Vodafone Violation of Data Protection Act

[Heavitree]

Hi Everyone,

 

I've just been offered 100 pounds compensation from Vodafone for them wrongly selling my details to Fredrickson debt collection and also putting a default on my credit report which resulted in my mortgage application being declined at a crucial stage in April this year.

 

Earlier this month, I had written a painstaking letter to them providing evidence of their costly mistakes, and I recently received a letter saying, 'please call 0808 004 4688'. I called and the woman I spoke to was clearly put out at having to read the letter which contained my Equifax credit report. She finally put it through to senior management who came back very quickly with a non-negotiable 100 pound offer. I am now waiting for a letter from Vodafone to take the matter to an ombudsman who will investigate the matter on my behalf for free.

 

Briefly, I'll summarise the chain of events because I know a lot of you who read this will be able to identify with me here. There seems to be something exceptionally wrong with Vodafone's customer service and I think that for any of us who have wrongly suffered from harassment from debt collectors, hundreds of expensive, hopeless and time consuming phone calls to disinterested customer service reps, a lack of professionalism in written correspondence, and declined mortgages for 'bad credit', it's time this company answered for itself.

 

So...

 

- In Dec 2009 (after being a Vodafone customer for 4 years), I phone Vodafone and tell them I am switching to 3

- From Jan 2010 to Aug 2010 Vodafone continue to bill me

- In February 2010 I am reimbursed the above money and the account is again confirmed to be closed

- In July 2010 my account defaults without me knowing

- Vodafone sells my details to Fredrickson

- They find me at a new address one year later and start aggressively perusing money from me and my partner

- In Jan 2011, with Vodafone's assistance, Fredrickson finally desist from harassing me, and Vodafone apologises to me and says account is definitely settled

- In Dec 2012, I am declined for a mortgage at a crucial moment but the reason cannot be revealed to me by the lender because of Data Protection Act

- Plans for a home refurbishment fall through / builders leave the job

- I finally find out through Equifax that Vodafone are the source of the bad credit

- Vodafone examine the phone conversations and realise that a.) my account should have been closed in Feb 2010 and that b.) my credit file should have been amended at the earliest opportunity (they then amend the bad credit)

- The mortgage is finally approved but more than 1 month later than expected resulting in me staying in rental accommodation for an extra month at a cost of 1000 pounds

- I write to Vodafone seeking compensation

 

Now, there is only one person throughout this dreadful experience - his name is Lee from Vodafone web relations - who took my case seriously. He is a person worth contacting if you are in a similar situation. Lee actually managed to get the phone calls examined, where so many other Vodafone reps hurriedly said nothing could be done.

 

Lee or another Vodafone rep may respond here and say that part of the problem lies with the fact that when using a PAC code and switching to another provider, you need to formally request this in writing and therefore a phone conversation confirming this is insufficient.

 

But for me, 3 verbal confirmations of my account being closed is sufficient - and the blame lies with Vodafone's untrained, disinterested customer service reps. Moreover, if it so easy to take out a phone contract over the phone, then it should be equally easy to close the same account.

 

100 pounds compensation does not cover my phone call costs over this 4 year ordeal, let alone come anywhere close to the level of distress that various employees at Vodafone have caused myself and my partner. It is a derisory figure that only serves to reinforce my original grievances with Vodafone.

 

Wrongly selling details to third party debt collecting sharks is a crime that has to go noticed and punished accordingly.

 

Just because I had the patience to persist with this does not mean that we all do. I genuinely fear for more vulnerable people who are subjected to aggressive companies like Fredrickson or find themselves at the bottom of a black hole, victims of a wrongly affected credit report.

 

These are worrying times where corporate behaviour can get away with crimes like this. What is the point of writing a letter reasonably pointing out serious consumer concerns about irresponsible customer relation reps, only to be asked to phone a customer service representative who 'may not have the time to read all of the complaint'.

 

Vodafone, speaking on behalf of the hundreds of disenfranchised past and present customers, this cannot continue to happen and what are you going to do about it?

 

Dan

 

Ps. I have been advised on MSE expert that I should alter my claim to a libel one. Maybe this will be taken more seriously...

[BankFodder]

Vodafone again. It never ends with this company and their shocking treatment of their customer accounts and their customer credit records.

 

You need to deal with this by County Court action. It is quick and very effective and it is the only thing which will make Vodfone sit up and take you seriously.

