Worst Customer Service Ever

[kudos72]

Tried to leave Vodafone today listing a laundry list of issues one of which was that last renewal I was promised a £50 goodwill credit that never materialised.

I spoke to Torrie on the retentions team she acknowledged that the credit was promised and not honoured, however she would only promise to honour it if I agreed to a new contract effectively using a renegaded promise as ransom for a new contract.

I'm also shocked that you cannot serve a notice of more than 30 days and that it also takes exactly 30 notice of leaving so I have a single day for which I can actually leave. Try to serve more than 30 days notice and it will be refused, serve less and you get charge the out of contract price for a month. This can only be a deliberate attempt to overcharge customers. 

I am delighted to be leaving Vodafone, I've had a terrible experience with the services provided.

Hopefully potential future customers hit up the forums before being seduced by the introductory offers.

[Anonymous]

Are you taking by your number with you?  If so, why have you given notice rather than simply asking for a PAC ??

[kudos72]

I did ask for a PAC however they said that would trigger a cancellation and I would pay a penalty fee for leaving a contract early. Were they lying about that as well?

Must've spent a good half an hour just trying to leave but kept getting told about this wonderful new deal they would promise me before dropping the bombshell that you can only cancel on one exact day. 

"Your contract will end 30 days after you’ve told us you’re leaving. You’ll be billed as normal up to the date we disconnect your number – so don’t cancel any payments until then." but you cannot tell them you're leaving until 30 days from the end of your contract.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

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@kudos72 wrote:

I did ask for a PAC however they said that would trigger a cancellation and I would pay a penalty fee for leaving a contract early. Were they lying about that as well?

Must've spent a good half an hour just trying to leave but kept getting told about this wonderful new deal they would promise me before dropping the bombshell that you can only cancel on one exact day. 

"Your contract will end 30 days after you’ve told us you’re leaving. You’ll be billed as normal up to the date we disconnect your number – so don’t cancel any payments until then." but you cannot tell them you're leaving until 30 days from the end of your contract.

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That's right, but it's not the whole story.  A PAC will trigger a cancellation when it is used,  not when it is issued to you.     A cancellation fee will be charged if an account is closed before the current contract it has run its full term, but not afterwards.  So, if my contract finishes on e.g. 15th February, I will be charged a cancellation fee if my new service provider uses my PAC to transfer my number on 10th February but not if I wait until February 20th before I take out a new deal with someone else.  Hope that clears up any confusion !

Anyway, the usual method of closing a mobile phone account is to use a PAC. Giving notice is only necessary if you wish to terminate your service and give up your number - most people don't usually want to do that.

Caveat - a PAC is only valid for 30 days from date of issue, after that time it lapses. So if you ask for a PAC and then decide not to use it within the 30 days then your old contract will continue to run until such a time as you terminate it, either by asking for and using another PAC or by giving notice.

After you have left Vodafone it takes a little while to finally settle your account.  You should receive a "sorry you are leaving" letter from VF, then a bill for any outstanding charges from the date of your last monthly bill up to the date of termination, and then the following month you should receive through the post a bill for £0:00.  Be sure that you keep that final, "zero" bill, because that is your proof that the account is now fully closed and you don't owe Vodafone any money.  Also, DO NOT cancel your direct debit until the "zero" bill has been received - this will ensure you do not get any defaults entered on your credit record !!

Best of luck with whatever you do decide to do in the end  !

[kudos72]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@kudos72 wrote:

I did ask for a PAC however they said that would trigger a cancellation and I would pay a penalty fee for leaving a contract early. Were they lying about that as well?

Must've spent a good half an hour just trying to leave but kept getting told about this wonderful new deal they would promise me before dropping the bombshell that you can only cancel on one exact day. 

"Your contract will end 30 days after you’ve told us you’re leaving. You’ll be billed as normal up to the date we disconnect your number – so don’t cancel any payments until then." but you cannot tell them you're leaving until 30 days from the end of your contract.

---

That's right, but it's not the whole story.  A PAC will trigger a cancellation when it is used,  not when it is issued to you.     A cancellation fee will be charged if an account is closed before the current contract it has run its full term, but not afterwards.  So, if my contract finishes on e.g. 15th February, I will be charged a cancellation fee if my new service provider uses my PAC to transfer my number on 10th February but not if I wait until February 20th before I take out a new deal with someone else.  Hope that clears up any confusion !

Anyway, the usual method of closing a mobile phone account is to use a PAC. Giving notice is only necessary if you wish to terminate your service and give up your number - most people don't usually want to do that.

Caveat - a PAC is only valid for 30 days from date of issue, after that time it lapses. So if you ask for a PAC and then decide not to use it within the 30 days then your old contract will continue to run until such a time as you terminate it, either by asking for and using another PAC or by giving notice.

After you have left Vodafone it takes a little while to finally settle your account.  You should receive a "sorry you are leaving" letter from VF, then a bill for any outstanding charges from the date of your last monthly bill up to the date of termination, and then the following month you should receive through the post a bill for £0:00.  Be sure that you keep that final, "zero" bill, because that is your proof that the account is now fully closed and you don't owe Vodafone any money.  Also, DO NOT cancel your direct debit until the "zero" bill has been received - this will ensure you do not get any defaults entered on your credit record !!

Best of luck with whatever you do decide to do in the end  !

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Thank you for the feedback on this.

Just to continue with my terrible experience. I was told again catagorically when ordering my PAC code that the order of the PAC would immediately trigger an early exit charge. It was only when I point blank said they were wrong did they acknowledge it. Without your help I wouldn't have known this.

"Chloe : i see your end date is the 27/3/19 if you wish to request the PAC code today you will have an early termination fee, i would advise you come back on your end date and you can request this free of charge :)"

Are Vodafone allowed to blatantly and consently lie to customers?

[Joe]

@kudos72 That's not the information we'd expect our Customer Service teams to give our customers. We'd be more than happy to feed this back to the appropriate teams. I've sent you a private message on how to get in touch. One of the team will be back in touch as soon as we can. Joe

[Evemak]

Truly the WORST customer service ever. Like you, I've just called up to give notice that I won't be continuing the contract. Having to cancel on one specific day is just another reason that I'm so excited to be getting away from VF. I have PTSD from being a customer. Never have I come across a more dishonest, disloyal and lazy company. 

[Josh]

@Evemak I'm sorry to hear you feel this way about us  Was there any underlying issues that's cause you to leave? 

[Evemak]

Astonishingly bad, continuosly inconsistent customer service. A complete lack of regard for the customer. From day one of starting the contracts, it was clear that VF could care less about the "service" it's over charging people for. I've spent days on the phone to get the simplest of information or assistance. And that's just mobile. I'm not even going to go in to my experience as a VF broadband customer. Vodafone have given my PTSD. 

[Loz]

@Evemak It's really disappointing to hear you've had this experience with us, which has resulted in you cancelling. I'm sorry to hear we've not been able to turn this around for you and keep you on board. If there's anything we're able to do to change your mind, please let us know. We'd love to see you back on our network in the near future 🤞