Phone was stolen overseas, Vodafone wants me to pay over $700 for roaming charges.

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › Phone was stolen overseas, Vodafone wants me to pay over $700 for roaming charges.

1 | 2 | 3

12 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#1265160 22-Mar-2015 17:00

johnr: @griffithpark You reported it " within a few days " but you are also saying " I noticed the phone was stolen immediately so there wasn't much of a delay "

What is a few days and were the roaming charges ticked up over the " few days " ?

John

johnr:@griffithpark I take it then did you not have an unlock code set on the handset or a SIM PIN set up when the phone powers uP?

I reported it after 2 days and the roaming charges were incurred over the period of a month. I had a passcode on my phone and also immediately locked the phone via Find My Phone after it was stolen. I didn't know about sim PINs, but thanks for alerting me to it.

As for your PM, I've already been in contact with two people from Vodafone who have submitted inquiries on my behalf and frankly, I'm beginning to feel like I'm wasting time on a lost cause. I'll wait to hear back from those inquiries and let you know how I go. Thanks for your concern.

griffithpark

12 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#1265161 22-Mar-2015 17:02

surfisup1000: Johnr has good points.

If I had my phone stolen on holiday I'd immediately call vodafone and get a police report for the insurance.

I have a police report and proof that I wasn't in Italy during the time that the roaming charges were incurred, but Vodafone won't accept this as evidence.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#1265162 22-Mar-2015 17:02

surfisup1000: Johnr has good points.

If I had my phone stolen on holiday I'd immediately call vodafone and get a police report for the insurance.

As would I - because I'd be claiming the phone under travel insurance, and every policy I've ever had requires stolen items to be reported to the local police.

If the OP had done that they would no doubt have a claim which they could forward to VF?

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1265163 22-Mar-2015 17:07

griffithpark:
johnr: @griffithpark You reported it " within a few days " but you are also saying " I noticed the phone was stolen immediately so there wasn't much of a delay "

What is a few days and were the roaming charges ticked up over the " few days " ?

John

johnr:@griffithpark I take it then did you not have an unlock code set on the handset or a SIM PIN set up when the phone powers uP?

I reported it after 2 days and the roaming charges were incurred over the period of a month. I had a passcode on my phone and also immediately locked the phone via Find My Phone after it was stolen. I didn't know about sim PINs, but thanks for alerting me to it.

As for your PM, I've already been in contact with two people from Vodafone who have submitted inquiries on my behalf and frankly, I'm beginning to feel like I'm wasting time on a lost cause. I'll wait to hear back from those inquiries and let you know how I go. Thanks for your concern.

I would rather do some basic checks that is why I sent the PM, There is always 2 sides to every story

griffithpark

12 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#1265172 22-Mar-2015 17:24

johnr:

I would rather do some basic checks that is why I sent the PM, There is always 2 sides to every story

PMed you back.

quickymart

13933 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1265176 22-Mar-2015 17:28

You lost the phone and waited two days to report it, but the charges were still being incurred after this? I think I'm missing something here.

griffithpark

12 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#1265177 22-Mar-2015 17:30

You're not missing anything, that's what happened. The charges were incurred after I reported my phone stolen.

Wise

Send money globally for less with Wise - one free transfer up to NZ$900 (affiliate link).

nakedmolerat

4629 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1265178 22-Mar-2015 17:30

OP: Work with johnr. He is a trustworthy guy here for Vodafone related issue. His tentacle is deep into the system.

On the other hand, how much extra is it after you reported that the phone has been stolen?

quickymart

13933 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1265181 22-Mar-2015 17:34

Why did you wait to report it? How did you report it - did you call Vodafone NZ while in Italy, or were you on your way home and called them as soon as you got back to NZ?

griffithpark

12 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#1265182 22-Mar-2015 17:34

Thanks, I only lurked previously so I don't know who's trustworthy. The charges were $728 in total, the plan was $50 monthly with a daily roaming charge of $5. I was only on the plan for a week before my phone was stolen.

KiwiSurfer

1449 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1265183 22-Mar-2015 17:36

I went to Spain in 2007 and had my phone stolen. I'm Deaf so I couldn't call Vodafone so I emailed them via the website instead hours after it had been stolen.

I got a reply back well over 24 hours later saying something to the effect of "Thanks for letting us know, we've blacklisted your SIM. Please come and see us to get a new one when you arrive back to NZ." So I just left it at that and carried on using my back up SIM/phone for the rest of my trip.

I came back to NZ about two weeks later and the first letter in the mail was a $700+ bill from VF. I was not pleased because most of the $700 was actually incurred *after* the SIM was supposedly blocked.

I took the the bill and a print out of the email reply from VF to the VF store on Queen Street. Luckily the CSR rep I met with was very nice, especially after I pointed out that there was charges for phone calls happening up to two weeks after the supposed blacklisting of the SIM card. He had to phone HQ to organise to refund only the calls that were done after VF replied to me. The rest (<$50 or so on top of the usage incurred by myself) was mine to pay and I was happy to do that.

I'm not very impressed with the assumption that the OP is at fault. VF has not handled my case very well so I think it is entirely plausible that they stuffed up the OP's case too.

Perhaps in future it would pay to email VF just to have a undeniable record as well as phoning up. Two stones will definitely kill the bird I think. Even if VF end up not blocking the SIM anyway at least the email can be used as proof you have contacted VF.

- James

KiwiSurfer

1449 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#1265184 22-Mar-2015 17:38

coffeebaron: Talk to your travel insurance people.

They might not reimburse as they can argue that the OP is not liable for the charges due to having contacted the network provider in a reasonable time frame, and as such the insurance is not liable to pay. Worth a try though.

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1265185 22-Mar-2015 17:38

The person you spoke to has left very very clear notes and I personally know them they are a very good staff member,

Sorry but something is not adding up here

griffithpark

12 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#1265188 22-Mar-2015 17:42

KiwiSurfer: I went to Spain in 2007 and had my phone stolen. I'm Deaf so I couldn't call Vodafone so I emailed them via the website instead hours after it had been stolen.

I got a reply back well over 24 hours later saying something to the effect of "Thanks for letting us know, we've blacklisted your SIM. Please come and see us to get a new one when you arrive back to NZ." So I just left it at that and carried on using my back up SIM/phone for the rest of my trip.

I came back to NZ about two weeks later and the first letter in the mail was a $700+ bill from VF. I was not pleased because most of the $700 was actually incurred *after* the SIM was supposedly blocked.

I took the the bill and a print out of the email reply from VF to the VF store on Queen Street. Luckily the CSR rep I met with was very nice, especially after I pointed out that there was charges for phone calls happening up to two weeks after the supposed blacklisting of the SIM card. He had to phone HQ to organise to refund only the calls that were done after VF replied to me. The rest (<$50 or so on top of the usage incurred by myself) was mine to pay and I was happy to do that.

I'm not very impressed with the assumption that the OP is at fault. VF has not handled my case very well so I think it is entirely plausible that they stuffed up the OP's case too.

Perhaps in future it would pay to email VF just to have a undeniable record as well as phoning up. Two stones will definitely kill the bird I think. Even if VF end up not blocking the SIM anyway at least the email can be used as proof you have contacted VF.

- James

Thanks for your input. I thought calling would have been better as I wanted to make sure that it would be dealt with straight away. In future I'll definitely email as well.

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1265191 22-Mar-2015 17:44

How did you call Vodafone from overseas was it from a motel / hotel? It would be really good to get the time and date

1 | 2 | 3