Vodafone charging me £1300 after phone was stolen!!

[sonnyboy]

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

I really do appreciate all the posts here. I wondered for a while who the mysterious OP was, until realising it was me :-)
I would not wish what is happening to me on anyone, but I do know that there is no such thing as secure, no matter what you do to ensure it. I found myself in an unexpected situation in this post, in almost defending against apparant stupidity. I don't blame anyone for thinking it was my carelessness that caused my problems, as this is certainly how it sounds. Those that know the area will understand more as stealing phones is a career for some and they search for invulnerability to take advantage of. They look for that one second your eye is off the ball and make sure they are there to take advantage of it.
The friend I mentioned whose daughter had 3 phones stolen assumed it was her carelessness (said) or stupidity (unsaid). But, he lives in Sussex where the police station closes at 5.30 and a vandalised allotment shed gets on the front page of the local paper.
Hackney police station is like a war zone and I have walked past it at all hours, from first thing in the morning to early evening to early hours. There is always a crowd there, causing or reporting a problem so my thoughts were justified in not reporting my 'minor' crime.
Remember, this post was not about a stolen phone. I paid for that phone (it wasn't part of a contract) and I readily accepted its loss due to my own carelessness. My gripe is the additional £1300+ in calls after I reported it stolen. If I had known (or even vagually thought) that Vodafone would not put a stop to the calls, then I would have matched to the police station and reported it, having a crime number with a time/date to cling on to. But, I assumed that all I would have to pay for my moment of carelessness was an iPhone.

[jon1965]

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

Eloise
Just to clarify. I do not care how much money you have, where you go on holiday , what car you drive. Maybe you and my OH could have a competition as to who has been to the most and the most remote places...but that's another issue.
I think the advice you give is fantastic, maybe in a slightly more straightfoward way than I would like but still great advice. If a case is a no brainer why should anyone encourage someone to go through with it.

Maybe my choice of people in debt was poor, however still feel that to refer to what the majority of people in this country would consider a reasonable sum of money as pocket change could be thought of as insensitive. I also hate with a passion a world that allows the few to get rich (probably far richer than you)on the back of the working person and the poor get poorer.

My mother is rapidly spending my inheritance but to be honest it is her money and I would rather her be happy than scrimp to leave me a bit.
It has nothing to do with the amount, just the perception of what that is

[labman]

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

My iPhone has been left in beach bags on a number of beaches around the world, sometimes I bury it in the sand, I got a special plastic bag which is allegedly waterproof to 3m or so, however, I wouldn't risk it, even if it was really watertight

I can confirm a Samsung Galaxy S3 is NOT waterproof! I discovered this when it was two weeks old.

[Eloise01]

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

Eloise


Maybe my choice of people in debt was poor, however still feel that to refer to what the majority of people in this country would consider a reasonable sum of money as pocket change could be thought of as insensitive.

I accept that you think that. Those may be your values and your opinions. They are not mine and they are not everyones. I look forward to you evidencing what "the majority of people in this country" think on the matter.

[Eloise01]

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

I can confirm a Samsung Galaxy S3 is NOT waterproof! I discovered this when it was two weeks old.

I can confirm that, surprisingly, a Kindle (the older ones anyway) are if you fish them out of the sea fast enough!

[Inca]

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

Sonny,,as I said,,tale is so daft it has to be true lol......and if there is any way any one can find a way to even get you a reduction of the bill then they will

[jon1965]

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

Eloise seeing as I can't afford a mori poll next time I am visiting the other halfs mother I will stand in Barnsley market and do a straw poll. You know these Yorkshire folk,, tight as anything.

I base my opinion onn average wages etc and the % that accounts for.

[Eloise01]

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

Eloise seeing as I can't afford a mori poll next time I am visiting the other halfs mother I will stand in Barnsley market and do a straw poll. You know these Yorkshire folk,, tight as anything.

I base my opinion onn average wages etc and the % that accounts for.

Thank you for confirming its your opinion. And for your information, I am the Yorkshire folk you refer to - perhaps that's why I won't spend £500 on an item that is so desirable to thieves?

[Inca]

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

Thank you for confirming its your opinion. And for your information, I am the Yorkshire folk you refer to - perhaps that's why I won't spend £500 on an item that is so desirable to thieves?

msl:

[jon1965]

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

Thank you for confirming its your opinion. And for your information, I am the Yorkshire folk you refer to - perhaps that's why I won't spend £500 on an item that is so desirable to thieves?

