of one hand. Something is going on and i bet its his mindset but i will get it out of him!! 

i just wondered if it was true what i have been told that there a clause for disabled people and mobile phone contracts. His contract ends in Dec, he is paying £36pm for mobile phone part of it. Vodafone said to end contract will be about £238 so i'm trying to figure out 1. if its possible to change on grounds of not understanding terms or 2. better to wait until Dec.

he has told me that he didn't really understand all that was involved.

thanks again

400ixl

£36 for the mobile element of a broadband / landline contract seems very high. Does that include a mobile phone as part of that contract? Sounds like he had an iPhone SE as part of the contract. If he did then I can see why they would not be willing to just cancel that mobile contract as they have a fixed asset they are looking to recover the cost of. The £238 may be the remaining debt on the phone, which also by the sounds of it he has sold on.

If it doesn't I can only assume that it is a fully loaded contract with unlimited minutes, texts and data. It may be that you can drop the level of service to something more affordable an in line with a non smart phone.

kimla10

400ixi you are spot on! he sold the SE to his carer because he couldn't use. Then we bought an iphone 8+ which staff & myself & Paul now think the sheltered hsg flats managers friend who was in painting has stolen so we informed Vodafone and Apple. i have just got him a Sony Xperia F3111 for £40 to learn to use. my student Paul is 66 and this is his 1st smartphone. i do not know why it is so hard for him. he is getting there, i was at his Sat morning teaching him and he kept pressing too long on apps. his carer Claire he has a soft spot for so i wonder if he only said he wanted Apple because she had one. His contract includes home phone, broadband & mobile and ends in Dec. i believe soon he can update. The mobile phone part of contract is £36pm so i am trying to find out if cheaper to wait until dec or look into ending early and restarting contract w/o mobile phone- having mobile phone as sim only. 

elsien

I hope you’ve not put his real name on here. What is he a student of - is that a term you use for the people you support? What is your role in his support network? 

You seem to be implying both physical disability and lack of understanding as to what he’s signed up to and why. Two different issues. Who is the “we” who keeps buying phones? 

 Do you have concerns about his ability to manage his finances as if so you should be flagging that up with your manager. Otherwise you need to stop implying he doesn’t know what he’s doing and support him to make his own decisions without taking over, which is what your posts read as. Did he contact the police if he believes his phone was stolen, to protect other people in the complex?