Terminate contract - no signal

[Wickedwooser]

I'm 16 months in to a 24 month contract. Three months ago I moved house. I went in to my local store to double check that I would get a signal in my new home and was told that the signal would be OK. On arrival, I have found that I don't get any signal at all, not even outside. I have to travel 3 miles to the local town to get any sort of a signal. I contacted Vodafone about this and they suggested that I get a Sure Signal unit, which would improve things. I purchased one and it hasn't made any difference at all. I contacted Vodafone again and asked if I could end my contract due to having no signal at all - I thought it a perfectly viable request, as I don't see why I should pay £25 per month for a phone that I can't use. They told me that I couldn't end the contract unless I paid a ridiculous amount of money to be able to do so. I've since had an email to say that they have now put my tariff up to £38 per month!!! I've had no notification about this and called them again today to find out why this was happening. I was told that it was due to percentage increases?? I asked if I could end my contract again, as I couldn't afford to pay £38 per month for a phone that I can't use and again they said that I couldn't do this.

Is anybody out there in a similar situation or does anybody know how I can cancel my contract? I've read the small print relating to ending the agreement on my contract and it refers to clause 11b, which states - "we tell you that there will be an increase in the bundle charge (calculated before the addition of VAT or other levy) and you write to tell us within one month of us telling you about the increase".

Does this clause give me enough to end the agreement?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[AnnS]

Hi @Wickedwooser

The increase you mention is a small rpi percentage increase/

Vodafone won't let you out of the contract without paying up the remaining time left.  When you terminate early, you will receive a 2% discount and minus VAT.  Any discounts do not apply to early termination charges, you terminate at the full price of the contract.

As far as Vodafone will see the situation is it was your choice and decision to change address and the location of the phone to a location where the signal was poor.  When you started the contract, you would have previously received signal and would have accepted the terms of the contract and signal based at the location of your previous addrress.

However, there is no reason for the Sure Signal failing to  work from your home internet connection.  There is help and support for Sure Signal on the link below.

Sure Signal Support

The other alternative is WiFi calling with a compatable phone.  There is further information about this below.

WiFi calling

The clause you mention is only for when there has been a complete breakdown of the network, it won't apply for changing your address.

[Wickedwooser]

Firstly, I wouldn't call a £13 per month increase a small rpi percentage increase. I have family in the area that I've moved to and they are all on O2, which is why I decided it best to check that I could get a Vodafone signal in store. To be told that I would get a signal, when it's pretty clear now that I don't is out of order. I wouldn't expect to have to travel 3 miles to get a signal in this day and age. 

As for the Sure Signal, we've tried everything to sort this piece of kit out, but it's just not having any of it - another £69 wasted with Vodafone. 

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @Wickedwooser

I do sympathise with your current situation. 

The best option I would have advised was to try out using your phone where you have decided to move to. 

Vodafone have a Network Checker that gives an indication of signal but isn't a guarantee of signal. I'm assuming the Vodafone Staff used that and should have been clear on this as all Networks have not spots and fringe coverage areas. 

Link > Vodafone Network Checker.

As long as Vodafone are providing a signal somewhere then they are fulfilling their obligations. They would ask for an early termination fee to end the contract as per the T&C's signed up to when taking out the contract. 

A Sure Signal creates a 3G signal in the home which runs off Home Broadband Wifi as long as the Broadband is strong enough. So this should create a useable signal. 

There is also calling over wifi if on an eligible contract type and accepted handset type. 

Vodafone has a template you could use and paste your answers here for the Social Media Team here to look over. 

Link > Network-issues-initial-checks-and-template.

[63johnw]

Hi. You won't be able to cancel because of signal as it's a mobile network and Vodafone don't guarantee a signal everywhere, so as long as you can get a signal somewhere they have met their requirements.

The contract should not have gone up that much as part of the cost of living price rise, mine went up a few pence. The other thing to consider is did you have a discount applied that could have expired and you are now paying the full contract price?

[Wickedwooser]

I wasn't aware of any discount when I first took out this contract. I expected my bill to be the same price all the way through the contract, give or take a few pence here and there.

I can't believe that it's gone up by £13 - I simply can't afford this increase. I've no idea what I'm going to do about this?

[Anonymous]

If your standard monthly bill has increased from £25 to £38 that's not just an RPI increase, something else is going on (or has gone wrong) there.  Perhaps the VF team here on the eforum could assist with this part of the issue ?  Similarly you have every right to expect the Sure Signal to work, those units are after all designed and built to deal with this exact problem.

As regards the signal in and around your home, it's too late now I know but you should never ask the shops anything technical - they're not trained and they'll just tell you what they think you want to hear.

[Tash]

Hi @Wickedwooser, we'd like to take a closer look into this for you. 

So we can help with your account, I've sent you a private message with details on how to get in touch with our team directly.

For help with your Sure Signal, please follow our troubleshooting guide. If you're still experiencing issues after completing the steps, please post back with the following template and we'll be happy to help.

Our Network team will also be happy to look into your coverage through the following link previously provided by @BandOfBrothers.