Vodafone Defaulted Account

[Gold123]

Evening All,

 

This is my first post on this forum so I would love to take the opportunity to say thank you in advance for the free help and advice you offer here. Like so many people I find myself feeling hopeless and have no idea who to turn too. Thus I really appreciate that you guys have remained so professional in helping people with issues which in my case is destroying my life.

 

I have recently been declined two times when trying to rent a property closer to where I work as I am currently commuting 140 miles a day and the journey and expense is slowly wearing me down.

 

I felt really surprise being declined tenancy as I am on a reasonable salary and in continious employment for 4 years. I decided therefore to reapply to another property and too my surprise it returned the same result.

 

Out of desperation I decided to become a member of Experian in-order to check my credit report. Too my shock and horror I had a defaulted account from Vodafone, which I wasn’t even aware off.

 

I have read a members thread recently which matched my situation almost exactly, so I am hoping I could get some advice on how to open effective lines of communication with Vodafone to get this matter sorted. Or whether you feel it wouldn’t achieve much to challenge it.

 

Here’s some background information about this defaulted account. It was opened in 2005 and was my first mobile phone contract. No matter how tough it was self-funding through university I always kept my Vodafone account up-to-date without missing a payment. This would remain my only contract until the end of 2009 when I faced severe financial difficulties, through breaking my hand in a work related accident, which in turn caused me not to be paid for 4 months. At this time I had to pay for my flat that I was living in and without a wage my bank account went into negative figures. It wasn’t until Vodafone contacted me for the first time in 5 years that I realised I had missed a direct debit payment due to insufficient funds. I was very apologetic and explainedmy situation in full without leaving out any details. It seemed at the time that Vodafone appreciated the honesty and we discussed ways we could resolve this issue (they cut my phone within 24 hours). I continued to struggle with work disputes and still not receiving a single penny that this issue with Vodafone continued for another two months with me constantly updating Vodafone on my circumstance (not the type to ignore things and wish they would go away).

 

It seemed at the time that myself and Vodafone had gained a good dialogue in terms of agreeing to end the contract (having only 3 months left until it was due to renew) and gradually repaying what’s owed (£94) within Vodafones repayment plan. Things calmed down for the next month with no contact from Vodafone, until out of the blue I received a letter stating that I owed them £304. I questioned why it had increased from £94 - £304, they stated that due to passing my debt to a third party debt collector they would have to charge an interest for the repayment term. I really started to think that Vodafone practices remind me more of a loan shark then a big company. I attempted to dispute this extra charge (£304) with Vodafone but they kept stating that it is out of their hands now and with the third party debt collector, in-which theyrefused to give me the number too.

 

I received a further two or three threatening letters from Vodafone stating that if the late payments wasnt paid immediately they could take legal action against me. Seems communication isn’t a strong suit in Vodafone's skillsets, as the remaining debt had already been assigned to a third party debt collection agency. This information was once again reiterated to Vodafone in the hope the matter wouldn’t be taken further and I would make payment as agreed with the third party. Within a week of this letter the debt agency contacted me to request an additional £90 be paid as a once off set up fee, which worsened my already bad financial situation.

 

Long story short a monthly repayment was agreed and within 3 months the total balance was paid off (dispute over work had been successful). I thought nothing further of the matter and just presumed that this matter had been sorted with no defaults being recorded on my account. Until last week I didn’teven realise I had a default.

 

At this point I really must question why Vodafone are such a successful as a telecommunications company when they treat there long term customers in such a bad way. I am not a benefit cheat or someone that constantly spends what they don’t have, I have always been careful with money, working and paying my taxes.

 

The default date is showing on Experian as 07/11/2009 andcurrent balance shown as ‘Satisfied’ not ‘Settled’ even though the full amount had been paid off. The default balance was £304.

 

This one default feels like a 6 year prison sentence as I cannot even rent a property that’s well within my budget. Please help me and advise me of the best way I can communicate with Vodafone to remove this default as I am certain it was wrongly put in place.

 

Many thanks for taking the time to read through my situation.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Gold123
tidied a bit

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

This is yet another case where Lee may be able to help. If you follow he instructions FULLY in the link below, post up the automated reference number (when you get it) and wait to see if Lee gets notified.

