Vodafone Billing...overdue charges of 12%,

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Eva888

2449 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#284203 7-Apr-2021 09:43

Vodafone notifier bill arrived via email as follows. (Part pasted)

*Your fixed & broadband bill for 03 Apr 21 is ready.

Here's how it's looking:
Account Name:

Total Amount Due (incl. GST):
$153.86
Current Charges (incl. GST):
$153.86
Due by:
19 Apr 21
Any payments made recently aren't included in the Amount due.

Don't forget to pay your bill on time to skip a late payment fee of $18.40.*

The PDF invoice was attached with nothing in it pertaining to a late payment fee or a date such a fee would take effect. The fee amount was only in the email notifier and it worked out to 11.95%

So
Billed 3 April for period 1st to 30th April. Payment due on 19 April
Am being asked to pay on 19th which is 11 days before I’ve even used the service and if paid late which I assume is after 19 April I will be charged a late payment fee of 11.95% of the total

Is this even legal? Am I missing something?

Last months emailed bill notifier did not have a late payment notification on it but I now note that it was also billed ahead.
Billed 3 March for period 1st to 31st March...due on 17 March. 14 days before services were used.

Don’t get me started on how difficult it is to fathom the four page convoluted invoice which in itself is enough to make one change supplier.

The phone has also stopped ringing again. It was fixed' again last week, worked for a few days and now same problem. Frankly I don’t have the energy for another marathon with VF on anything at all.

Do other internet suppliers bill ahead.

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1133 posts

Uber Geek

#2687725 7-Apr-2021 10:26

Whether it's fair or expected or not is a different story - but billing in advance is very common.

2degrees Home Broadband is charged and billed in advance, once your Broadband connection has been activated you will receive your bill and be charged immediately for the first month of your plan.

This is because Spark charges for services a month in advance.

Eva888

2449 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#2687739 7-Apr-2021 10:59

Good to know about other providers billing, thanks. I am not overdue, but the appearance of a reminder that there could be a late payment fee is a new thing on my VF billing and I was shocked by the amount. How do other providers compare.

The penalty payment calculation is for an entire month. What if you paid 2 days late, but still within the time of your billing period which you would not yet have used.

Example billing period 1-30th
Payment required by 19th
Your payment 22nd, so considered late.
Penalty 12% of the entire month.

This seems excessive and needs clarification.

WyleECoyoteNZ

1049 posts

Uber Geek

#2687804 7-Apr-2021 11:52

I just had a look at my Vodafone bill.

Invoice dated 11 March, current charges are for the Period 10 March to 9 April. Bill due 25th March.

Last months bill would have been similar, and I paid it a couple of days into March and the current invoice doesn't show any late charges.

Oblivian

7304 posts

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ID Verified

#2687805 7-Apr-2021 11:52

There's a reason it costs ~$200 for new connections and paid as part of you signing up. Broadband in NZ isn't a pay for what we use case. But pay for a base rate before it's used, and then other charges for that past month in the next cycle.

2Deg:

The cost for us to chase overdue bills can be huge. To help recover these costs, if you’ve missed paying your bill, a late payment fee of $9.95 (incl. GST) will be added to your next bill. The easiest way to avoid these fees is to set up a Direct Debit or Credit/Debit Card Authority, which means your bill will be paid automatically every month. Set one up now Your 2degrees.

Eva888

2449 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#2687835 7-Apr-2021 12:14

I just checked Vodafone help website and it states as follows

*How much is the late payment fee?

If you have not paid your bill by the due date, you will see a $18.40 ($18.50 with GST included) late payment fee on your next month's bill*

Therefore it is a fixed amount they are charging not a percentage of the account which in my case worked out to 12% on $153.86. So for those with naked broadband without Sky the percentage will be a lot more.
2 degrees are charging almost half that amount $9.95 as @oblivion mentions above.

Isn’t there a requirement in NZ for cost of overdue fee to be displayed on the actual invoice?

floydbloke

3525 posts

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#2687852 7-Apr-2021 12:50

I'm usually first in the queue when berating Vodafone if they get it wrong. In this case, though it seems to me that they're doing everything above board and in a reasonable fashion (notwithstanding that I don't know the answer to your query on the requirement to show the late fee on the invoice).

If you don't like it then change provider. But as others have indicated, VF's practice appears to be in line with its competitors.

