Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

[sonnyboy]

Hi,
I am in Hell!!
My phone was stolen and as bad as that is, I am now being robbed a second time by Vodafone.
I hope someone will kindly help me with some advice.
I was renovating an office and a thief came in and stole my iphone. I knew this happened straight away as I was in the building. I called Vodafone from a public call box and informed them of this. This was in central London and so I was phoneless for 2 days and when I got home (I live near Cambridge) I went to carphone warehouse and decided to go to O2 and so requested the Pac number from Vodafone. I never thought any more about it until a month later when Vodafone took £1384 from my bank via the direct debit I had set up. Apparently my phone was used to call Romania on a high tariff on the day it was stolen. I called Vodafone and they had no record of me telling them about the phone being stolen and only had my call 2 days later (asking the the PAC number) on record. I spoke to 2 people and couldnt get anywhere. I wrote to them and had a reply saying the same thing - they had no record of my call and I was liable.
By then, I had called my bank and explained the situation and they simply took the money back from Vodafone. So, I now owe Vodafone for that last month (around £40) and they think I owe them the full £1384
I am now getting calls/texts/mails from DRS to recover the 'debt'.
What do I do?? I dont have the number I called from as it was a public call box and to be honest, I used call boxes for 2 days and have no idea which one I used as I dont know the area.
I dont know what to do as it is my word against theirs. I think this is unfair as who would not cancel their phone (or credit cards) if stolen? Looking online, I see numerous cases of Vodafone denying having received calls so I am not alone here.
I cant log on to my account as its not recognised (I guess since leaving them) and so I cant see the bill. I would like to pay them what I owe and go to court for the Romanian calls.
How can I do this??
I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone can offer.

[labman]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

This is the personal email for the Chief Executive of Vodafone UK. You could try emailing him with your story, but without any further proof, I think the best you can hope for is to negotiate a reduction in the bill and to pay it off in installments.

guy.laurence@vodafone.com

[PlanB]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

Did you report this theft to the police and get a crime reference number at the time? It may not be too late to do that now because you stand a better chance of convincing Vodafone that you're telling the truth if you can produce something on Metropolitan Police notepaper

Do you have contents insurance with 'All Risks' cover which you can claim on? Some packaged bank accounts also provide cover for stolen mobiles (my NatWest one does).

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

Hi,
I am in Hell!!
My phone was stolen and as bad as that is, I am now being robbed a second time by Vodafone.
I hope someone will kindly help me with some advice.
I was renovating an office and a thief came in and stole my iphone. I knew this happened straight away as I was in the building. I called Vodafone from a public call box and informed them of this. This was in central London and so I was phoneless for 2 days and when I got home (I live near Cambridge) I went to carphone warehouse and decided to go to O2 and so requested the Pac number from Vodafone. I never thought any more about it until a month later when Vodafone took £1384 from my bank via the direct debit I had set up.

You mention being a victim of a crime (theft), yet you don't mention contacting the police at all... :noidea: A friend of mine had his iPhone stolen at a bus stop in North London, the first thing he did was to report the theft to the police. They didn't manage to recover the phone but at least he got a crime number and no bill to pay.

Did you contact them at all? :confused2:

[Inca]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

Why didn't Vodafone immediately block the phone via the IMEI? Or at least stop the phone from making calls?

[wales01man]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

I would if i was a policeman be very wary of someone reporting a theft weeks later only after the rather large phone bill comes ,common sense to me would say if anyone ia gonna have an expensive phone insure it ,keep it safe and if it goes missing report it straight away strange how no one else in the building had a phone the OP could use to report the loss?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

I would if i was a policeman be very wary of someone reporting a theft weeks later only after the rather large phone bill comes ,common sense to me would say if anyone ia gonna have an expensive phone insure it ,keep it safe and if it goes missing report it straight away strange how no one else in the building had a phone the OP could use to report the loss?

And in Central London, you wouldn't have to go very far to find a Vodafone shop, or a policeman on the street to report the theft. I would have gone to the police first, even when it was unlikely they'd find the culprit, you'd have a crime number to give Vodafone.

[PlanB]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

I thought Ofcom had agreed an 'action plan' with all mobile providers to prevent *shock bills* because a £1,384 bill would certainly give me a shock :scared: The action plan specifically refers to stolen and/or lost mobiles.

