budgenk
07-10-2008, 23:06
Hi, hope someone here will have some advice on what to do. I am on a Voda contract (been with them well over 5 years on different contracts), my usual bill is around £30, and as I don't do DD as I'm on a tight budget and feel it's cheaper to pay the extra £3 pcm than the charges I would probably incur for failed DD, I often end up paying at the last minute as I forget, and hardly ever look at my bill tbh. However today I had a txt from Voda saying that I have to hurry and pay, and happened to see my bill lying around, and it was for £49. Every Friday in August I was charged £4.25 + VAT for a text, adding £17.11 to my bill all in. I do recall getting some vaguely pornographic push texts (bored housewives etc) but never even reading them, let alone following the links, just instant delete and a grunted curse (who needs mobile porn when you've got broadband anyway?).
I spoke to Voda, and they have said that my service will be suspended if I've not paid my full bill by tomorrow at 8pm: I've offered to pay every penny except for these texts, which I never requested, until it can be cleared up, but they said that's not good enough. They have told me that these texts originated from MX Telecom and that I should speak to them about any refund, and they also, on further investigation, revealed that I'd had a couple from them in July at just £1.50 each, which I'd overlooked in my last bill. They also gave me a number for MX Telecom (an 0871 number, to make matters worse), but all I got, at around 7.30pm, was an answer machine . The woman at Voda advised me that MX were a reputable company, and that in her 5 yrs experience they usually just sent a refund direct to the customer rather than refund through Voda.
I was thinking of just paying the bill and getting it sorted afterwards, but a google search on MX Telecom reveals a few people who've had problems with them, and the fact that the big mobile companies tend to look the other way unless you raise hell with them. The fact is that I can quit Voda at any time now with 30 days' notice, having been umming and ahhing about a new phone and contract, sort of hanging on for the N96, so I'm thinking of threatening to walk away,even to the extent of simply breaking my contract immediately by not paying. Other ppl have described MX as less than above-board, and suggested that Voda (and other service providers) are more or less acting as fences for the money they're stealing from unsuspecting customers. I'm also utterly livid at having been dragged into a scam, I don't even have any of the texts available to reply 'STOP ALL' to, and although the CS agent at Voda said that she'd put a block on all reverse-charge SMS to my phone, the same google search revealed that this can often be a hollow promise. I really feel like I'm being bent over the rack for a good ass****ing here and I want to know how to go about avoiding squealing like a pig.
Is it even worthwhile mentioning Phonepayplus as they seem to be an especially toothless regulator, conveniently headed up by some of the worst offenders in this 'market'. I also work as an adviser at the Citizens Advice Bureau, but am on leave at the moment looking after my sick gran, so am without recourse to their resources. I have in any case never dealt with a telecommunications issue like this, but I have found that mentioning the organisation can soften attitudes with most organisations, although I've never tried it on my own behalf before now. Out of sheer stubbornness I find the idea of handing this money, even £17, over to a bunch of chancers with leverage, with the vague hope of recouping it in the future, unacceptable, but being without a phone for even a few days will be really tough, especially as it's like an emergency cord from my gran to me overnight.
I spoke to Voda, and they have said that my service will be suspended if I've not paid my full bill by tomorrow at 8pm: I've offered to pay every penny except for these texts, which I never requested, until it can be cleared up, but they said that's not good enough. They have told me that these texts originated from MX Telecom and that I should speak to them about any refund, and they also, on further investigation, revealed that I'd had a couple from them in July at just £1.50 each, which I'd overlooked in my last bill. They also gave me a number for MX Telecom (an 0871 number, to make matters worse), but all I got, at around 7.30pm, was an answer machine . The woman at Voda advised me that MX were a reputable company, and that in her 5 yrs experience they usually just sent a refund direct to the customer rather than refund through Voda.
I was thinking of just paying the bill and getting it sorted afterwards, but a google search on MX Telecom reveals a few people who've had problems with them, and the fact that the big mobile companies tend to look the other way unless you raise hell with them. The fact is that I can quit Voda at any time now with 30 days' notice, having been umming and ahhing about a new phone and contract, sort of hanging on for the N96, so I'm thinking of threatening to walk away,even to the extent of simply breaking my contract immediately by not paying. Other ppl have described MX as less than above-board, and suggested that Voda (and other service providers) are more or less acting as fences for the money they're stealing from unsuspecting customers. I'm also utterly livid at having been dragged into a scam, I don't even have any of the texts available to reply 'STOP ALL' to, and although the CS agent at Voda said that she'd put a block on all reverse-charge SMS to my phone, the same google search revealed that this can often be a hollow promise. I really feel like I'm being bent over the rack for a good ass****ing here and I want to know how to go about avoiding squealing like a pig.
Is it even worthwhile mentioning Phonepayplus as they seem to be an especially toothless regulator, conveniently headed up by some of the worst offenders in this 'market'. I also work as an adviser at the Citizens Advice Bureau, but am on leave at the moment looking after my sick gran, so am without recourse to their resources. I have in any case never dealt with a telecommunications issue like this, but I have found that mentioning the organisation can soften attitudes with most organisations, although I've never tried it on my own behalf before now. Out of sheer stubbornness I find the idea of handing this money, even £17, over to a bunch of chancers with leverage, with the vague hope of recouping it in the future, unacceptable, but being without a phone for even a few days will be really tough, especially as it's like an emergency cord from my gran to me overnight.