Vodafone Contract - goalposts being moved?

[Trapper Dave]

I took out a contract with Vodafone on the first of October last year, it's an eighteen month contract, so I know it won't expire until the end of April 2008.

About three weeks after taking out my contract I rang Customer Services and spoke to a very kind lady. She told me that if I wanted, I could drop my tariff down to the cheapest one after I was over half way in the contract (nine months).

Three months later - I spoke to Customer Services tonight in a bid to tighten my financial belt, only to be told I can't drop my contract... ever. How can they change their mind like that? I feel like I've been totally shafted. I'm on a contract that I'm hardly using, but having to pay upwards of fifty pounds a month for the priviledge.

Is there anything I can do about this? I've sent an e-mail complaint, but now I'm at a dead end, and I'm going to struggle to pay it.

[buzby]

This is something had was announced to the trade only a few weeks ago, it was brought in to prevent dealers selling a top of the range phone at no cost, on a high tariff, and then the customer drops down a few tariff bands meaning the network doesn;t recoup the phone cost within the original term.

Can they do it? Yes, it's their ball - HOWEVER - if you specifically asked the salesman would it be possible for you to change tariffs if you were on the wrong one and they agreed, you can expect this to be taken as a mitigating factor in you deciding to connect with the network, knowing than in 9 months you could change.

The first thing you need to is to write to them, and explaining that when you signed up, it was on the understanding you could change tariff midway in the contract, and you have now been told this will not be possible. You still have some six months to go before you can switch, but you are formally advising them that you WILL Be changing to X tariff with effectfrom [insert the 9 month date] and you require confirmation this will be complied with. If not, it would be with regret that you will have to terminate your contract due to the imposition of an arbitrrary change in the rules which place you at a disadvantage, and one trhat you had taken care to research before the contract commenced.

You might just get your way!