Thanks, Loc. Maybe I'll just use the deposit money to travel around the world instead! Will let you know once I hear from Kirsty.

Quick update: Kirsty has emailed me to say that the QA department is going to take the default notice off once my payment's reached them, "as a gesture of goodwill"! I would have appreciated this so-called goodwill if the default wasn't placed on my account because of VF's failure to send my bills to the right address! Despite not having received any bills yet, I've paid this through the DCA they sent after me on Monday. However, receipt of payment apparently isn't good enough for the QA dept to take off my default. As a result of this, our house sale has fallen through and we now have to start all over again! Kirsty has been great in helping push my case through and I have really appreciated her help, but the QA department is atrociously rigid. Kirsty, I still haven't received any of the bills sent, and I'm waiting for an update from you.

Just a quick update - Kirsty rang me (nicest person from Vodafone that I've spoken to...ever!) and she said she will do all she can to help. While this doesn't guarantee that Vodafone will delete the default on my account that was placed there by mistake, at least someone in VF is aware of my issues and keeping track of it. A small glimmer of hope that we'll be able to buy our first house in the near future instead of waiting for 6 years!

Thanks Lee and Kirsty. I have replied to your email, Kirsty - let me know if you need anymore info. Thanks.

Thanks Martin, but I have posted my issue on its own thread. I was simply commiserating with DX over the VF call centre experience...

I hope you're right, Loc. I sympathise completely, DX - I spent an hour on the phone with them on Saturday and I was passed around 4 different departments. One of them actually hung up on me! Dealing with Vodafone has consumed my life for the past few weeks. I'm holding off applying for a mortgage as well, just because of VF's mistake. I don't think they care or realise how much it affects their clients' lives...and I was their customer for more than 9 years!!!

Hi DX, I have a similar experience very recently with the Vodafone call centre. I've been trying to sort out a default they put on my account by mistake, and instead of being apologetic and helping me sort out the issue, they've been ignoring me, been very rude to me, or blaming me. I've sent them several emails as I want written record of our exchange. Last weekend, fed up with waiting, I tried ringing but I was told the same as you - write to the Quality Assurance who doesn't have a phone number. I'm guessing this is so they can bury our letters in their pile and forget about it. I've been told there's a VF rep here who is very helpful, but I think he's on leave at the moment.

Thanks, Loc. It's just frustrating when i'm doing all i can to resolve an issue with them and instead of sending me the bill I requested, they passed my account over to a DCA. I hope one of the team picks this up soon - it's turning me into a wreck.

Since Lee is on leave until next week, do you know if there are others in the webteam around? The DCA is threatening legal action and since my husband is training to be a solicitor, we have to avoid this or it will cost him his career.

Another update: instead of the bill from Vodafone that I've been expecting, today I received a letter from a debt collection agency demanding payment immediately due to my breach of contract with them!!! I don't know what I'm being charged for, they're not sending me any bill, and they've sent the debt collectors after me! Even when I've been trying to resolve this for weeks! What should I do? Any advice?

Hiya! Lee, thanks for your reply. Given my experience with VF's customer service people so far, I'm so surprised to find you're 'at work' whilst being on leave! I'm very grateful though as this issue with VF has prevented me and my husband from putting an offer on the house we like. The original email I sent was #2965614 and then after I posted here, I tried contacting the Webteam and the reference is #3142031. Thanks again for looking into this on your leave, and I hope your colleagues are as dedicated and nice as you are! Have a good week off, I'm sure you'll be missed by a lot of desperate people like me

Thanks, Loc. The automatic email ref number is #314203. I'm going to try to have some sort of a weekend now and hopefully wait for the Webteam to perform some sort of a miracle

Just an update...thinking that I might be able to sort out something quicker, I decided to phone Vodafone Customer Service. BIG MISTAKE! I spent almost an hour with them being passed back and forth to different departments and I just ended up in tears of frustration. The customer service rep said, and this is a quote, "We are only allowed to take payments and send bills, ma'm. I don't know what a default note is." Then I was passed on to someone in the Credit Collection department, who is so condescending I had to keep my temper in check. She told me that they can't remove a default notice since I'm late in my payment. When I pointed out that VF kept sending bills to my old address, she loftily told me "It's YOUR responsibility to keep us updated of your change of addresses!" Duh! When I told her I actually have copies of the docs I sent to VF about my change of address, she grudgingly informed me that I have to contact their Quality Assurance Department. The catch? They don't have a phone number (!!), you can only write a letter to them. I'm guessing so that they can bury it under their mound of paperwork! I am so frustrated and I truly hope that they Webteam is nicer and better-informed about these issues than the people in the call centre. I am seriously thinking about complaining to Otelo and Ofcom about the way my case has been handled so far!

