Baffled by Vodafones Credit Checks, only seem to pass if you renew via Vodafone.

[gb22]

I'm completely baffled by how Vodafone are conducting their credit checks. 

My parents have been customers for a couple of years, with both lines registered under my Mothers name. They both have an impeccable, unblemished credit rating. I dont just mean the meaningless Experian score, but actually going by their credit report, the ludicrous levels of unsecured credit they are offered by CC's  (which they dont take), etc. If that isnt enough evidence, Vodafone themselves were prepared to offer my mother 2 x 16GB Red plans under her name. 

However they went via a reputable third party instead as they had a better deal and Vodafone wouldnt even get close to matching it. Porting their numbers out to Paygo on another network to keep for the future.

So imagine our surpise when Vodafone declined my father and mothers credit check. The people they were preapred to offer significantly more expensive plans direct were suddenly  not trusted because they went through a third party.

The cynic in me wonders if it's deliberate to disuade existing customers going via third parties.

Anyone have any clue what one can do in these circumstances as the process seems pretty opaque with Vodafone.

[gb22]

As per the title I'm completely baffled by how Vodafone are conducting their credit checks. 

My parents have been customers for a couple of years, with both lines registered under my Mothers name. They both have an impeccable, unblemished credit rating. I dont just mean the meaningless Experian score, but actually going by their credit report, the ludicrous levels of unsecured credit they are offered by CC's  (which they dont take), etc. If that isnt enough evidence, Vodafone themselves were prepared to offer my mother 2 x 16GB Red plans under her name. 

However they went with mobiles.co.uk instead as they had a better deal and Vodafone wouldnt even get close to matching it. Porting their numbers out to Paygo on another network to keep for the future.

So imagine our surpise when Vodafone declined my father and mothers credt check. The people they were preapred to offer significantly more expensive plans direct were suddenly  not trusted because they went through a third party.

The cynic in me wonders if it's deliberate to disuade existing customers going via third parties.

Anyone have any clue what one can do in these circumstances as the process seems pretty opaque with Vodafone.

[gb22]

As per the title I'm completely baffled by how Vodafone are conducting their credit checks. 

My parents have been customers for a couple of years, with both lines registered under my Mothers name. They both have an impeccable, unblemished credit rating. I dont just mean the meaningless Experian score, but actually going by their credit report, the ludicrous levels of unsecured credit they are offered by CC's  (which they dont take), etc. If that isnt enough evidence, Vodafone themselves were prepared to offer my mother 2 x 16GB Red plans under her name. 

However they went with mobiles.co.uk instead as they had a better deal and Vodafone wouldnt even get close to matching it. Porting their numbers out to Paygo on another network to keep for the future.

So imagine our surpise when Vodafone declined my father and mothers credt check. The people they were preapred to offer significantly more expensive plans direct were suddenly  not trusted because they went through a third party.

The cynic in me wonders if it's deliberate to disuade existing customers going via third parties.

Anyone have any clue what one can do in these circumstances as the process seems pretty opaque with Vodafone.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi,

Some information on Vodafone Credit Checking Here.

It's my understanding that if a person is a current customer of Vodafone then as long as the account has been conducted without incident then a Credit Check isn't usually undertaken when going Directly with Vodafone. 

However the difference here maybe that as they are going through the independent then even though a good Credit Score is evident that does not guarantee acceptance. It could be beneficial just to see that a Credit Check has been actually undertaken as I've seen from past threads that the independent hasn't actually undertaken one at all. 

I can't see why Vodafone would deal with this differently at all because wether a contract is opened directly or indirectly they still earn revenue.

Just to advise its suggested to leave at least 90 days between applications to allow the Credit File / Credit Score to recover. 

[gb22]

Thanks for the response, I'll purchase the latest credit report to confirm a credit check has been performaed and more importantly not nasty's have been left on the report. However, the third party is reputable (I tried to post the name, but the thread gets deleted, I presume the forum treats it as spam). I'm sure you can guess who it is, as there's only one major broker left (in its various guises).

I am quite bemused how they are failing credit check. Particularly as Vodafone were happy to give my mum two lines a couple of years ago (nothings changed in their circumstances since) and now even one line is too much. Yet as I said they were happy to give her two lines at a significantly greater monthly cost, without any issue. Whilst I take your point they may not have been conducting a credit check in that case, it's limiting competition and restricting the consumer.

WRT Vodafones incentive, whilst they would receive revenue, they would receive significantly more revenue if my parents went direct. The net contract cost over the term is 50% less then going direct.

I have a sneaking suspicion if they applied direct they would be accepted without a problem, even if they picked the most expensive contract Vodafone offer.

[BandOfBrothers]

You're Welcome. 

The forums filters wouldn't remove  / withhold posts with mention of independents within it. 

We discuss various outlets such as Carphone Warehouse for example quite frequently when it's relevant to the subject matter. 

Any direct links maybe removed however. 

I wouldn't think Vodafone or an independent would be able to discuss why a person is declined due to Data Protection Rules. 

I hope a resolution is found for your parents one way or another. 

[gb22]

It was CPW, but in one of their online guises as such i'd put the website name in the thread. Twice the thread was removed, only once I removed the website name did it stay live. So I'm certain that was the reason. It was however annoying this forum didnt bother to tell me the thread had been removed let alone why. If I hadn't refreshed the forum page I would have never known and likely presumed nobody had replied (as the thread still appeared in my user control panel).

WRT data protection I'm always a little bemused that its an issue when discussing a decision, but not when conducting a credit check. Surely Vodafone have to be confident its me prior to conducting a credit check? Yet after the fact Vodafone are not sure its me? Or are they protecting my own data from myself

I doubt it will be sorted. Perhaps its a sign to move on from Vodafone, they have made some dire mistakes in the past (including breaches of data protection). However, their saving grace is good reception in the key areas we use our phones 😕 If it can be avoided one prefers not to have to experiment with other networks.

[Tash]

@gb22 I'm sorry to hear you feel this way. A credit check can be affected by a number of factors. 

As mentioned by @BandOfBrothers, your parents are able to reapply once 90 days have passed.

[gb22]

Thank you for your reply Natasha, it's pompted me to update this thread. Whilst it probabaly won't assist us it may help others scratching their head in a similar position.

I have pulled both their credit files. There is NO search, soft or hard, on either file. Not from the third party or from you.

Armed with this information we contacted the third party. They supplied the Vodafone account details and credit check reference they received from you. Using that we contacted you. Unfortuantely it was a colossal waste of time.

We spoke to someone in your credit check department who could only tell us "computer says" credit check failed, despite no check having been conducted. Atleast she took on board the facts and could see there was clearly something wrong on your end. She transfered us to customer services and advised we ask them to raise it to customer relations who should be able to dig deeper.

The customer services agent tried her best to liase with whichever department is supposed to deal with such issues, acting as intermediary as they didn't have the decency to speak to us. Instead the poor customer services agent had to sheepishly return and relay the absolute non-sensical answers/lies she was given by whoever she had been speaking to.

THREE times she attempted to explain to them the customers had pulled their credit files and could clearly see no credit check was performed. THREE times they ignored that fundimental fact and provided responses such as check your credit file, speak to Experian, credit check failed due to ......... Eventually we both gave up and she escalated on our behalf. Lets see if we receive a call in 24 hours, would be the first time. We've also emailed your CEO as this has been a colossal and unecessary waste of our time.

[gb22]

Further update. Unfortunately 24 hours have passed and no call back received. Wish I could say I was surprised Accross 4 family members and over a few years we've been promised many call backs within 24 hours, yet to receive one.