Hi all, I'm new to the forum and looking for some advice as to how to proceed with a grievance with Vodafone. I'll try to keep it brief and to the point.
Customer of 7 years, 2 handsets + insurance policies paid by direct debit - averaging around £120-150ish per month with the vat. Both unlimited usage so no surprise bills!
The usual issues over the years, one of the latest being an insurance claim where they replaced a broken phone with an older, reconditioned, completely unresponsive handset, that they then refused to replace and suggested I make yet another insurance claim with £50 excess! Around 8 weeks of farting around and this was eventually resolved, however they did continue to charge me for insurance for months after I cancelled it. Another issue was they always incorrectly charged me when travelling abroad. So when I returned from holiday I would always cancel my DD, check the bill, and then settle the balance, reinstating the DD, when the correct adjustments had been made.
So cut a long story short, I holidayed in May and cancelled the DD in on my return in June. Made manual payments in July and August, bill adjustments applied in August and DD reinstated. I hear no more from Vodafone and go about my business. Receive a text in November telling me I'm moving to pay as you go - thought this was due to end of term, but husband got the same and his was not due to end until January. I call Vodafone to be informed my bill is 3 months overdue. Explained I pay by DD but the two young boys had no intention to listening and just kept abusing me and cutting me off. I offered manual payment to bring the account up to date but they refused telling me my account had been defaulted to a debt collection agency and that I would need to wait for them to contact me. Repeated phone calls and attempts to pay got me no where, managers refused to speak to me and the advisors just ridiculed me. When I asked how my account could have been passed to debt collection when both lines were still active and in use they told me they were disconnecting them there and then.
I put a complaint in via the Directors Office as they have trashed my credit file and made a SAR on the account. They have stated they are unable to provide any personal details that have been shared with third parties or notify me of whom my details have been shared with due to the way they share data, however claim my account was never passed to an external debt agency. They have provided my account notes which show they cancelled my direct debit in August, and the same day my account became the subject of an investigation classified as CAT BO. From September onwards there was notes posted on the account instructing advisors they weren't to take payment from me or to unbar the line - but the lines were never barred as reflected in the itemised bill usage. The notes also show that they never contacted me regarding the overdue balance by any format, and that the lines were fully active until I called them in November. Additionally the SAR also showed they allowed additional orders to be taken out on my account in 2017, allowed third parties to call and discuss my DD in 2016, did not change my address after a house move, changed my name and spelling on my account repeatedly and failed to cancel the insurance after the fiasco mentioned above.
With regard to my original complaint, and further complaint in response the SAR data, they have refused to explain how my DD came to be cancelled or why my account became the subject of an investigation the same day. Why they refused payment from me or provide details of who I was supposed to pay instead. Claimed the person discussing my DD in 2016 was an employee, and that the order on my account in 2017 was an admin error and an order was never taken on my account - but I have proof the number is still linked to my online account/email address. They have refunded the charges for insurance for Feb 2017 through to account closure/default in November. They have defaulted my account on my credit file in March 18, and refuse to amend the data - despite the fact they refused payment from me from November onwards, and I would have been physically unable to pay from September onwards anyway due to the account notes. I have offered them full and final settlement of the outstanding balance, I have no problem paying what I owe, but I feel it is unfair to ruin my credit file because they refused to accept payment. They are now issuing me a deadlock letter after completely refusing to acknowledge any of the questions I've raised and claim there was no direct debit cancelled in August despite the accounts notes stating otherwise. The whole situation is quite frankly unbelievable.
Can anyone advise whether I can legally pursue through the court to have these marks removed from my credit file?
Customer of 7 years, 2 handsets + insurance policies paid by direct debit - averaging around £120-150ish per month with the vat. Both unlimited usage so no surprise bills!
The usual issues over the years, one of the latest being an insurance claim where they replaced a broken phone with an older, reconditioned, completely unresponsive handset, that they then refused to replace and suggested I make yet another insurance claim with £50 excess! Around 8 weeks of farting around and this was eventually resolved, however they did continue to charge me for insurance for months after I cancelled it. Another issue was they always incorrectly charged me when travelling abroad. So when I returned from holiday I would always cancel my DD, check the bill, and then settle the balance, reinstating the DD, when the correct adjustments had been made.
So cut a long story short, I holidayed in May and cancelled the DD in on my return in June. Made manual payments in July and August, bill adjustments applied in August and DD reinstated. I hear no more from Vodafone and go about my business. Receive a text in November telling me I'm moving to pay as you go - thought this was due to end of term, but husband got the same and his was not due to end until January. I call Vodafone to be informed my bill is 3 months overdue. Explained I pay by DD but the two young boys had no intention to listening and just kept abusing me and cutting me off. I offered manual payment to bring the account up to date but they refused telling me my account had been defaulted to a debt collection agency and that I would need to wait for them to contact me. Repeated phone calls and attempts to pay got me no where, managers refused to speak to me and the advisors just ridiculed me. When I asked how my account could have been passed to debt collection when both lines were still active and in use they told me they were disconnecting them there and then.
I put a complaint in via the Directors Office as they have trashed my credit file and made a SAR on the account. They have stated they are unable to provide any personal details that have been shared with third parties or notify me of whom my details have been shared with due to the way they share data, however claim my account was never passed to an external debt agency. They have provided my account notes which show they cancelled my direct debit in August, and the same day my account became the subject of an investigation classified as CAT BO. From September onwards there was notes posted on the account instructing advisors they weren't to take payment from me or to unbar the line - but the lines were never barred as reflected in the itemised bill usage. The notes also show that they never contacted me regarding the overdue balance by any format, and that the lines were fully active until I called them in November. Additionally the SAR also showed they allowed additional orders to be taken out on my account in 2017, allowed third parties to call and discuss my DD in 2016, did not change my address after a house move, changed my name and spelling on my account repeatedly and failed to cancel the insurance after the fiasco mentioned above.
With regard to my original complaint, and further complaint in response the SAR data, they have refused to explain how my DD came to be cancelled or why my account became the subject of an investigation the same day. Why they refused payment from me or provide details of who I was supposed to pay instead. Claimed the person discussing my DD in 2016 was an employee, and that the order on my account in 2017 was an admin error and an order was never taken on my account - but I have proof the number is still linked to my online account/email address. They have refunded the charges for insurance for Feb 2017 through to account closure/default in November. They have defaulted my account on my credit file in March 18, and refuse to amend the data - despite the fact they refused payment from me from November onwards, and I would have been physically unable to pay from September onwards anyway due to the account notes. I have offered them full and final settlement of the outstanding balance, I have no problem paying what I owe, but I feel it is unfair to ruin my credit file because they refused to accept payment. They are now issuing me a deadlock letter after completely refusing to acknowledge any of the questions I've raised and claim there was no direct debit cancelled in August despite the accounts notes stating otherwise. The whole situation is quite frankly unbelievable.
Can anyone advise whether I can legally pursue through the court to have these marks removed from my credit file?
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