@vodafoneuk Vodafone's 7 years of hell: wrongly defaulted VF Ref [#9028881]

[Ms Rx]

Vodafone has ruined my credit rating for the past seven years

 

RE: ACCOUNT NUMBER XXXXXX

 

On or around the 28th of November 2008, I took out a mobile phone contract with Vodafone through an intermediary agent Dial-a-Phone. At the point of sale, I asked if my existing number could be ported over from T-mobile to Vodafone. The sales agent assured me that this was possible and that I should phone up Vodafone when I received the package and this would be done.

 

After the phone was delivered, I contacted Vodafone to request my number to be ported, but I was told that this was not possible as it should have been done at the point of sale. Vodafone advised me to get back to Dial-a-Phone and have them cancel the contract and reissue a new contract. I did as I was told and called Dial-a-Phone, but I was then told that with Vodafone, porting could not be done. I then put it to them that they had mis-sold me the contract, as their agent assured me my number could be ported. They agreed to cancel the contract on the condition that I returned the phone and accessories including a Nintendo Wii gift which was sent to me.

 

I returned the phone, accessories and gift to Dial-a-Phone as they requested. And I got an acknowledgement letter from them stating that I should contact my bank and cancel my direct debit and that they had instructed Vodafone to cancel my contract. I have this in writing from Dial-a-Phone. I cancelled the direct debit with my bank, but not before I was charged £90 by Vodafone. I phoned Vodafone and was told by an agent named Leon that this was the norm, but that it will be recalculated pro-rata based on my call charges and my account will be credited.

 

In February 2009, I noticed that my account had been debited by Vodafone yet again, this time to the tune of £44.04. I called Vodafone (after no success at trying to contact Dial-a-Phone) and spoke to an agent called Sam who said he was part of the NES team at Stoke. He advised me to get to my bank and re-cancel the direct debit instruction.

 

On the 11th of March 2009, not having received any credit from Vodafone, I called the customer services and was put through to Vodafone Collections Department and spoke to an agent named Garry. I explained to him what has been going on, and he requested that I faxed him the acknowledgement letter from Dial-a-Phone on fax number 01295815344. He promised to sort it out and I will be credited any amount due to me. He warned me that I may still get bills, but to ignore them while things were being sorted out. I sent the fax on the 12th of March 2009 and it was marked for the attention of Garry Collections Department, and the transmission was OK.

 

I kept receiving bills which I ignored as instructed, until I got a letter from Vodafone on the 16th of June 2009, stating that I had defaulted in my payments and that I was owing in excess of £500. I was shocked and immediately called Vodafone at around 19:08 hours I spoke to an agent called Steve, who proved totally unhelpful and bullish and all he said was to pay the money and that there was nothing he could do. I asked him to reference my previous communications with Vodafone as there should be notes on the system. He said there was nothing written about the case.

 

I told him this was corporate bullying and that I was going to take the case to the consumer protection section of Daily Mail Newspapers. Only then did he try to be reasonable, and even began to listen to me. Then the phone cut off (I believe he cut the phone off) and I tried calling back, but was told the department was now closed. It was past 20:00 hours.

 

 

On the 21st of June, I received another letter, this time from a debt recovery firm claiming to be acting on instructions from Vodafone, threatening legal action if I did not pay up. In frustration and on the verge of tears, I again called Vodafone and after being transferred around between three agents in three departments, I was put through to Jessica, and after being on the phone for over two hours trying to explain. She doubted the existence of the letter from Dial-a-Phone, and if it existed, the authenticity of the document. She kept insisting we should call Dial-a-Phone and do a conference call to her to sort the problem out. This was not plausible and she knew it.

 

I asked her to give me a fax number or an email so I could send the letter to her. She refused saying that the dept had no fax and she could not give out her own or her manager’s official email address. Upon further insistence, she gave me an email address for customer service. I asked if she had access to this email, she said no. This clearly demonstrates the attitude of Vodafone staff to the travails of customers. She said the people at customer service will deal with the matter.

 

At which point I asked her if the two hours I had been on the phone with her amounted to nothing. She replied that there was nothing she could do. I asked if she could call them and tell them all that had transpired. The answer was negative. I asked to speak with a manager, to which she replied there was a 48 hour wait if I wanted to speak with the Manager. Anyway, I sent off the email to the address she provided, only to later get an automated reply from Vodafone that the email address was no longer in use.

Upon further insistence to speak to a manager, I was then told the manager Michael Watson will call me the following day. He did call at the appointed time, but unfortunately I had a patient in front of me and apologised and asked him to call back, which he promised he would.

 

I have not spoken to him since.

 

I have called Vodafone repeatedly and luckily on the 6th of July, I got through to Leon who said he was going to leave a message for the Manager Michael Watson to get back from me. I still have not heard from him.

