@vodafoneuk Slamming Vodafone/Virgin Media

[Davis129]

Hi everyone.

 

 

our ordeal is this.

 

 

Around a month ago Vodafone contacted my husband trying to sell a great deal broadband and landline package.

Without agreeing to switch from our current provider we then received a router in the post.

 

 

Rang Vodafone up, said why have we got this, apology freepost it back.

Week or so later our landline goes dead.

 

 

We ring Virgin our landline provider and they inform us that Vodafone have requested the line as we are switching to them.

We agreed to no such thing EVER.

 

 

We have been completely disconnected for over two weeks without any emergency call access.

My husband has spent approx 7 hours on the phone to Vodafone and Virgin with neither party taking action to resolve our predicament so far.

 

 

We proportion the blame to Virgin as we are their customer and paying them a monthly fee for our services and have done for the last 7 years.

 

 

After visiting Ofcom we became aware this illegal practise in the telecoms world is termed "Slamming".

Has anyone else experienced this and what can we do and what are our rights???

[AndyOrch]

Hi Davis and Welcome to CAG

 

I have edited your thread title slightly as this will appear on Twitter and Vodafone are the main culprit in my eyes..(they instructed VM) ...so they get a mention also:wink:

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Davis129]

Hi Davis and Welcome to CAG

 

I have edited your thread slightly as this will appear on Twitter and Vodafone are the main culprit in my eyes..(they instructed VM) ...so they get a mention also:wink:

 

Regards

 

Andy

 

Ok Andy. I trust your expertise in this area! We keep swinging blane from VM to VF in this fight but as VM are still taking our money after giving our line away so easily on some third parties say so and without checking with their customer of 7 years, today they are the bad guys.

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG.

 

This is totally Vodafones fault and they must deal with it. They should have transferred the account back to VM when you contacted them. The best that I can advise is that you ring VF and record the call to get this in motion. They may still have a recording of your last call and if so, you should demand they keep it secure. VF don't keep recordings for very long. (perhaps to hide the evidence of wrongdoing?) Follow this up with a Formal Compliant in writing to their head office.

 

I hope this is not VF changing from one set of screw ups to another set. Their complaints record has come down a bit in this quarter than the last but that was for customer service and billing issues. I would bet that the sales team are getting commission for every new customer they sign up and someone has tried this way to boost their income.

[AndyOrch]

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/problems-and-complaints/how-to-avoid-being-slammed/

[stu007]

If the vodafone conversation about there package was done by phone remember when you complain to vodafone to ask for a copy of the conversation with their adviser.

[Davis129]

Thanks everyone for your posts. As I said we have spent 7 hours on phone to both companies. We have complained from the outset, demanded, threatened and nothing has worked. My husband is losing the will to live. We aren't in contract with #virginmedia so I guess we should just walk away. Their customer care over this has been shocking. To add insult to inJury my husband received a call from #Vodafone third party yesterday trying to sell him same thing again. He was flabbergasted. Like you say, over zealous #Vodafone commission hungry sales zealots causing god knows who misery. We read something about a deadlock letter, should we get this from #virginmedia and what good will it do?

[silverfox1961]

To get a deadlock letter, you need to follow the companies formal complaints process. This means that once you submit a formal complaint -in writing, the company has up to 8 weeks to resolve your complaint before you can go to the Ombudsman however, the company may agree to issue a deadlock letter before that time if they feel they cannot assist any more. Having a deadlock letter means you can escalate to the Ombudsman before the 8 week cut off.

 

In the meantime, you still need to get back up and running. Would VM allow you to return on a new contract (not the best option) or could you go with a new provider using fibre. If you were using VM for TV, Sky have some decent offers for new customers.

[king12345]

The way i would look at this is that you have been blessed.

VM and Vodafone are not companies you really want to deal with.

Find another deal with another company and be glad to have dodged the bullet.

[Davis129]

The way i would look at this is that you have been blessed.

VM and Vodafone are not companies you really want to deal with.

Find another deal with another company and be glad to have dodged the bullet.

 

I have been a #Vofafone mobile customer for 10 years and left them yesterday. I want nothing more to do with them. Said to my husband we should just leave #virginmedia but feel we are owed something for this whole massive inconvenience first as still paying them for no phone service! Still no phone line by the way, 2 weeks today since it was disconnected.

[silverfox1961]

Please be aware! Vodafone have had a nasty habit of not closing accounts so when you cancel the direct debit, they will continue to bill you and not tell you until such time you need credit and find a default on your credit file. While VF may have got better at this recently, I wouldn't trust them one mm!

 

If you cancelled by phone and didn't record it, get back to them and confirm what has been done. Ask the customer services agent to read what it says on the screen. This tends to catch them out.

If you cancelled by any other means (live chat) then keep copies of that. I would also keep your DD live for a couple of months to ensure any valid charges are paid.

 

VF need to release your landline number so you can either go back with VM or contact another provider and see if they can assist in moving to them.

 

One more thing. While OFCOM do not investigate individual cases, they do keep a log of complaints and when they have enough of a certain type, they act so registering a complaint with them (at any time) will not elicit results for you, it will help future victims of VF's PPP*

 

 

(*PPP = P*ss Poor Performance)