Thank you all for replying. @dx100uk - you're spot on; the notes on both accounts I've received information from say "Customer is verifying on account address. Both account [sic] have same DOB and address. Not a fraud." I assume since both accounts have this same line verbatim that it was a copy-paste by the same person. While this isn't affecting my credit rating and it is indeed as renegadeimp says statute-barred, I'd like to clear my name if at all possible so I can have the option to be an EE customer again. Many thanks, Alex

Hello folks, I tried taking out a mobile phone contract with EE in 2016. I was declined and, on contacting EE, was told there were three T-Mobile accounts in my name from 1999-2002 (approx) with an outstanding debt of around £450 in total. I finally got round to sending an SAR letter last month and received a reply today. EE have sent me a couple of pages of account notes but no mention of the outstanding amount(s). Firstly: based on this, I'm pretty certain that EE have sent me incomplete data - however, without knowing how their systems work, I don't know _what_ data they must hold on me, but at the very least, somewhere, there must be a total amount owed. Secondly: the notes say that I disputed that the accounts were mine (which I did), and EE decided that it wasn't fraud because the accounts were opened using my name, address and date of birth. I genuinely don't remember opening these accounts. How can EE be so certain that I opened these accounts simply by checking that my name, address and date of birth match? I just want these accounts removed from my record so I can, should I still want to, take out a new phone contract with EE. Is there anything I can do here, or do I just need to accept defeat and find a different mobile phone company? Thanks in advance Alex

Annoyingly so, given how much of a faff Apple make the process...!

Soo... In the end, Apple declined to remove the password. A little bit of frustrated Googling later and I picked up something called an SPI chip flasher from a website whose name includes the words "rebel" and "simcard", complete with clip that goes over the EFI/SPI chip. This all connected into a USB port on another laptop via some Chinese software called FlyPro and, after a bit of faff, I managed to read the chip contents, delete the firmware password, and re-flash the chip successfully. So, while I'm happy that my partner's laptop is now password-free and no other issues have come up, I'm rather cross at Apple for being so difficult about this, when it's clearly a lot less-difficult to defeat this security system than they would like one to believe. Grr, mutter, grumble etc. Anyway, happy Friday everybody /Alex

Hi Bazza, you're right - to a point - I do something similar on my laptop security-wise. That said, I have proof from eBay and e-mail/iMessage conversations with the seller discussing the laptop, plus the seller's name, address and phone number, and I have chatted with an Apple tech support bod who was sufficiently satisfied that I was the rightful owner that they confirmed that the laptop wasn't listed stolen, and that the owner's details I'd given them matched Apple's record of the original purchaser of the laptop. Hence why I think I have enough evidence that a reasonable person would think, ok, he's paid for the laptop - there's fair consideration - so it's now his property. So I think the issue comes down to "is it my laptop or did I just knock a little old lady over and steal it from her" as much as it is, "I have proven I bought this laptop from a private seller, but because I don't have a copy of the original Apple receipt of sale, Apple are refusing to remove the firmware password."

Hi postmn, thanks for your reply. Same information supplied both times. I've spoke with Apple's Ireland support and have re-sent all the evidence but they don't seem willing or able to help, either... Much as I hate to admit it, I think you're right - I've always been very (probably over-) cautious about these things, but this firmware password is proving to be a massive pain in the backside. :@ Thanks, Hammy

I'm in a bit of a pickle and am hoping someone can help me work out how to get around this: I bought my partner an Apple laptop via eBay three years ago. All seemed above board, but I collected in person and the seller insisted I pay cash as they didn't want to risk a Paypal chargeback - fair enough, I thought. At the time, they assured me they would send me a copy of the original Apple sale receipt and I asked several times. The seller then stopped responding to my messages. Not an issue, I thought, since I had the laptop and didn't think the proof of purchase would be an issue. To prevent the laptop being used if stolen, we put a firmware password on the laptop - this is a low-level password that effectively locks the Mac altogether if the hard disk is changed, which makes it very difficult for thieves to use the laptop if they steal it and try to wipe the hard drive. Six months later in 2015, we realised that we had forgotten the password. We took the laptop to Apple and, after e-mailing every bit of correspondence I had had from the eBay sale and with the seller of the laptop, a nice chap at Apple Ireland authorised my local Apple repair shop to reset the firmware password. Thinking we were out of the woods, my partner put a new password on the machine, wrote it down safely in a book, and that was that. Fast forward to two weeks ago, and we have realised that we have once again forgotten the password, and, having moved house, have lost the book. However, this time, Apple have refused to reset the password, because we don't have the original sale receipt for the laptop. Apple have said that, since we don't have the original proof of purchase, we will have to pay around £500 to have a new main board (the logic board) replaced. My instinct in this matter is that, having proven once beyond reasonable doubt that we are the legitimate owners of the laptop, a reasonable person would believe that we are still the rightful owners of the laptop, and Apple should remove the password. If somebody could help, we would be most grateful (in fact, if you can help us get Apple to authorise this password removal, I will send you £50 and a crate of beer/cider/wine/fizzy pop of your choice) Thanks ever so much! Alex