Since then, I have gotten letters from Capquest, also acting on behalf of Vodafone demanding for money owed to the tune of £846.87.These letters have in the least been very distressing as well as embarrassing.

I got a Lawyer to write to Capquest stating the circumstances and Capquest withdrew from the case, requesting we sort things out with Vodafone.

 

At this point, I’d like to state that I do not have an existing contract with Vodafone and have not since December,2008 when Dial-a-Phone (the agent I took out the contract with) terminated the contract on my behalf.

 

As at 30 of July 2009, I have spent over £90 on phone calls to Vodafone on this and I will be seeking compensation for my time, money and upheaval this has caused me.

 

Vodafone went ahead and put a default on my credit account and stopped me getting credit for the past 5 years. I spoke with Experien credit Agency explaining the circumstances and Experian contacted Vodafone, but Vodafone insisted their entry was correct. However Experian agreed to put a note on the account stating the entry on the account was in dispute.

 

Despite this note put on my credit file by Experian, I have had credit refused me over the years and it has become very embarrassing to say the least.

 

I need help to get this sorted and for Vodafone to pay me the monies they owe me and compensate for the trauma and pain over the last seven years

Edited January 2, 2015 by citizenB
formatting for easier reading

[citizenB]

Follow the instructions as shown below and when you receive the reference number, pop it in your thread.

 

 

 

We have a good Vodafone Rep (Lee) on this site who can look into the matter for you.

 

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/s...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.

 

CAG

 

Let us know how you get on.

 

Thread moved to correct forum.

[Ms Rx]

This is the reference number from Vodafone Customer Service

Re: WRT135-CAG [#9028881]

[Ms Rx]

Follow the instructions as shown below and when you receive the reference number, pop it in your thread.

 

Hi

Please is it possible to send Lee a link to this to alert him? Thank you.

[citizenB]

I think it unlikely that Lee will now be around until Monday - I will put the reference in your thread title

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG.

 

After extensive searching, I found what I was looking for.

 

The following link is a long read but well worth it.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?302670-Vodafone-Incorrect-Default-*WON-out-of-court-settlement*&p=3375907&viewfull=1#post3375907

 

Can you clarify how long this default has been on your file and roughly when you started chasing this up.

 

I think you should do what Philharg did. A substantial 'Gesture of Goodwill' from VF is in order here.

 

I suggest giving VF one chance to sort this mess out and if they fail, sue them. In the thread linked above, they settled out of court. It is possible they may want to do the same in your case.

 

Please keep us updated and try not to agree to a confidentiality agreement.

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi Ms Rx,

 

I replied to your email yesterday.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Social Media Comms

 

Vodafone UK

[Ms Rx]

Hi Ms Rx,

 

I replied to your email yesterday.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

Him

 

 

Social Media Comms

 

Vodafone UK

Hello Lee,

I have sent you a reply.

I will be waiting for your call.

Thank you

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi Ms Rx,

 

I've got your last email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Social Media Comms

 

Vodafone UK

[Ms Rx]

Hello Silverfox

Lee has been in touch and after investigating, he came back to me yesterday to say that they have looked into my case and found out that I shouldn't have been marked as defaulted. He went on to say that they had contacted Experian, Equifax and another credit agency to delete all the records they had against me. He then said that from their records he could see I was in credit for £67 and that they were going to credit me that. I disputed the amount because I know from my records that they had taken £90 or more from my account. He said I would need to get my bank statement from 2008/2009 to prove this. I am so mad!! Not only did they keep my money for almost six years, now, I'm being asked to get my records to prove it. Also, I asked him what plans they had for compensating for expenses for my time, phone calls and solicitor fees. His reply was that I had to send a breakdown of cost incurred.. As I speak, I'm not able to get a simple phone contract with an Telco!!!

I have under gone a lot of stress regarding my credit rating as I have been refused credit severally by shops, banks in the past and even a furniture shop very recently as a result of Vodafone's mistake. How does one quantify this in terms of cost? I'm a pharmacist and this has eaten into my time and has dented.my self esteem tremendously as I have had to go through third parties at added cost to get things where I have been denied credit. Please can you or any one else advise me on my next step with Vodafone.

[silverfox1961]

First of all, has Lee confirmed what was said in an email. Paper evidence is good.

 

You will need to sit down and work out you costs over this matter but don't inflate these figures. Actual costs not what you think are the costs.

 

As to compensation, that will depend on each circumstance. They have marked your credit file wrongly as as such that is to your detriment. You may have been turned down for credit or offered credit at a higher APR than you would normally get. As you say, you couldn't even get a simple contract phone.

 

I suggest a starting figure of £1K but negotiate. It is highly likely VF will refuse to agree to anything which then means you would have to take them to court. DO NOT threaten anything that you do not intend to pursue.