 

Your thread is in the data protection forum. I think it would be better placed in the telecoms forum. If you agree, I will do so

[Gold123]

Thank you for the quick reply, I am some what new to forums. Sorry if I posted in the wrong area.

 

I have read many other threads which have had issues with Vodafone. I will email him now but not expecting a reply until after the weekend.

 

If you think it's the most appropriate place for this thread please move it to telecoms.

Edited January 28, 2012 by Gold123

[silverfox1961]

I'm assuming the DCA were Fredricksons. Matters not as any debt collector collecting on behalf of Vodafone means Vodafone are responsible for their actions AND if the DCA are only collecting as opposed to having bought the debt, Vodafone could have dealt with you, not as they say 'it's out of our hands'

 

I would be disputing the 'Admin Fee' that Vodafone added as it isn't a true reflection of the actual cost of administering the account. The DCA got a cut of the money they raised from you (Freds get 12%) so they should not be adding any fees.

 

Highly unlikely Lee will be here this weekend as I do believe he actually does have a life.

 

Moving thread to telecoms forum

[locutus]

Here's how to get Lee onboard

Hi CAG members,

We thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves and to assure you all that our presence on CAG is with the very best of intentions.

vodafone UK has recently introduced a dedicated Web Relations Team which is keen to seek out customers who’re having difficulties with their accounts and feel that they have no other place to turn to than CAG and other consumer forums and blogs.

Naturally, it’s not possible for us to help directly with account specific queries on CAG and as such we would encourage those members who feel we can help them to contact us privately at [email protected] ne.co.uk quoting ‘WRT135 – CAG Forum’ in the subject line to ensure that it reaches the Web Relations Team.

When emailing us we would also ask that you either provide us with a link to your post or thread – if you’ve posted in another member’s thread please also provide your CAG username so that we can check what your query is.

 

 

pssst... silverfox... you forgot to include a link

 

 

Regarding DCA's, If they contact you by phone, Just tell them "This matter is in serious dispute, as such I will not go through any security questions and any continued calls I will report you for harassment, and to the OFT and trading standards for not complying with the debt collection guidelines." then hang up.

 

Any letters ignore. Mobile phone debts NEVER go to court, so matters will not get any worse by following this advice.

 

 

It seems to me that you always kept within what was agreed, and other than a sum that you disputed, payments were kept up to date. Therefor there should be nothing negative on your credit file. Hopefully Lee will see this and get this all sorted for you.

 

Finally, Don't worry. DCA's rely on people worrying and paying even when the debt is not correct.

Edited January 29, 2012 by locutus

[silverfox1961]

pssst... silverfox... you forgot to include a link

So I did. Senior moments I'm afraid

 

Can't give you rep. CAG won't let me

[Gold123]

Thank you for all the advice you guys are giving me. Personally it was a low point in my life which I thought I left behind me. My credit record isnt bad but has this one default lingering to bite me in the butt.

 

I am not too bothered about any disputes regarding extra payments to DCA as the amount isnt very big. My one and only concern is that I kept Vodafone informed and we worked on a repayment plan together, just to have my debt sold. I repaid it well in advance and have no idea why they defaulted me.

 

Hopefully Lee can help to clear this matter up. If it does result in the default staying (god forbid), could I SAR Vodafone as I am interested in how they record the matters leading up to this default.

 

Regards

[silverfox1961]

You can SAR Vodafone (I did) What you expect and what you will actually get are vastly different. Account history notes are what I found lacking until they sent me some more that they had 'forgot' (after a lot of prompting)

[Gold123]

Hello,

 

Just updating my case. I have just emailed the web relations team and the automated reponse gave the following reference number:

 

Re: WRT135 - CAG Forum [#8344651]

 

I will update you guys once Lee contacts me for account specific information.

 

Thanks for your response Silverfox, I will do some research about getting a SAR sent out if this dispute doesnt change anything.

 

Regards and have a lovely weekend

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Evening All,

 

This is my first post on this forum so I would love to take the opportunity to say thank you in advance for the free help and advice you offer here. Like so many people I find myself feeling hopeless and have no idea who to turn too. Thus I really appreciate that you guys have remained so professional in helping people with issues which in my case is destroying my life.

