Ongoing billing problem

[Hk120]

Over the last 2 and a half years that I have been with Vodafone, I have noticed how much harder it is getting to get hold of them, to raise an issue and for them to sort it out, more so over ybe

last year. I have 3 devices with Vodafone, upon taking out the first I asked would I be informed of the upgrade or when my contract ended? Yes. We are now in July, and it was only that I went on my account online in June to check it, as I was aware of how long it seemed to be going on, ah there it was, contract ended December 2016!!! I contacted Vodafone, received the rudest advisor to date, spoke to me like ##~## on the bottom of her shoe. I have done nothing but contact over billing issues, and the latest one was them trying to tell me 50GB of data had been used in a month, with a £195.55 charge attatched to it, on a phone that is ALWAYS connected to wifi. And has a data allowance of 26GB. When I questioned this, it went to 5 people including 2 managers, none of them could really tell why except it was data, and I asked for it to be removed along with the £82 that had been put on my account for no reason. I had calculated this bill with 4 other people at the time and all said they couldn't see why it was there. It took a further 3 people to remove it. I have spent my entire life on live chat. Or on the phone. I am now being told I cannot cancel my contract unless I pay the outstanding bill - which I have refused to pay until they sort it out. Is anyone else having these kind of issues? I seem to be ringing 3/4 times a week and spending anything from 3-5 hours on live chat. 

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @Hk120

I do appreciate your viewpoint on the situation. 

Vodafone Customer Services should remain polite , courteous and professional at all times so if you feel those standards have dropped then I'm sure this will be logged here by the Social Media Team. 

Any billing enquiry to Customer Services should be investigated fully if you cannot see any viable breakdown in your MyVodafone and then the results provided to you. Live Chat or Customer Services on 191 have that access to your account to be able to do this. My suggestion is to ring 191 on a Weekday and possibly the next frontline agent then can help you further. 

My opinion is that it would be an incredibly hard operation for Vodafone to ensure each Contract Account Holder was contacted to remind them of a contract term is coming up. 

A contract automatically drops onto a 30 day rolling contract after the initial term has been reached which then gives the Account holder various options to choose i.e. Go sim only , let it stay on a 30 day rolling contract or upgrade. 

If a person wishes to remain on Wifi and not have any accidental use of their data allowance it's advised to manually turn off Mobile Data in a phones settings as a phone can and will switch if it feels the wifi connection is unstable. 

Also with newer contracts i.e. From 5th May 2016 > Vodafone has introduced a Data Cap option a person can use in order to have more control.  Information link > My-allowance-usage-and-charges/Data-capping.

Vodafone are only able to see how much Data Allowance has been used up but not on what. Some phones have inbuilt Data Monitors that can give an overview on what's apps etc has been using data. Downloadable options are available too. Usually data monitors need their stats resetting at each allowance refresh too. 

I wish you all the best. 

[Hk120]

They have been nothing but rude and disrespectful, no matter how many times I call or go on live chat. Good job I keep all of my chats online and record my calls with them!

its all done online, their systems are automatic, so not that hard. I also had an iPad with Vodafone that ended in December, they sent out a letter to remind me it was ending and that it would automatically be stopped, unless I wanted to roll it over or switch to sim only, in which case I would have to ring to make them aware. This contract ended 7 days before the phone, yet I wasn't aware. 

As ive stated, mobile data is always off. Only ever on wifi except 4 hours at the weekend, in which case 4G is on but the phone is unused. 

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@BandOfBrothers wrote:

Hi @Hk120

I do appreciate your viewpoint on the situation. 

Vodafone Customer Services should remain polite , courteous and professional at all times so if you feel those standards have dropped then I'm sure this will be logged here by the Social Media Team. 

Any billing enquiry to Customer Services should be investigated fully if you cannot see any viable breakdown in your MyVodafone and then the results provided to you. Live Chat or Customer Services on 191 have that access to your account to be able to do this. My suggestion is to ring 191 on a Weekday and possibly the next frontline agent then can help you further. 

My opinion is that it would be an incredibly hard operation for Vodafone to ensure each Contract Account Holder was contacted to remind them of a contract term is coming up. 

A contract automatically drops onto a 30 day rolling contract after the initial term has been reached which then gives the Account holder various options to choose i.e. Go sim only , let it stay on a 30 day rolling contract or upgrade. 

If a person wishes to remain on Wifi and not have any accidental use of their data allowance it's advised to manually turn off Mobile Data in a phones settings as a phone can and will switch if it feels the wifi connection is unstable. 

Also with newer contracts i.e. From 5th May 2016 > Vodafone has introduced a Data Cap option a person can use in order to have more control.  Information link > My-allowance-usage-and-charges/Data-capping.

Vodafone are only able to see how much Data Allowance has been used up but not on what. Some phones have inbuilt Data Monitors that can give an overview on what's apps etc has been using data. Downloadable options are available too. Usually data monitors need their stats resetting at each allowance refresh too. 

I wish you all the best. 

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[Tash]

I'm sorry to hear the experience you've had with us @Hk120. We'd like to take a closer look into this for you.

So we can do this, I've sent you a private message with details to contact our team directly.

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

[AnnS]

Hi @Hk120

There is nothing stopping you from cancelling the contract, but anything owing will be immediately payable.

The golden rule in any dispute is to pay the bill and sort it out afterwards, by withholding payment you will immediately put yourself in the wrong and in default of contract and this will hurt you a lot more than Vodafone.  There are far too many customers on this forum with defaults registered against credit file.

As far as knowing when the contract end date, this is readily available through the phone My Vodafone Application and online account, it is the customers responsibility to be aware of the length of commitment and when it ends.

When you use a WiFi connection, although the WiFi should override the data connection, it is always advisable to turn off mobile data, this will prevent connecting to mobile data should the WiFi drop.

[Hk120]

Actually, it's not in the terms and conditions that it has to be paid upfront, they are able to send a bill afterwards and it's the customers right to cancel even before paying. 

My online account has been wrong for some time regarding conrract end dates/upgrade dates and on many occasions I have contacted Vodafone about this, and they have said they'd change it and that it would be done in 24/48 hours, except it has never been done. 

Also, I had an iPad with Vodafone and the contract finished in December I had a letter sent to my home telling me this, and in the letter I was told it would be done automatically and if I wish to roll it over to contact Vodafone and they could sort it out. So why is it any different for a phone? 

The problem is, Vodafone have no idea what they're doing. They continuously add unnaccounted charges to my account, so I am constantly ringing for them to correct this. 

The phone is always on wifi, the wifi assist is off, and the Mobile data is always off. I have checked and rechecked and I always make sure of this. There is no reason for it to be this high. It's a hell of a lot of data to be used in 4 hours on a weekend - the only time the phone does run off 4G.

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@AnnS wrote:

Hi @Hk120

There is nothing stopping you from cancelling the contract, but anything owing will be immediately payable.

The golden rule in any dispute is to pay the bill and sort it out afterwards, by withholding payment you will immediately put yourself in the wrong and in default of contract and this will hurt you a lot more than Vodafone.  There are far too many customers on this forum with defaults registered against credit file.

As far as knowing when the contract end date, this is readily available through the phone My Vodafone Application and online account, it is the customers responsibility to be aware of the length of commitment and when it ends.

When you use a WiFi connection, although the WiFi should override the data connection, it is always advisable to turn off mobile data, this will prevent connecting to mobile data should the WiFi drop.

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