 

On the basis of what you have told us here, your chances of winning are better than 95%. It would be a small claim and if you can support your claim with proper evidence of your losses then you will get your £1000 plus damages for the inconvenience plus compensation for your damaged credit record caused by Vodafone negligence.

 

I would suggest a claim of about £5k.

It is well below the small claims limit and so even if you happen to lose - unlikely - you will only be lose the cost of your claim.

We will be happy to help you.

 

I would expect that Vodafone will eventually settle and will try to do so on conditions of confidence as they will want to hide their shame. Breach of the Data Protection Act also allows you to claim for distress to yourself and to your family caused by their sloppy handling of your account.

 

We will be happy to escort you through the process.

The person who decided to offer you £100 is an idiot and frankly should be sent off for retraining.

 

If it interests you to make a small claim, then write out a statement of what has happened and an assessment of your losses and send it to VF and tell them that this is the beginning of the pre-action protocol and that they have 14 days to cough up or you will sue.

Tell them that you are in no mood for discussion.

Only one answer will be sufficient to prevent court action.

Don't bluff. If you don't mean to take action then don't bother to write but get ready for a very long and frustrating time of it.

 

If you send the LBA - then come back ere and we will help you draft the claim. You will have t start a brief claim using Moneyclaim and then follow up with a more detailed POC after the papers have been served.

 

Nice to hear that Lee has been helpful. A shame that Vodfone are prepared to field decent customer service reps and then betray them in the back-office.

 

Lions lead by donkeys?

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

Your case is similar to this one

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?302670-Vodafone-Incorrect-Default-*WON-out-of-court-settlement*&highlight=philharg

 

Why not have a read and see if it helps.

 

Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to sue them. VF's customer service (apart from the web team) is appalling.

[BankFodder]

As we have seen in the news recently, Vodafone pay no tax and only make 2.5% of their revenue from UK customers so there is obviously no great incentive to care about them.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22817704

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi Dan,

 

I do recall handling the credit file aspect of this matter earlier in the year.

 

In regard to these recent developments I note that you're now awaiting a letter from us before approaching the Ombudsman.

 

With this in mind, I'm sure you'll appreciate that it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment any further.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Web Relations

 

Vodafone UK

[Heavitree]

Hi Lee, that's ok - thank you for your assistance in getting the default removed. You must feel frustrated that your colleagues operating the phones are creating such a mess for you to clean up.

 

Thank you also to BankFodder and Silverfox1961. I read carefully though your advice, including the lengthy case involving that poor teacher. Funnily enough, I am a teacher as well, so these cases have even more in common. I am thinking of writing to BBC Watchdog on top of this for the interest value our cases present.

 

I received the deadlock letter - should I email it to you BankFodder and Silverfox1961 or type out its contents here for all to see?

 

It's a really disappointing response. The rep who wrote it was the the same person I spoke to on the phone. That person told me on the phone that they "may not have time to read through my letter" and confirmed this by not addressing the major events or any of my concerns. On the phone, the rep was put off by the 27 pages I sent (25 made up my credit report from Equifax to emphasize my responsibility as a consumer - no late payments / defaults whatsoever. In fact, all the Vodafone letter does is admit further culpability in its very poorly worded response. It took them 1 hour to make a decision - hardly enough time to read the letter properly.

 

Added to my consequences of this above, I did not mention the fact that this default also rejected in me getting an earlier mortgage with my own bank. I cannot describe what it is like to sit next to your partner in a bank with whom I have had an account for 15 years and to be told simply that your mortgage application has been declined: no reason, no explanation. It is like you have been infected with a disease and can only rely on the faith your partner has in you.

 

Anyway, I am ready to proceed - I've got all the time in the world and will happily see this out to the very end in a small claims court or elsewhere whilst documenting the process for all to see so that it might help them as well.

 

Best,

 

Dan

[BankFodder]

Post the deadlock letter but the next step if you have sent them an LBA and you are not satisfied is to issue the court papers.

Never make a threat which you won't carry out.

[Heavitree]

I've gone through this a thousand times with my partner and we are totally convinced that we have been victimized. I'll type out the letter in full shortly. It really is the catalyst for going to court.

 

Dan

[BankFodder]

A sense of victimisation is not a basis for going to court. You only go to court if there are clear obligations to you which have been breached and which have caused you some damage or loss.

[Heavitree]

Point taken - I'll put my emotions aside.

 

Here is the deadlock letter:

 

Re: Final Position / Deadlock

 

I am sorry that we have been unable to resolve this matter to your satisfaction. We have exhausted our internal complaints process. This is our final position and we are now at deadlock.

