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Vodafone
Hi.
Vodafone are pursuing me for a debt I don't owe. Despite me contacting them about it numerous times, reaching Deadlock and my contacting CISA to look into it, they have not only passed it to Lowell who in turn have passed it to Overdales Solicitors who have now decided to take me to court. This morning a letter from the County Court Business Centre at Northampton dropped on my doormat.
This has come about because of their screw up. It's nothing I have done. Go grab a cuppa. It's a long one.
I got a mobile phone from them for my then 11 year old son, on a capped usage contract attached to mine in July 2018. I made sure it was capped at £25, just as mine was. The first month I had my usual bill, that was always over the cap. The second month I got a shock bill of around £128. £78 over what I should have paid. I contacted Vodafone who told me the bill was from my son's phone. I told them that was impossible because his usage was capped at £25. It took six weeks for them to admit there was a cap and to refund me. I paid all my bills up to December. Or so I thought.
In November 2018, and for some unknown reason, they decided to credit my account but they never told me. It turns out it was a mistake on their part, so at the end of November, realising their mistake, they debited my account and again, never told me. I always paid my mobile phone bills on the 5th of the month. On the same day I got a text message from them about an outstanding bill. Thinking it had been sent in error because I had just paid it that morning, I ignored it. I got several more texts about this over the next three days so I called them to tell them I had paid the bills. That's when I found out about November’s "not being paid". I told them that was impossible. The lady at their call centre in India told me it definitely hadn't been paid. I couldn't understand why as I always made sure that the money was in there to cover the bills. I always have and have never missed a payment. She was demanding I pay it immediately. I told her I couldn't do that as I was on disability benefits and carefully budgeted my money from month to month to cover all my bills and to buy food etc. She told me if I didn't pay they would immediately terminate my service. Just bear in mind here that I didn't cause this. Vodafone did. I told her I didn't have the money to pay it and she said that they were terminating my service immediately and as soon as I paid they would reinstate it. She hung up. I was left with no way to contact my support network.
The next day I called them from my sister's phone. I got to speak to one of their advisors in the UK who, after some investigation as to why my DD hadn't been taken as usual, he discovered what had happened. He apologised profusely, reduced the bill by £20 as a goodwill gesture and we came to an arrangement for me to pay an extra £10 per month over the following three months up to February 2019, then it would go back to my normal monthly rate. He reinstated my service and I thought it was all done and dusted.
The next day, the lady from their India call centre called me. I told her about this arrangement but she then hit me with, "but he hasn't factored in line rental". I told her that was all inclusive in my monthly bill but she was having none of it, now presenting me with the bill plus line rental which came to £148. And because I couldn’t pay immediately, she terminated my service again! After that I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone at Vodafone. And they never contacted me again. No letters, emails, texts or phone calls. So I went over their Terms and Conditions. 11b was relevant but they don't know their own T's and C's either because when I called them again six months later - yes I gave them lots of time - to tell them they had broken the contract by terminating my service when they were at fault, and because they hadn't contacted me in regards my son's handset, that in fact I owed them nothing as stated in sections 2 and 11 (b) of their T's and C's.
I heard nothing back until 2020 when I started getting DCA letters from Lowell. I told them what had happened and that I was refused to pay for a debt I never had. That it was in dispute and at Deadlock as far as I was concerned. They sent the debt back to Vodafone. Two months later, and it continued like this until late 2021, they kept contacting me and they kept sending the debt back. A debt which inexplicably was now £226, not including DCA fees.
I went to my sister and we sat and went through my itemised bills and we discovered that the amount they now claimed I owed was over what it should have been by £78. The exact same amount that Vodafone overcharged me on a capped usage contract. They had only gone and taken back the refund! And no, just like the November bill farce, they never told me about this either!
I contacted Vodafone again because I was sick of getting harassed by Lowell. I was then informed, which incidentally is a complete lie, and as is definitely fraud on the part of Vodafone, that I owed a further three unpaid bills! Bearing in mind how they've treated me over one that I never ran up, if I owed three they would have rightly terminated my service long before December 2018! Just to clarify that I have all the itemised bills from Vodafone and I told this chancer on the phone exactly that, and they show all bills paid.
Then I get a letter from Overdales Solicitors telling me to pay the now £871.65 immediately or face court action. I have no idea why it's that high. My son's handset was only worth £130. I contacted them via email to tell them the same. They have ignored it and are starting court proceedings to have me gain a CCJ.
Now because I have an autistic teen to take care of too, the expenses for that being astronomical, I got into debt with my utilities. I'm sorting that now via an IVA. Bearing that in mind, can Overdales still take this action against me over a debt I never ran up, certainly not to the amount they now claim I owe when I have an IVA? And what do I do about Vodafone?
Thank you for reading. All advice graciously received.
