vodafone Insurance

Hopefullyuseful1

Hi tiggybear,

I've seen your posts on a few forums today and completely understand your frustration. I personally really like my handset that I have at the moment, and can empathise with you wanting the same sort of phone again.

Unfortunately as a company it's not possible for us to source a Nokia 8800 Scirocco from anywhere as this is a discontinued handset that Nokia don't make any more. It'd be fantastic if we could some how hold some stock of older handsets, or source them from somewhere, but there are so many different kinds of phones from over the years, plus ultimately the stock would run out eventually anyway.

Your insurance is still valid, it's just that if we don't have your exact model available we'll replace it with one of equivalent specification (this does include looks-wise, not just camera, memory capacity etc) up to the value of £600.


This is outlined in the terms and conditions which you can find here for contract and here for pay as you talk.

On the point of the 8600, you should actually find better signal and battery life with that handset compared to the 8800, due to its newer technology and glass (as opposed to thick metal) casing.

Thanks,

Hopefullyuseful1

Vodafone UK

tiggybear

Hello Hopefullyuseful1
I do not believe that you understand my frustration at all.
I insured a Sirocco supplied by Vodafone, currently in contract and still available in the shops (discontinued or not) at the time of damage. It was not replaced.
Nowhere in the terms and conditions of the Vodafone insurance does it specifically state that only phones currently in stock with Vodafone can be supplied. When I took the insurance out it was to specifically cover my 8800 Sirocco and I was not informed when the situation changed and the required cover ceased to be effective.
I do not accept that as a company Vodafone cannot source a handset that is readily available to any member of the public. It is currently in stock at Amazon.co.uk for just one example. You also make no mention of why Vodafone choose not to stock the 8800's replacement.
You also conveniently ignore the fact that a member of staff in a Vodafone store checked for nationwide stock of the Sirocco and found several in your own stores. 'Anthony' from you insurance department told me that I could have one of those Siroccos but only if I went to a Vodafone store in person - after I had found out without help which store had one. That was not easy as I could not be supplied with store telephone numbers and would have had to visit stores one by one.
I do not wish or expect Vodafone to hide behind blanket and vague 'Terms & Conditions'.
As for the 8600 Luna, it is actually worse for signal reception.

On a final note I could have arranged for cover on my home insurance. As 'a company' my home insurers do not carry a supply of any mobile phones and yet they could have sourced one without problem.

The Sirocco is the only phone I have damaged/lost in approx 11-years.

phil6011

I'm sorry but I don't agree with what you are saying there at all. I work for the administrators, I sympathize with the fact you really liked your current handset but how were the insurers supposed to know when you took out the policy that vodafone would decide to stop sourcing the 8800?

They have hardly MIS sold you the policy have they? If insurance had the authorization to get an 8800 from somewhere else they would but there hands are tied and also there would be no warranty agreement between the network and nokia for that model so if you were to experience any future problems with the handset vodafone wouldn't be able to cover you for them. If you look at the bigger picture you see there is always a reason or the way things are done and whether you choose to believe me or not, your interests are at the centre here.

Finally terms and conditions are not ablanket to hide under, they're a contractual obligation both you and the insurer agree to adhere by, again they're in place for a reason and I think you'll find if you look under the section entitled indemnity you are told you will be indemnified with a 'handset of equal or similar specification in the companies opinion'

The only person who has done something wrong here is yourself and your failure to check the suitability of a contract before agreeing to it.

ken_1969

I've had Vodafone's Cover Me insurance for most of my very long life as a Vodafone customer - over 10 years now. Admittedly I've maintained this because my company used to always pay my phone bill - not sure I would necessarily have done it off my own back originally. I had a couple of replacement phones over that time and they were quick and efficient at replacing them.

However, the last time I had a problem was with my Vodafone V1640 (HTC Universal / Qtek 9000 / O2 XDA Exec) and at that time the V1640 had been discontinued. Initially I was offered a lower spec replacement, but I would not accept this.

After grilling the agent I discovered that the next generation phone was branded by Vodafone as the V1615 (HTC TyTN 2) - a much nicer phone but the only one that matched the spec - ie a full qwerty keyboard, big screen, wifi, bluetooth etc etc.

They pushed back on offering this intitially and I did have to really stand my ground and insist, going through to the agent's manager, and then actually going through to cancellations to cancel my contract with them.

Eventually the cancellations team was able to offer me the V1615, but it was a real headache.

I guess there is always going to be this issue with insurance that you do need to know what you're entitled to and stand your ground. If you're not good at doing this in a level-headed way then it can be a bit of a challenge. For me, as I tend to go for the higher end PDA phones there's just no way I could take the risk of losing/damaging the phone without insurance.

rogmar

Hi guys i have a Tytn II on vodafone but unfortunately the phone is now discontinued and am wondering what would happen if i "lost" it!
I bought it for £100:00 on a two year (i know,i know) contract,if i happened to "lose it" would they try to offer me a cheap crappy phone or
are they abliged to offer me a like for like phone?