 

I have recently been declined two times when trying to rent a property closer to where I work as I am currently commuting 140 miles a day and the journey and expense is slowly wearing me down.

 

I felt really surprise being declined tenancy as I am on a reasonable salary and in continious employment for 4 years. I decided therefore to reapply to another property and too my surprise it returned the same result.

 

Out of desperation I decided to become a member of Experian in-order to check my credit report. Too my shock and horror I had a defaulted account from Vodafone, which I wasn’t even aware off.

 

I have read a members thread recently which matched my situation almost exactly, so I am hoping I could get some advice on how to open effective lines of communication with Vodafone to get this matter sorted. Or whether you feel it wouldn’t achieve much to challenge it.

 

Here’s some background information about this defaulted account. It was opened in 2005 and was my first mobile phone contract. No matter how tough it was self-funding through university I always kept my Vodafone account up-to-date without missing a payment. This would remain my only contract until the end of 2009 when I faced severe financial difficulties, through breaking my hand in a work related accident, which in turn caused me not to be paid for 4 months. At this time I had to pay for my flat that I was living in and without a wage my bank account went into negative figures. It wasn’t until Vodafone contacted me for the first time in 5 years that I realised I had missed a direct debit payment due to insufficient funds. I was very apologetic and explainedmy situation in full without leaving out any details. It seemed at the time that Vodafone appreciated the honesty and we discussed ways we could resolve this issue (they cut my phone within 24 hours). I continued to struggle with work disputes and still not receiving a single penny that this issue with Vodafone continued for another two months with me constantly updating Vodafone on my circumstance (not the type to ignore things and wish they would go away).

 

It seemed at the time that myself and Vodafone had gained a good dialogue in terms of agreeing to end the contract (having only 3 months left until it was due to renew) and gradually repaying what’s owed (£94) within Vodafones repayment plan. Things calmed down for the next month with no contact from Vodafone, until out of the blue I received a letter stating that I owed them £304. I questioned why it had increased from £94 - £304, they stated that due to passing my debt to a third party debt collector they would have to charge an interest for the repayment term. I really started to think that Vodafone practices remind me more of a loan shark then a big company. I attempted to dispute this extra charge (£304) with Vodafone but they kept stating that it is out of their hands now and with the third party debt collector, in-which theyrefused to give me the number too.

 

I received a further two or three threatening letters from Vodafone stating that if the late payments wasnt paid immediately they could take legal action against me. Seems communication isn’t a strong suit in Vodafone's skillsets, as the remaining debt had already been assigned to a third party debt collection agency. This information was once again reiterated to Vodafone in the hope the matter wouldn’t be taken further and I would make payment as agreed with the third party. Within a week of this letter the debt agency contacted me to request an additional £90 be paid as a once off set up fee, which worsened my already bad financial situation.

 

Long story short a monthly repayment was agreed and within 3 months the total balance was paid off (dispute over work had been successful). I thought nothing further of the matter and just presumed that this matter had been sorted with no defaults being recorded on my account. Until last week I didn’teven realise I had a default.

 

At this point I really must question why Vodafone are such a successful as a telecommunications company when they treat there long term customers in such a bad way. I am not a benefit cheat or someone that constantly spends what they don’t have, I have always been careful with money, working and paying my taxes.

 

The default date is showing on Experian as 07/11/2009 andcurrent balance shown as ‘Satisfied’ not ‘Settled’ even though the full amount had been paid off. The default balance was £304.

 

This one default feels like a 6 year prison sentence as I cannot even rent a property that’s well within my budget. Please help me and advise me of the best way I can communicate with Vodafone to remove this default as I am certain it was wrongly put in place.

 

Many thanks for taking the time to read through my situation.

 

Hi Gold123,

 

This certainly does seem to have become a rather complicated state of affairs but thanks for making me aware of them.

 

I can confirm that I've received your email and as such I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I'm assuming the DCA were Fredricksons. Matters not as any debt collector collecting on behalf of Vodafone means Vodafone are responsible for their actions AND if the DCA are only collecting as opposed to having bought the debt, Vodafone could have dealt with you, not as they say 'it's out of our hands'

 

I would be disputing the 'Admin Fee' that Vodafone added as it isn't a true reflection of the actual cost of administering the account. The DCA got a cut of the money they raised from you (Freds get 12%) so they should not be adding any fees.

