Are Vodafone Kidding? Vodafone One Number

[Cruelsco]

Just got the  iPhone 14 Pro 2 days ago through Vodafone. Credit check done, everything good.

Bought the new Apple Watch Series 8 Cellular from Apple store, been trying to set it up and get the dreaded "Top of the Mountain" issue. Cant seem to connect the watch to my plan at all.

I speak to someone in customer service, says that they can help me...my subscription would be £3.50 a month because I have an Xtra plan but them I'm told they need to do ANOTHER hard credit check to add £3.50 to my account on a rolling month to month basis?

Why am I needing do another hard credit check 2 days after doing one to add a subcription to my account?? Its like Netflix saying they need to do a hard credit check to use it...

What on earth is going on?!

No1. People shouldnt have to do credit checks when they are not applying for credit with Vodafone, I'm trying to add a rolling 30 day subscription to my plan that I already have.

No2. Why cant I get anything to work with the Vodafone app myself, why am I having to contact customer support to help with things that it says should work without the need for support?

Top of the mountain - go to your my vodafone app and remove a subscription - there is no devices subscribed on my account in the first place!

Its just terrible, it honestly makes me want to leave and ive been a loyal customer for 15+ years.

[Effie]

Hi @Cruelsco I hope you're well. I can certainly appreciate your concern with this. The one number connectivity plan is still classed as a contract even though it is supplied on a 30 day rolling basis which is why credit checks are done before you can be signed up to one. 

Your initial hard search would have resulted in a credit limit for your account. Now without seeing your account I can't say for sure but, your phone and airtime may have used up all or almost all of that limit and a new check was required in order to increase your credit limit in order to account for the new one number contract. 

If you would like everything to be looked into we can absolutely do that. You just need to pop the Social Media team a message here and they can securely access the account and take a look. If you want to dispute any of the searches done on your account, the team can contact the Credit File team on your behalf. 

[Cruelsco]

Hi Steph,

Can you explain to me how £3.50 paid prior to using a service is classed as credit? Vodafone is not providing me with any credit here.

Its very strange to me considering what you are describing is exactly the same as almost any subscription service.

When you sign up to netflix, disney +, youtube premium, amazon prime you still have a contract there, but you are not required to do a credit check for any of those. Vodafone One Number operates in the exact same way?

"almost all of that limit and a new check was required in order to increase your credit limit in order to account for the new one number contract." - This is not what I was told, I was told every single person that signs up for One Number needs to do a credit check because its "adding a new connection" to your account and was based around security.

Why are customers not allowed to pay this upfront? Why is there no option to pay for a year in advance, requesting customers to do a hard credit check for the sake of £3.50 a month when they are getting no credit is absolutely ridiculous, I'm sure if you asked anyone they would agree with that.

[garyjwatts]

I’m glad it’s not just me then. Spent most of yesterday trying to get this sorted. I also have a 14 Pro and an Unlimited Max + 4 Benefits plan bought from Vodafone and a Watch Series 8 bought from an Apple Store. Took an age to get OneNumber added to my account, but it simply doesn’t work. I simply cannot get my watch activated with the new subscription. I’ve been working in IT since 1985, so I’m no tech luddite. Come on Vodafone - it’s got to be easier than this. I’ve been a customer since 1989, but this has really knocked my confidence in you.

[Gemma]

@garyjwatts - I'm sorry to hear the issues you're having with getting your OneNumber connected. My team can check why it's not working. Please get in touch with us through Social Media. 

[garyjwatts]

I've had 5 online chat sessions with various people now and have had confirmation e-mails through to say that it should all be working and that I don't have to do anything else for the eSIM to be activated, yet still "No SIM, No Connection".  This simply does not work and I'm still going round in circles.  Can somebody please confirm that an Apple Watch 8 Ultra is compatible with OneNumber, as it would appear not to be.

[jayheartdoc]

Same issue here. Have spent hours and hours on the phone/online chat/messenger and no solution for over 3 months. Clearly doesn’t work and nobody at CS has technical knowledge. 

[garyjwatts]

I plan to visit my local store in the next day or two, so that somebody there can go through the process and see if they can get it to work.  If not then I will cancel my subscription to OneNumber, which I only took out last weekend.  I do not expect to have to give them 30 days notice.  Hopes aren't high!

[Mark]

I can understand your frustration @garyjwatts and this isn't the kind of experience we want any of our customers have when reaching out to us. Our One Number plans are designed to be used with wearable products such as your Apple Watch 8. We'll be more than happy to check everything's bee n set up correctly at our end for you, as we're unable to take your account details via our Community, please pop us a message via one of our social channels and we'll be able to help.
If you're also experiencing difficulty connecting your watch @jayheartdoc, pop us a message via the above link and we'll take a look into your issues too.

[jayheartdoc]

For reference I’ve tried all this and nobody has been able to help. Good luck!