Right to a bill from Vodafone?

[sjwright]

Hi there

I'm having problems with Vodafone that go back 2 years or more. Basically I am unable to view my bill online due to a technical fault at their end. They've never been able to sort it, but have acknowledged the fault is with them.

To resolve things they have always sent me my bill in the post at no extra charge. They have now stopped this and said if I want my bill in the post, I have to pay for it. Obviously I cannot get my bill online, so do they have a legal obligation to provide me with an invoice or bill before they take the money out my account?

I'd really appreciate help with this because they are really starting to annoy me now. Thanks in advance

[RATTER15]

Just stop the direct debit, they will then need to invoice you.

[Lambert-Butler]

Great idea, just stop the direct debit and have them cut the phone off

[sjwright]

I don't want to stop my direct debit because I don't want any comeback at all, I'm happy to pay my bills, but it would be nice to know what they're billing me for!

[sjwright]

and plus if I take this to ofcom I need to be seen to be honouring my end of the contractual obligations

[RATTER15]

Lambert, there is no legal requirement to pay for your phone by direct debit or standing order, as long as you pay your phone bill they will not cut you off, Ive always done that on contract phones, I hate Direct Debit. You just need Direct Debit to take out the contract then cancel it.

[Lambert-Butler]

You can call me Bert for short.

[237SJ]

There`s no point in writing to Ofcom because they don`t deal with individual cases. They regulate the industry as a whole. I`d just write to the CEO of Vodafone and complain. And before anyone says, the CEO won`t get to see the letter, that is not necessarily the case. My sister was the PA to the CEO of a high street bank and she used to pass letters of complaint to him so it can happen.

[Lambert-Butler]

Did he read them or bin them SJ?

[237SJ]

Yes he read them. My sister made sure of it :-) In truth, he used to ask to see them (not all of them, obviously)

[Old_Geezer]

I'd have thought you had a right to a bill. However I'm unsure how much right you have to avoid the charge they are adding for sending it to you.

IMO the way society/law allowed companies to bill differently to different customers was the thin edge of the wedge. One should pay for the service or product purchased, not pay more or less depending on which legitimate way of paying you choose. Admin costs are the fixed costs of the company doing business, I don't believe they have any moral right to pass on what they claim is the additional cost in addition to the price changed for the service/product. It is allowing them to do so that creates problems such as that which you describe.

[sjwright]

it seems that this is a bit of a grey area then!

[237SJ]

Well, it sounds pretty clear to me. You have a right to have free online billing or to pay for paper billing. Due to no fault of your own, you are unable to access free online billing so you will have to pay for the privilage of having a bill. You are being discriminated against because of a technical fault that Vodafone haven`t sorted out. They are not fulfilling their side of the bargain. You can`t really do anything else but write (not email ) a letter to the "powers that be" stating your case and threatening to write to Watchdog or the Trading Standards. Failing that, you`d just have to change suppliers.

[factor-fiction]

I'm wondering what the technical problem could be. If it's a rare problem that is due to the way your PC works (eg your browser or your cookie settings) then i could see them saying it's not their problem, but if it's a well known problem affecting loads of users then they need to resolve it.

[ojread2]

I get no gas or electric bills and for well over 2 years I could not log onto my online account despite the issue being their end and despite them telling me countless times they would fix it - I opted for paperless billing before this issue and they always sent me e-mail if they were increasing my DD
If you know what you're going to use does it matter what you use it on? Can you not ask or e-mail billing?

Problem solved

[sjwright]

Hi factor30

Its a known fault with people who have more than one contract on account with Vodafone, it affects a small proportion of vodafone's users. When you click on "View Bill" it says:

"Sorry, due to the high levels of registrations Vodafone Bill Centre is receiving it is taking a little longer to complete your registration. Please try again in a few minutes. The rest of My Account is available for you to use."

There are others with the problem according to the forums, but no resolution for everyone. I'm a software developer by trade, and that's a server-side generated message, so isn't anything to do with my computer. They've also acknowledged the fault is with them, but don't want to do much to sort it, terrible company.

While they were trying to sort the problem out around a year ago they did email me my bill in the interim. My biggest frustration is that 9 times out of 10 you go to their call centre in Egypt, and due to language barriers they can't grasp what I'm explaining. Its unfortunate for them because they are trying to help, but they don't understand what I'm explaining to them.

[sjwright]

Hi ojread2

Yep I need by bills for my accountant to complete my tax return, and because of previous screwups with Vodafone, I want to know exactly what they're charging me for.

[netibiza]

I had a huge problem with vodafone (I was paying someone else's bill) when I explained it they said that I had to cancel the wrong number even though it wasn't mine. Do you get a printed letter from Cust relations? I did and even though it wasn't a personal letter I wrote to the signed person enclosing all the wrong bills etc and explained it all, I registered the letter. Within 2 days I had a phone call and within 2 weeks all the money was repaid. What I'm saying is if you have some a printed and signed letter write directly to that person. It's certainly worth a try.

[sjwright]

Hi netibiza

As you've suggested along with others, I think the only way I am going to get some resolution is to contact them in writing. I've obtained the contact details of someone called 'Stefan Langkamp', who I believe to be the person who oversees accounts.

Will write him a letter and will let you know how I get on. Thanks for all your suggestions and feedback on this.

Ste

[ojread2]

ok, so you dont actually need an itemised bill you just need the total?
Your accountant surely doesn't need to know if you spent on texts or calls that's for you because of past mistakes.

[B00]

Send them a pile of stamped addressed envelopes with your address already pre filled in.