I had been a Vodafone broadband customer since April 2017 and my last contract expired in 2021.
Vodafone continued to provide me broadband and I continued to pay monthly until April 2023 when I had noticed an increase in cost that I was not made aware of. With the current cost of living crisis I think most of us are being more careful with our money.
I have never had any communication from Vodafone since my last letter in April 2020.
I cancelled the direct debit and a few weeks later Vodafone cut off my broadband, so I left it at that.
In January 2024 I received a letter from a debt collecting agency informing me that I owed £243.00 In missed payments. When I called them and explained that I cancelled it due to not being notified within 10 days of the increase in my direct debit the advisor agreed that Vodafone should have notified me. I also stated the fact that I had received no communication from Vodafone since 2020. The advisor said she would contact Vodafone regarding this.
Worried that this would impact my credit score I set up an account with Experian at the cost of £15.00 per month and my once excellent credit score was now showing as very poor.
A week or so later I had a second letter from the debt collecting agency and made contact and was told that Vodafone requested that I now deal with them directly rather than through the debt collecting agency.
I made contact with the customer care team and explained the history and that I was never aware of the situation of my account and that I was still being charged for a service I was not being provided. The advisor put me on hold various times and then told me that the account would be credited for the £243.00. I raised concern over my credit file being effected and she put me on hold again and then said that the Credit File Support Team would update my file to reflect the balance being cleared. She said she would call me in a weeks time with an update, however I never heard from her again.
When I checked my credit file again after a couple of weeks the file had been updated but updated with a default. I'm certain that an account only defaults if the money is still owed and that if it has been paid, credited or written off, it gets marked as 'satisfied'
I now contacted Vodafone through Facebook Messenger regarding this issue and I was told that I broke the terms and conditions by cancelling the direct debit. I accepted this, but explained my reasons and how I also believed that Vodafone had not only a duty of care but also a legal responsibility to have let me know that I was still being charged for a service i was not being provided and that the account was going into arrears. I kept getting the same generic replies from various advisors and was then being asked what I would like as a resolution of which my reply was that I was not looking for financial gain but that had Vodafone informed me of the situation of my account at the time I would have had a chance to rectify it (which I certainly would have as I have always had an excellent credit score)
The same generic responses kept coming until one of the advisors told me that three letters were sent to me in 2023. I fail to believe this for two reasons -
1) why was I not told this at the beginning
2) I never received any letters
My case was now escalated as an official complaint and I was contacted by a Business Complaints Manager who stood firm on the story that I had been sent three letters and that I should take it up with Royal Mail as to why I did not receive them.
We didn't come to a resolution and it is now in deadlock. I asked if he would confirm that Vodafone had credited the £243.00 and he said he would add this to the deadlock email he would be sending.
I received the deadlock email the same day with no mention of the credited amount although when I replied and pointed this out he did then confirm this.
The deadlock email also said that if I wanted to "accept our final offer" then I needed to call 08080 045 200 using the unique reference number provided on the email.
I was never offered a 'final offer' and the six digit unique code is not valid when I call the number provided.
This whole incident is costing me financially and having a huge impact on my mental wellbeing.
I find it shocking that a company such as Vodafone can treat its customers this way and tell what appears to be blatant lies.
Chris
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