I’ve been with Vodafone for years….I was actually one of their first personal contract customers when they launched the Christmas Cracker campaign in the run up to Christmas 1994 (I was working at Vodac in Newbury at the time), which gave me a Nokia mobile phone the size of my handbag! However, I digress….just take my word for it, that I’m a long-standing loyal customer.
At upgrade time I’ve generally managed to get a decent deal by shopping around first and then asking to be put thru’ to Retentions and Upgrades to secure a discounted deal that’s competitive (As a rule, Vodafone are expensive compared to their nearest competitors). The only issue with this, being that they agree a discount and then it’s never applied and you have to ring up to sort it out. If you’re lucky, it gets sorted. If you’re unlucky you’re told it’s been sorted and discover later that it hasn’t, resulting in another phone call, having to go thru’ the entire issue again.
Recently my eldest was having ongoing problems with his Sony mobile which was still in contract until October 2019, he’d decided that enough was enough and wanted a new phone. He found one he wanted and I rang Vodafone to ask how much it would cost to terminate his contract early. I was told he could have a courtesy upgrade if he paid £85 but with a £29 upfront handset cost and only 16gb data compared to no upfront handset cost and 50gb data for just £3 more a month, 02 had more to offer.
Vodafone were unwilling to discount their package or waive the upfront handset cost, as it was a courtesy upgrade which was fair enough. So my son opted to cancel contract, pay it off and take out a new contract elsewhere, which he did but both he and I were contacted several times by Vodafone saying they didn’t want us to leave. You had your chance, you blew it, move on and stop hassling!
The price given to end contract was £141 (his money, his choice, not mine) but when I went into Live Chat the following day I was told it was £241 😳😳😳 when I argued the cost vehemently I was told it was actually £111 however when I was put thru’ to Cancellations I was told it was £140 and that cancellation charges provided by customer services were ‘approximate’ and ‘may vary’….by £100????? By £30????
Cancellations said they were sorry, the price of £140 was correct however as I’d been misinformed, I was to go back to customer services to have the difference in price credited. This was easier said than done and I had to be put thru’ to a manager to have this agreed. I was told the credit had been applied and THAT should have been the end of the story, it had only taken TWO hours to sort. Alas, it wasn’t the end of the story, when I went online to check my next bill amount I could see immediately that no credit had been applied so back to Live Chat I went this morning.
The fact that I was able to quote date and time of my last Live Chat and confirm I had a copy of the chat transcript, meant there couldn’t be any dispute over what was said/agreed (something I’ve come to hate about Vodafone). My agent today was able to clarify that the credit hadn’t been applied by previous agent, but they had applied it there and then. Time will tell if it has, I’ll probably find out when they take their direct debit next week. God help them if it hasn’t.
I’ve already emailed Ofcom regarding the 3 differing charges and the ‘approximate’ and ‘may vary’ comments, none of which were advised at time of asking for cancellation charges and I sincerely hope they investigate, as I believe they are conjuring figures from thin air and ripping customers off. I’ve also emailed a complaint to Vodafone today and advised them that come renewal time for our 3 remaining contracts, I’ll be certainly looking elsewhere as I hate feeling that I’m being ripped off.
My advice is deal with them via Live Chat and have the chat transcript emailed to you, you’ve then got it in black and white, what was said and what was agreed thus your back is covered.
Menopausal Mama 