@vodafoneuk Stolen phone, 6.2k bill, Vodafone saw high usage but did not block phone - HELP!!!

[smari000]

I've seen some posts on stolen phones abroad and massive bills. Please help someone...

 

My scenario:

 

I had my phone stolen in Spain and some criminal gang used it to make 369 phone calls (sometimes simultaneously) to Serbian premium numbers before I was able to report it stolen.

 

This has left me with a 6.2k bill which I received on 16 Oct (the calls were made on 27/28 Sep).

 

Not surprisingly this freaked my out as when I reported it stolen the rep told me that there was no suspicious activity on the account.

 

I immediately called Vodafone and the rep I spoke to advised that this was obviously fraudulent activity and that he would have the charges reversed. I received multiple assurances that I wouldn't be charged and that he would send me a confirmation email (he wanted to send a text, but I wanted it in writing). Phew, I thought!

 

No email for a few days and so I called back on 20 Oct to find out what was going on and boy oh boy had their attitude changed. Not only had they refused to acknowledge the contents of my prior call but also refused to acknowledge that any type of fraud had taken place at all. The "you are liable for all calls up until reported stolen" line was being regurgitated at will.

 

The calls over the last few days were basically me pleading with them to explain how they did not notice such high call volumes and take no action whatsoever. I had made 12 voice calls in the whole of September, but 369 calls over a 30 hour window didn't raise any flags?!? I was told repeatedly it takes more than 24 hours for the systems to update.

 

Then the breakthrough that exposes this myth of "not knowing" they seem to perpetuate.

 

I kept referring to the incident as a fraud and one of the many reps I had spoken to replied (prob out of frustration), "it's not fraud, your account was checked on the night of 27 Sep at 23:40 (12 hours after the calls began) due to suspicious activity and it was decided that no fraud was taking place". This was re-confirmed by a supervisor 3 hours ago.

 

In other words, they have the technology to identify suspicious activity, they just don't feel like acting on it.

 

When I pushed the supervisor on the duty Vodafone has to assist or act in the customer's interest when this type of activity is occurring I got a response that pretty much sums up their whole attitude, "Sir, show me where in our T&C's it states that we should act in the manner you are describing".

 

Now the threats of debt collectors and credit scores have started. The only thing they said they would do for me is offer a payment plan over 6 months (as this was an exceptional case).

 

I find myself moving between anger and anxiety constantly now...

 

How do I fix this???

 

I'm so close to having a deposit to buy a flat after years of saving. This whole episode looks like ruining that dream...

[dx100uk]

We here at CAg have a very successful VodaFone Rep operating here

.

We advise you to follow this method to alert them to your thread:

.

If you'd like any help from Lee, email your details via the Contact us form here (https://help.vodafone.co.uk/system/selfservice.controller?CMD=ESCALATION_REQUEST&PARTITION_ID=1&CONFIGURATION=1000&COUNTRY=us&LANGUAGE=en)

you MUST PUT the code 'WRT135 - CAG Forum' in the subject line.

Once sent, you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post back with this

Vodafone UK

.

CAG.

[rebel11]

Hi smari000

 

Welcome to CAG

 

We have a Vodafone rep (Lee) on this site who can look into this matter for you. The crux of this is that Vodafone are looking to profit from a fraudulant calls.

 

Just for info:-

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2798454/my-phone-stolen-holiday-vodafone-making-pay-15-000-bill-thieves-ran-teacher-facing-financial-ruin-mobile-operator-refuse-cancel-charges-ran-pickpocket.html

 

It might be an idea to check their T & C's, when their suspicious activity alerts kick in.

 

There are interesting threads, read through the threads, make notes.

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi smari000,

 

Thanks for making me aware of this.

 

So I can take a closer look at things, email me via the contact details provided by dx100uk.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Social Media Comms

 

Vodafone UK

[rebel11]

Let us know how it is resolved.

[smari000]

Lee from Vodafone got in contact with me yesterday to arrange a call to discuss.

 

I replied, but no contact since...

[smari000]

Received a call from Vodafone tonight after I sent a letter to the CEO and General Counsel yesterday.

 

First time they called me back!

 

No joy though...

 

They still want the whole amount.

 

Now the case has been referred to the deadlock letter team for review.

 

More hoops to jump through.

[rebel11]

Hi smari000

 

Send them a SAR request, they will send you all the data they have on the account, also ask for recordings / transcripts. They have 40 days to respond. Send it Recorded Delivery. It will cost £10.

 

You can show that they said they would write if off, but they didn't.

 

http://ico.org.uk/for_the_public/personal_information

 

Vodafone,

Registered address,

Vodafone House,

The Connection,

Newbury,

Berkshire RG14 2FN.

 

Received a call from Vodafone tonight after I sent a letter to the CEO and General Counsel yesterday.

 

First time they called me back!

 

No joy though...

 

They still want the whole amount.

 

Now the case has been referred to the deadlock letter team for review.

 

More hoops to jump through.

[smari000]

thanks rebel11.

 

Has anyone had experience with SAR's before?

 

I know they have up to 40 days to send you the information, but is this the norm?

[BankFodder]

Is there a contractual term that they are relying on? Can you point us to it please.

 

Thanks

 

 

smari000 - I've sent you an email. Check your spam box if you don't see it. Please respond by email

[smari000]

Vodafone got in contact with me earlier in the month

and advised they will be waiving all but 500 pounds of the bill.

 

This was quite out of the blue as the last time I spoke to them

they advised that I was liable for the whole amount

and no "good faith" reductions were to be applied.

 

So what changed?

 

The only thing was that I submitted a SAR.

The next day after it was received (I used tracked mail) was when I got the call that they would be waiving 90% of the bill.

