@vodafoneuk Surprise phone bill!

[EzyChic]

Hi guys,

 

Just checked my bank to find a DD from Vodafone for £150. My phone bill is usually £20 p/m.

 

I looked at my bill online and have £100 in calls (plus VAT) so £120 extra. I have 600 minutes and it looks like I have exceeded this.

 

I wasn't consciously using my phone more then usual and it never occurred to me I'd go over....

 

I have had no text/email or call from vodafone to say I was approaching the end on my included minutes or that I would be charged 30p/min for calls thereafter.

 

I am wondering if Vodafone have a duty of care to notify me that my bill will rising to 7x the usual amount? I was clearly unaware that I was being charged ludicrous rates.

 

I had issues a while ago where I had no signal for months and was told they'd reimburse my line rental - they never did - instead they were adamant there was a signal when there wasn't. Has anyone else had problems? (my husband has had no end of issues).

 

Ezy

[2Grumpy]

That's 933 minutes that you used in the month - or you phoned lots of numbers that weren't covered by your contract.

 

Do you get an itemised bill? Is that correct?

 

I would have thought that a mobile phone company should text you when you are getting close to your monthly included minutes. I'm on Orange PAYG and I get a text when my balance is getting low so I don't see why they couldn't - unless it would be one of those features that would hit them where it hurts - in their income. I'm sure that they could send a text for every extra £10 (or some other figure that you could set) that would be appearing on your bill. I think that would show real customer care.

 

There are details of how to get issues looked at by a Vodaphone rep if you look in the stickies. To send a PM (personal message) you have to have made over 10 posts - which is why you sometimes see 9 posts in a row just containing a number 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ...

[EzyChic]

They said over my 600 minutes I made an extra 400(ish) minutes of calls - your calculation looks about right....

 

They have charged me 35p per min for every call.

 

They say they wouldn't contact me even though it's irregular usage.

 

I cannot believe they let people run up such massive bills which are CLEARLY unnoticed and ten to charge so much! Shocking.

 

I think it's time to go to a new provider

[jacktheband]

I think you'll find most network providers give you a way of checking out how many minutes you have used and how many you have had left. From your description it appears that you were not checking your usage (" it never occurred to me I'd go over").

 

Whilst network providers are obliged to give you transparent pricing and tools to check your usage, consumers are responsible for their own usage and need to manage their spend accordingly. I'm only saying this because if you intend to move to another provider but continue to use your phone without any regard to managing your own usage then you'll find yourself in the same situation.

 

Golden rule for everyone: check regularly how many minutes you have left, and (even more importantly in the world of e-billing) check your bill when it is produced before any direct debit comes out of your bank. Management of your usage and spend is your responsibility.

[locutus]

I'd suggest you get the resident vodafone rep to have a look... maybe he can help with this.

 

Hi CAG members,

We thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves and to assure you all that our presence on CAG is with the very best of intentions.

vodafone UK has recently introduced a dedicated Web Relations Team which is keen to seek out customers who’re having difficulties with their accounts and feel that they have no other place to turn to than CAG and other consumer forums and blogs.

Naturally, it’s not possible for us to help directly with account specific queries on CAG and as such we would encourage those members who feel we can help them to contact us privately at customer.care@help.vodafo ne.co.uk quoting ‘WRT135 – CAG Forum’ in the subject line to ensure that it reaches the Web Relations Team.

When emailing us we would also ask that you either provide us with a link to your post or thread – if you’ve posted in another member’s thread please also provide your CAG username so that we can check what your query is.

 

Maybe he can offer some solution here

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi guys,

 

Just checked my bank to find a DD from Vodafone for £150. My phone bill is usually £20 p/m.

 

I looked at my bill online and have £100 in calls (plus VAT) so £120 extra. I have 600 minutes and it looks like I have exceeded this.

 

I wasn't consciously using my phone more then usual and it never occurred to me I'd go over....

 

I have had no text/email or call from vodafone to say I was approaching the end on my included minutes or that I would be charged 30p/min for calls thereafter.

 

I am wondering if Vodafone have a duty of care to notify me that my bill will rising to 7x the usual amount? I was clearly unaware that I was being charged ludicrous rates.

 

I had issues a while ago where I had no signal for months and was told they'd reimburse my line rental - they never did - instead they were adamant there was a signal when there wasn't. Has anyone else had problems? (my husband has had no end of issues).

 

Ezy

 

Hi Ezy,

 

Thanks for making me aware of your concerns here.

 

To assist you with preventing this from reoccurring we do offer some solutions which help customers to monitor their usage during the month.

 

By dialling 44555 from your phone, free of charge, you'll be given a couple of options to choose from. Once you've chosen the best option to answer your query we'll send you a text message with the relevant information.

 

Alternatively, and if you haven't already, you may wish to monitor your usage online via My Account.

 

I note that you've also mentioned being promised a line rental reimbursement which has never taken place as well as your husband experiencing difficulties with us. If you'd like me to take a closer look at these concerns could you both email your respective details across to me via the Contact us form here quoting the code WRT135 - CAG Forum in the subject line?

 

Once sent you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. To enable me to ensure that it reaches me could you update the thread with this and I'll get back to you as soon as I can?

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Web Relations Team

 

Vodafone UK