He spoke about what to include in a message if you are contacting your provider
Martin Lewis has tackled a question about getting the biggest savings possible on household expenses. The financial journalist offered his insight after fielding a particularly detailed question on his BBC podcast.
A listener rang in with a question about their mobile phone deal. They said they were a Vodafone customer and that their contract had come up for renewal last year. They were considering switching providers, but ultimately they stayed put after negotiating a 50 per cent reduction on their renewal price.
Their monthly payment was initially due to rise from £26 to £27.80, representing a 6.9 per cent hike of £1.80. However, when their April bill arrived, they noticed the 50 per cent discount had been calculated only against their previous bill, slashing the monthly charge by £13, while the full £1.80 rise had been applied.
The customer believed the 50 per cent reduction should equally apply to the £1.80 increase, trimming their bill by an additional 90p each month, or £10.80 annually. In reply, Mr Lewis enquired what steps the man had taken to resolve the matter.
Little-known tip
The bill payer said he’d raised it with Vodafone via webchat, but the firm maintained that the discount applied solely to the base price, not the increment. Giving his view, Mr Lewis acknowledged there is “no hard answer” to this particular puzzle.
However, the consumer expert shared a handy trick that a “senior at a telecoms firm” once told him, about how they deal with disputes like this. He said: “They have a special team for dealing with complaints if people are threatening to escalate to the Ombudsman, because if you go to the Ombudsman, they have to pay a fee to the Ombudsman when you make a complaint.
“Therefore, they have a special team which is trying to forestall those complaints, who tend to be better to deal with.” Mr Lewis advised the customer to lodge a formal complaint via webchat or, ideally, in writing by email.
What to include in the complaint
He outlined what to include in the message: “You believe you’re entitled to a 50 per cent discount, that discount has not been applied, therefore you think this is incorrect. You would like to turn this into a formal complaint that they are overcharging you, and you would like a response within 28 days.”
He said that such a message would hopefully reach the appropriate team, which might then agree to apply the full 50 per cent discount. The consumer champion pointed out that this would probably cost the provider less than paying Ombudsman fees if the matter were escalated to the watchdog.
Mr Lewis concluded: “My progressive step would be, next is make the formal complaint, but say that you’re planning to go to the Ombudsman if they won’t sort it within the formal complaint. My hope is that will do the business.”
‘You’ve got an agreement’
The caller liked this proposed strategy, saying he felt it was worthwhile pursuing the matter despite the modest sum involved. Mr Lewis backed him up, stating: “Absolutely, you’ve got an agreement with the company.
“They gave you a price, why shouldn’t they stick to the price?” Vodafone has been asked for a comment.
The BBC podcast team received a statement from Vodafone addressing the pricing concern. The company responded: “Any price changes are made with the commitment to transparency and are in line with Ofcom’s guidelines, including where discounts have been applied. We encourage customers to contact our customer care channels for support with contract queries or issues.”
