By Sammie Jones-
Vodafone is suffering a hit in its reputation, following a process failure causing customer problems.
The eye of media.com has received a number of e-mails from disgruntled customers, following our article about the ofcom fine of £4.6m for overcharging customers.A member of the eye of media.com also filed a complaint with Vodafone and the Ombudsman for overcharges, which has still not been responded to.
The eye of media.com contacted the Ombudsman for an update on developments with customer complaints,as we keep a close eye on their progress. The ombudsman came back with no definitive response except to say they were still looking into them.
Today, a complainant, Jennifer Johnston, who was previously with Vodafone contacted ”This is money” to bitterly complain about her experience with Vodafone. One of our readers contacted us to alert us to the story.In a long letter of complaint, she said:
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”Vodafone cancelled my direct debit three times and won’t tell me why I’ve been a Vodafone customer for six years and in April this year my direct debit was cancelled, which I did not request.
After upgrading two of my iPads in May with Vodafone, I still had no message to tell me about the cancelled direct debit. In July I returned from my summer holiday to find several letters telling me I owed Vodafone £400 in unpaid bills.
I called up and set up a new direct debit but in August no money was taken from my bank account and I received a text message saying the direct debit had been cancelled for a second time, so I called up and set it up again.
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Vodafone Negligence Caused customer Credit Problems
In September once again I realised the money hadn’t gone out so I had to call up again and pay and try and get it set up, for the third time. I’ve just bought my first house and I don’t have much free cash to pay these random lump sums, hence why I wanted to pay via direct debit in the first place. I’ve also noticed the late payments have shown up on my credit rating so I’ve been refused credit for new furniture I needed to buy.
This is not the best start when buying my new home and the whole thing has been a complete nightmare, is there any way I can get this?
Vodafone customer Process Failure
Rebecca Rutt of ‘This is Money’ got in contact with Vodafone to find out what had happened. After an investigation, a spokesperson confirmed there had been a ‘process failure’ with her account which it is looking into.
Vodafone Make Goodwill Payment
In a statement to This Is Money, Vodafone said: ‘We’ve been in touch with Ms Gibson to apologise for her recent experience and to confirm that we have reset her direct debit and will monitor the next billing period to make sure everything works as it should.
‘Any failed payments have been credited so there is nothing owing on the account and we have corrected her credit file. We’ve also made a goodwill payment in recognition of the problems she has faced recently.’
The good will payment was of £75 was good, but small in comparison to what was lost by Jennifer Johnston. It was a good will payment, but not a strong one unless it measures up well against the losses suffered by the complainant, Jennifer Johnston. The good will payment does not account for the emotional stress caused to the customer, or the fact the customer was refused a furniture they wished to buy for their new home. Vodafone say they have now rectified the credit issue, which is good.
However, if the particular furniture Ms Johnston wanted to buy was gone by the time she returned there, or if they venue where she saw the furniture is too far for her to return there, this would have been a chance missed.
Vodafone rectified the credit process failure
Vodafone says they have now rectified the credit issue, which is good. However, if the particular furniture the former customer wanted to buy was gone by the time she returned there, or if they venue where she saw the furniture is too far for her to return there, this would have been a chance missed.
Vodafone really needs to buck up its ideas and its efficiency. That a customer needed to set up a direct debit 3 times before Vodafone would take payments due to them, only to cause the customer problems is very disappointing. The poor woman was refused credit for furniture just because of a ”process failure’ of Vodafone is most embarrassing. One can bet Ms Johnston won’t be recommending Vodafone to anyone after this experience.
With the eye of media.com also having one of us with a pending complaint reflecting evidential negligence on the part of Vodafone, we are keeping a close watch on how the giant telecommunication progress from here.
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