Vodafone/CMOS/Hugh J Ward

callie1986

Hello all!!

I am having trouble with Vodafone/CMOS/Hugh J Ward etc. About 18 months ago I had an issue with a Vodafone bill - they twice issued a bill which was nearly three times the usual amount (despite me using the phone exactly as normal, I hadn't been abroad or anything) when I called them to query it they were very vague and couldn't explain why. They said something about data charges which didn't make a lot of sense since I am almost constantly on wifi and had a 10gb allowance anyway so I highly doubt that I could have gone over my data allowance (to the tune of a couple of hundred euros at that). When I explained this to them they said there was no way to check the exact details of my data usage and therefore couldn't prove that I hadn't actually used all this data?!?! Anyway I told them there was no way I was paying over this money and to cancel my contract. They cancelled the contract but kept coming after me for the money, just sending letters. Then I started getting letters from an ever rotating list of debt management companies including Hugh J Ward and CMOS. It appears they simply toss the account around between each other every few months! ANYWAY they have been sending letter about once a month for about a year now, and I am ignoring them (in addition to all the above they have managed to DOUBLE the amount they claim I owe) i've done a lot of research into it and to be honest i think i'm going to continue ignoring them because I figure if they actually had any grounds to take me to court they would have done so by now, just looking for opinions and thoughts, I presume a good few people have been through this?
Thanks!

jimmycrackcorm

The reason they're increasing the charges is to make it worthwhile to take you to court.

They're effectively saving you up for a rainy day.

Don't ignore them, insist you get the proof of what the original outstanding charge was for. If it includes an early contract termination fee though then you might be out of luck there.

goldenhoarde

maybe do an FOI request for your data including any and all usage and also recordings of any calls between you.

According to their site here is how to do it --> http://www.vodafone.ie/terms/privacy/#accessinfo

Also as jimmycrackcorm sys there may be charges for terminating the contract which could be legitimate

They need to prove you used it in order to charge for it.

Only deal with Vodafone BTW no need to engage with the debt collectors.

callie1986

Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated. I'm going to get on to Vodafone in that case to be on the safe side and perhaps offer to pay a certain amount of money, certainly not the extortionate amount they are disputing. Separate question -= does all this kerfuffle with debt collecting agencies mean that my credit rating is affected?

slimjimmc

callie1986 wrote: »

Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated. I'm going to get on to Vodafone in that case to be on the safe side and perhaps offer to pay a certain amount of money, certainly not the extortionate amount they are disputing. Separate question -= does all this kerfuffle with debt collecting agencies mean that my credit rating is affected?

Your ICB credit rating is safe unless they get a court judgement. Mobile companies nor debt collectors are not members of the ICB and therefore cannot affect your rating directly so it won't affect your ability to get a loan/mortgage. However mobile companies may use other rating agencies and that may affect your ability to get bill-pay telecoms contracts in the future (e.g. they may require an up front deposit).