Debt with Vodafone (nightmare)

[jameslustyyyy]

Hello,

So last year in October/November 2020 - I came to the end of my sim-only contract with Vodafone and wanted to cancel as I had found a better deal elsewhere and had taken out a new contract with this other supplier.    

When I phoned up Vodafone to cancel the women (who was nice) - but didn't seem to know what she was doing and was quite pressurising.   Anyway she told me I was not able to cancel and must re-contract and then I can cancel the new-contract in 15 days..... I insisted I am eligible to cancel as I checked all of this info prior to calling... anyway she insisted I must so I just let her carry on after 30 minutes of going round in circles.

I was on a new contract (which I did not want) - anyway I then call up before the 15th day to cancel - I was told I was not able to and must wait until the end of the contract - I explained what had happened on the phone and made him aware I was advised this is how I need to cancel by a CS Rep and to listen to the call - he got a Manager and by surprise the call had not been recorded - meaning there is no record.   I refused to pay further as I could not afford two contracts and obviously being forced into a new contract in the first place. And being told only way to cancel was to pay £220.00s early termination fee.(P.S All of the following has gone through the official Vodafone Complaints Portal too (which has got me nowhere only worse off)

Also never heard of a company only allowing me to pay a debt off over 6 months only at £134.38/month (which is ridculous - I pleaded twenty times for this to be spread over a longer and more affordable rate - was told it must go to a debt collectors if I want it over a longer period than 6 months to clear a £674 (and rising debt). (This is illegal and should not pressurise me to pay within 6 months at that rate - official advice from Citizen Advice and Ombudsman - see further below for their official response to me.)

I received a letter in December to say they would be moving the sim-only contract to Pay As You Go in a letter of apology - this still never happened by the 'switch' date.   I have now posted this publicly since receving a letter demanding me to Pay in 5 days the full balance or your taking it to the Debt Collectors Agency (CCSCollect) along with an extra £220.00 Early termination fee added,  a 15% fee added to the debt and finally a default registered with creditors.

(The following is from a recent email to Citizen Advice - as I have explained my situation to Vodafone far too much now).

Response from Citizens Advice (some info has been removed for security):

Thank you for contacting Citizens Advice enquiry team. Based on the contents of your enquiry form, it is our understanding that you would like advice concerning a mobile telephone contract account and debt. We would like to offer you the following advice:

1. You may wish to contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service helpline to discuss your case in more detail with an advisor. The contact telephone number for the Consumer Service is 0808 223 1133.
2. Your service provider shouldn’t try to get you to pay more than you can afford. If you have been affected by Coronavirus, e.g. by losing a job and experiencing a loss of income, you should be able to get help from most providers. When you approach your mobile telephone provider, it may be the case that they agree to reduce your bill or to give you more time to pay.
3. If you think the provider has acted unfairly towards you, for instance you feel unfairly pressured into buying a product or feel misled about the product/service you bought, it may be the case that you are entitled to a full or partial refund. Being unfairly pressured into buying a product or service is referred to as ‘aggressive selling’. If you think a seller might have been aggressive but you’re not sure if you’re entitled to a refund you could, in the first instance, contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service and explain what happened to them. They can be contacted on 0808 223 1133.
4. Similarly, if you think the provider has misled you into buying a product or service, for instance by giving you the wrong information about the product or service, whether or not this was by mistake, you may be entitled to a full or partial refund. Again, you may wish to contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service about this on 0808 223 1133.
5. If you are entitled to a refund or partial refund, you can choose to write or speak to the service provider and request either a full or partial refund. You should tell the provider how you were pressured or misled into buying the item or service and explain the behaviours of the salesperson. Please see our website for more information about what to write: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/changed-your-mind/if-you-were-misled-or-pressured-into-buying-som...
6. If you have already taken these steps, you may choose to make a formal complaint; the process for this can be found on our website at: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/Solve-an-ongoing-consumer-problem/. The first step of a formal complaint will be to find the service provider’s complaints procedure (which is usually found on their website) and to write or email to the seller with the details of your complaint. If you are not happy with this response, you can ask the service provider for a final response (sometimes referred to as a ‘letter of deadlock’) which will confirm that they haven’t been able to resolve your complaint. You can also check if the service provider belongs to a trade association who can be contacted in the event that the service provider did not follow the trade association rules.
7. It could be the case that you are able to raise a complaint to CISAS; you can find out more information about how to use an Ombudsman in England by visiting our website: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/how-to-use-an-ombudsman-in-england/
8. Please note however that if you have already used an alternative dispute resolution (ADR), the findings of this ADR will probably be taken into account at each stage of your complaint.
9. If the debt cannot be resolved, Coventry Citizens Advice has a debt advice service that you may wish to approach to discuss your debt concerns in more detail. The debt team can help you to identify and prioritise your debts, and to help you communicate with creditors. The debt advice team can be contacted on *********** or by email at  *****************.
10. If you are living with a low income, you may also be entitled to some benefits such as Universal Credit. Citizens Advice can assist you by helping you to complete a benefits calculation or by giving you further advice about the types of benefits that may be available to you. You can contact the Advice Line on 0800 144 8848 to discuss this with an advisor.