Vodafone are pursuing me for a debt I don't owe. Despite me contacting them about it numerous times, reaching Deadlock and my contacting CISA to look into it, they have not only passed it to Lowell who in turn have passed it to Overdales Solicitors who have now decided to take me to court. This morning a letter from the County Court Business Centre at Northampton dropped on my doormat.
This has come about because of their screw up. It's nothing I have done. Go grab a cuppa. It's a long one.
I got a mobile phone from them for my then 11 year old son, on a capped usage contract attached to mine in July 2018. I made sure it was capped at £25, just as mine was. The first month I had my usual bill, that was always over the cap. The second month I got a shock bill of around £128. £78 over what I should have paid. I contacted Vodafone who told me the bill was from my son's phone. I told them that was impossible because his usage was capped at £25. It took six weeks for them to admit there was a cap and to refund me. I paid all my bills up to December. Or so I thought.
In November 2018, and for some unknown reason, they decided to credit my account but they never told me. It turns out it was a mistake on their part, so at the end of November, realising their mistake, they debited my account and again, never told me. I always paid my mobile phone bills on the 5th of the month. On the same day I got a text message from them about an outstanding bill. Thinking it had been sent in error because I had just paid it that morning, I ignored it. I got several more texts about this over the next three days so I called them to tell them I had paid the bills. That's when I found out about November’s "not being paid". I told them that was impossible. The lady at their call centre in India told me it definitely hadn't been paid. I couldn't understand why as I always made sure that the money was in there to cover the bills. I always have and have never missed a payment. She was demanding I pay it immediately. I told her I couldn't do that as I was on disability benefits and carefully budgeted my money from month to month to cover all my bills and to buy food etc. She told me if I didn't pay they would immediately terminate my service. Just bear in mind here that I didn't cause this. Vodafone did. I told her I didn't have the money to pay it and she said that they were terminating my service immediately and as soon as I paid they would reinstate it. She hung up. I was left with no way to contact my support network.
The next day I called them from my sister's phone. I got to speak to one of their advisors in the UK who, after some investigation as to why my DD hadn't been taken as usual, he discovered what had happened. He apologised profusely, reduced the bill by £20 as a goodwill gesture and we came to an arrangement for me to pay an extra £10 per month over the following three months up to February 2019, then it would go back to my normal monthly rate. He reinstated my service and I thought it was all done and dusted.
The next day, the lady from their India call centre called me. I told her about this arrangement but she then hit me with, "but he hasn't factored in line rental". I told her that was all inclusive in my monthly bill but she was having none of it, now presenting me with the bill plus line rental which came to £148. And because I couldn’t pay immediately, she terminated my service again! After that I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone at Vodafone. And they never contacted me again. No letters, emails, texts or phone calls. So I went over their Terms and Conditions. 11b was relevant but they don't know their own T's and C's either because when I called them again six months later - yes I gave them lots of time - to tell them they had broken the contract by terminating my service when they were at fault, and because they hadn't contacted me in regards my son's handset, that in fact I owed them nothing as stated in sections 2 and 11 (b) of their T's and C's.
I heard nothing back until 2020 when I started getting DCA letters from Lowell. I told them what had happened and that I was refused to pay for a debt I never had. That it was in dispute and at Deadlock as far as I was concerned. They sent the debt back to Vodafone. Two months later, and it continued like this until late 2021, they kept contacting me and they kept sending the debt back. A debt which inexplicably was now £226, not including DCA fees.
I went to my sister and we sat and went through my itemised bills and we discovered that the amount they now claimed I owed was over what it should have been by £78. The exact same amount that Vodafone overcharged me on a capped usage contract. They had only gone and taken back the refund! And no, just like the November bill farce, they never told me about this either!
I contacted Vodafone again because I was sick of getting harassed by Lowell. I was then informed, which incidentally is a complete lie, and as is definitely fraud on the part of Vodafone, that I owed a further three unpaid bills! Bearing in mind how they've treated me over one that I never ran up, if I owed three they would have rightly terminated my service long before December 2018! Just to clarify that I have all the itemised bills from Vodafone and I told this chancer on the phone exactly that, and they show all bills paid.
Then I get a letter from Overdales Solicitors telling me to pay the now £871.65 immediately or face court action. I have no idea why it's that high. My son's handset was only worth £130. I contacted them via email to tell them the same. They have ignored it and are starting court proceedings to have me gain a CCJ.
Now because I have an autistic teen to take care of too, the expenses for that being astronomical, I got into debt with my utilities. I'm sorting that now via an IVA. Bearing that in mind, can Overdales still take this action against me over a debt I never ran up, certainly not to the amount they now claim I owe when I have an IVA? And what do I do about Vodafone?
Thank you for reading. All advice graciously received.
