Martin urges Vodafone customers to check their phone bills
Our Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis is urging all 20 million Vodafone customers to check their phone bills and bank statements for errors, as thousands have reported problems and he says this is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg.
What’s the problem?
Ever since Vodafone moved to a new billing platform there’s been a huge number of reports of serious blunders, including direct debits incorrectly set up, people being put on the wrong tariff and credit agencies wrongly being told that customers have missed payments. After investigating, it seems this is mirrored by official channels too.
- Ofcomdata shows it’s had more than three times as many complaints about Vodafone as any other network and pay-monthly complaints about it doubled over 2015.
- The Communications Ombudsman has warned it’s seen an increasing number of complaints over the last nine months.
And indeed Vodafone itself admits problems, saying: “We would like to apologise to any customers who have been affected by our recent customer service issues… many of the recent issues relate to the move of our legacy billing and services platforms into one state-of-the-art system”.
We’ve seen similar billing system issues before, mainly with energy companies such as Npower, Scottish Power and Co-op. And when it does happen the most important thing to do is to check your bills and bank statements. For the full story and help in what to do, see Martin’s ‘Full Vodafone Warning guide’. In brief…
How to check if you’re affected
- Check your Vodafone bill ASAP. The common problems are: a) Being put on a different tariff to the one you asked for; b) Being charged double or triple what you should have been.
Like Anna, who Facebooked me saying: “I was overcharged every month for four months and had to call four times each time to get it sorted. Will be leaving them when I can!”
- Even if your bill is correct, check your bank statements too.The common problems here are: a) Direct debits being incorrectly set up, with customers then chased for late payment; b) Payments being taken after you’ve cancelled.
Like Mary, who Facebooked me saying: “I cancelled my Vodafone contract in 2015, but they’ve now sent debt collectors saying I owe money as I didn’t cancel properly. Please advise, I am a pensioner. I know I cancelled it.”
Plus if you’ve cancelled your account with Vodafone, check you’re not still paying, even if you received confirmation of the cancellation.
- Found a problem? Check your credit score too. Unfortunately on the back of problems some people have found credit reference agencies have been told they’ve missed payments. This can have a massive impact if you’re applying for a mortgage or credit card in future.
Like Tom, who emailed me: “Vodafone cut off my service and said it was carrying out a fraud investigation. I received an email from Equifax to tell me Vodafone had lodged four missed payments. I rang them to cancel the contract – they said a bag would be dispatched to send my handset back in. This never arrived, then I received another email from Equifax – Vodafone had added a default to the missed payments! I’m hoping to move house this year and this might just stop it happening.”
What to do if there’s a problem
1) Work out what redress you want – this isn’t about compensation. The most important thing is to be put back into the position that you would have been in had the issues not happened. That should mean a refund of any overcharges and any expenses directly incurred as a result (eg, bank charges resulting from a fault).
If your credit score’s been affected the most important thing is to ask Vodafone to delete its entry on your credit file; if it won’t you can go to the Financial Ombudsman. You can also add a ‘notice of correction’, so lenders can see what the issue was, explaining that it wasn’t your fault.
But whatever you do, don’t be tempted to cancel your direct debit, as you could end up getting valid marks on your credit file for payments you do owe Vodafone – and that can’t be amended.
2) Contact Vodafone immediately – hopefully the issue can be sorted quickly. You can call it for free from your Vodafone mobile on 191, or call 0333 304 0191. Or speak to them on its online chat (and that way you can save a transcript of what’s been sent for evidence should you need it) or fill out its web form.
3) If that doesn’t work, use free online tools to lodge a formal complaint. These can take your complaint all the way through for you.
4) If that still doesn’t work, or it’s been more than eight weeks, escalate your complaint to the Communications Ombudsman – It’s an independent and free scheme that covers most telecoms firms, and around 60% of complaints about Vodafone escalated to it in the past six months were upheld. If the Ombudsman upholds your complaint, Vodafone will have 28 days to comply with its decision. If it rejects you, your last option is to go to court, though remember the Ombudsman probably sided with Vodafone for good reason.