Mobile broadband costs information withheld and sloppy customer service

[AndyDank]

On Friday, 20 June I purchased 4GB mobile broadband from the Vodafone store in Putney. Before purchasing the mobile broadband I made the store manager (named Phu) fully aware that I only required the service once off and did not want to spend anymore than the £20 cost for the 4GB. The reason for this is that I am on limited cash since I am unemployed. The reason I need the bandwidth is to fill out job applications to apply for work. Phu advised me to phone Vodafone once my broadband had been activated and give them the required 28 day warning to cancel my contract and once I had done this I would be able to use my 4GB and not incur additional expenses.

Monday, 23 June I phoned customer services. After a long battle trying to get through to customer services (because the brochure that Vodafone Putney had given me was out of date). Unfortunately I was informed by customer services that the Vodafone server was down and I should call back some other time.

Tuesday, 24 June I phoned again and spoke to customer services. I explained to them why I needed to end my contract. The customer service person ensured me that my contract would be cancelled and that I would not incur any additional charges from Vodafone. Ten minutes after putting down the phone my mobile internet was disconnected. This was not what I wanted since I needed the internet to full out job applications. What I wanted was to use my remaining 4GB that I had paid for and after that end my contract with Vodafone, exactly what I was told I could do when I purchased the bandwidth from the Vodafone store in Putney. After been disconnected I went back to the Vodafone Putney store where I was reconnected. Again I explained my circumstances to a store representative again I was told my contract would end in 28 days time and that my bill would be pro-rated for the additional three days of the new month i.e. £20 pounds would be pro-rated for the three additional days from the 21 July to the 24 July.

Wednesday, 2 July I received a message that on the 27 June I was down to my last 50MB of data and that an additional 250MB of data would cost £6.  Since it was already 2 July (five days later) I knew that I was probably over the 4GB limit and that I would probably be charged the ridiculous amount for additional bandwidth. I was not aware how much bandwidth I had used since I my sim card was in a MiFi device to distribute the bandwidth to myself and my partner’s computer. However, to monitor usage I did download the Vodafone mobile application which did not do what it was supposed to do and kept giving me the following message: “We don’t have any usage information for your account yet, but do check back again as we’ll have it soon”.  After receiving this message I contacted Vodafone customer services who time after time went through the tedious process of taking all my details but ending up telling me to speak to someone else, no one had the authority to help. Eventually I ended up back at the Vodafone Putney store. I explained my problem to the same store employee that previously helped me. He phoned customer services who found it difficult to give him any information, the only information he could give me was that I will probably incur an additional expense of around £45, although it could be more. I then reminded him of what we discussed the last time we met, his response was not helpful at all. I asked him if he could understand my predicament, his reply was that his whole life he had  been given a raw deal and that I should learn to just deal with it. I asked him how I should deal with it and he said I should cancel my standing order with Vodafone through my bank and take it from there.  I’m not sure if this is the correct way to go about things. I then asked him why I was never informed about these additional charges when I purchased the bandwidth after explicitly mentioning that I only wanted to pay for the 4GB and no more. His response was that it’s not up to him to tell me that information. This is not ethical, it is up to the person in the know to inform the unknowing person of something that could affect him negatively. There was another customer in the shop who had four contracts with Vodafone who intervened in the conversation and suggested that I should phone someone else because the shop employee was not willing to help. The shop employee then pointed me towards the phone in the shop where i wasted another 30 minutes talking to someone who couldn't help.

I now find myself in a dilemma, I am faced with an additional bill of at least £45 (although no one can tell me exactly how much) and I am unemployed without any income. This is something totally unexpected and something I wanted to avoid from the start by making my intentions clear to the Vodafone Putney shop manager. I was not informed at the Vodafone store of any additional expenses only that I could cancel my contract with 28 days notice and not incur additional expenses. I was not made aware that once my 4GB was used up I would automatically (without my consent) be given more data which costs almost five times more than the initial data. (Initial data rate £20.67 for 4GB / additional data rate £6 for 250MB). The store manager assured me that if I cancelled my contract I would not incur additional cost beyond the 4GB, no one in the store advised otherwise or on other products.

I have turned off data I would appreciate it if Vodafone cancelled the additional costs that I will incur beyond the 4GB. As understood at the start I will pay what I owe for the 4GB of usage and the pro-rated cost of the three additional days of the new month, I cannot afford to pay anymore.