Did Eric Clapton really think she looked wonderful...or was it after the 15th outfit she tried on and he just wanted to get to the party and get a drink?

boosacnoodle

964 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2687861 7-Apr-2021 13:17

The fees under legislation need to be proportionate.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

antonknee

1133 posts

Uber Geek

#2687877 7-Apr-2021 13:51

Eva888: Good to know about other providers billing, thanks. I am not overdue, but the appearance of a reminder that there could be a late payment fee is a new thing on my VF billing and I was shocked by the amount. How do other providers compare.

The penalty payment calculation is for an entire month. What if you paid 2 days late, but still within the time of your billing period which you would not yet have used.

Example billing period 1-30th
Payment required by 19th
Your payment 22nd, so considered late.
Penalty 12% of the entire month.

This seems excessive and needs clarification.

That the payment would have been made during the period of service which the payment covers is not really relevant - such is the nature of anything billed in advance. Late is late is late, and only the due date of the invoice matters.

I think it's great that Vodafone make it clear in their reminder how much the late fee is and the date you need to pay by to avoid it.

I personally think $18.40 is probably too much. Spark's is the same amount, 2degrees is half as much, Genesis is $14.

Eva888

2449 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#2687903 7-Apr-2021 15:28

Fair comments... but in any case it's a good discussion to have as I was totally unaware of the $18.40 until today when I read it in the email - and most probably so are many others.

Especially for those on a lower plan than mine which works out to 12%. For someone on a $70 plan it would amount to a 26% penalty so hardly proportionate.

I think for the sake of transparency they should include the penalty costs on all invoices.

Bung

6504 posts

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Subscriber

#2687910 7-Apr-2021 15:44

The current terms & conditions seem dated 17 Dec 2018 but the $18.40 late fee was also in previous version. In the T&Cs it says may charge not will charge. Quite possibly if there is a regular auto payment that glitches for some reason they may not charge it. I don't see any reason for regular payments not to be done automatically. Then all I have to remember are anniversaries and birthdays.

Eva888

2449 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#2687919 7-Apr-2021 16:14

Bung: The current terms & conditions seem dated 17 Dec 2018 but the $18.40 late fee was also in previous version. In the T&Cs it says may charge not will charge. Quite possibly if there is a regular auto payment that glitches for some reason they may not charge it. I don't see any reason for regular payments not to be done automatically. Then all I have to remember are anniversaries and birthdays.

I would gladly arrange auto payments but have been patiently waiting since February for the exchange of my Tbox and the account changes which will follow. We’ve gone from paper to email which concerns me that a billing email might be missed. Our Gmail can be tardy sometimes.

snnet

1410 posts

Uber Geek

#2687923 7-Apr-2021 16:19

I recently took up an offer with spark to get some half price cameras - even though my plan was listed as eligible, my next bill had two sets of charges for over 120GB of usage because of the way they did it effectively making me pay almost two months for one month of service that I'd normally be paying -- so vodafone isn't alone in the art of confusion. I still don't understand my bill but have left it as is and will reconsider my position when I've thrown some money to get rid of the monthly interest free payments. Was actually a bit of a kick in the bottom for a customer of the better part of two decades spending on broadband and a cellphone every month

Handle9

11411 posts

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#2687938 7-Apr-2021 16:37

boosacnoodle:

The fees under legislation need to be proportionate.

Nope, they need to be reasonable which is somewhat different.

If each late bill costs on average $16 +gst to recover (some more some less) then $18 is reasonable. If it costs $3 to recover then $18 is not reasonable.

K8Toledo

1014 posts

Uber Geek

#2690751 11-Apr-2021 02:03

Oblivian:

There's a reason it costs ~$200 for new connections and paid as part of you signing up. Broadband in NZ isn't a pay for what we use case. But pay for a base rate before it's used, and then other charges for that past month in the next cycle.

2Deg:

The cost for us to chase overdue bills can be huge. To help recover these costs, if you’ve missed paying your bill, a late payment fee of $9.95 (incl. GST) will be added to your next bill. The easiest way to avoid these fees is to set up a Direct Debit or Credit/Debit Card Authority, which means your bill will be paid automatically every month. Set one up now Your 2degrees.

~$200 is the cost for new connections (request for service). This fee covers among other things ETP/ONT installation & trenching if required.

If the premises is already connected then switching providers typically requires a cabinet visit and less than an hour of a contractor's time.

K8Toledo

1014 posts

Uber Geek

#2690753 11-Apr-2021 03:33

@Oblivian

The OP wasn't billed ~$200 for signing up, providers don't operate that way.

$153 sounds like a typical broadband account with a couple of mobiles on it.

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