End of my rope with Vodafone - Civil litigation action

[icikle]

Hi,I was bordering on proceeding with civil litigation action against Vodafone until I stumbled onto these forums and saw there were official reps who may be able to assist.

 

Where do I begin? I have been having major trouble with Vodafone since November when I came to upgrade my phone and sign a new contract.

Prior to that, I had been with them for two years with no problems.I really cannot do the entire complaint justice in this thread, my initial complaint report that went to Ombudsman was pages A-K so that tells you how complex it was.

 

I can summarise it by saying that since November, I have been wrongly billed, had charges wrongly applied, discounts not applied as promised, handset fee overcharged, abused by phone advisers, hung up on, passed to wrong departments, and spent hours on the phone trying to resolve the many issues.

 

I eventually had a complaint heard by customer relations who offered me one months line rental, then two, then £100 credit then £200 credit. I turned this all down. This led to an Ombudsman complaint who awarded me £100 cheque (I had asked for £400 taking into account stress and personal loss of time but apprently this isnt factored). I accepted the £100 just to be free of the complaint but this is where further problems arose.

 

Vodafone did not implement the remedy measures by the deadline given. Furthermore, they did not pay me by cheque, they applied it as credit. Something I avidly wanted to avoid and was one of the reasons I didnt accept their own settlement offers.

I have been battling to try and have this repaid to me ever since, and to this day it is still sitting on my account with them having bills applied against it. I have multiple calls, running into many of the same problems I experienced before my first complaint. I have been back to Ombudsman who say Vodafone informed them they have completed their remedy actions and the case is closed.

 

I have instructed Ombudsman to reopen the complaint but they say they are powerless. Today was the deadline given for my refund but I still don't have it. Ive made about 5 requests, had 5 texts confirming it is going through but it never ends up in my account.

 

This is as BRIEF as I can possibly be as the complaint itself is behemoth and involves systemic, systematic customer failure on a monumental scale. I see legal action as my only and obvious next step but was hoping perhaps a rep from vodafone on this site could avoid this by looking at my case and achieving a respectable outcome.

 

If this does go to court, I will be seeking time lost, compensation for stress and immediate termination of my contract. I really dont wish to deal with this company any more.Thanks,

Edited April 8, 2015 by icikle

[Bazooka Boo]

Yes there is a very good Voda Rep on here, Lee, who will be able to assist you in this, and hopefully sort this out to your satisfaction.

 

Your first problem is one of communication, for a telecoms company, Voda are not experts in discussing issues over the phone.

So keep everything in writing or Email ONLY!

[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.

[icikle]

I got an automated reply but there is no reference number

EDIT: 9998986

[Conniff]

" 9998986"

 

 

Does that mean there have been Nine Million, Nine Hundred & Ninety Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred & Eighty Five complaints before yours.

[icikle]

it wouldnt surpise me.

can a mod please put the reference number in the thread title as it isnt showing when i update it.

Edited April 8, 2015 by icikle

[icikle]

Update:

 

just spoke to customer relations to demand my refund by CHAPS as this was supposed to be done by 12/03 according to ombudsman direction.

 

He stated it was in process but could not speed it up. Irrespective of when and whether I get this now, unless Lee can significantly help me achieve a respectable outcome for the time and effort Ive put into dealing with this company I will most certainly be seeking compensation at court.

 

I could not be more annoyed and frustrated. A complete lack of compassion and understanding from everyone you speak to. This has been going on for almost 6 months Far cry from Amazon who accidentally refunded me twice for an item valued at 69.99 but said i could keep both for their error.

Edited April 8, 2015 by icikle

[Bazooka Boo]

Update:

just spoke to customer relations to demand my refund by CHAPS as this was supposed to be done by 12/03 according to ombudsman direction.

 

If you continue to speak to them via the phone, then your going to keep getting frustrated.

 

The individual on the other end of the line, couldn't give two hoots about the service they give, simply because your talking to low paid

staff, you need to put your complaint in writing so you have a paper trail of evidence, and cut out the middle man and go straight to the top.

[icikle]

I appreciate that but its all time isn't it.

 

Had a reply from Lee anyway who said he cannot help.

 

I will be submitting a SAR request to both Vodafone and the ombudsman before commencing legal proceedings.

[Bazooka Boo]

I agree it's time, BUT, you need to have a paper trail of evidence, unless you can record your phone calls?

