Former Vodafone customer couldn’t buy new car after company mistake
“My credit score was almost nil”: Former Vodafone customer was unable to purchase a new car after a mistake on the part of the company meant he tried to accept payment for FIVE YEARS
- Former Vodafone customer found out the company was trying to take money
- She found out while trying to rent a car and found her credit rating was low
- The phone company apologized for the mistake and said it removed the mark
A former Vodafone customer saw her credit score ruined after a mistake by the phone company left her mistakenly charged.
Olivia Smith, 25, only discovered her score was in tatters after trying to buy a Range Rover Evoque, while the stain also left her worried about being accepted for a mortgage .
The problem started about ten years ago when Olivia’s parents were both at Vodafone and she had a contract in her mother’s name because she was under 16.
Vodafone mistakenly attempted to take payment from a customer, leaving them with bad credit
Years later Olivia, from Dover, and her mother phoned Vodafone to withdraw her from her mother’s contract and on hers, which she would pay.
However, Olivia continued to receive the bills rather than her mother. After calling the company, it turned out that she had just exchanged their names, so now Olivia was the primary account holder and her mom was the add-on.
Frustratingly, her mom couldn’t talk to Vodafone anymore because she wasn’t the name of the main account, so in trying to sort it out they both had to be there.
This, she says, was never resolved and soon after, Olivia decided to leave Vodafone for O2 who she has now been with for almost five years.
Recently, Olivia’s car lease ended and she decided to upgrade to a Range Rover Evoque.
She went to the dealership, designed the car, and paid the bond – but then received the news that her credit had been denied because her score was too low. She said she was not far from zero.
Range Rover advised her to go home, get on Experian and find out what the problem was.
Olivia was frustrated to find out and her mother’s account had been put in her name (stock image)
It turned out that when leaving Vodafone, his account had not been closed properly and had tried to debit from his account the payment of a one month bill.
However, because she closed the account, there were no payment details, meaning she had been trying to take the money for almost five years.
She contacted Vodafone who explained that it was a computer error and apologized. He removed the error and said his credit score would go back to what it was supposed to be.
By checking every few days, she could see her score improve, but after almost 30 days the “bill” had tried to be withdrawn again, lowering her credit rating again.
Vodafone again promised that the case had been closed and that the “invoice” had been removed.
They gave her a £ 30 Vodafone voucher, despite the fact that she was no longer with the company, but she put it to her mother’s account so that she could benefit from it.
Since then her score has increased but still not where she thinks it should be.
A spokesperson for Vodafone said: “Vodafone would like to apologize for this oversight and we are doing everything possible to ensure that it does not happen again.
“Our team has removed the late payment marks from the customer’s credit report, and this incident is not expected to have any negative impact on the customer’s credit rating in the future.”
Vodafone added that they offered an Amazon voucher and said any bad credit left on Olivia’s score would not come from them.
Checking Your Credit Score
A credit score, also known as a credit score, is a number that reflects the likelihood that you will pay off your credit.
Lenders will look at your credit history when they calculate your credit score, which will show them the level of risk to lend to you.
The higher your credit rating, the better your chances of being accepted for credit, at the best rates.
Your credit score will be good if you consistently make your payments on time and get your name on the voters list, for example.
However, you might be rated more negatively for having records on your report that may seem negative to businesses, such as late payments and defaults.