[AndyDank]

On Friday, 20 June I purchased 4GB mobile broadband from the Vodafone store in Putney. Before purchasing the mobile broadband I made the store manager (named Phu) fully aware that I only required the service once off and did not want to spend anymore than the £20 cost for the 4GB. The reason for this is that I am on limited cash since I am unemployed. The reason I need the bandwidth is to fill out job applications to apply for work. Phu advised me to phone Vodafone once my broadband had been activated and give them the required 28 day warning to cancel my contract and once I had done this I would be able to use my 4GB and not incur additional expenses.

Monday, 23 June I phoned customer services. After a long battle trying to get through to customer services (because the brochure that Vodafone Putney had given me was out of date). Unfortunately I was informed by customer services that the Vodafone server was down and I should call back some other time.

Tuesday, 24 June I phoned again and spoke to customer services. I explained to them why I needed to end my contract. The customer service person ensured me that my contract would be cancelled and that I would not incur any additional charges from Vodafone. Ten minutes after putting down the phone my mobile internet was disconnected. This was not what I wanted since I needed the internet to full out job applications. What I wanted was to use my remaining 4GB that I had paid for and after that end my contract with Vodafone, exactly what I was told I could do when I purchased the bandwidth from the Vodafone store in Putney. After been disconnected I went back to the Vodafone Putney store where I was reconnected. Again I explained my circumstances to a store representative again I was told my contract would end in 28 days time and that my bill would be pro-rated for the additional three days of the new month i.e. £20 pounds would be pro-rated for the three additional days from the 21 July to the 24 July.

Wednesday, 2 July I received a message that on the 27 June I was down to my last 50MB of data and that an additional 250MB of data would cost £6.  Since it was already 2 July (five days later) I knew that I was probably over the 4GB limit and that I would probably be charged the ridiculous amount for additional bandwidth. I was not aware how much bandwidth I had used since I my sim card was in a MiFi device to distribute the bandwidth to myself and my partner’s computer. However, to monitor usage I did download the Vodafone mobile application which did not do what it was supposed to do and kept giving me the following message: “We don’t have any usage information for your account yet, but do check back again as we’ll have it soon”.  After receiving this message I contacted Vodafone customer services who time after time went through the tedious process of taking all my details but ending up telling me to speak to someone else, no one had the authority to help. Eventually I ended up back at the Vodafone Putney store. I explained my problem to the same store employee that previously helped me. He phoned customer services who found it difficult to give him any information, the only information he could give me was that I will probably incur an additional expense of around £45, although it could be more. I then reminded him of what we discussed the last time we met, his response was not helpful at all. I asked him if he could understand my predicament, his reply was that his whole life he had  been given a raw deal and that I should learn to just deal with it. I asked him how I should deal with it and he said I should cancel my standing order with Vodafone through my bank and take it from there.  I’m not sure if this is the correct way to go about things. I then asked him why I was never informed about these additional charges when I purchased the bandwidth after explicitly mentioning that I only wanted to pay for the 4GB and no more. His response was that it’s not up to him to tell me that information. This is not ethical, it is up to the person in the know to inform the unknowing person of something that could affect him negatively. There was another customer in the shop who had four contracts with Vodafone who intervened in the conversation and suggested that I should phone someone else because the shop employee was not willing to help. The shop employee then pointed me towards the phone in the shop where i wasted another 30 minutes talking to someone who couldn't help.

I now find myself in a dilemma, I am faced with an additional bill of at least £45 (although no one can tell me exactly how much) and I am unemployed without any income. This is something totally unexpected and something I wanted to avoid from the start by making my intentions clear to the Vodafone Putney shop manager. I was not informed at the Vodafone store of any additional expenses only that I could cancel my contract with 28 days notice and not incur additional expenses. I was not made aware that once my 4GB was used up I would automatically (without my consent) be given more data which costs almost five times more than the initial data. (Initial data rate £20.67 for 4GB / additional data rate £6 for 250MB). The store manager assured me that if I cancelled my contract I would not incur additional cost beyond the 4GB, no one in the store advised otherwise or on other products.

I have turned off data I would appreciate it if Vodafone cancelled the additional costs that I will incur beyond the 4GB. As understood at the start I will pay what I owe for the 4GB of usage and the pro-rated cost of the three additional days of the new month, I cannot afford to pay anymore.

[Retired-Ian_]

Hi AndyDank,

Thanks for getting in touch.

It's a very difficult post to read, as you've asked questions in a clear way and the answers you've been given have been inconsistent.

We'll be happy to help with this.

So that we can look into this further, take a look here for how to get in touch.

We aim to reply to emails within 48 hours. If you need a quicker response, please visit our Contact Us page.

Thanks.

Ian