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Life

06th Aug 2015

Stuck In A Bill Pay Contract And Want To Get Out? Read On

Hallelujah.

Megan Cassidy

Let’s face it, buying a phone can be a major dilemma. 

As well as making the difficult decision of which model and brand to go with, there’s also the question of pay as you go or bill pay?

money

Well, if you have found yourself stuck in a bill pay contract that is rinsing your wallet every month, you will be very interested to hear this latest development.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has ordered Vodafone to tell Irish customers how they can cancel their contract before signing and making a purchase.

The state watchdog found that the company were not complying with consumer protection legislation and issued them with an enforcement order stating that clients must be made aware of their legal rights before making a purchase.

spoilt gif

Chairwoman of the commission, Isolde Goggin, said: “Customers of Vodafone will in the future be given the correct information as required by law.

“In addition, customers who bought goods or services online in the past 12 months and who now wish to cancel their contract can find details of how to do so in the customer notices section of the Vodafone website.”

iphone-6

Vodafone have released a statement about the matter, including an apology to its customers.

It reads: “Vodafone acknowledges the findings of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in relation to customers purchasing products and services through its online sales channel.

“The CCPC asked Vodafone to clarify a customer’s rights to cancel a contract pursuant to the European Union (Consumer Information, Cancellation and Other Rights) Regulations 2013 (the ‘Consumer Information Regulations’) and specifically to clarify their rights to a fourteen day “cooling off period” and the cancellation procedure to be used in doing so.

“Vodafone has now clarified this information on its website for customers who have purchased a product/service online through their e-shop, to ensure that the customer’s cancellation rights are clearly outlined and easy to understand.

“Vodafone apologises to its online customers in relation to this matter.  It has worked with the CCPC in relation to this issue and is confident that these matters have been fully dealt with and that the company’s e-shop is now compliant with these requirements set out by the CCPC.”

Information on how to cancel a contract is now available on the Vodafone website. 

H/T to our bros at JOE.ie