Dear visitor,
Since its inception Vodafail.com has made a significant
contribution towards raising awareness of the problems and issues faced
by Vodafone customers.
Vodafone Australia customers have had the opportunity to voice their concerns, their fears and their troubles from every corner of Australia and beyond our borders.
You have gathered the courage to stand up for your rights as consumers and to make your voice heard.
Each and every person who shared their story should have a sense of pride in this achievement and the changes that have occurred since the start of Vodafail.com.
More recently, traffic to Vodafail.com has declined significantly.
Having achieved the goal of raising awareness and promoting concrete action in early 2011, we have now reached the point of closing Vodafail to new complaints.
The site will remain online for as long as possible as a
reminder and an example of what is possible when we share our experiences.
It has been a privilege to run this initiative
and I'm am forever grateful for the help and support I've received. In
particular I would like to thank Melissa, David and Travis for their
continued efforts over the past 15 months. I'm also thankful and humbled by the support of ACCAN, Choice magazine and a wide range of media outlets, blogs and websites.
You can still browse existing stories and find out how to file a complaint if you are experiencing problems.
Until next time,
Adam Brimo
Share Your Pain
| ACT (1140) | Everywhere (19206) | NSW (7557) | NT (170) | QLD (3578) | SA (987) | Somewhere else (224) | TAS (242) | VIC (3573) | WA (1735) |
13873 Someone from NSW thinks vodafone is Massive Fail at 21 Jan 2011 01:02:16 PM
I have been a Vodafone customer for 10 years. For the overwelming majority of that time, I have been a prepaid account holder to avoid the problems associated with Vodafone customer service.
When I upgraded my telephone in 2006, a sales representative at a Vodafone store convinced me that the best option for me was to sign up on a plan. Needless to say, the best option for me was not to sign up to a plan. After only 4 months I had spent in excess of $600 of my usual spend because of the geared phone charges under the contract. I later learnt that performance indicators for sales staff largely revolved around 'signing people up' because Vodafone found it was the most profitable means of retaining customers.
I rang Vodafone Customer Service and after an hour of waiting and talking to different people I was able to agree that my contract would be cancelled and that I would only have to pay half the payout figure $150 to go back onto prepaid.
While the outcome was unsatisfactory in light of the misleading statements made by Vodafone's sales rep, I was eager to get out their customer system and back onto the prepaid plan. Accordingly, I followed the instructions provided to me by Vodafone's customer representative and purchased a new prepaid pack. However, the next correspondence I received from Vodafone was a letter demanding $350 in termination fees, followed by a threat to default me with Baycorp and letters from debt collectors. In response, I rang Vodafone and explained that I had entered into an agreement, I wouldn't be paying the amount demanded, and that I would be very upset if they defaulted me for a debt that I didn't owe. I also asked for an invoice for the agreed exit fee of $150. The operator said that the money was owing and that he would default me if I didn't pay immediately. I refused and he added a default listing with Baycorp as soon as our telephone conversation ended.
I then started receiving telephone calls from debt collectors, who I told not to call me. The matter was only resolved when I made a complaint to the Telecommuncations Ombudsman. The Ombudsman found that Vodafone should never have added the default listing and that I was entitled to a refund of amounts charged by Vodafone to remove it. However, despite agreeing to the refund, Vodafone never paid me, so I had to make a second complaint requesting payment. After the second complaint, I received a refund from Vodafone.
Needless to say, I would never again sign up to be a Vodafone contract customer.
When I upgraded my telephone in 2006, a sales representative at a Vodafone store convinced me that the best option for me was to sign up on a plan. Needless to say, the best option for me was not to sign up to a plan. After only 4 months I had spent in excess of $600 of my usual spend because of the geared phone charges under the contract. I later learnt that performance indicators for sales staff largely revolved around 'signing people up' because Vodafone found it was the most profitable means of retaining customers.
I rang Vodafone Customer Service and after an hour of waiting and talking to different people I was able to agree that my contract would be cancelled and that I would only have to pay half the payout figure $150 to go back onto prepaid.
While the outcome was unsatisfactory in light of the misleading statements made by Vodafone's sales rep, I was eager to get out their customer system and back onto the prepaid plan. Accordingly, I followed the instructions provided to me by Vodafone's customer representative and purchased a new prepaid pack. However, the next correspondence I received from Vodafone was a letter demanding $350 in termination fees, followed by a threat to default me with Baycorp and letters from debt collectors. In response, I rang Vodafone and explained that I had entered into an agreement, I wouldn't be paying the amount demanded, and that I would be very upset if they defaulted me for a debt that I didn't owe. I also asked for an invoice for the agreed exit fee of $150. The operator said that the money was owing and that he would default me if I didn't pay immediately. I refused and he added a default listing with Baycorp as soon as our telephone conversation ended.
I then started receiving telephone calls from debt collectors, who I told not to call me. The matter was only resolved when I made a complaint to the Telecommuncations Ombudsman. The Ombudsman found that Vodafone should never have added the default listing and that I was entitled to a refund of amounts charged by Vodafone to remove it. However, despite agreeing to the refund, Vodafone never paid me, so I had to make a second complaint requesting payment. After the second complaint, I received a refund from Vodafone.
Needless to say, I would never again sign up to be a Vodafone contract customer.