Thanks, Kip. Does this mean, hypothetically, that I can eat more since it's more healthy? I'm tempted! Tbh, if it cuts down the cooking time for Sunday roasts then it's definitely worth buying.

Oh man, these are making me so hungry, everything looks so yummy! So would you say that this can replace the oven?

I hope so...really starting to think they're taking revenge because I moved to O2!

Thanks, silverfox. That gives me a bit of hope. I am tempted to just pay the £50 but seeing their efficiency so far, I very much doubt that they'll remove the default even if I've paid. This has over taken my life for the past 2 weeks

Hi guys, I'm at my wit's end trying to deal with Vodafone's customer service. If anyone could suggest anything else I can do, or anyone I can contact, I would be most grateful. Basically, I requested a statutory credit check since I am going to apply for a mortgage soon. I was extremely dismayed and upset when I found out through my report that VF has put a default on my account on March 2010 without me knowing the cause. I was a VF customer for more than 9 years, but I ported my number over to O2 in October 2009 since they were offering a better deal for my needs. I cancelled my direct debit at the beginning of December 2009 and the last communication I had from VF was to say they were sorry to lose me as a customer. I went on my merry way and thought nothing of it until now. I contacted their customer care through their website (Ref: #2965614) 2 weeks ago to ask them to explain the default, as I had not received any bills or notice. I received a reply 2 days later saying that I owed them £52 and that they were sending me a free itemised bill (so generous of them!). Thinking I at least have a named advisor to contact, I again stated my case that VF should remove the default on my account since it wasn't my fault they never contacted me about this alleged debt. I told them; the fact that for the 9+ years I'd been their customer, I had never missed a payment and also that I'm initiating contact with them to sort the issue out should show them that I would settle the bill if the charges were right. I had another reply, by a different person, stating that they had sent my bill to my old address and that if I paid the bill they will remove the default. I still have documentation to show that I notified VF of my address change 2 years ago but apparently, they were still sending me bills to my old address. Anyway, again they said I'll get my bill in 3-5 days but they ignored my request of the unfair default removal. So I sent a third email re-stating my case, again asking them to remove the default, as it was not my fault they sent things to my old address. I really had no idea they had put a default on the account, or even that I allegedly still owed them some money! If I did, I would have settled it straight away. I mean, what else do they want? They have my current address and contacts, I've been chasing them for the bill (never thought I'd say that!), I told them if the charges were mine I would pay straight away...is it too much to ask for them to reciprocate in goodwill? Surprise, surprise - I got a reply from yet another person saying the same thing - my bill is going to be there in 3 -5 days. And again, much to my frustration, they just refuse to acknowledge the default notice removal request! It's now been 2 weeks and I am getting nowhere. I have had to put my house-buying on hold over some stupid mistake that VF made. My credit rating is otherwise good - maybe 2 late payments on my credit card over the course of 6 years, both when I went on a long holiday and forgot to arrange payment before I left. And now to have a default against my name for something I am not even aware of...I am so disappointed and upset that VF seems to be penalising me for moving to O2. I know that I can just pay the £50 without waiting for the bill, but I don't have the highest confidence in VF's ability to do anything now. Regardless of the charges, they have put a default on my name without notifying me, and they are now just ignoring my repeated requests for removal of this unfair default. My husband is suggesting I write to Ofcom if I get nowhere, but this doesn't change the fact that we will fail to buy a house we like because of Vodafone. Can anyone help with any suggestion as to how to get this sorted out as quickly as possible? Thanks in advance - I really appreciate it. LW