Ombudsman Decision Ignored

[kamtrv]

Please can someone tell me what to do ? In 2017 I was misold a data deal by a rogue Vodafone agent. It came with a free tablet and I was told I could turn the data only deal in to a mobile package with minutes and texts. I already had a mobile sim only deal due for contract expiry soon. The upgrade date was the next month. I was told if I took the data package it could 'upgraded' the next month.I suffered from poor mental health at the time. The person on the phone was based in sales Team from Manchester and is Called Akash. He was aware I had poor mental health and i even told him I had an app called Blackbox (or something!) Which ay the time recorded all my calls. He clearly didn't believe me and when I asked him to double check with his manager that the 'upgrade' was possible he did so in less than a minute (!) and I took out the deal. It was the second time this had happened with Vodafone and they should have known about my poor mental health. Anyway from Dec 17 I had a package with mobile data. I complained so many times but was driven insane by the call centre in Egypt who would make me go round in circles and totally break down my will to take the complaint forward. Eventually the complaint was refused by Vodafone who didn't even listen to the call at their end nor the calls I had been able to record on my app.

The Telecoms Ombudsman took a very different view. In Jan 19 they ordered Vodafone to refund my data package charges which had been taken by direct Debit for over a year by then( never used once)And gave me the right to cancel my order SIM only for my mobile. But this was never implemented. I was suffering from PTSD and was self harming and Vodafone were aware of this. I was charged for the data package (despite Ombudsman letter) well into 2020. I moved to Voxi (yes I am stupid stupid stupid) in September 2020 or so and as I missed my direct debits and mandate was cancelled. I was too broken inside to make an issue but then I found Ardent (debt collectors) got in touch to recover money. Lady who handled my case was lovely. At first she struggled to believe me but saw my letter from Ombudsman and emailed back saying they weren't chasing me. That the account would be closed.  But before the date it was due to be closed and after the lady had helped me Vodafone registered the debt with all the Credit Reference Agencies. I am now unable to remortgage. I suffer from PTSD and Depression. This post is not about my 'hard life'. I have done many things I regret in my 20s and 30s. But I am 50 years old and have been discriminated against due to mental health. I have been fobbed off and I do not owe Vodafone money. They owe me money. The Telecoms Ombudsman can not help me as Vodafone do not deal with them anymore and someone else does now.

I would like some help. Can someone from Vodafone at a very high level kindly intervene.

I would also like to keep my options in case this doesn't happen. I would like to take the matter to court. Firstly to resolve the matter in my favour. Does anyone know who to talk to ? But that's not a big deal for Vodafone. They sold me something I never used and will refund me a few hundred pounds. Its nothing to them.

So what I would like to do is get my refund and challenge the legal basis on which they shared my payment data with the CRAs and debt collectors. This is a breach of GDPR and affected my ability to remortgage. They didn't make adequate adjustment for my disability under the Equalities Act 2010 and shared my personal payment data using the principle of Legitimate Interest which is unlawful in my case. I believe this breaches GDPR and hope if my case is verified it will lead to a substantial fine. 

I have never written anything like this before. I am sorry it's so long. No idea if anyone will read it. I am a bit worried I may look like a fool and be ridiculed. But I am so tired of being treated as not even a person due to my mental health i just dont care anymore. If you can't help but just want wish me a bit of luck I would be grateful for the text. 

If your the call centre agent in Manchester called Akash who tricked me and if you feel bad and want to help put it right (or work with him) then yes I would be grateful. 

[BandOfBrothers]

Hello @kamtrv 

You've certainly had a torrid time with everything and my thoughts and well wishes go out to you.

If a person makes a complaint via > complaints <   against Vodafone UK and after 8 weeks Vodafone cannot bring about an amicable solution then they'll usually provide a Deadlock Letter so the person can then engage with the Communications Ombudsman  who'll then arbitrate on their behalf if they feel there is a case to be answered.

ombudsman-services.org/sectors/communications 

If a business ignores the findings of the Ombudsman then I'd suggest to re contact the Ombudsman and go through this with them.

A person who feels they are not upto progressing with this for any reason may have the option to nominate a trusted person to engage on their behalf @kamtrv 

In regards to non payment of a bill.

Vodafone UK typically make efforts to collect the payment in the first instance and if they can't then they can sell the debt to a Debt Collection Agency for them to then collect payment, and can without any prior notice place a Default on the person's Credit File. Which all affects a persons Credit Score negatively.

Vodafone are not required to give pre warning that they are adding a Default to the account holder.

That said a person can challenge this Default that lasts 6 years by contacting the Vodafone Social Media Team's as they have a dedicated Credit File Specialist Team who can investigate the Default to see if it was indeed warranted or not.

The Vodafone Social Media Team's can be contacted via Contact-us-for-account-specific-queries. 

There is no account access via this forum whatsoever.

I wish you all the best with this. 

[Tash]

Hi @kamtrv, thank you for sharing this with us and raising this on our Community. I'm very sorry to see that during a time extra support and care should've been given to you, this wasn't the case. I'd also like to apologise that the experience has left you feeling this way. We should always treat those who speak with us with respect, empathy and understanding during any circumstances they're facing. We're a telecommunications company and we should show we understand how important contact is between us as human beings, and how this should be done when things may be a struggle for our customers, in everything we do.

Please reach out to us on Facebook Messenger or Twitter DM through the link @BandOfBrothers has provided. From there, we can feed back your comments regarding the adviser you spoke with along with what happened and ensure this is investigated internally, view the Ombudsman's ruling on your account, and see what steps we can take regarding this and your credit file.

I understand you since have an account with VOXI - as this is similar to a subscription service rather than a contract, any missed payments would cause your plan to be opted out and would therefore have no further effect to your credit file. You can opt back in at any time through your online account. If you decide to do this, you can also reach out to VOXI's own customer service on social media and we can add what we call a 'vulnerability flag' to your account. This then ensures we offer you the support you need and you won't need to tell us when reaching out to us again afterwards. You can find more on our Vulnerability policy. I apologise if this option wasn't given to you from us in the past.

Rest assured, we'll work on a resolution with you to help with moving forward. When messaging us, please include your Community username along with a link to your post. This means you won't need to write your query out again and we can start from there. 
We're here to help if you ever need anything else at all and I wish you all the best with your health.