Disappointed that promise of upgrade not honored by Vodafone

[timwuk]

A little background. My contract had expired, and the Note 7 withdrawn, the agent suggested I go on a sim only deal till the S8 was available. The agent doubled the discount I got as I have been a customer since 2001. I was very happy. Even happier when I was told I could have the same discount moving onto my new phone. I asked the agent again to make sure, "So when the S8 comes out and after 90 days on my sim only contract I can upgrade to an S8 with my new discount?" YES was the response. I said can you txt that to me? I was told by the agent there was no need. I said ok, the call is recorded anyway, so if there is a problem we can refer back to that.

So today I tried to get onto a new contract with an S8. No deal...What?? How come, I was told to go onto a sim only deal and I would get the upgrade with my discount. No was the response. OK, can I speak with customer services. Customer services told me they could not listen to my original call as they are all removed after 60 days. I obviously was waiting 90 days before I could upgrade from my sim only contract. Customer serves bounced me to upgrades. Had to repeat the story for the third time, same end result. No deal on my upgrade. So I asked well if I can't get the original promise honored, I'll accept my normal discount. Nope, I can't have that. 

So now I'm left with a 12-month sim, and broken upgrade promise, and customer services who don't seem to care about long term customers...

So if you are ever promised anything by Vodafone, make sure YOU HAVE IT IN WRITING. I won't make the same mistake as I am going to be moving my two phones, and family members to another carrier now. Shame as I have been an advocate of Vodafone servers for a long time, they have always been great with me. I guess customer retention is no longer a thing at Vodafone. I'm just glad I didn't move my fiber broadband at the same time as I got the sim only deal.

[timwuk]

Update - I asked for my PAC code last night to move to another carrier. I was told that I would be charged an early termination free. Really? So misleading someone into a contract does not make it void? I originally wanted a rolling month sim but was advised to go on a 12-month plan and upgrade after 90 days..

Best of all the retention agent I spoke with said that the agent I spoke with in the upgrade department did not leave any note on my account that I wanted the contract canceled. Does anyone do what they say in Vodafone anymore???

So now I'm waiting for a call back from customer services. Update to follow.

[wwhyte92]

Hi timwuk,

I very much feel for you but without anything in writing it will be very difficult to prove to Vodafone exactly what was agreed by their customer services agent. You could go down the route of putting in a request for all the information on your account (including records of calls to customer services) by means of the below guidelines. However be aware that there is a £10 cost associated with this and the form does still stipulate that any recorded calls are likely to have been deleted after 60 days.

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/cs/groups/configfiles/documents/contentdocuments/vftst042750.pdf

When you were transferred/put onto the SIM only deal, what does your confirmation email/text say? It's worth going over every word you have received to see if there is any hint or wording that would elude to the promise made by the Vodafone representative.

[timwuk]

So my final update on this problem. I was told that Samsung has told Vodafone that they are not allowed to offer any discount on S8 or S8+, this is why they will not be able to give me the discount I was offered 3 months earlier.

Whilst I don't understand why a company would sign such a restrictive deal, I have to respect it. Unfortunately, the 12-month sim contract I was hoodwinked into will not be canceled. I could push the issue and win, but after wasting more than an hour of my time trying to resolve my issue, I simply don't wish to waste any more time.

To be fair Vodafone have offered me a good will gesture that I have accepted, so it's not as if I haven't received any compensation for my wasted time.

The one thing I would say when ever dealing with anyone at Vodafone, make sure you get it in writing in a text or email. It's a shame that this now has to happen as, in previous years, they would have bent backward to provide a solution rather than a temporary compromise.

C- Vodafone, must try harder!

[Will]

Hi @timwuk

I've sent you a private message with details on how to get in touch.

For anyone else with the same issue, try the steps listed here and if you’re still affected, contact customer service.

[timwuk]

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@Will wrote:

Hi @timwuk

I've sent you a private message with details on how to get in touch.

For anyone else with the same issue, try the steps listed here and if you’re still affected, contact customer service.

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I have been in touch with customer services. I wanted to share my experience with the forum.

[Alex]

@timwuk Thanks for providing us with an update. 

I can completely understand your frustration with the issue and thanks for your understanding.

I'm glad you were able to come to some sort of compromise with our team. 

If you need any help with anything in the future, please get back in touch.