Hello,

I am starting a new thread here after discovering some things on my credit record. The story is:

In 2013 whilst I was a Vodafone UK mobile phone customer, a Vodafone phone agent advised me that if I purchased a call package which gave a discount to Intl calls made outwith the UK, this package would cover Russia, which was the country I was going to make calls from. When I returned from that trip in October 2013, I found a bill of £122, increased to £203.70 by Dec 2013. I even offered to pay some portion of the £122 in instalments and paid ~£15 per month as a goodwill gesture. But I still disputed the Russian call charges and said this constantly.

I disputed this constantly from Oct 2013 by email and phone; I spoke with them over the phone several times from the end of 2013, emailed up until Feb 2014 and spoke with an agent called Jeff Phoenix from Vodafone UK by Dec 2013 and still no resolution from then. J Phoenix tried to bully me over the phone to accept everything. I emailed Vodafone and Fredrickson International, a debt collection agency hired by Vodafone UK, that this occurred a few days later after this phone discussion. I also exchanged email in Jan and Feb 2014 with Fredrickson International and Vodafone UK after the phone call as Vodafone did not respond to my communication. I told both Vodafone UK and Fredrickson I was going to contact Ofcom about this problem.

Subsequently, I lost interest and did not contact Ofcom but I never heard anything back from either Vodafone UK of Fredrickson. And now looking through my credit record I see a default of £200 dated from 01 Jan 2014 even though I had email communication with Vodafone UK and Fredrickson from 10 Feb 2014.

My questions are:

1) Is there some sort of redress I can get from Ofcom for the damage to my credit record?

2) What can be done with regards to the conduct of Jeff Phoenix?

3) Can I get these phone charges removed and my credit record cleaned, backdated to the time of the dispute?

Thank you for your help in advance.

You won't be able to do anything unless you can produce evidence that Vodafone informs you that calls to Russia were part of your package. As I expect you never recorded your phone calls, then I doubt whether you will be able to produce this evidence.

Secondly, I'm afraid that you have made the fatal mistake of believing that because you have heard nothing, the problem has gone away. Vodafone often default accounts which are in dispute – even though they are not meant to do so. However, where there is a dispute and you simply go quiet on them then regardless of their normal disregard for the rules, I think you would be hard pressed to show that there was a live dispute and that they should not have made an entry onto your credit file.

I'm afraid that I think that you are on a hiding to nothing. As much as I hate to advise it, it may be best that you pay off the sum claimed and at least have the credit entry marked as "settled". Because of the disproportionate and unfair way the credit system is run, it will still take you a full six years before drops of your credit file – but you won't be able to do anything about it.

In future record your calls – and see disputes through to the bitter end.

Hi

I also echo bankfodders words. There may be a way to get information on what was said and tat is via sending a SAR however, Vodafone are notorious for not updating system notes accordingly nor are any members of staff particularly bothered to check. This may be that certain members of staff have no direct access to account histories (but I doubt it).

VF are blaming their errors on the system upgrade they did a couple of years back and since that time they have had to do 350+ fixes. Speaks volumes. Customer service staff (I assume) get commission for add ons sold and will tell you what you want to hear, irrespective of what it actually means. VF also do not keep recordings of calls for very long either and it doesn't matter if the call is very serious or not. They just routinely delete them.

So, to get the data from VF, send the SAR mentioned with as much ID as you can find as VF routinely refuse to supply without more proof of ID. This (IMO) is a delaying tactic.

Address it to the Data Controller at their head office. Hopefully something will show on the account history to show what was said at the time.

If you receive any emails from VF, print them off, keep them safe. Record all phone calls then make at least two copies. You do not need to tell VF that you are doing so.

Thank you BankFodder and silverfox1961, It is a pity I never recorded the phone calls, but I guess I would never have thought to do it as I never really had problems with Vodafone until this incident. And it is a shame that I may just need to suck it up and pay, galling as it is. I do have all the email correspondence detailing everything referred to here but I also realise that the phone recording would have sealed it in my favour. Would you recommend for me to at least contact Ofcom and the ICO/FCA/FOS to get them to find records, deal with the unwarranted default and confront the stain on my credit, in addition to the SAR to the VF Data Controller? ID will be scan of Council Tax bill with important information whited out. Thank you again...

You could alert OFCOM but they won't deal with you as an individual but as they are investigating VF at the moment, one more complaint can do no harm. The ICO can only act where there is absolute proof that someone has filed incorrect data with credit reference agencies. The FCA won't do anything. Period! Nor will the FOS. The Telecoms Ombudsman will get involved but only after you have complained to VF first and either 8 weeks have passed with no resolution, VF do not uphold your complaint or they send you a deadlock letter before the 8 week period is up.

You will need more than a council tax bill. VF will need photo ID (driving Licence, Passport) or two other proofs of ID plus CT bills showing your name and address as well as a utility bill showing the same details. this is purely to stop VF using delaying tactics as they can state that they want more ID and the ICO will accept this. The 40 days does not start until they have that ID so get it right first time.

Ensure you include a cheque or Postal Order for £10 and send the letter by signed for delivery. Getting a free proof of posting from the post office will not cut it with VF as they could still deny receiving it so gt it signed for.

silverfox1961, Amazing information here. I guess I knew VF were as slimy as these procedures warrant, but seeing things up front like this - and experiencing it, which is why I am here asking for advice - wow. I will follow your advice as delineated here, but I cannot do it immediately as I need to be away from end of Aug until mid Sep, in case I need to defend myself from a claim letter or need to respond to something with a very short time limit. But thank you for all of this. I will post back when I have put everything in motion.

Hello, I am finally getting back to silverfox1961 here, but regret to say I did not follow any of the advice. I want to apply for a loan tomorrow and have checked on my credit rating via Noddle and still see this nonsense debt here. I disputed this via the dispute mechanism saying the account was closed in 2013 but not sure what to do from here. Is the advice from silverfox1961 still good, and will it be good enough for the loan meeting tomorrow if I do these things today? Thank you for any help here.

Well, you've done yourself no favours by leaving it for this long.

Basically the info provided is still the same but you still need to start dealing with this matter in writing ONLY.

I would send a SAR to Vodafone to get the data from the inception of the account. This now free and they have 30 days to respond but only if you include sufficient identification. VF are still notoriously bad at ID verification. Bear in mind though that they could add a charge if they have reasonable grounds as in if it takes a disproportionate time to collate the information. If they do try that, they must explain why and if you disagree then get advice from the ICO

If you never actually filed a formal complaint with VF then it's time to do so. If you did file a complaint, that has long lapsed so you have to start again.

With the entry on your credit file you can add a short statement (up to 200 words) to explain why this default has been placed.

Hopefully, you will get some data that shows you did get confirmation about the Russia thing but don't hold out much hope.