 

What we cannot agree on and why

 

On 07/12/09 you called us to change your account address and this was not done correctly resulting in only your billing address being changed.

 

You requested cancellation of the account on 20/12/09 and this was not actioned due to the incorrect address change.

 

Vodafone have since rectified the error by cancelling the contract and issuing a refund of the overcharges however your credit file had been defaulted due to outstanding monies. The default notice did not reach you because of this incorrect address.

 

Vodafone have since rectified the credit file so it is no longer showing the default.

 

Due to the delay this caused in you getting a mortgage and the time it took to resolve the situation you are asking for £2000 in compensation.

 

Our Final Position

 

We have offered £100 as a goodwill gesture for the experience however we feel the requests for £2000 are not reasonable.

 

Taking Your Complaint Further

 

You now have the right to refer your complaint to Ombudsman Services if you want to. You have up to nine months to do this.

 

The ombudsman's role is to help resolve complaints. The service is free to use and is independent. It has the authority to resolve complaints by requiring; an apology; an explanation of what went wrong; a practical solution to be taken to correct the problem; and, a financial reward. If you accept the ombudsman's decision it is binding on us and we must put in place any remedy that is required. You can decline the decision if you want to and you will not be held to it or charged.

 

The contact details for Ombudsman Services are given below. If you can, it is usually best to phone and you should say you have received this deadlock letter.

 

Ombudsman Services Contact Details...

 

Yours Sincerely,

 

XXX

[Heavitree]

Bankfodder, could you send me a template for the Iba? The link you gave me just takes me to the home page. Thanks for everything so far.

[BankFodder]

Amazing letter. They admit liability and then only offer you a gesture of goodwill. It really is like dealing with children.

 

Can you lay out here, please, how you calculate your losses

[Heavitree]

£1000 for the delayed mortgage with Virgin this year (I have emails between myself and my mortgage advisor to show how / when the delay occurred, plus the tenancy agreement from Dec 2012 which shows the deliberately inserted 6 month break clause which would have enabled us to get out of our rental property in early June as opposed to early July)

 

£200 for the phone calls made to Vodafone, Virgin, Optima Legal, HSBC, my mortgage advisor, Credit Expert, Equifax to get the account cancelled and the default removed.

 

£14.95 x 2 for the Equifax reports for myself and my partner

£14.99 X 2 for the Credit Expert reports for myself and partner

 

These are the obvious costs. I really don't know how to calculate my loss at time at work or the distress involved in the two mortgages being declined firstly in 2012 with HSBC and again this year with Virgin, plus the harassment from Fredrickson. It is hard to put a monetary value on it all. All I can say is that it drove myself and my partner to the limit.

[BankFodder]

OK. Actual losses will have to be carefully itemised and provable by evidence. I think that you will need a spreadsheet signed off by your mortgage broker plus an accompanying statement from him.

Do what you can to get phone statement showing what it has cost you.

 

Also make a reasonable assessment of the time you have spend handing it - including research, time on the forum etc.

Itemise it all so far as possible in a spreadsheet.

Put together a detailed statement outlining what has happened, how it affected your creditworthiness, how it affected your attempt to buy a home and what you had to do to undo the damage. In the same statement, try to describe in as much detail as possible how this impacted upon you psychologically and emotionally and how it impacted on your work and relationship and anything else.

Get your partner to do the same thing.

 

Write a letter to VF explaining what has happened. Hive them a brief - but not detailed account of how it has impacted on you and your partner and tell them that their £100 gesture is wholly unacceptable.

Tell them that you want them to cover your losses plus a sensible offer in respect of distress to you and your partner or you will sue in 14 days.

Then sue.

 

I suggest that you sue for your losses - £1,230 plus your time in sorting it out. I suggest that you calculate at £19. per hour and then add on a claim for distress in the discretion of the court not exceeding, say, £7000.

Calculate it so that it will stay within the £10k small claims limit, so reduce the distress damages if you need to. You need to keep it under the limit because lots of companies become bullies if they think that they can frighten you on costs.

We'll help you do the POC.

Send the letter - you don't need a template.

Chances of success are 100% on the cause of action as they have already put their hands up but there will then there will have to be a hearing to assess damages.

 

Don't accept any gestures of goodwill - even if they are large. Email me on our admin address if they contact you with any proposals. They think that they can buy you off with bonbons - which shows how little respect they have for their customers - and the Data Protection laws.

