Customer (lack of) service

[Bootneck68]

To anyone thinking of getting a contract with Vodafone - DON'T. I have never been treated with such disdain and contempt by a company that is happy to take your money each month, but hates it's customers. After 10+ hours of trying to obtain a refund for an upfront payment for an upgrade phone that Vodafone lost (a combination of on-line and phone) to the (no) customer service department, it ended up with me being effectively blackmailed by them saying they wouldn't process my refund (which they had acknowledged I was entitled to) because I had raised a complaint. This is when I lost my sh*t. They seem to deliberately transfer you between departments, I have been cut off four times (rude) as a tactic to make you give up on chasing a refund. Don't, don't, don't, don't get a phone contract with this comapny please.

[Effie]

Hey @Bootneck68 I hope you are well. I am genuinely sorry to hear that you've been left feeling this way and that it wasn't explained to you why the refund will have to wait. 

If you have a complaint that has been raised to the Customer Relations team, any actions on your account need to be carried out by them as they are the highest point of escalation for customer complaints. This is so they can fully investigate exactly what has happened, the length of time this has been going on for and the severity of the impact to you. They will then process any refunds, apply any fair and reasonable compensation/ goodwill and take any necessary actions on your account. The team will need to make sure there is a record and evidence that the phone was lost and that you never received it before they issue the refund. There is no blackmail, coercion or accountability avoidance here. Having the Customer Relations team take over the case means that you will be assigned a case handler who will take full ownership of this and make sure every action that needs taking on the account is carried out. They can then feedback any errors, misadvice, poor customer journey etc so that systems and processes can be improved. 

If you are not sure if your case is with the Customer Relations team and you would like us to check and confirm this, please reach out to the Social Media Team here. 

[Bootneck68]

It's not how I 'feel' it's how I have been treated. I have been assured the refund three times, every time it doesn't appear and I chase it, the process policy and / or the timescale changes. I have to explain myself from scratch every time I speak to someone new even though the details are meant to be on file. The customer service is appalling, and the amount of times I have tried to contact the refund team, I am not convinced they actually exist! I have a screenshot of the conversation with your representative, it looked damn close to coercion or punishment to me, how dare you be a naughty boy and complain, we'll delay or cancel your refund again. Why do you hate your customers?

[Effie]

As I have no access to your account via this channel I can't comment on what has and hasn't taken place on your account. All I can advise is that if you have raised a complaint and this has been escalated to the Customer Relations team, your case handler will take ownership of this and ensure that a thorough investigation is done and you will get any refund owed to you. The Social Media Team can look into your complaint for you and see where it is currently sat and either help to resolve it or escalate it to the Customer Relations Team so please do reach out to them so we can get this all sorted for you. 

[clockie]

Hi,Bootneck Check if you are being discriminated against on grounds of age or race. They may be acting illegally if so. Check on line how to action this.  Good luck.  My guess is that a small group of staff are having a laugh at users expense.

[Bootneck68]

Unfortunately due to my experience with Vodafone so far, I have no confidence that this matter will get resolved in a satisfactory manner, everyone constantly hides behind policy and procedure, apologises, promises to resolve it, and nothing happens. I am out of pocket having paid the upfront fee and delivery twice, the refund shouldn't even need 'investigation' you have my money, and are delaying refunding it back to me. It is very frustrating and the upgrade experience has been dreadful from start to finish. Lost phones, delivery to the wrong address twice, and still no money back after nearly three weeks! I appreciate you are just rolling out the company line, but the customer service from Vodafone is truly terrible.

[Effie]

You have had an awful experience @Bootneck68 and I am genuinely sorry for that. I do want this all to be resolved for you as you shouldn't be left feeling the way you do and we need to put this right. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do via this channel to help. If you do want this to be looked into and escalated, please do reach out to the Social Media Team and they will be able to make sure your complaint is being handled and that you get the refunds owed to you.