 

Highly unlikely Lee will be here this weekend as I do believe he actually does have a life.

 

Moving thread to telecoms forum

 

Hi silverfox,

 

By the sounds of it the increase mentioned here won't be attributed to any administration fee but more an early cancellation fee which is of course usually billed in the event that an account is cancelled prior to the minimum contractual commitment having been fulfilled.

 

Anyhow, I'll be looking into this as part of my investigation.

 

Kind regards to you both.

 

Lee

 

Web Relations Team

 

Vodafone UK

[Gold123]

Thank you Lee for the quick reply I appreciate it alot. I have read on other threads that you have always tried your best to find a solution to these problems.

 

It does seem complicated but that's only because I included alot of background information.*

 

The main point is when I had financial difficulties with paying my Vodafone bill I immediately contacted Vodafone to explain my situation. As opposed to just ignoring the problem and hoping it would go away. I agreed with Vodafone on several occasions to make payments as soon as I had some money and I believe Vodafone to have acknowledged this.

 

When I finally realised my situation wouldn't improve I opted to what Vodafone suggested in ending my account 3 months early and pay what's owed within a payment plan.

 

At no point did I loose communication with Vodafone in the matter. My one concern would have been that my mailing address was my parents house and therefore when confusion did arise I wasn't able to respond quickly enough. However that's not to say as soon as these confusions occurred I didn't respone immediately because I did.

 

I am not disputing any charges as I am sure Vodafone and the DCA had there reasons for them, but I am disputing the Default as communication between me and Vodafone and later with the DCA was never broken. The debt owed was paid as agreed by the repayment plan and even earlier the anticipated. So why was my account defaulted?

 

I tried my best at the time. *Plus when things were bad financially I did everything that Vodafone and I agreed.*

 

Lee will you require me to contact you with some security information e.g full name, date of birth etc. so you will be able to trace my account down?

 

Either way thank you for your help I appreciate it alot as I have no one else to turn too.

 

Kindest regards

[locutus]

Go to this link to contact lee.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?213340-Vodafone-Webteam-for-Customers-With-Problems-**UPDATED-jANUARY-2012**

 

Lee will sort the verification and security with you from there.

 

Your posts do seem to show this is wearing you down, let Lee take some of that stres for you, he'll work his hardest to resolve things to your satisfaction.

 

EDIT I see you've already contacted the webteam. Security will obviously take place in private between yourself and vodafone. Lee will probably contact you soon

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Thank you Lee for the quick reply I appreciate it alot. I have read on other threads that you have always tried your best to find a solution to these problems.

 

It does seem complicated but that's only because I included alot of background information.*

 

The main point is when I had financial difficulties with paying my Vodafone bill I immediately contacted Vodafone to explain my situation. As opposed to just ignoring the problem and hoping it would go away. I agreed with Vodafone on several occasions to make payments as soon as I had some money and I believe Vodafone to have acknowledged this.

 

When I finally realised my situation wouldn't improve I opted to what Vodafone suggested in ending my account 3 months early and pay what's owed within a payment plan.

 

At no point did I loose communication with Vodafone in the matter. My one concern would have been that my mailing address was my parents house and therefore when confusion did arise I wasn't able to respond quickly enough. However that's not to say as soon as these confusions occurred I didn't respone immediately because I did.

 

I am not disputing any charges as I am sure Vodafone and the DCA had there reasons for them, but I am disputing the Default as communication between me and Vodafone and later with the DCA was never broken. The debt owed was paid as agreed by the repayment plan and even earlier the anticipated. So why was my account defaulted?

 

I tried my best at the time. *Plus when things were bad financially I did everything that Vodafone and I agreed.*

 

Lee will you require me to contact you with some security information e.g full name, date of birth etc. so you will be able to trace my account down?

 

Either way thank you for your help I appreciate it alot as I have no one else to turn too.

 

Kindest regards

 

Hi Gold123,

 

Don't worry about the amount of background information you've provided as it'll assist me with my investigations.

 

Rest assured that I'll do what I can to help you as much as possible and get back to you as quickly as I can.

 

Best wishes,

 

Lee

 

Web Relations Team

 

Vodafone UK