Breach of Contract Agreed in Writing

[AlBizzle]

On Tuesday 12th September i was offered an upgrade contract in writing via online chat which i have email proof of. The advisor Kylie assured me the contract would include my 30% VA discount. I double checked this would be the case and was assured my new contract would be £17.50pm. On upgrading the discount was not added. Another online chat advisor advised it would be done within 24hrs and not to worry. 24 hours later on Wednesday 13 September discount was not showing so contacted online chat again to be assured it would be done but to wait 48 hours. Checked on Friday 15th September again discount not showing. I contacted chat for third time since upgrading and was now advised i would need to reapply for discount even though I was assured this would not be the case.

Extremely frustrated I called up and was told they could see i was offered the discount and would try to add it but didnt think it could be added to an already discounted line. I advised my previous contract was discounted with VA discount added, and was based on same data and price so I know it can be done, and was advised on chat that i already had it so could be done again. Manager then came on line and said it couldn't be done and offered me 3 months free line rental. I advised that this was not acceptable and i would require the contract as offered in writing with my discount, as not providing it was breach of contract. In addition if this was not possible then return me to my old contract which had the same 25gb for £25 with 30% VA discount. The one i was upgrading to was simply to renew my free Spotify subscription. I was told this was not possible and manager would talk to customer relations. After another 30mins waiting on the phone I was told nothing could be done and was passed to Paul in customer relations as per my request.

Paul again stated it was not possible to provide the contract which was agreed to me in writing or return me to my previous contract which I left only because I was offered the new contract and the confirmed price of £17.50pm. His only solution was to offer me a £90 credit to cover the cost of the discount for the year. However this is unacceptable as at the end of the year my contract will be the higher unagreed price of £25pm and im back to square one. My previous contact was £17.50pm rolling contract and im now on a £25month contract without VA discount as promised.

I would therefore ideally like you to honour the agreed contract i signed up for in writing or revert me back to my previous contract. Obviously Paul in retention doesn't have the authority to do this but someone in the company must have. I have been a Vodafone customer for over 12 years and a broadband customer and feel strongly let down, deceived and treated extremely poorly. I have all the email transcripts confirming the contract I agreed to sign to and cannot be told it not possible to provide it or return me to my original contract.

I have already sought legal advice and will go through complaints procedure and hope for a resolution before taking it further.

[BandOfBrothers]

From what you write @AlBizzle i can certainly understand why you would be unimpressed with the current situation. 

Things can sometimes go wrong which I'm sure many accept, but then it's ultimately down to how it's put right that then counts ,and instills confidence back into the product and service.

The departments you've been speaking I would think have the means and authority to deal with contracts , tariffs and upgrades. 

The Social Media Team here can certainly take onboard your raised issues and feed this back and help where they can. Unfortunately if the agents you've already spoken to cannot revert things back to how they were then I can't see the Social Media Team being able to either. 

Discounts such as Employers discount does have to be re applied for as it's automatically cancelled when the upgrade is completed, and I believe a membership fee of £10.00 is applicable too.  More information here > How-long-does-the-Vodafone-Advantage-discount-last.

Vodafone offer a Cooling Off period of 30 days in which to revert back to pre upgrade status but in some circumstances the original tariff etc is no longer available to move back to so that's why I'm assuming the Agents you've spoken to are offering what they have in order to try and bring some resolution to this unfortunate situation. 

I wish you a speedy amicable resolution. 

[taffrich]

I'm soory things dont sometimes go wrong, as can be seen by this forum. It frequently goes wrong with Vodafone

[Tash]

Hi @AlBizzle, I've sent you a private message with information to contact our team directly.

Once we receive your details, we'll be in touch to discuss this further as soon as possible.

[AnnS]

Hi @AlBizzle

When a contract is already discounted or is on promotion, you can't add a second discount, you need to take out a contract at the full cost and add the VA,

As you are still within the 30 day time limit for cancellation, if you want to add the VA, you will need to cancel and take out a contract at the full price.  You will then be able to complete the VA form to readd the discount offered by your employer.

[AlBizzle]

Hi anns

Why exactly should I take out a contract with less data and costing more than the contract I was previously on, which only ended as I was offered a contract in writing at a set price which was then not offered?

alex: yes and i do get vodafone advantage because of this
Kylie: 

That's great!

Kylie: 

May I know which handset has caught your eye?

Kylie: 

Or it is a SIM only upgrade?

alex: i just recently bought a new handset so id be looking for a sim only deal
Kylie: 

That's lovely!

alex: that also keeps my vodafone advantage
Kylie: 

We've got a promotional deal which the same as you currently have :

The deal is 12 months

With the monthly cost of £25.

Data 25GB,

Minutes and text Unlimited, 

12 months Free Entertainment access to Spotify or Now TV or Sky Sports.

Take your home plan abroad Vodafone Global Roaming

Keep your existing number FREE of cost.

How does that sound? 

Kylie: 

Usually, a promotional deal is already discounted and we can not apply more then 1 discount on a deal. However, I do see you were able to get an additional discount on the same deal previously, so you can again opt for the same discount on the promotional deal, Alex

Kylie: 

After the additional 30% discount, you will get the deal for £17.50/month with 25GB data

alex: thats great. will i have to do anything extra or will you start the new contract with new spotify premium and vodafone advantage will stay. Basically i wont have to contact the advantage procedure again it'll just stay.
alex: Cos yes ill be happy to take the deal at the £17.50 as you have quoted
Kylie: 

Since, you're renewing the contract, you will need to reapply for the Spotify, Alex.

Kylie: 

However, you can use the same login details

alex: ok thats fine but the new contract and vodafone advantage will all be sorted right
Kylie: 

Yes, indeed!

[AnnS]

Hi @AlBizzle

I quite agree.   The advisor should have given the correct information and made it quite clear that this was an already discounted plan and not eligible for an additional VA discount.

[wwhyte92]

Hi @AlBizzle,

I had similar issues a few months ago. When I requested the advantage scheme I specifically went onto LiveChat to ask if the discount could be applied along with another pre-existing discount and was told yes. Because I had saved the LiveChat conversation transcript I just kept referring customer services to that and although I was met with a lot of resistance, eventually they agreed that they had to add the discount to my account.

I would strongly advise to persist with customer services. The way I got this resolved in the end was by increasing my original discount to cover both discount amounts. It took some doing, and customer services on a number of occasions tried to get me to agree to a discount that would be less than the VA discount, but eventually I got there.

[AlBizzle]

Thanks Wwhyte92

I will definitely  persist.

Other responses dont address the issue being that I was previously on a discounted line with the VA discount so it IS possible and I only left that contract as I was assured it would be added to the new contract. I will therefore try your method of requesting discounts on the contract to match the quoted price as the one off credit I was offered doesn't resolve the issue. I was also told as I had turned down the offer of a credit no credit would be offered again. Great customer service ! 

[ALISON1963]

I am in a very similar situation and have so far spent about 9 hours on livechat, calling complaints and customer services. Repeated promises about resolution have been made and I have now requested all communication be via email. I am stunned by the incompetence shown. No one seems able to grasp the basic fact that I have a written contract, Vodafone is in breach of it and I will not accept any change that makes the contract less advantageous to me. I have just checked my account again and found that Vodafone has changed the contract of three of the phones on my account without my consent! I have honestly never experienced such awful customer service, and I am really angry now. I will not let this go.