Nasty Letter From Vodafone!

[Syd83]

Hiya!

 

I received this nasty letter from Vodafone the other day. I will quickly let you know the story behind this.

 

I cancelled the direct debit from my bank, as I am not working at the moment there isnt the finds in my Natwest Account (SAR Sent) and I couldnt afford any more charges from NW. I had an outstanding bill last month which was paid over the phone by my girlfriend with her debit card.

 

Now, its time to pay again, i am (at the time of posting) 7days overdue payment, but received this letter.....

 

Account Balance: £54.87

Potential Termination Fee: £388.32

 

Your mobile has been suspended due to an overdue payment of £54.87 and we have been unable to contact you to discuss the situation.

 

As a valued customer, options may be available to help you bring your account up to date over an agreed period.

 

Should we not hear from you, we regret that your service will be permanently disconnected and an early termination fee of upto £388.31 may be applied to your account. This would be payable in addition to the overdue balance. Failure to pay may then result in a debt collecting agency being instructed to collect the outstanding balance on our behalf.

 

Please call us as soon as possible on 08700 765 123 and we will try to help

 

 

Now..... I have had nothing up till this letter, no text msg's from Voda, calls, NOTHING....

 

Why have they sent me this nasty threatning letter for being a few days overdue, would it be related to a previous default in 2003?

 

What response can I give them, I am not sure when I can afford the bill, I start a new job September so my 1st pay will be October, I dont want to default on this

 

Hope someone can guide the way

[bernard coleslaw]

To be honest, whilst that was probably not a nice letter to get, it could have been a lot worse.

 

This looks like early notification of the outstanding amount. If, as they've said, they've suspended your mobile then they possibly wouldn't have been able to call you or text you, so a letter was probably their only option.

 

It's better that they warn you of potential termination charges now than simply applying them to you with no notice. And they have said they're willing to talk through options to deal with the outstanding balance, which you yourself admit is a little late.

 

I don't think that this:

 

Please call us as soon as possible on 08700 765 123 and we will try to help

 

sounds all that nasty, to be honest. You want to see some of the leters people on here have got over the last couple of years!

 

Seriously - give them a call. Tell them your circumstances. They will default you if you don't talk to them. But if you keep them in the loop, they might want to help you.

[Syd83]

I will call them today, but resent the 08700 number, going to cost me a fortune getting to speak to someone isnt easy.

 

and i forgot to mention about my phone, they have stopped OUTGOING txt's & calls, the phone still receives txt's & calls

[buzby]

This is standard - it prevents you from increasing the debt, but allows them to phone you! Whether they actually get through (or even try) isn't the problem, but if they do pull the plug, getting things back to normal is an impossible task, especially since it's all automated. If the computer doesn't collect on the DD, the alarm bells start ringing. I've attempted to get two contracts with Vodafone, but they'll not accept anything but mandates for payment (DD or CC), so market sectors are already being excluded....

[Syd83]

Right this matter is now resolved, a promise to pay and the auto default deadline has been moved.

 

Telephone call was recoreded at my end.

 

It isnt my intention not to pay, but at the moment I am in a situation where I cant pay, a token payment will be made, and come my 1st pay day, they will have a direct debit agreement re-set up again.

[buzby]

Fair enough, but under the circumstances, is it wise giving them a DD again? You might find it less hassle simply to pay them on invoice when it is received.....

[Syd83]

Come the end of October I will be working and earning enough, i am in a poor situation as i've had to wait 2months for my start date