Well we all have our crosses to carry I guess. BTW my OH is from a small village just north of Barnsley so I take the P out of Yorkshire all the time.
We will have to agree to differ on this one I think (although i am right :rofl: )

[Hurricane Puffrose]

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

I'm here Inca.

Hi Sonny love

I'm puff and I work in the mobile phone business, not Vodafone but I am certain I can help you.

I am also originally from North London, and I know what Hackney is like.. not the best places to be reporting a crime.

I need to double check a few pointer, please forgive me if I ask you to go over covered ground but my brain is fried after a day at work.

Please confirm the following, reasons in blue :

How long was it until you called Vodafone to report the theft?(some companies will charge for calls made before you have reported the incident)
Did you have a IMEI bar placed on the Account? (this should have been done as standard, just double checking if you were told it)
Did you pass the security on the account (some companies will do nothing if you fail security)
Did you get a name of who you spoke to when you reported it?
Did you have any form of Insurance on your account?
How long in to contract were you and what length of contract were you in?
Were you told you would get free disconnection if you cancelled your contract (and this is the important bit) BY VODAPHONE.. NOT carphone warehouse (Carphone warehouse can offer you the moon on a sliver platter, but if Vodaphone havent ok'd it.. technically you are screwed.)


And the most important question:
Where the calls ROAMED calls from Romania (in which case how long after you had your phone stolen were they made) or INTERNATIONAL calls TO Romania (yes it makes a HUGE difference)
As for your billing, you should be sent a final bill approx 45 days after disconnection.

[Hurricane Puffrose]

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

Sonny,,as I said,,tale is so daft it has to be true lol......and if there is any way any one can find a way to even get you a reduction of the bill then they will

I can only promise to try Inca

I think this may be a case for me and Lee to put our heads together and have a think, bit of intercompany cooperation.. if intercompany is a word (it is now, I just invented it)

Infact I will highlight it to him too.

P

[Hurricane Puffrose]

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

Thank you for confirming its your opinion. And for your information, I am the Yorkshire folk you refer to - perhaps that's why I won't spend £500 on an item that is so desirable to thieves?

its only £150 if you buy a refurb, and they work just as well.. tight southerner here

[sonnyboy]

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

Hi All,
Sorry, I worked til silly-o'clock yesterday as I am near the end of a job.
Puff, thank you so much for getting involved, and I hope the vagueness in my answers won't scare you off.
I called Vodafone within the hour. I can't tell how long exactly, but I was on my own and use my phone all day.
I was furious when it happened, having a bad day already. I can't have been given an IMEI as I would have written any reference down if it was given to me. I guess this is why they seem to have no record of my call. I didn't note the name of the person I spoke to and I would have passed any security questions if they were asked. All this happened on the 13th March and I wish I could offer more to make my case more solid.
i don't have any insurance and I was probably with Vodafone for 2 years (roughly). I dealt with them directly, and not through car phone warehouse (I went to car phone warehouse after my phone was stolen to get a temp phone and called for the PAC number whilst there.
i don't know if the calls were made to Romania or if it was roaming calls, but this I can find out. I'm not being vague here, but I can't/don't do online bills/banking and when I joined Vodafone they never sent me paper bills. The other day I tried to log on to my account to see the bill but couldn't remember either my user name or password. I tried putting in my phone number but it wasn't recognised. I can easily call them and ask them to send me the bill.
i only found out about the 1300 when it was taken from my account a month later. I went into the bank to question it and found it was Vodafone via the direct debit (was expecting the last bill to be the normal £40-50). When I called Vodafone, they told me about the Romanian calls. I only know it was on the same day (13th march) but it must be calls to Romania from the uk, as it happened on the same day the phone was stolen. Saying that, I don't know for how long after the 13th that calls were made. This will all be on the bill and I can request a copy.
i have not spoken to Vodafone since writing to them and getting a reply.
I really hope you can somehow help me with this. The thought of debt collectors pursuing me and this huge debt is like a weight around my neck.
thank you once again!

[sonnyboy]

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

Hi Puff,
going through your questions again -
I can't remember if I was told about free disconnection when I joined Vodafone I'm afraid, it was a few years back. My tariff was sim only, so no lengthy contract - I only had to give a months notice to leave.
the phone was stolen on the 13th, and I had no phone for 2 days and ordered the PAC number on the 15th.
SB