By Gavin Mackintosh-
Vodaphone attempted to charge our member £80 for an undamaged phone. Our member’ s phone was faulty , but he was charged £80 by Vodaphone when he approached them to repair his phone.
This was despite him having an insurance with them.
The customer was told he had damaged the phone , and it needed repair. After he gave the mobile phone in for repair at Southend On Sea, he came back to try to retrieve his numbers.
He said ” I knew the phone works when you hang it up, but once it is put down , it doesn’t work .
“My plan was to write as many numbers as possible, but I was very surprised when it worked with the phone down on a different charger “.
” It became clear that the chargers had different strengths.”
ADMISSION
The manager at Southend then admitted that the chargers have different strengths , something customers can only find out if they go to Vodaphone’s website .
This error in attempting to charge £80 for a properly functioning phone was a serious blunder exposing just how easy it is for Vodaphone to overcharge customers.
Vodaphone were charged £4.6m in 2016 for overcharging customers and ignoring their complaints.
REGULATION
Vodaphone are regulated by the Ombudsman for Vodaphone, who themselves have been reported by the eye of media.com to ofcom for professional incompetence. “Ofcom don’ t act on individual cases, a spokesperson told the eye of media.com.
” We observe patterns of unprofessional conduct that is reported to us, and use these to determine any steps we may choose to take. We are always observing the organisations we appoint, but ultimately abide by powers given to us by the government “.
Vodaphone management at Southend had nothing to say , except offer what appeared to be a sincere apology.
APOLOGY
Vodaphone was contacted for comment, but one of its representatives apologised on behalf of Vodaphone, and led us to its website where she said the various strengths of chargers are listed.