Pay monthly services

[BeingRippedOff]

I haven't been able to read the 400+ posts.... but I would just like to say that I had a massive shock today.  A Vodafone bill for £200+ for my 14 year old's phone :-(  I bought her a £10 sim only contract, for her birthday earlier this year.  It represented better value than PAYG and she has been very careful with it... until last month!  She usually phones her friends from the house phone (landline to landline) but because we had a problem with the line, she used her mobile.  Unfortunately, she didn't realise just how long she had 'chatted' for, nor how much Vodafone charges per minute!  Sadly, her Christmas present money will now have to be used to pay the bill and some of her presents may have to be returned for refunds too.  A hard (but necessary) lesson, perhaps.  However, I am very disappointed that whilst European networks can 'block' mobile lines, once the contracted amount has been used.... Vodafone UK can't - or doesn't want to!  I guess, considering how much profit they must make from teenagers, why would they stem the tide!  What I find most sickening, is that lots of the 35p amounts charged were for 1 second calls - where is the justification in that?  So yes - I think Vodafone rips people off and I hope their greed and their lack of moral consciousness catches up with them one day!  I would just like to add, that when my daughter arrived home from school to a frantic mother, waving a massive mobile bill at her.... not only did she apologise and immediately tell me that she would find a way to pay it (she doesn't get pocket money - so she was aiming to work it off)... but when I told her that any Christmas money would have to be used to pay the bill and presents would need to be returned - to her credit - she said "Well Christmas isn't really about presents, is it?"  She might have run up a massive bill with Vodafone, but at least she has a moral code!

[Tom]

Hi There,

I've moved your post into the relevant forum, the thread you'd replied to was just spam from one user pretending to be multiple people, and isn't in any way related to your query. You're more likely to get a response in this board.

Thanks,

Tom

[AnnS]

I am sorry to read about the huge bill which you faced with especially at this time of year with Chrisstmas next week.

If you have an online account set up, you will be able to keep track of your Daughters usage and its up to date from the last call made the previous evening and is the ideal way to manage the account.

You would also have the option of the free return text is you call 44555 from the phone which will give you an account balance.

It is not possible to cap a usage on the account but you will find the online account and the 44555 text very helpful.

If the minutes are not adequate for your Daughter, Vodafone would be able to increase the minute allowance which would be a lot cheaper than paying for out of bundle calls.

[biffo1963]

If you still use a landline and you don't pay for a call bundle, then it's worth bearing in mind that BT too have jumped onto the "minimum charge/connection charge" bandwagon.  Looking at my last couple of phone bills, if you make a call of a few seconds duration BT charge you 21p for it, whereas if the same call lasts 10-15 minutes it still only costs about 40p.   Caveat emptor, once again !

Can you tell us which European networks will put a cap on usage ?  If enough customers were demanding it then I'm sure the UK networks would find some way to offer this service too.

[DaveCD]

Hi BeingRippedOff

Thank you for your post and I understand your frustration.

I am sorry that you find yourself in this situation and this is an example why we are strict with the criteria of who we can offer agreements to.

I would love to take a look at your agreement to see if there are any products or services we can use to prevent this happening in the future.

I understand this may be a one off and it is unfortunate that the timing is not ideal however we will do all we can to assist, if you would like me to take a look please complete and reply to the email I have sent to the address you registered with on here.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Many Thanks

DaveCD

eForum Team