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Dante Hicks · 30 Apr 2007, 13:44

I don't think there's a definitive answer to questions like whether a delay of 21 days is legal. There may have been some case law on it, or it might be written into statute a specific period of time, but it seems unlikely. If you've got some money due to you, they've got to give it back to you within a reasonable period. In this context 21 days seems reasonable, and if it's what they've quoted you then it's probably the upper limit of how long you'll need to wait. Their service standards probably tell you all this when you sign up. If you allow seven days for receiving / sending any piece of mail plus a few days to process these things + any financial transaction time + 3/4 cushion for any problems to stop whining fags phoning up to complain about the delay, etc then an overall total of 21 seems fair enough.

When repaying a credit to our customers, we quote a four week turnaround as even if I filled out the authorisation request right this second, it wouldn't be processed by my boss until she got back in the office tomorrow, and then it might not go in this weeks cheque run by the finance company, etc. Of course, if we really wanted to get you money immediately we could (and Vodafone obviously could, given their financial clout) but why on Earth would we?

Obviously you could challenge this process in a number of ways (their internal complaints procedure, then the regulator and then the courts) but given the numerous quite serious complaints these bodies deal with, they'd probably treat your challenge with the contempt it deserves. There is no principle at stake here, delays are annoying but some huge injustice. A polite letter to their customer service manager/director might get you a free credit of £10 as a goodwill gesture.

If you're on a very low income then of course you have my sympathies, but you should avoid using a mobile phone for outgoing calls where possible - even if this means borrowing a friends phone to phone outwards - most people are reasonably understanding if you're in dire financial straits.

Of course, as with every post I make on this forum, I have no training or knowledge on this matter.

30 Apr 2007, 13:44	#14
Dante Hicks Clerk Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 13,940	Re: [Phones]Scumbags I don't think there's a definitive answer to questions like whether a delay of 21 days is legal. There may have been some case law on it, or it might be written into statute a specific period of time, but it seems unlikely. If you've got some money due to you, they've got to give it back to you within a reasonable period. In this context 21 days seems reasonable, and if it's what they've quoted you then it's probably the upper limit of how long you'll need to wait. Their service standards probably tell you all this when you sign up. If you allow seven days for receiving / sending any piece of mail plus a few days to process these things + any financial transaction time + 3/4 cushion for any problems to stop whining fags phoning up to complain about the delay, etc then an overall total of 21 seems fair enough. When repaying a credit to our customers, we quote a four week turnaround as even if I filled out the authorisation request right this second, it wouldn't be processed by my boss until she got back in the office tomorrow, and then it might not go in this weeks cheque run by the finance company, etc. Of course, if we really wanted to get you money immediately we could (and Vodafone obviously could, given their financial clout) but why on Earth would we? Obviously you could challenge this process in a number of ways (their internal complaints procedure, then the regulator and then the courts) but given the numerous quite serious complaints these bodies deal with, they'd probably treat your challenge with the contempt it deserves. There is no principle at stake here, delays are annoying but some huge injustice. A polite letter to their customer service manager/director might get you a free credit of £10 as a goodwill gesture. If you're on a very low income then of course you have my sympathies, but you should avoid using a mobile phone for outgoing calls where possible - even if this means borrowing a friends phone to phone outwards - most people are reasonably understanding if you're in dire financial straits. Of course, as with every post I make on this forum, I have no training or knowledge on this matter.