If they want to keep things confidential, email me anyway. You are entitled to take advice - but frankly they are bang to rights here and I wouldn't give them the time of day - let alone confidence.

[Heavitree]

Thank you so much for this - I am going about it now step by step. I'll post the letter to Vodafone here once it is written.

[BankFodder]

Keep it brief. Don't write your life history. Two sides max. One side is best.

 

They don't care anyway. You are really just writing it because that's what you have to do.

[Heavitree]

Hi Bankfodder,

 

I've calculated the losses on a spreadsheet. Do you want to take a look? I don't know how to attach docs through CAG website. I don't think it is possible - perhaps it needs to go through email instead?

 

I'm also awaiting a supporting statement from my mortgage advisor and will start writing my response letter to VF now.

 

Thanks for all your help to date.

[Heavitree]

My response to their deadlock letter:

 

04/07/2013

 

Customer Relations

Vodafone Limited

The Connection

Newbury

Berkshire

RG14 2FN

 

 

To Whom It May Concern,

 

In response to your deadlock letter dated 08 June 2013, I am writing to say that the goodwill gesture of £100 is wholly unacceptable given the problems outlined in my original claim for compensation.

 

In general, I was very disappointed that the letter I received made absolutely no effort to address any of the concerns I had taken time to outline very clearly, except for the compensation claim. This hurriedly written letter only reinforced the unacceptable customer service which has and continues to be the source of my complaint.

 

I have since sought legal advice and produced a detailed account of my actual losses and a summarisation of the compensation I feel is owing to myself and my partner for the distress caused by Vodafone’s admitted “error” in the deadlock letter.

 

I have calculated the true reflection of my actual losses to be £1498.53. These losses are made up of phone calls made between late January and April of 2013 to investigate the source of the bad credit and get it removed; my loss of time at work making those phone calls; the credit reports myself and my partner had to produce; the cost of spending unnecessary time in a rental during the delay; the time spent researching how to rectify the matter through websites like the Consumer Action Group; and my loss of time in applying for a previous failed mortgage application with my own bank in April 2011. As I said, I have evidence for all of these losses, including a supporting statement from my mortgage advisor who also lost a massive amount of time trying to undo the damage.

 

In addition to the £1498.53, I ask that you make a sensible offer in respect of the distress caused to myself and my partner for the damage caused to my reputation as a responsible consumer (see the detailed history of my credit report which I supplied you with in the original letter), plus the distress my partner and I experienced throughout the 3 month period in question, and finally the stress involved with the harassment from Fredrickson, Vodafone’s third party debt collector.

 

If a satisfactory outcome cannot be achieved within 14 days of receipt of this letter, I will be suing Vodafone.

 

Yours Sincerely,

[BankFodder]

Fine. Start preparing your claim now. Vodafone won't be prepared to meet your timescale so have everything ready to issue the claim at the expiry of your deadline.

 

Issue the claim on Moneyclaim. This will give you about 1000 characters and then follow up with a more detailed POC. Read about it in the small claims FAQ.

 

I suggest that you claim for your actual losses - £1498.53 plus damages for distress not exceeding, say, £7000 at the discretion of the court. - Up to you to pick a figure but make sure that the total remains less than £10k including any interest.

 

Also, I suggest that you begin a complaint to the Information Commissioner. This kind of thing is happening too often with Vodafone and they need to be reported to the IC every time. Eventually the IC might get off their backside and impose a serious fine on VF which might coax them of their backside in turn.

[Heavitree]

Hi Bankfodder,

 

The time for Vodafone to respond has elapsed - I heard nothing back from either my letter or my mortgage advisor's supporting statement which they also received.

 

I'm in the middle of the Money Claim application. I'm just about to write the 1000 word claim particulars, but I am stumped by the "the right to claim interest under the County Court Act". Based on our previous conversations, do you think this is applicable to me?

 

Many thanks,

 

Dan

[Heavitree]

Draft POC

 

 

Further and Better Particulars of Claim

 

 

1. The claimant had a telephone number XXXXX and a direct debit contract with the defendant from January 2006 to December 2009.

2. In December 2009, the claimant contacted the defendant to notify them of a change of address.

3. Later that same month, the claimant requested that the phone contact be cancelled (they were out of contract) so that they could join the 3 network. This was mainly due to frustration with the defendant’s customer service and 2 recent bills unfairly exceeding £100. The claimant made a written complaint about these bills but did not receive a response. Thus, they decided to leave.

