Error in calculating my early termination fee

[sayhey]

I'm posting this because if there is an error with mine, there could be an error with other peoples early termination charge and I'd rather people weren't overcharged.

Basically. I pay £11.44 per month. My contract ends in August, so the most I'd pay is £57.20 (the sum of £11.44 for April, £11.44 for May, £11.44 for June, £11.44 for July & £11.44 for August) and that's not including the %2 discount for early termination.

However, Vodafone's website and online chat are now quoting more than double - £133.14.

It was showing as £47 an 28th April, which would have been correct, taking everything into account.

I contacted 2 people via online chat about it. The first person stated their systems are always correct and that it was high because Vodafone charge a higher fee to leave early (I know this is wrong). The second initially suggested that it was because I get a £5 discount on my monthly fee, I pointed out this was incorrect and they checked and agreed with me. They then stated that they didn't know why the system was calculating the incorrect fee and that I should wait until my next billing date towards the end of this month to see if it is fixed then. Apparently, the computer may need to settle down a bit after the recent CPI increases (lol).

I provided both operatives with the link to Vodafone's help page on calculating the early termination fee: https://support.vodafone.co.uk/Joining-leaving/Leaving-Vodafone/1599447442/How-s-my-early-terminatio...

I still don't know what the correct fee should be, I wasn't planning on leaving unless I found a better deal but now I'm not sure I trust Vodafone's billing systems so will probably find something else.

[AnnS]

When you spoke to Vodafone @sayhey they would have quoted you the charges that come up on the screen.

As far as discounts are concerned they don't apply to termination charges and there is no discount for terminating early, you terminate at the full price of the contract pre discount.

Try texting INFO to 85075, this will give the termination charges.  Termination charges change daily and as line rental is paid in advance you would have already paid for the final month.

[sayhey]

@AnnSI appreciate that they quote the figure on the screen. Still doesn't explain why Vodafone are calculating that fee incorrectly. Texting Info to the shortcode also gives the incorrect fee.

The monthly cost of my bill is £16.44, as I get a £5 discount so even when taking that into account the most it would be is £82.20.

I also disagree that Vodafone don't take into account discounts or give a 2% discount for terminating early. According to Vodafone's own help page on it (https://support.vodafone.co.uk/Joining-leaving/Leaving-Vodafone/1599447442/How-s-my-early-terminatio...)...

Mobile account

If you ended your agreement before 24 February 2021:

1. We add together all outstanding monthly charges for the remainder of your contract, taking into account any discounts you might receive.
2. We then take off VAT at the current rate.
3. To get the final fee, we also take off 2% for early receipt of payment (as we’ll receive it in one lump sum, instead of staggered over the remaining months on your contract). This doesn't apply to business customers.

For example:

Your plan costs £45 a month, and you receive a £10 monthly discount. This means you pay £35 a month in total.

You have 6 months left until your plan ends, and you want to leave.

• To work out your outstanding charges for these remaining 6 months, we multiply what you pay each month (£35) by 6 = £210 
• We then subtract VAT (20%) from that £210 = £168
• Finally, we take 2% from that £168 to get your final ETF = £164.64

If you end your agreement on or after 24 February 2021:

We'll calculate your ETF in mostly the same way – the only difference is we won't take off VAT at the current rate, due to a HMRC change.

For example:

Your plan costs £45 a month, and you receive a £10 monthly discount. This means you pay £35 a month in total.

You have 6 months left until your plan ends, and you want to leave.

• To work out your outstanding charges for these remaining 6 months, we multiply what you pay each month (£35) by 6 = £210
• Then we take 2% from that £210 to get your final ETF = £205.80

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The bold italics are mine to highlight the relevant parts.

[AnnS]

It looks like this has changed @sayhey , the last information I was aware of was as mentioned. 

The thread should be picked up by the Team, for account access send the Social Team a message through social channels as mentioned on the forum on this link : Contact Us 

[Gemma]

@sayhey - thanks for the detail on what you have been advised and to @AnnS for raising this to us. The information you have found on our Early Termination Fees is right. My team in Social Media, can't actually process the cancellation of your agreement, although we can check the fee for you and look into any questions you may have surrounding it. Please reach out to us on Social Media and so you don't need to explain it all again, you could include a line to this thread. 

[sayhey · Accepted solution]

 Just a quick update. The Early Termination charge quoted by the system was indeed incorrect. The Social Media team couldn't help me out in the end and I had to escalate it to a complaint.

I have to say that it was dealt with swiftly at that point and a full explination given as to what had happened by Vodafone. Turns out it was down to a Sim swap resulting in the system giving a much higher figure than it should. I believe it to be an isolated incident. Thanks for everyones help and input here.

[Thomas_H]

Thanks for sharing your experience @sayhey It's good to see the update end to end.