"discount" on tablet contract

[SimonWilding]

Here's a strange one,

just under two years ago I got a Vodafone Tablet on a 24 month contract at a discounted price of £10.00 per month (down from £16) for 3GB of data.

Today, I got an email from VF stating that as my contract was nearly up I could upgrade but until I did I would received a 40% discount on my tariff. Great I thought, my bill will reduce from £10.00 to £6.00 (I was going to cancel the contract and just use WiFi but for £6.00 I might as well keep it going).

However, I checked online today and my monthly charge is now £12.40 per month!

If that is 60% that means that my undiscounted tariff has been increased from £16.00 to £20.00 before the 40% has been taken off, I have received no nitificaiton of this and it is way above the RPI increase..

I will definately be cancelling the contract now.

[63johnw]

Hi @SimonWilding the tariff you received when taking out the original contract will have been reduced to £10 and at the end of the 2 years the discount is now removed so it looks like that is what has happened and then they have applied a reduction again but not as good a one !

[SimonWilding]

That's what I thought to be honest, but as I said the non discounted price has also increased from £16 to £20, which is in excess of the RPI increase. That's my main complaint.

A 40% discount on the original £16 tariff would have taken it down to £9.60, an even better deal than I had (by 40p) and I'd have been happy with that. 

But from getting an email making me think my tariff was going down to qctually paying 25% more is a bit much!

[63johnw]

I don’t think the rpi rules apply as it’s a discount coming to an end rather than a cost of living rise. I seem to remember that this only came in fairly recently as discounts (I think) used to run until the customer changed something but that’s now changed. 

[SimonWilding]

I don't think I've made myself clear. My original non discounted tariff was £16, discounted down to £10. If the discount was removed surely it should have reverted to £16 with 40% taking it down to £9.60.

However, my new discounted rate is £12.40 meaning the full rate is £20, an increase of £4 or 25%. 

[63johnw]

Sorry yes I didn’t realise that, something doesn’t seem right there?

[AnnS]

Hi @SimonWilding

The reason for this is because the tariff you were on when your first agreed the contract two years ago has been discontinued.  As you are now out of agreement for your previous tariff and the discount you enjoyed when in your minimum period has ended, you have been put onto one of the latest equivalent tariffs as a 30 day roll over contract.  

30 day roll over contracts are always more expensive than being in agreement but as a goodwill gesture Vodafone have given you a discount on the 30 day contract.

If you need any further clarification, live chat will be able to discuss your options and go through the 30 day roll over contract.

[SimonWilding]

Thanks Ann, if that is the case I would point out that

1. My contract isn't actually up until 5 August so they've done it early.

2. I had no communication that this was happening, surely they should inform me that they are outting my bill up?

3. The email I did receive merely said you can upgrade now (I could actually upgrade in May) but until you do we'll give you 40% off. Nothing about the tariff ending and them moving me to a more expensive one. Why not give me the chance to move to a cheaper tariff with less data?

[AnnS]

Hi @SimonWilding

This is going to need account access to find the reason for the increase, this is done through the Customer Service channels.  Alternatively, wait for the Team to pick up the thread.

[hrym]

When your contract term ends, it becomes a 30-day rolling one automatically.   There wouldn't normally be any price increase and, in my experience, older tarriffs normally stay in operation until they're discontinued (ie, they're not available to to new users, but existing users stay on them until rationalisation).  It does sound as if, in this case, both things may have happened at the same time.

It would be worth looking at current tarriffs to see whether going SIM-only would be a benefit (remember that your discount would no longer apply if you switch), assuming you aren't already.

Hang on for the forum team to pick this thread up, as they'll be able to get account access and see what's the best option for you.