Phone contract rip-off

rippedoffcustomer

Some years ago my husband signed up to Vodafone to get a first phone for our daughter. He took out a contract which included a handset and a package deal and paid just over £25 per month. He assumed it would reduce automatically when the handset was paid off, but in fact they have continued to charge every month. This has been going on for 4 years now and we have only just realised. Obviously we feel really stupid for not being more on the ball and for letting this happen. The money was coming from the joint account so I am also kicking myself. I think I thought my dh had a contract for something with Vodafone.
We spoke to them one evening this week and have cancelled the contract, but they still insisted on a month's notice period and would not refund anything. The customer services guy basically told my dh that he had agreed to the contract, so there was nothing to discuss. 
I now realise this is common practice by several mobile phone companies. There is also a court case being pursued by somebody called Gutmann.
I just wanted to make others aware and stop it happening to them, and also to see if there is any advice anyone can offer.
Many thanks, 

MorningcoffeeIV

It's always been standard.

Don't wait for 4 years next time, but either choose a new handset at the end of the minimum term or go SIM only.

BoGoF

Nothing new in what you have posted. Advice would be to put a diary entry somewhere to revert to a sim only deal when the initial term is up. Too many people 'assume' but the onus is on you to do something so Vodafone were correct....thats what you signed up to.


On the plus side there is talk that these companies will be forced to do something when the initial term is up. Not that it helps your situation.

Veteransaver

Not a lot you can do, the contract is a 24 month contract with a "free" phone. If you don't cancel and you are still using the service that's your lookout. It's been going on since mobile phones arrived. 
If you hadn't used the SIM for a year or two you might have slightly more of a case, I know someone who bought a 3g usb dongle on contract, forgot about it and never used it for 5 years whilst they charged him every month! They did refund him a couple of years of fees as a "goodwill" gesture!

Ayr_Rage

ML has been advising people to check this sort of situation for several years.

simax

It’s not a rip off though really is it? You supposedly read the terms and conditions? Always make a note of it somewhere - even on your own mobile as a calendar reminder maybe? Doing that has made sure in 30 years of phone ownership that I’ve not fallen into this trap.

You could file a complaint to Vodafone and try to appeal to their better nature but they’re under no obligation to refund anything…. But as the saying goes, “if you don’t ask, you don’t get…..”

Neil_Jones

rippedoffcustomer said:

Some years ago my husband signed up to Vodafone to get a first phone for our daughter. He took out a contract which included a handset and a package deal and paid just over £25 per month. He assumed it would reduce automatically when the handset was paid off, but in fact they have continued to charge every month. This has been going on for 4 years now and we have only just realised. Obviously we feel really stupid for not being more on the ball and for letting this happen. The money was coming from the joint account so I am also kicking myself. I think I thought my dh had a contract for something with Vodafone.
We spoke to them one evening this week and have cancelled the contract, but they still insisted on a month's notice period and would not refund anything. The customer services guy basically told my dh that he had agreed to the contract, so there was nothing to discuss. 
I now realise this is common practice by several mobile phone companies. There is also a court case being pursued by somebody called Gutmann.
I just wanted to make others aware and stop it happening to them, and also to see if there is any advice anyone can offer.
Many thanks, 

Its not a rip-off if its caused by your own apathy that you did nothing about for four years by your own admission.

Sorry but simple as that.

Abbafan1972

I had a contract with O2 years ago which was £47 a month over 24 months. I knew exactly when the contract came to an end and at the earliest opportunity I notified O2 of me cancelling and I went sim only for about £6 a month. A letter from 02 crossed over and arrived after I had cancelled saying that my new amount was like £30 odd a month, even though my phone was paid for. Shocking but it’s nothing new unfortunately and you need to be on the ball with these things. I am never taking out another phone contract though. 

savergrant

Since 15th Feb 2020 they are required to notify customers when their minimum term ends, so did they? Trouble is it could have been a text to the phone and not received by the person paying the bill (sadly this is a problem when you are paying for soneone else's 'personal' phone. If your minimum term ended before Feb 2020 there was no requirement to remind you.  I guess it was written into new contracts that they had to.  In either case nowhere in your contract was the phone priced separately to the connection (which many networks now do)
Here's the legal info;
https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/guides/end-of-contract-notifications-broadband-and-mobile/

J_B

rippedoffcustomer said:

We spoke to them one evening this week and have cancelled the contract,...........

If you have really 'cancelled the contract' then the whole think will be disconnected and the number lost - do you want to do this?

BadDebtor

rippedoffcustomer said:

Some years ago my husband signed up to Vodafone to get a first phone for our daughter. He took out a contract which included a handset and a package deal and paid just over £25 per month. He assumed it would reduce automatically when the handset was paid off, but in fact they have continued to charge every month. This has been going on for 4 years now and we have only just realised. Obviously we feel really stupid for not being more on the ball and for letting this happen. The money was coming from the joint account so I am also kicking myself. I think I thought my dh had a contract for something with Vodafone.
We spoke to them one evening this week and have cancelled the contract, but they still insisted on a month's notice period and would not refund anything. The customer services guy basically told my dh that he had agreed to the contract, so there was nothing to discuss. 
I now realise this is common practice by several mobile phone companies. There is also a court case being pursued by somebody called Gutmann.
I just wanted to make others aware and stop it happening to them, and also to see if there is any advice anyone can offer.
Many thanks, 

I heard of a similar issue on Dean Dunham a while back, he said to go to them and complain as to where they made it prominent to you that the price would continue at that price when they thought they were signing a 2 year contract and would then revert to SIM prices.

Family members have complained and got a free handset.

DD says Consumer Rights Act (2015) dictates that anything financial is a key core term and needs to be made prominent in your face, not buried in terms.

Have a go because you have nothing to lose.