I have contacted Citizen and have arranged a date to visit in person at there centre to resolve this debt with Vodafone and/or take further legal action.

The only reason I have posted such a post on this forum is due to not getting anymore response from Vodafone when I try to contact via email (as this has been advised to document and for proof of evidence).

If a Vodafone Team Member here would like to see all correspondence from myself to Vodafone and vice versa (including Citizens Advice) please send me a PM.

I do not take this out on the staff but instead Vodafone's way of handling these situations especially during COVID-19 and after explaining several times to yourselves I have lost my job due to COVID and I am on highly reduced income due to now being in receipt of Universal Credit's - again you still want me to pay an extortion amount of money over a little period of time - and now adding extra fees on making the debt just slightly under £1000.00 - for a SIM only.  I'm also Clinically Extremely Vulnerable and shielding - and had my first vaccine.

Thank you,

James.

[BandOfBrothers · Accepted solution]

Hi @jameslustyyyy 

Your correct that you can cancel when ever you want.

Cancel-your-account. 

i.e if the contract was not at full term then an early termination fee would have been payable.

Or If at the end of the contract then your within your rights to cancel the contact via....

Giving 30 days notice.

Or to get around the 30 days notice get a Pac / Stac and move to a new Network on Payg.

There is no requirement to start a new contract / upgrade to end the it.

I think personally I would have ended the call and started a new call to speak with a different agent or used Live Chat and made sure I requested a Transcript of the chat before ending the chat and personally screen shot everything too.

Also Vodafone has a 14 day Cooling Off Period so a person needs to contact them before the 14 days criteria. 

After that a person is locked in.

Now not all calls are recorded but a person can request a Subject Access Request … gdpr-sars-form which may hold information.

A person can ask Vodafone to spread a debt over a longer period of time but the risk is that this is then reported on your Credit File as a negative marker which can then affect your Credit Rating  / score.

As account access isn't available via this forum and the Social Media Team's don't PM people from posts here, What I suggest to people is to speak with the Vodafone Social Media Team's via Facebook or Twitter Contact-us-for-account-specific-queries as they can access your account this way,  and if they can't intercede then raise a complaint. 

Vodafone then have a time frame to bring this to an amicable solution and if they can't then will issue a Deadlock Letter.

With this you can them engage with the Communications Ombudsman-services.org. 

They will then arbitrate on your behalf to bring this to a conclusion.

I wish you all the best with this. 

[jameslustyyyy]

Hello,

I appreciate your response however obviously I was originally at the end of my sim only contract and wanted to cancel got told the only way to cancel was to enter a new contract.

I have spoken to over 26 different people who all tell me different things!   In the letter of apology it said you will switch the sim to pay g and reduce the debt and allow me to pay over 12 months - this has obviously has not been done.

After numerous emails and phone calls back and forth with Vodafone over 5 months - I have got no where so you guys referred it to CEDR and told me to open a case to pay longer - never happened.

Anyway following the advice from Citizens and OMBUDSMAN - I will now be letting Citizen and OMBUDSMAN to speak on my behalf regarding this matter - CITIZEN and Ombudsman have stated I am not in the wrong (despite defaulting) -  Of course this is now a legal case and this post can be closed.

I do appreciate your input however - please I have been desputing this for a long time now - and get told different things each time from Vodafone - bare in mind this has happened (same scenario) to one family member and one friend - all of which have done the same as me and eventually won a year later against Vodafone after going to courts.

Thanks,

James

[jameslustyyyy]

Oh to add  - I also have over 250 screenshots in a dedicated album on my computer now for Vodafone lol - I think if i ever were to call I would probably look at recording it myself and make them aware.

[jameslustyyyy]

Thank you for responding anyway BandofBrothers - take care and stay safe! 😊

[BandOfBrothers]

You're very welcome @jameslustyyyy for my help.

I'm a Community Champion on the Vodafone Forum but I'm not a “ Staff Member ” 

[jameslustyyyy]

Hello,

Just found this letter in my draw.  Why was my account never switched to Pay as you Go as promised by Vodafone back in December 2020.

I have attached the letter but cropped my details I.e address etc.

thanks,

james

[Mark]

Hey @jameslustyyyy 👋 For security reasons, we're unable to discuss any account related issues via a public forum such as our Community. If you pop us a message trough one of our social channels, I'm sure one of our dedicated advisers will be more than happy to help get everything sorted for you.

[jameslustyyyy]

Honestly I’ve tried and had no luck with the CS team up to now I just get a standard message and demand me to pay a £321 every month for 6 months for a SIM card,  despite sending an apology letter and the letter attached stating moving me to Oay as you go.   This is why I’ve turned to the forums.

I have spoken to Citizens Advice who have made it clear that Vodafone cannot make me pay an unaffordable amount and to create an expenditure form. Which I’ve done myself and sent previously in the past,

I’ll try again however, thank you though for your help.

stay safe.

thanks.

james

[jameslustyyyy]

Also thank you for the advice regarding the Cancelling of Contract and a few other points too - your probably the most helpful staff member I have dealt with during this whole case period from the start.

Thank you BandofBrothers honestly   - If only you were multiplied across the contact centre the world would be probably a better place.