'Vodafone's response to my complaint was insincere'

I am in dispute with Vodafone, with which I have had a monthly direct debit for my mobile phone over many years.

They have overbilled me by about £30 following fraudulent activity on my account. They acknowledged from the outset that the fraud took place and confirmed in writing that I would only be billed as normal – £10 to £11 per month. In spite of these assurances, my bank account was debited by £39.92.

Having no resolution to my first letter, I wrote again, asking for a formal reply. I then received a text message which read: “Hello Alan. Please contact customer relations so we can discuss with you. Please note that calls to this number from your Vodafone pay monthly number will use the inclusive minute allowance. Otherwise it would be chargeable.”

What I find especially infuriating is not the original mistake but Vodafone’s cynical absence of a proper mechanism for escalating complaints.

AB, Surrey

You had received a text and an email from Vodafone saying you had changed your address when you hadn’t. You also noticed on your bill that you were supposed to have made two phone calls to numbers you knew nothing about. Also there had been a mythical delivery costing £8 and involving something being sent. Your personal details had been fraudulently accessed and someone had answered security questions and set up two additional lines on your account, placed an order and changed your billing address.

Vodafone seems to have been on to it quickly. Suspicious of the activity and possibly prompted by the alert from you, following an immediate investigation Vodafone cancelled the two lines and the order and corrected the account information.

At the time Vodafone should have removed the charges for the additional lines before the next direct debit was taken. It now says it is very sorry it failed to do this and is reimbursing the money it took by mistake. It has also applied £60 credit to your account as a gesture of goodwill. A warning has been added to your account, a new password set up and the account has been re-registered.

Finally you say you have received a comprehensive email “more or less” apologising for the chronicle of mistakes and you are happy your complaint was taken seriously in the end.

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