 

Now whether this was the sole factor or not, I can only speculate.

 

Things I've learned from this whole ordeal:

 

1) Don't waste your time arguing with the customer service reps.

They all read from a script and have no power to change the current decision that is listed in the notes to your account.

 

 

If you don't like the current deciison, tell them you want it referred higher up the chain and hang up.

The decisions are made behind the scenes.

 

 

Furthermore, screaming till your blue in the face to multiple customer service reps will only wear you down

and make you give up and take their decision (what they are banking on).

 

2) Write letters.

I wrote letters to the CEO and General Counsel.

These letters by law are placed on your account and must be reviewed.

Having your arguments in print is much better than relying on some customer service rep

paraphrasing your phone calls and making sub standard notes.

 

3) File an SAR as quickly as you can if you believe you have been given conflicting advice or promised actions that have not been undertaken.

They will send you within 40 days all the notes to your account and written transcripts of all of your phone calls.

This will be invaluable if you have to go to small claims at a later point or want media attention for your case.

 

4) Tell them you want the collections process to be frozen whilst you settle the dispute.

The team that looks at your case is different to the collections team.

You don't want the collections team proceeding down the default path.

I had mine frozen for one month (at my request) to make sure the debt collectors were kept out of the picture.

 

Lastly, be prepared to fight tooth and nail from the outset.

 

 

Don't leave it too long to have your case referred up the chain as time (generally) is not on your side.

[rebel11]

Hi smariooo

 

Well Done smariooo. Have they broken the £500 they are still charging down for you?

[smari000]

They just said they will waive all of roaming charges except for £500.

 

I paid the amount just to avoid any credit rating knock on effects, however I am still pursuing them to get that amount refunded.

 

Currently I am waiting for the SAR docs (it's been 20 days since they received the request).

[rebel11]

Update when you get the SAR info, very good progress to date.

 

They just said they will waive all of roaming charges except for £500.

 

I paid the amount just to avoid any credit rating knock on effects, however I am still pursuing them to get that amount refunded.

 

Currently I am waiting for the SAR docs (it's been 20 days since they received the request).

[ArmchairPundit]

They just said they will waive all of roaming charges except for £500.

 

I paid the amount just to avoid any credit rating knock on effects, however I am still pursuing them to get that amount refunded.

 

Currently I am waiting for the SAR docs (it's been 20 days since they received the request).

 

Am I correct in understanding that you were on BBC Watchdog last night?

 

Outrageous to think that the Government had instructed Mobile Phone operators to implement 'credit-card' style caps on stolen phone usages but that nothing has been done about it.

 

Hopefully the courts see this.

[citizenB]

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/17/vodafone-customer-billing-nightmare-mobile-theft

 

There are some real horror stories regarding stolen phones and massive bills which the mobile companies want the victim to pay.

 

The main worry here is of course that they will almost certainly enter a default on your credit file - which compounds the problem.

[2Grumpy]

I've seen some posts on stolen phones abroad and massive bills. Please help someone...

 

My scenario:

 

I had my phone stolen in Spain and some criminal gang used it to make 369 phone calls (sometimes simultaneously) to Serbian premium numbers before I was able to report it stolen.

 

This has left me with a 6.2k bill which I received on 16 Oct (the calls were made on 27/28 Sep).

 

Not surprisingly this freaked my out as when I reported it stolen the rep told me that there was no suspicious activity on the account.

 

I immediately called Vodafone and the rep I spoke to advised that this was obviously fraudulent activity and that he would have the charges reversed. I received multiple assurances that I wouldn't be charged and that he would send me a confirmation email (he wanted to send a text, but I wanted it in writing). Phew, I thought!

 

No email for a few days and so I called back on 20 Oct to find out what was going on and boy oh boy had their attitude changed. Not only had they refused to acknowledge the contents of my prior call but also refused to acknowledge that any type of fraud had taken place at all. The "you are liable for all calls up until reported stolen" line was being regurgitated at will.

 

The calls over the last few days were basically me pleading with them to explain how they did not notice such high call volumes and take no action whatsoever. I had made 12 voice calls in the whole of September, but 369 calls over a 30 hour window didn't raise any flags?!? I was told repeatedly it takes more than 24 hours for the systems to update.

 

Then the breakthrough that exposes this myth of "not knowing" they seem to perpetuate.

 

I kept referring to the incident as a fraud and one of the many reps I had spoken to replied (prob out of frustration), "it's not fraud, your account was checked on the night of 27 Sep at 23:40 (12 hours after the calls began) due to suspicious activity and it was decided that no fraud was taking place". This was re-confirmed by a supervisor 3 hours ago.

 

In other words, they have the technology to identify suspicious activity, they just don't feel like acting on it.

 

When I pushed the supervisor on the duty Vodafone has to assist or act in the customer's interest when this type of activity is occurring I got a response that pretty much sums up their whole attitude, "Sir, show me where in our T&C's it states that we should act in the manner you are describing".

 

Now the threats of debt collectors and credit scores have started. The only thing they said they would do for me is offer a payment plan over 6 months (as this was an exceptional case).

 

I find myself moving between anger and anxiety constantly now...

 

How do I fix this???

 

I'm so close to having a deposit to buy a flat after years of saving. This whole episode looks like ruining that dream...

 

I'm very surprised that Vodaphone claim not to recognise criminal [problem] numbers - there must have been lots of calls to them

 

In my mind this almost makes Vodaphone accomplices

 

I think that it's very sensible paying their demand to avoid their updating your credit file adversely. Hopefully the SAR will provide the evidence to get the remainder back

 

The "no suspicious activity" when you reported the phone stolen & their failure to recognise [problem] numbers should help!