Damaging default on credit report!

[Fsn-x]

Hello, I initially complained back in 2020 however my complaint didn’t get resolved I then called again a few day ago and Vodafone refused to come up with any resolution to my issue. The complaint is as follows - I called up Vodafone around October / November time 2019 and advised them I would be leaving the county to move temporarily to Australia so I would like to pay the my last bill and a termination fee as I only had around 2 months left of my contract. This would agreed upon by Vodafone my last bill would include my final bill plus the termination fee this would agreed when on a telephone call to them. I waited for the final payment to come out and then cancelled my direct debit based on the understanding this was my final bill and I have issues with Vodafone before where they have overcharged etc so did t want to risk payments rolling over after my contract had officially ended. I had no correspondence from Vodafone whatsoever, no termination letter, no follow up letter to confirm what was agreed upon on the phone which I found concerning. Whilst in Australia around May 2020 I then got a letter from a debt collection agency stating that the debt has been passed on from Vodafone and I had a certain amount of time to pay for the remainder balance which was outstanding, I had no idea there was any outstanding amount and whether it was a miscommunication or complete error on their part I some how owed another amount. As soon as I found this out I paid straight away to the debt collection agency thinking the issue would be resolved. However to my complete horror and shock I went on to clear score to check my credit rating and i received a default because of this and the score had gone down significantly as much as 130 points which sent my credit rating to such a low mark I’m unable to get a credit card, mortgage etc it could even potentially effect future careers when they do a credit check on myself. The main issue is me and my partner are wanting to get a mortgage but won’t be able to because of this. I believe it is extremely unfair putting a default on my score as Vodafone failed to send any correspondence whatsoever about our initial conversation confirming the final charges and didn’t even send any warning to advise of a missed payment which I would of paid straight away if I knew. Just passed it straight to a debt collection agency with no warning and no chance to rectify the issue. This default they think is acceptable to apply has been extremely detrimental to my plans to buy a house and also on my mental health it has made me extremely anxious and is making me feel very depressed as a result of what Vodafone have done to my credit score. I called them this morning and they are not willing to help at all which is making me feel completely hopeless

[BandOfBrothers]

I understand how damaging a default can be from my own personal experience when I was younger @Fsn-x so I appreciate what your saying.

Vodafone can without prior notice add a default that lasts 6 years and engage a debt collection agency.

However they need to be able to demonstrate they have made reasonable effort to collect payment and give correct advice.

I would suggest to anyone not to cancel the Direct Debit until a Sorry your Leaving letter has arrived.

I understand you didn't get this and you didn't have faith that Vodafone wouldn't stop taking payments.

I would suggest to engage with the Vodafone Social Media Team's via Twitter or Facebook as they have their own specialist Credit File Team who can look at your case to see if the default was warranted or not.

They can't do this from.your post here as account access isn't available.

Contact-us-for-account-specific-queries. 

I wish you all the best with this. 

[Anonymous]

Hi @Fsn-x I appreciate how concerning this must be for you. I'd recommend reaching out to our Social Media team here. They'll be bale to investigate your account and liaise with our Credit File team to see what can be done in this instance.