Poor Sevrvice and End of contract Issue

[skoobi2oo]

I signed up for a iPhone contract 2 years back and from the start i had issues with my signal.

The main reason i needed my phone was for the data as we dont have internet where we live. But i soon found that the signal issue was everywhere i went pretty much all over the country.

I contacted support within a few days of getting the phone and explained that everywhere i went i had signal issues. I kept being asked what the postcode for that area was and i kept telling them my home postcode and that i dont know the post code for each area in the country that i visit. They checked my post code everytime and it showed all was ok. The support team advised me that they are updating the masts in the next week to a month and the signal will be alot better. 

I rang several times again and eventually i gave up and wanted to cancel the contract as it was in the 14 days. They managed to convice me to stay as the masts were being updated and they knocked off a months bill.

A month or so went by and still the same. I rang again and the same excuses. That was enough i wanted out but as its over the 14days i was now tied into the contract. 

In the end after a load of calls to support and a frustrating experiance I took out another contract with Three mobile as they're signal for data was suprisingly good where i live and around the country.

I stopped using my vodafone contract but kept paying the monthly contract.

I then rang to check that a payment had gone through at the end of July as i had an issue with the bank and had to redo my direct debits and the lady i spoke to kindly helped and let me know that the payment had gone through and that the contract was at an end. I was delighted.

The advisor let me know that all is done and i asked several times "is this it and theres nothing else to pay and thats the contract done".

She said "yes thats all done and the contract is at an end".

A few weeks later i get a letter saying i owe 2 months balance.

I rang vodafone and spoke to a lady and she said the contract had not ended and that i owed £98. and that i will have more charges.

I repetedly asked the advisor if  she could take a listen to the call recording from july to confirm that i had been told that it was all complete and that i had nothing left to pay but she didnt/wouldnt. After a bit of discussion and myself asking to speak to complaints she forwarded the call to cancellations.

On speaking to the cancellations team they said they will be cancelling the contract with immidiate effect. I asked "Whats this going to cost me?" to the reply "nothing".

This week i have now recieved yet another letter saying my account has been suspended and that i owe £43.50!!!!!

Please can someone give me a straight answer and explanation of why this is as im in the process of filing a complaint to the ombudsman as i have no faith in vodafone or the advisors.

Regards

Chris

[skoobi2oo]

I signed up for a iPhone contract 2 years back and from the start i had issues with my signal.

The main reason i needed my phone was for the data as we don't have internet where we live. But i soon found that the signal issue was everywhere i went pretty much all over the country.

I contacted support within a few days of getting the phone and explained that everywhere i went i had signal issues. I kept being asked what the postcode for that area was and i kept telling them my home postcode and that i dont know the post code for each area in the country that i visit. They checked my post code everytime and it showed all was ok. The support team advised me that they are updating the masts in the next week to a month and the signal will be alot better. 

I rang several times again and eventually i gave up and wanted to cancel the contract as it was in the 14 days. They managed to convince me to stay as the masts were being updated and they knocked off a months bill.

A month or so went by and still the same. I rang again and the same excuses. That was enough i wanted out but as its over the 14days i was now tied into the contract. 

In the end after a load of calls to support and a frustrating experience I took out another contract with Three mobile as they're signal for data was surprisingly good where i live and around the country.

I stopped using my vodafone contract but kept paying the monthly contract.

I then rang to check that a payment had gone through at the end of July as i had an issue with the bank and had to redo my direct debits and the lady i spoke to kindly helped and let me know that the payment had gone through and that the contract was at an end. I was delighted.

The adviser let me know that all is done and i asked several times "is this it and theres nothing else to pay and thats the contract done".

She said "yes thats all done and the contract is at an end".

A few weeks later i get a letter saying i owe 2 months balance.

I rang vodafone and spoke to a lady and she said the contract had not ended and that i owed £98. and that i will have more charges.

I repeatedly asked the adviser if  she could take a listen to the call recording from july to confirm that i had been told that it was all complete and that i had nothing left to pay but she didnt/wouldnt. After a bit of discussion and myself asking to speak to complaints she forwarded the call to cancellations.

On speaking to the cancellations team they said they will be cancelling the contract with immediate effect. I asked "Whats this going to cost me?" to the reply "nothing".

This week i have now received yet another letter saying my account has been suspended and that i owe £43.50!!!!!

Please can someone give me a straight answer and explanation of why this is as im in the process of filing a complaint to the ombudsman as i have no faith in vodafone or the advisers.

Regards

Chris

[drey_p]

Hi there

I think I see where the issue may lie. Your contract is for a minimum term and once that minimum term is up, it continues on a rolling basis until cancelled. Unless you specifically gave notice and said you wanted to end your contact, it will continue. So, being told that your contract is at an end is correct, in that the minimum term is up, but you do have to give notice to end it.

[kids · Accepted solution]

@skoobi2oo Unfortunately there have been posts where a CS adviser has said that a contract is cancelled when it has not been.

As you are now over the two years since you took out the contract it will have changed to a rolling 30 days contract which you can cancel with just 30 days notice. It seems unless you can show that you were definatly told the contract was cancelled that you are stuck with the charges on your account. Telephone calls are only held for a short time so it may not be possible to listen to the call you had.

Unless you want to keep the Vodafrone contract for some reason you should call and give 30 days notice of cancellation.

You can also cancel the contract by asking for your PAC code and using that to transfer the number to another network as PAYG and then unless you want to use the number don't top up the sim and then just bin it. As soon as you use the PAC code thecontratct ends.

DO NOT canel the Direct Debit until you have received a final bill showing a zero balance and a "Sorry you are leaving us" letter. Only then can you be certain that there are no more charges.

[skoobi2oo]

Many thanks for your answer... 

Ye i asked them for a confirmation letter to confirm all is cancelled and the only evidence i have of all this now is the phone calls which they dont want to listen to! And no letter has been sent.

I thought it was all cancelled the first time as they said it was done. I have a new phone from over a year ago with a different number so didnt need a pac code.

Chris

[drey_p]

Did you actually say "I want to cancel my contract" or words to that effect when you originally called up?

Have you formally told Vodafone that you want to cancel since?

[skoobi2oo]

Yep asked them to cancel it right away as she said it was at the end of term. And i asked if there was anything else to pay and she replied "No"

Chris

[AnnS]

Hi @skoobi2oo

When you cancel, it wil be subject to 30 days notice.  This means you will be receiving two further bills, the first one will be the usual line rental and any out of bundle charges followed by a final bill with a zero balance and a letter to confirm you have no further responsibility towards the contract.

Until you have received the final bill it is very important not to cancel the direct debit.  If the direct debit is cancelled too early, it leaves Vodafone without an account to taking any remaining balance and repay any credit for line rental paid in advance.

You need to contact Vodafone as soon as you can and make arrangement to pay any remaining charges and get confirmation of the account closure.  Live Chat will be able to advise you and will be able to keep a copy of the transcript for your records.

[Retired-LouiseE]

Hi @skoobi2oo

I understand your frustration at this problem. 

I going to send you a Private Message with further help. 

Louise

[plaw]

I to have had issue trying to end my contract I have spent hours on the phone and in chat with out any progress, I have copies of the cahts if anyone would want them. All of the agents have promised to sort the problem I gave notice to canel in august contact end ocyobe been charged for bundle in october and november I have no other optuon but to go to Oftcon and BBC watchdog maybe they can help.