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@VodafoneUK harrassing widow of deceased man .... for £40!! *** Resolved***


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Hi, just wanted some advice on this situation...

My father passed away earlier this year and after several months of nothing, my mother has suddenly been contacted by Ardent Credit Services on behalf of Vodafone, who are claiming that my father owed ~£40, even though (as far as we can see on his bank statements), he always paid his bill via monthly direct debit.

They are starting to harass my mother - so far in the space of a few days, she has had 3 emails, 2 phone calls and a letter. What should we do?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

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Sorry to hear about your father's death.

 

Who is your father's Executor/Administrator?  You? Your mother?

 

The Executor/Administrator of your father's Estate is responsible for settling any debts your father owed. That might include £40 to Vodafone, impossible to say definitely, we don't know what the basis of their claim is.

 

But even if your late father did owe £40 at the date he died no-one else is responsible for settling the bill except the Executor/Administrator. And the Executor/Administrator only has to settle it from the assets of your late father's Estate. They aren't personally liable and don't have to pay the debt from their own money.

 

The Executor/Administrator should tell Vodafone that they will reply in due course when the administration of the Estate has valued all the assets and liabilities of the Estate. And askfor evidence of the debt if it isn't obvious what it is for.

 

It' £40. No-one is going to go to court over a £40 debt owed by someone who is dead.

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  • BankFodder changed the title to @VodafoneUK harrassing widow of deceased man .... for £40!!

not wishing to detract from the obvious emotional time for the widow......

but are we to assume that voda were ofourse legally informed in writing about this unfortunate untimely death...

 

a dca like arden, who don't buy debts. but merely chase...act upon the instructions from their stated client which is clearly stated on their letters.

if no-one has been informed of his death.....it is sadly not harassment.

 

if this has been done

get after voda for compensation...and not just wiping of the £40 bill.

 

dx

 

 

dx

 

 

 

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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As far as I know, Vodafone were informed - my mother took care of cancelling all bills, accounts, direct debits etc that were in my father's name or were no longer needed.

 

As I mentioned, we did check back on his bank statements, and the phone bill was paid right up until the month that he passed, so I can't see where this debt has come from.

 

Also, the amount they are chasing for does not match his monthly bill (nor any multiples of it), so it really makes no sense.

 

My mother is the Executor - she has been given a number to contact within Vodafone, so hopefully it can be sorted out asap. I've told her to not contact or deal with Ardent at this stage.

 

Thanks again everyone.

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:rockon:

 

and of how distressed she is 

record the call.

 

 

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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What a shame. We have reached out to Vodafone on their Twitter feed and they are fully aware of the problem. They say that you will need to contact their bereavement department but they refuse to come here and get involved.

This is a shocking company and nobody should get involved with them. They are the most complained about mobile phone provider in the UK. They have had more criticism and more fines from regulator than any other mobile phone provider in the UK.

Now they are fully aware of this thread and of the problem and they refuse to come along and get involved.

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my Mother was able to speak to someone in their bereavement department - as you mentioned above BankFodder - and they have now resolved the issue and were extremely apologetic about everything that occurred.

 

We're still convinced that my Father's account shouldn't have been billed after the month he passed (my Mother had a list of companies that she had contacted with Vodafone ticked,

 

whilst she can't 100% remember the conversation with them, she is almost certain she had cancelled the phone account), but even if it had been charged correctly, Vodafone told her that after only 1 month's missed payment, they automatically pass it to a collection agency and start adding interest. My Father's account was only around £10 per month! What an insane way to do business with your supposed 'valued' customers.

My Mother is now considering whether to make a formal complaint, but she isn't sure if she wants all of the hassle.

I said I'd do it on her behalf, so I'll keep you updated if and when we go ahead.

Thanks again everyone. Appreciate the kind words and helpful advice.

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Quote

 Vodafone told her that after only 1 month's missed payment, they automatically pass it to a collection agency and start adding interest. 

 

And thats why you must stay clear of this company.....many thanks for the  update and we are delighted that you have been able to resolve this.

Lets see if they are good as their word and do inform Ardent.

 

Topic title updated.....for now :wink:

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  • Andyorch changed the title to @VodafoneUK harrassing widow of deceased man .... for £40!! *** Resolved***

Pleased to hear that.

 

A general comment, for future readers of this thread, from my experiences of being an Executor.

 

Most large companies have a centralised 'Bereavement' department and I've found it's best to notify the death to them rather than the general customer service call centres. Search the company's website for 'bereavement'.

 

The bereavement departments are in my experience staffed by people who understand the processes when someone dies both for the relatives/executors and within their own companies and they get things sorted efficiently. (I've never had to use Vodafone's though).

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  • 3 weeks later...

When my father passed away a company paid out on his private pension the following day and they Wrote a letter wanting £17 back, had he lived another 6 hours then he would of owed nothing to them.

We paid them back straight away without any qualms, knowing what i know now about trying to get money back from companies when the shoes on the other foot i wished i made it difficult for them and let them keep chasing.

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