Vodafone defaults

[PD12]

There’s an obvious trend of Vodafone adding defaults to people’s accounts that they aren’t aware of, for small amounts, 1-2 missed payments. I have a friend who is about to be made homeless because she cannot pass a credit check for rentals or a mortgage due to a default added by Vodafone in 2018. She cancelled her direct debit when her phone broke and called to cancel the contract, not realising 9 months of a previous contract had been tagged on the end but Vodafone didn’t set the direct debit back up. 2 payments were missed as a result and she cleared it as soon as she became aware, had never missed a payment before or since. This is affecting her life so seriously but Vodafone won’t help to remove it at all. I am considering approaching all the people who have had a similar experience and exposing Vodafone for the unethical practices I have read about so often. It’s absolutely shameful that a person can be homeless because of a mobile phone company. And they have clearly demonstrated they don’t care. 

[BandOfBrothers]

Hello @PD12 

I appreciate how damaging a default can be from my own personal experience when I was younger.

I am aware that some mortgage lenders will consider an application even with a default on a person's Credit File but your friend would have to shop around.

What we see sometimes is that a person cancels their Direct Debit down leaving Vodafone no option of collecting payment such as what your friend decided to do.

“ She cancelled her direct debit when her phone broke and called to cancel the contract “

I wouldn't recommend a person to cancel their Direct Debit because of a phone issue because even if the phone has stopped working for whatever reason if the account holder is still in contract then they have to continue paying, and ask Vodafone to effect a repair if covered under the 2 year manufacturing warranty or replace the phone with a new one or possibly 2nd hand one in order to continue using the sim card if the phone is out if warranty or the damage isn't covered under the warranty.

If a person contacts Vodafone to end their contract while still within their contractual period then Vodafone can add an Early Termination Fee to wind up the contract.

This should have been explained to your friend when she called to end her contract.

Once that has been paid and any other payments have been made then Vodafone themselves cancel the Direct Debit.

If a person is out of contract at the time of ending the contract then Vodafone would collect any outstanding payments and send a Sorry your leaving letter and a £0 bill after the final monies have been taken.

Your friend would have needed to re instate the Direct Debit with Vodafone as Vodafone can't just re set up the direct debit themselves.

Then it's her responsibility to ensure that happened successfully by checking their Bank Account and current set up Direct Debits.

If payments are subsequently missed and Vodafone feel they've tried to collect payments without success then they can instigate selling the debt to a collection agency and add a default on a person's Credit File that lasts 6 years without the requirement to prior warning the account holder. They have a Duty of Care to record such instances on a Credit File.

However that said Vodafone like other networks can make mistakes.

Ask your friend as sheuis the account holder to make contact with 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 warranted or not.

Social Media Team Link.  

I wish her all the best with this. 

[PD12]

As I mentioned, she did contact Vodafone 2 days after she cancelled the direct debit and although she could have paid an early termination fee and cancelled the contract there and then she wasn’t given that option despite clearly stating she wanted to end the contract. She was told she had to continue to the end of the contract 4 months later which she agreed to, however was not given any option to set the direct debit back up. I’ve spoken to the credit team and they won’t help. Too much emphasis was placed on the account holder knowing the internal workings of Vodafone’s processes. There no evidence that it was explained to her how she could set up a direct debit herself. Or that she was aware a 24 month contract would become a 33 month contract either, even after paying an early termination fee which surely defeats the point. Why would you pay an early termination fee to effectively continue to be tied into the entire term of 2 contracts? That doesn’t sound right. 

[BandOfBrothers]

A person can end their Vodafone contract at any point by paying the Early Termination Fee if they are still in contract. That's the point of this fee if a person is past their initial cooling off period.

A person isn't required to complete the contractual term if they pay this fee, however depending on how long they are into this term it can work out expensive.

Obviously we are not privy to what was or was not explained in the telephone conversation.

The Vodafone Team's won't discuss this with anyone apart from the account holder.

She is going to need to pursue this matter to try and get a conclusion.

She can make a complaint via complaints and if Vodafone can't reach a satisfactory resolution they'll issue a Deadlock Letter so your friend can see if the Communications Ombudsman can take this up and arbitrate on her behalf.

Do ask her to contact the Vodafone Social Media Team's via the link I added to see if they can help.

Unfortunately there is no account access via this forum.

She can request a copy of account details to see if anything was recorded in her account notes.

gdpr-sars-form. 

[PD12]

If she paid an early termination fee then why was she tied into a contract for an additional 9 months? Is this clearly explained in the terms and conditions? Because that would completely defeat the point of paying the fee. Most credit consumers are covered by the consumer credit act, but not mobile phone contract holders, giving account holders no protection from unethical practices like slapping on defaults prior to the standard 3-6 missed payments, without having to notify them. What are Vodafone gaining by refusing to remove a default added because of what appears to be some very shady practices, and is it worth someone losing their home over. You say you have experienced a default on your account, have you also experienced homelessness? I wonder what the media would feel about the issues they are facing. 

[BandOfBrothers]

@PD12 

“ If she paid an early termination fee then why was she tied into a contract for an additional 9 months? Is this clearly explained in the terms and conditions? ”

Did she definitely pay an Early Termination Fee ? 

She can ask her bank to provide a bank account statement to show the increased payment to Vodafone UK and show that to Vodafone via the complaints route.

If she had paid an ETF then she wouldn't have been locked into a further 9 months of the contract.

Paying the fee releases the person from the contract.

cancel-your-account and ETF. 

She can check the Terms and Conditions here. 

Vodafone are duty bound to record instances of poor account ownership so that any other bodies conducting a search can see this and make an informed decision when deciding to lend or not.

As I said Vodafone do make mistakes and if found to have done so will resolve this.

I experienced quite a bit of hardship when I had defaults on my Credit File which were warranted.

I wasn't as astute in my younger years. I became a Dad at 19 so finding a home to be in with my partner and first child wasn't an easy feat,  and we ended up staying at our respective parents houses until we searched for a landlord prepared to eventually take us on.

As I said some mortgage lenders will consider people with defaults.

I get that your frustrated for your friend and I respect that. 

We are here in our own personal time to try and lend an ear, guide and assist.

I'm sure you understand that.  

[fsa302528]

Hi, 

I would really like to talk to you about your post. I am in a similar situation. Please message me.

Thanks,