Hi everyone,

I'm hoping for a bit of advice on this.

My son has an account with Vodafone.

He is 19 and the whole thing has turned into a bit of a nightmare!

He lost his phone last year but continued to make payments on his account.

He made a payment in July and then received a letter in September about the account being in default.

As he is only 19, I have been dealing with the matter on his behalf and we have been passed from pillar to post with various people as he no longer has the phone.

When I found out that the account was going into default, I phoned Vodafone myself and made the payment of £59 which was outstanding and the phone service was resumed so that he could continue to make payments till the contract ends.

However, upon checking his credit file today,

I have notice that Vodafone have registered a default which is now marked as settled but has obviously trashed his credit rating.

The account is also marked as closed but its actually still open as hes received a bill in the last 7 days.

Hes a professional rugby player and was saving for his first house so hes devastated about this.

Does anyone know what we can do about this?

Hes realised that hes made a huge mistake but I feel that penalising him for the next 6 years over £59 is pretty unfair.

Thank you so much for any help you can offer.

Thats good old Voda for you...and they would trash it for far less.

How was he defaulted if he continued making payments...was the account in arrears?

Andy

A copy of the default notice would help. Usually, if you pay the amount outstanding within the time allowed, no default should be registered.

Come back with more info on the default notice.

Just a note on this re mortgages lenders. More and more lenders are becoming aware of the antics of mobile phone providers when it comes to issuing defaults and, as such, will ignore them providing the account is up to date.

It was paid after the 14 day time period on the letter.

We live in an apartment block and the letter got mixed up with others post.

As soon as I was aware of the problem It was paid.

He missed payments in August but didn’t receive any notification of an issue via email.

Obviously they couldn’t call him because he no longer has the phone which I have explained on numerous occasions to various customer service people.

Hi,

In my opinion, this is harsh treatment by VF. What should have been placed on his credit file was a missed payment marker. Bad, but not as bad as a default.

Vodafone are notorious for jumping in head first then arguing the toss over the fine details.

How old was he when he took out the contract?

As it stands, all you can do is raise a complaint with VF. You could explain the reason why you did not receive the letter but I suspect they will ignore that.

I would also be asking why they didn't try contacting him earlier. If they said they tried to call him or text, remind them of the fact he told them he had lost the phone.

Always deal in writing, never on the phone unless you can record the call. If all else fails, you can try and escalate it to the CEO

They have tried to call my son today on my phone number and sent an email to contact them. Do you suggest that I do everything in writing and not call them back?

If you wish to act for him in this matter, you will need to get his written permission to do so. This needs to be sent by post. Recorded delivery is best but proof of postage is enough.

After that you can use the online chat facility if you wish but ideally everything by post. Yes it takes longer but you have a record of everything.

I would normally suggest sending a Subject Access request but at this moment, I don't feel it is worth it. I would suggest that in any complaint, the letter be headed as such as otherwise VF may treat it as a simple query even if you use the word complaint within the body text.

As for them calling and texting, they shouldn't be talking to you over this (unless you already have permission. Dependant on the time, he can ring them but record the call. They don't need to know about this so long as you do not share the actual recording. A transcript of the call, removing names of VF staff can be published.

Regarding his credit file, you are allowed to add a notice of correction. This allows up to 200 words to dispute the entering of the default. Future lenders must take this into account although this still won't be enough (IMO)

I’ve just spoken to a lady on the phone and she said that as the account is up to date and still open I can contact the credit default department and they should remove the default?

Would that make sense.

Update - my son has had an online conversation with Vodafone which we’ve screen shotted. They stated that the default will be removed within 48 hours? Is that standard practice???

It is if you kick up enough fuss and post here on CAG

Let’s hope so. I have it in writing that the default will be removed and not just marked as settled so hopefully this will be resolved quickly. I’m not holding my breath. However, the account is still open so I’m not quite sure how this works!

if he lost his flippin phone why did you not cancel everything and simply pay the cancel fee?

how can he owe £59PCM to anyone if hes not even using the flippin service!!

tell us about the contract please and when he took it out....

was told that he had to pay £400 to cancel the service as the phone wasn’t insured or we could continue to make the payments till the end of the contract.

Weren’t in a position to pay off the contract in full so will continue to pay until the contract is fully paid up.

load of ole BS!!

the phone was free I bet!!

and he didn't sign any HP agreement?

they cant turn an airtime contract into payment for the lost phone

its NOT a credit agreement

its an airtime usage contract.

pers i'd stop ruddy paying them totally

No HP agreement signed. I’ve sent a dispute to the credit reference agencies too. The account is set as closed and with a debt of £458 but there’s no balance owing and the account is still open according to Vodafone today!

The account was opened in July 2016.

What the hell did he have? A gold plated phone!!!

As it stands, you have saved the confirmation in writing that the default will be removed, keep on at them to do as promised. We have seen in the past where a rep says one thing then gets overruled by a senior member of staff.

Regarding the cancellation fees. Vodafone are big culprits in this. They charge the whole amount outstanding instead of a reduced fee for loss of service. I bet as part of the contract, he got minutes, texts and data. Now he doesn't have those therefore he shouldn't be paying for them and VF should reduce the price accordingly. They won't but it gives you ammunition should the case escalate to the Ombudsman

Do you think because the account is marked as closed on his credit file as of the 18th October but then Vodafone sent a bill via email on the 23rd for the same account that is marked as closed for £51 that he paid today that actually this is a complete **** up! Makes absolutely zero sense to me!!!!

You have hit on an area which is very similar to the Bermuda Triangle. Things happen with VF that no-one could ever fathom. When there is usage after the closure date then those charges can be claimed. Why they have closed the account is anyone's guess unless this is prior to passing it over to a debt collector. A case of wait and see!

It’s ridiculous. I was told today that there is no outstanding balance so unsure of how you can pass a debt over to a debt collector when there nothing owing! I’ve written a formal letter of complaint with him today and will see where we go from here. Can’t understand how you can have a debt for £458 on your credit file but when you contact the company - you are up to date and no money is owed and the account is still active! Does anyone have a name for someone higher up in the ranks for Vodafone as I don’t want to waste time as he wants to apply for a mortgage ASAP!

This is the email address of the UK Chief Exec

[email protected]

This is the group Chief Exec email

[email protected]

I would CC in the group CEO but have the primary address for the UK one

Thank you Silver Fox. E mail sent and had a mail back about 2 minutes ago stating that someone is looking at my query and I will have an update shortly.

Default removed according to Vodafone. Will check this on my credit report when it comes through at the end of the month.

Looking good then. IF it does get removed, keep checking the credit file s VF have been known to re enter the default.

Was this all down to contacting the CEO?