Stop the Clock - still active?

[Janisf]

Does anyone else still have "Stop the Clock" active on a PAYG account? I know this product was withdrawn years ago, but I understood that unless I opted out of it to subscribe to another product (eg: a freebie bundle) it would remain active. It shows on my account details with a tick against it, and until recently it did seem to be working. Then in September I was charged for the entire length of I call which I expected to be limited by Stop the Clock. After a long online chat to an advisor, the charges were refunded. I think I have now been charged the full cost of at least one other call which was made during the Stop the Clock off-peak time, but cannot access my itemised usage to double check. If this product is no longer available to me, I should have had notification from Vodafone and it should also be removed from my account (in which case I will probably transfer to another service provider). If I should still have the option to continue with this product, I need to have confidence that it will be applied consistantly on the rare occasions when I make a long call. I know I am a bit of a dinosaur to still be using PAYG without a monthly bundle, but I don't need data on my phone or make many calls so it suited my needs.

[AnnS]

@Janisf

Stop the Clock was discontinued 2008, although I think it was still available on some of the older legend tariffs which have now been discontinued.

If you still want to be able to talk for an unlimited time, there is Vodafone Family as an alternative.

Take a look at the extras which can be added below.

PAYG Extras

[Annie_N]

I remembered seeing mention of Stop the Clock earlier today. After a bit of thought I realised it was when I did a read-through of the Family Group Ts&Cs - but it's part of the potential exclusions in section 9, and its continued appearance doesn't necessarily mean that it still exists! The Free Weekends promotion is also mentioned, but I do remember that one being withdrawn!

You certainly should have been notified if it has been withdrawn, but such notifications are usually by text, so you might have missed it if you had your phone off for a week at the relevant time.

Another option from the current Vodafone offering is the Freebie Minutes - see the Freebies tab here, which would give you 150 UK minutes for free, available for 30 days, after topping up by £10. So there is no actual purchase, as with the Extras, but of course your credit balance does tend to mount up if you don't actually use it for calls outside those 150 or outside the 30 days; though you can always buy an Extra Minutes (see AnnS's link) for a few months, out of the balance. If this interests you, make sure you opt in to it (the Freebie) before topping up!

[Janisf]

I still don't have an explanation for why Stop the Clock still shows on my account as a service I am subscribed to, or why it seemed to be working until very recently. I have looked at the freebie minutes (ironically I am prevented from opting-in to these until I opt out of Stop the Clock!), but to be honest there are better deals (for my requirements) with other service providers, so taking into consideration the increased costs and the technical problems preventing me from checking how much I am being charged for calls, I am going to look to move to another provider when my current credit has run down. Thanks for trying to help though!

[Annie_N]

I'm not really imagining this will have any bearing on your decision - more an amusing aside! I eventually remembered why I remembered Free Weekends - here.

An interesting case of someone else apparently continuing to get a "definitely discontinued" product! My best guess is that the major reorganisation of the PAYG accounts a couple of years back has left some such products embedded in accounts in an unusual way, and that they have simply been missed in the general sweep of the records that was supposed to have removed them. Subsequent "tweaks" to the system take no account of these old products because they aren't supposed to be there, and ultimately there is one tweak too many, and they stop working or become very troublesome.

Interesting to speculate, but the information doesn't help you much!

Annie.

[Janisf]

Annie_N, you definitely have too much time on your hands! I remember the free texts / calls at the weekend for spending £2.50 / £5 during the week. I occasionally got the free texts, but think I only ever spent enough to get the free calls once. I also remember this offer being withdrawn and getting a text to tell me that it would no longer be applied to my spending, although interestingly, I did get free texts one random weekend ages after this! I appreciate that such offers are time limited and do get withdrawn over time, but what worries me is the lack of consistency and Vodafone's apparent inability to make it clear what services are available and how much we are being charged when we make a call. 

[Janisf]

No, it wasn't discontinued in 2008 - I think that might have been when it started. A chat advisor thought it was discontinued as an opt-in in 2012, but couldn't find out if / when it had been withdrawn for people who were already subscribed.  It still shows as Active on my account and was definitely being applied to some of my calls until very recently. Vodafone Family is no use to me as most of the people I phone are not with Vodafone, but thanks anyway.