4. Unknowingly to the claimant, the defendant did not action the cancellation due to an admitted “error” in an “incorrect address change”.

5. The claimant joined the 3 network in late December 2012.

6. The claimant contacted the defendant at least 2 other times in early 2010 to confirm that the account should have been closed after continuing to be billed. On both occasions, they were assured that the account had been closed.

7. The claimant was refunded money by the defendant for overcharges of £38.24, but the account still remained open and eventually defaulted. The defendant sold the claimant’s details to a Debt Collection Agency (Fredrickson International).

8. In Dec 2010, Fredrickson found the claimant at their new address (XXX) and started a campaign of harassment letters and phone calls.

9. The claimant had a heated exchange with Fredrickson and once again contacted the defendant to say that the account should have been closed. The defendant apologised and assured the claimant the account had definitely been closed.

10. The default remained on the claimant’s credit history.

11. In April 2011, the claimant’s bank HSBC declined him for a mortgage, although a mortgage was approved with the claimant’s partner at Lloyds. The reason for the declined mortgage with HSBC may have been attributable to the Vodafone default. This declined mortgage caused considerable distress for the claimant and their partner at that time.

12. In late December 2012 / early January 2013, the claimant and his partner started the process of a new mortgage application with Virgin Money.

13. Despite being recommended as an A1 client by his mortgage advisor, the claimant’s application was rejected for bad credit in February 2013, resulting in enormous confusion and stress for the claimant, his partner, and their mortgage advisor.

14. Instead of taking weeks to get the application approved, the matter turned into months, involving numerous phone conversations with Equifax, Credit Expert, Optima Legal Solicitors, Virgin, the defendant, HSBC, the mortgage advisor, totaling roughly 8 hours and £90 in costs – these figures exclude the many phone calls going back and forth between the claimant and his partner). The claimant also spent roughly 8 hours trying to research the matter on websites like “Money Saving Expert” and “The Consumer Action Group” (please refer to the attached excel spreadsheet for a breakdown of these costs). There were also costs involved in procuring the credit reports from Equifax and Credit Expert.

15. Finally, in May 2013, the defendant reviewed the phone conversations in the Quality Assurance department and consequently the bad credit was amended – the mortgage was approved but at least 1 month later than anticipated, resulting in the claimant and his partner staying an extra month in their rental in July, as opposed to the originally scheduled house move in June. The cost of this unnecessary delay was £1000.

16. On May 15th, the claimant sent a letter of complaint to the defendant asking for compensation. This letter included a complete Equifax credit report, showing the claimant’s responsible credit history.

17. The defendant replied with a letter simply asking the claimant to call their customer service department on a premium phone number.

18. The claimant obliged and spoke with a customer service representative who said they “may not have time to look through the 20 page complaint” (18 pages were composed of the Equifax Credit Report”. The defendant asked the claimant for a figure of compensation on the spot which the claimant estimated to be £2000 (£1000 for the additional time in rental and £1000 for the distress). The figure was dismissed within 1 hour, replaced by a “goodwill gesture of £100. The claimant assumed that neither the letter of complaint nor the compensation figure had been given proper consideration.

19. The claimant received a deadlock letter with the information above being reiterated.

20. The claimant sent another letter to the defendant (accompanied by a supporting statement from their mortgage advisor) asking that £1498.53 in actual damages plus a sensible compensation figure in respect of the distress caused be paid before suing in 14 days.

21. The claimant received no response and so proceeded with suing the defendant.

[Heavitree]

Hi - I've issued the Money Claim. I also drafted the POC (see previous message). I understand that I should now send it to Vodafone and then later to the local court once the case has been transferred there.

 

I am not sure about the headings at the top of the POC. I've put the claim number and the claimant / defendant details, but nothing else besides what you can see in the POC.

 

I have to send this in the next 14 days. I'll do that tomorrow, but it would be great to get some feedback just before.

 

I'll be filling in the complaint to the Information Commissioner in the meantime.

 

Thanks so much again.

[Heavitree]

Handling of Information Complaint Form now sent to the ICO.

[citizenB]

The detailed PoC you have in post 21, is it in addition to one that you filed online ?

 

I will ask what you need to do

[citizenB]

Apparently you need to send to Vodafone and the court (if this is still at Northampton, then send it there) Make sure you mark it clearly with all the court references and names of parties involved.

 

 

" does he just send this to Vodafone and the court or wait until the actual court is known."

 

 

 

 

 

Yes and no CB