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Has anyone had a default removed by Vodafone?

reginapa
2: Seeker
2: Seeker

Hi all, 

Just wondering if anyone managed to have a default removed form their account? I was with Vodafone for 3+ years and decided to switch in Feb 2020, as far as I was aware everything was cleared and there was nothing left to do. This was the first mobile service I had been with so I wasn't sure of best practise or what to have waited for etc. 

 

I tried to take out a mortgage and had it rejected due to a default on my account from Vodafone. I have not received a call, text, email or letter from Vodafone since closing my account. I spoke to Vodafone and apparently i owed £11 (first I have heard of this) and now a £5 late fee, so £16 in total. I don't have an issue with paying this balance and I have never missed a payment with Vodafone before. I've tried my best to show them that i never received this (screenshots of texts, email inbox). I'm really at a loss here at what to do, I'm happy to pay the balance, but I really want the default removed. It has been a year now and to this day i have not received anything. I don't know where the disconnect is, i just want to pay the bill and have the default removed, it is such a small amount that is going to mess up my whole credit. 

 

 

4 REPLIES 4

BandOfBrothers
17: Community Champion
17: Community Champion

Vodafone should remove a default if it was investigated and found to not be warranted @reginapa 

Please speak with the Vodafone Social Media Team's via Contact-us-for-account-specific-queries as no account access is available via here.

They'll pass this onto their specialist Credit File Specialist Team to look at.

I know how damaging a default can be from my own personal experience so I wish you all the best with this. 

Current Phone  >

Samsung Galaxy s²³ Ultra 512gb Phantom Black.

 

 

Thank you 

 

I contacted the facebook team and they have said they won't do anything, even though i have offered to pay the balance. They can't even show me the emails or text that were sent. I just don't understand how i never recieved any of this. I've even sent them screenshots of my email and text history from Vodafone, but they keep saying there is nothing they can do. 

 

donnyguy
16: Advanced member
16: Advanced member

Then I would suggest raising a complaint and having the matter investigated.

Vodafone changed billing systems a few years ago and lots of people had issues. It was widely publicised at the time, there was a lot of traffic on the forum and it was subsequently fixed. 

However there are still posts like yours where credit reports are impacted after leaving Vodafone, the pattern seems to be:

- Accounts not being closed correctly so keep reporting to credit scores long after you've left (assuming the final bill has been paid, it just adds a 'paid' marker each month so no issue)

But the more serious scenario seems to be, and no-one has ever articulated what's going on is:

- The large number of people who seem to have outstanding final bills with Vodafone yet don't seem to be aware until either they see it on their credit file or external debt recovery companies get involved.

 

The way to avoid this seems to be ensuring you just leave your direct debit in place for a few months after you leave so if any monies are due, they're taken. 

Now it seems from your post, you have no issue with monies being owed. You just were not made aware.

In order to comply with the direct debit guarantee scheme, Vodafone need to:

- Bill you

- Give you the appropriate time to highlight errors

- Take the money

 

That's the basics and seems to work for most people. However when someone doesn't pay (e.g. a final bill after porting out, cancelling DD's etc) then Vodafone need to ensure they're alerting people. If you've been locked out of an online account then a final bill should be sent. If a final bill isn't paid then a reminder needs to be sent. This is the but that seems to be lacking. In order for defaults to be warranted, the company needs to uphold their part of the deal as well.

I wish you good luck with this.

BandOfBrothers
17: Community Champion
17: Community Champion

@reginapa 

 

May I assume the Social Media Team's have had their Credit File Specialist Team investigate your request  ?

“ I contacted the facebook team and they have said they won't do anything ” 

What reasons did they give for not being able to remove the default  ?

“ even though i have offered to pay the balance

Paying off the remaining balance is a positive move as this should them change the status of the default from Outstanding to Settled.

But this won't unfortunately lead to having the default removed if warranted.

Current Phone  >

Samsung Galaxy s²³ Ultra 512gb Phantom Black.