 

And yes it's incredibly frustrating and damn right irritating, but nothing irritates them more than having

to find someone who can read & write to deal with your letter, then their is the cost to them in having to manually deal with your complaint.

 

To bring about a successful claim, then you will need to show that you have exhausted all possible means first before

bringing legal action against them.

 

I'm guessing you no longer use Voda?

 

How much evidence do you actually have on file regarding the whole debacle?

Everything from day one?

 

Was it http://www.ombudsman-services.org/communications.html you used?

[icikle]

I have my existing report and evidence supplied to ombudsman first time round.I have everything provided to ombudsman by vodaphone via a SAR request I sent to Ombudsman.I have copies of emails. Transcripts of calls. Logs of ALL calls I made to Vodafone and their respective lengths.I have apology and complaint acknowledgement letters from vodafone. I have bills.I have a statement of accountI have self made calculations of time lost.I have a deciison letter from ombudsman along with an acknowledgement letter from vodafone accepting their decision.I have bank statements showing I havent received the money I was supposed to receive.Furthermore, this commenced in November and since that time, I have been through ALL of vodafone's internal complaints procedures. The very fact Lee wont touch this because ive already spoken to customer relations is indicative of their procedures being exhaused. I have been to ombudsman and won. Vodafone wont implement the remedy. I have been back to ombudsman who say they cant enforce their decision but will let Ofcom know that vodafone arent playing ball. I was urged to lodge a further complaint with vodafone. I did this and was offered a settlement credit of £50 because of their delays and that I would have my money in a week. I told them I would wait to see if i got my money as promised before deciding whether to accept the £50 settlement. I didnt get the money so declined the settlement and advised them to send me another deadlock letter. I got that but rather than go to ombudsman again and end up in circles, I decided legal proceedings would have more teeth.Agree or disagree? do I have enough? Have I exhauset all possible avenues?

[Bazooka Boo]

Yes, I think you have just about done as much as is humanly possible in order to get this situation resolved.

 

A letter before action (recorded delivery) would be IMO the way forward now.

Give them a further 7 days in which to satisfy the ombudsman recommendations or you will proceed with legal action via the small claims track.

 

I cannot see what more you can do to get this matter solved, other than taking legal action.

 

Go get em, send the LBA giving them a further seven days in which to rectify, or face a claim.

[icikle]

Any LBA I send wont simply be asking for my money as directed by Ombudsman. It will be asking for compensation for all the delays caused and the time ive spent and stress suffered.As things stand now I know longer stand by the ombudsman's ruling. So if i get the money now, in 3 days or never, I will be proceeding with court action. Unless of course, vodafone agree to compensation as outlined in the LBA.

[icikle]

So checked my bank and the money finally went in today. £65 not £100 as they took a bill from it. Ombudsman keep telling me that technically I have had £100 whichever way I look at it, and I dont dispute that, I just dispute that Vodafone can drag their heels, go over deadlines and give me my money in drips and drabs without any punitive elements afforded to them for doing so. I cant help but think a court wont see it the same way and treat it on the principle of the matter, as in how many hoops Ive had to jump through, and just seem it from the perspective that regardless of how long they took, they did what Ombudsman asked. Because of this, I am currently weighing up taking this to court or not or just washing my hands of it. Any opinions on the matter would be greatly appreciated. This saga has lasted since November and Ive been messed about royally. I dont want to let them just get away with treating me like this but on the flip side, there is no guarantee the court will see it from that perspective.

[Bazooka Boo]

IMO, I think you've spent enough time on them with this, and have ended up exhausting yourself, personally, I'd let it go.

 

Not easy but why spend any more of your valuable time, effort, and money on an outfit that has no care for customers.

 

I certainly wouldn't touch them with a barge pole again after dealing with them some years ago.

They're really not interested in their public image, they have far too many customers to care about every single one,

hence their attitude!

 

Have you vented to BBC Watchdog?

[icikle]

After much deliberation I am proceeding with legal action.I sent my LBA this morning.Furthermore, I will be presenting information to watchdog and ofcom.

[Bazooka Boo]

Let us know how you get on

[icikle]

I requested details or a copy of their SLA this afternoon and was refused saying it was for their internal purposes only.As such, I cannot determine if it is a form/informal agreement or a legally binding one.