Hello Lee, Terribly sorry I didn't reply sooner but I've been away for a few days. Just to confirm, this is all sorted to my satisfaction and I can now sleep peacefully at night knowing Vodafone are stealing my money to pay for some nefarious behaviour ;o) For anyone reading, the long-and-short of this is that one of Vodafone's biggest customer service failings might well be its lack of internal communications (maybe!) - it looks like at least one, and probably more than one Vodafone telephone operator has gone out of their way to fix the problem, so the money I thought I was owed had been re-credited to my account but, because this information isn't shown on my Vodafone portal, and because no-one at Vodafone took the time to explain in idiot-friendly detail what they had done, I had no idea of all this. I'd just like to add my sincere thanks to Lee: whether or not he had been able to do anything with my complaint, the simple fact that I could ask for the help of a person - someone with a name and a presence (here) - rather than simply sending an e-mail into the ether meant that I felt the handling of my problem was done so properly. All companies - regardless of their size and nature - can benefit from this "customer service renaissance" approach, employing a person (or a handful at the most) to deal individually with customers' problems. I don't know a lot about business, but I know that I feel my custom is valued and my money is being spent properly when I receive service like this. So, Lee, I'm too tight to buy you a beer, but you've come as close as anyone ever will to having a beer bought for themselves by me; so, thanks! Al

Hi Lee, thanks for your efforts. I've been zonked out in bed today catching up on missed sleep thanks to a questionable bit of le cooking French (cheers Fathers' Day!). Just picked up your messages. I'll endeavour to answer your call on Weds although I *may* not get it if I'm at work as the signal there is less than perfect. Still not sure I want to take the nice Vodafone sales chap up on his offer of the Sure Signal thingbob, not even out of a little bit of guilt given how even he got a bit of a telling-off when he called a few days ago and made the mistake of asking how everything was with my shiny new 'phone. He was *very* quick to explain his opening gambit was sales patter and he couldn't help with this story ^, but he tried his best to sell me a femtocell doodad to fry my remaining brain cells. Oh how I laughed at the cheek!

Thanks locutus Have a great Sunday!

I've updated the first post to try and make the details more clear. And, of course, apologies to any third parties who have read my rantyness!

... And then it popped up a dialog saying "chat now with a Vodafone adviser" which got in the way of the "submit" button (which isn't even a button - another web usability fail). This takes the ****. Vodafone please, for christ's sake, employ a usability expert, a proper web development team, and stop trying to tell people that you know better: IF I DECIDE I WANT TO E-MAIL YOU AND SPEAK TO A HUMAN BEING, DON'T BLOODY STAND IN MY WAY! Really, really unimpressed now. If I make a website which worked that way*, I would probably be sacked. * Full disclosure: I'm a web developer, usability and IA architect, and a grumpy, moody git when I feel people are messing me about to suit their own ends.

Ok, resubmitted it and it seems to have gotten a little further: Where the hell did Blackberry advice come from? Vodafone, please also kick your web team's posteriors. And, another thing: it says in teeny, tiny text that the message hasn't been sent. It seems clear to me that Vodafone REALLY don't want people to send their messages in. Another huge usability fail, and this makes them appear even more untrustworthy. Of course I'm going to bloody well click "Send my sodding message"! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I filled out the form, completed all the details and wrote a very polite message: This was the response: Error:The page you are trying to access is not available. Please contact the administrator for more details. I have now lost two days' work, spent several hours on the phone to Vodafone, and now this. I am maintaining my cool, but this is testing even my reserves of patience. I'm going to go and swear into the evening air for half an hour or so...* * Of course I'm not. There are children asleep. But I'd love to...

Thank you for answering locutus. I haven't e-mailed - it's all been done by phone. I'll read the link now. Thanks again.