See if there is anything in this statement from Ofcom which could help you to negotiate this bill down:

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2012/0...h-phone-bills/

[jon1965]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

Maybe a silly question but were you still in your initial contract period. If so part of that bill may well be the termination costs

[sonnyboy]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

Hi All,
Thanks for the replies. Am on site so no time to read through properly - will do so later tonight. The theft happened in Hackney, which is crime ridden. 6 months prior, my girlfriend was mugged nearby and her phone stolen and even with a vague description, the police said they couldn't do much.
Shortly after my phone was stolen, a community policeman walked past and I told him. He said there was no chance of the phone being found as iPhones are almost a form of currency in the area. So, I didn't bother reporting it stolen and figured it was my loss for not barricading the doors to stop the hoards of thieving scumbags that walk past (no joke, had numerous incidents whilst there, including 2 flats next door (above shops) being burgled in broad daylight with shops both sides of the door open.
There is no Vodafone shop in walking distance and I figured that having called them, all I had to worry about is buying a new phone. In hindsight, I should have reported the phone stolen with the police but at the time I saw no point. Believe me, that lesson is learnt!
I was on pay monthly so no contract period. I will look to the posts and links later, and appreciate any further help.
Am getting continuous calls from DRS trying to get money from me.
Thanks again.

[jon1965]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

As far as I know Vodafone have two basic tariffs
PAYG and Pay monthly. With pay monthly you usually sign for a minimum period , 18 or 24 months and get a phone either free or at a reduced rate. At the end of that time you go onto a rolling monthly contract so have to give a months notice.

Maybe you should ask DRS for a break down of charges

[Inca]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

I would do as advised by Labman ^^^ up there and try to reach a payment plan because your story ( and I'm not doubting your word) is full of holes unfortunately.
You knew you were in a high crime area but left your phone unattended
You obviously didn't 'pin code' lock your expensive phone
You knew it had gone,so went and used a call box that you can't remember where,reported it but they didn't block it.
You told a PCSO who basically said tough luck
You didn't report it to the police (why not?)so have no crime number.
Didn't Vodafone give you a reference number when you reported the theft?
What time were the calls made to Romania? Before or after you say you called Vodafone to report the theft?

Going on the above I would say unfortunately you are liable for the bill. I'm no expert I'm only going on my own experience of a stolen phone..I rang my provider as soon as I could and the IMEI was immediately blocked rendering the phone useless.and I made a police report to get the all important crime number,,the copper actually told me,no crime number,no crime as far as insurances go.
Does your contents insurance for your home cover your phone?

[sonnyboy]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

Hi Guys,
Yes, I know my story sounds implausible but it is scarily the complete truth. The office I am renovating is an old cafe, so it is a shop front with a solid door and people walking past. The door wasn't locked but even in a high-crime area, you don't expect people to walk it. It is one long room with an L-shape at the back. I was washing my hands at the back when the phone was stolen, so literally was away from the door for a few minutes. The thieves are brazen and will happily walk in to a building, pleading mistake if caught. Yes, it was stupid of me but if you saw the building you would think it impossible to have something stolen whilst you were in there. The phone wasn't near the door, so the thief would have had to almost walk to the back where I was to take it.
my phone was pin locked. Before I called Vodafone I called myself and my phone was off. I have no idea how it was used, but it clearly was. I don't know what time the calls were made, but just know it was the same day (which is what Vodafone told me)
The PCSO was friendly and told me the truth of the situation. I could have reported it stolen but it would not get my phone back. So, I made the decision to not bother. Believe me, I do regret it as it makes my shaky story even less believable.
As for the calls, I can only think they were made to a high tariff scam number in romania, set up by the thieves or those that buy phones from the thieves.
i don't have insurance for the building or my phone unfortunately.
The phone was bought by me, so my tariff was PAYG.
i am so annoyed that I may have to pay this as I work very hard to keep my head above the water and I simply cannot afford to pay this.

[Eloise01]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

Now I am even more confused. Isn't PAYG based on phone credit - I thought that you bought credits and could not run up bills? Am I wrong?

[Inca]

Re: Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

My contents insurance for my home covers our mobiles out of the house which is why I asked.
It's a kick in the teeth when stuff like this happens but personally I would try and negotiate with Vodafone