My name is Tarek XXXXXXXXXXX
kundennummer: XXXXXXXX
Weborder-ID: XXXXXXXXX
Phone number: XXXXXXXXXX
I am writing this letter to complain about my experience with one of your employees which led to signing an internet cable contract based on wrong information from your employee. (I sent this online before and you told me to post it here, and I also sent it per post and I didn't get any respond till now)
The whole story is as follows:
I live in a WG in Erfurt and we had an internet contract with an old tenant's name who left and forgot about his contract running and didn't pay till you disconnected the internet from the flat and now the contract is terminated or suspended, I don't know exactly its current status. Since, I am leaving the WG soon, maybe by the end of the year for working reasons, I wanted to get an internet contract where I can change the contract holder at any time when I am leaving to one of the other persons who lives with me. So, based on that I went to Vodafone shop in Erfurt (Bahnhofstraße 39, 99084) to ask about what we can do to get an internet connection as soon as possible with one of my German flatmates - who is leaving the flat by the end of this month - because my German language isn't so good and it would be easier to communicate and he is .
So, we explained the situation there to one of your employees there (***) and he suggested to make a new contract with my name and because this might takes time and we need internet soon, he also suggested to make use of the Gigacube's offer where we can test it for one month to get internet directly till the new cable contract is activated and I can return it later during the first month.
We asked him too many times to make sure if we can switch the contract owner at any time (Übernahmen/tauchen) because based on this information, I will sign the contract as I explained before that I am leaving and I don't want to have the contract for the next two years, he confirmed and said yes we can do this at any time. We even asked him with German and with English and he said, yes we can. And even my German flatmate told me that they used to do this before with the internet contract.
Based on this, I signed the contract and I got the Gigacube's SIM card to use at a hotspot on my phone as he told me, till the Gigacube device arrive. Mr. *** told me told me that the SIM card for the Gigacube is activated and I can use it from now, then I went home and tried it but it didn't work, so I went back to him on the same day before they close the shop and he told me that it is activated on the system and usually it should work normally and he can't do anything for me to help.
I went back the next day to ask about the internet again, as I thought that it might take time to be activated, but Mr. *** was busy with a customer and I spoke to his colleague Mr. *** and I explained to him that I have a problem with the Gigacube SIM card internet, then he just checked my phone and added a code somehow and it instantly worked, and Mr. *** didn't know about it. Then, I was just making sure and I asked Mr. *** that I just did a new contract and I am planning to change the holder of the contract when I'm leaving, and he looked at my contract and told me that I cannot do that as Mr. *** said. I was really shocked and surprised because we made sure and we asked this too many times and he confirmed that we can.
Mr. *** told me let's wait for Mr. *** till he finishes with his customer and discuss with him. In this time another lady colleague of them (unfortunately I didn't get her name) stepped in and confirmed what Mr. *** said, that I can't change the holder at any time. So, we waited for him, but while he was with the other customer he had to go to the copying machine to copy something, and the lady colleague went to him and told him that he told me that I can change the holder at any time but it is not allowed - and I could see that from a distance when she was telling him- and then he said to her literally (Ach so!). This means that he knew that he did a mistake and he gave me a wrong information.
Then we waited for him till he finished with the customer and he came to me and started changing what he told me before totally. I was really really in shock, he started telling me, no, I didn't mean that and you misunderstood me, I meant that you if you are leaving to another place and there is already another contract running there, then I can cancel the contract and the people in the old place can make a new contract.
I have to say also, that I knew about that, where I can cancel my contract when I am leaving under some conditions which called (sonderkündigung) but that's not what I signed the contract based on. I signed the contract based on that I can change the holder at any time and I wanted to do this with my current flatmate, but she was not here during that time, so I said that I will do this till she comes.
After discussing with Mr. ***, he insisted that he meant something else and he didn't simply admit that he did a mistake and gave me wrong information. He ended up telling me that I misunderstood him and the other German friend of mine who came with me before understood him the right way as he's claiming, and he told me to bring him back to him to clear up the situation.
I met my German flatmate and he was so surprised as well and he told me that we asked him many times and he understood the same as I understood that we can change at anytime. So, I went back with him again the next day and we had a big argument with Mr. *** and he insisted on what he said, that he didn't mean that and we misunderstood him. I though also that I can cancel the contract during first 14 days and it's a rule going on all contracts in the European Union, but he told me that this option is not always working and it only works under some conditions, and we had to check a cross sign in front of a specific option in the contract to be valid, but we didn't, which was my mistake because I didn't notice and he didn't mention it.
He told us that the only thing he can do now is to bring my other flatmate in the first 14 days, who I was planning to change the contract with her name when she arrives. And then he can cancel the contract and then make another contract with her name, and I have to do that during the first 14 days. Now, when my flatmate knew also that she can't change the contract holder in the future due to any reason might happen, she refused to do that.
Therefore, I am complaining Mr. *** for the following:
1- As a representative of Vodafone, he provided me as a customer -me and my other friend- wrong information which led to signing this contract. And let's say as he is claiming that he didn't mean that and it was a misunderstanding, then it's not even an excuse, it is even another problem, because he as a customer service employee couldn't deliver what he meant correctly to two customers -not just one- means that he is not qualified for this job which deals primarily with speaking to customers and explaining to them about your offers.
2- He told me that he can't do anything about the Gigacube SIM card internet and it's active on his system, while Mr. *** fixed it directly by inserting a code which he didn't know about, which also shows the lack of Mr. *** knowledge about many important thing which he should know as a customer srevice.
3- In the very beginning when I went to ask how much should be paid for the old contract which was suspended or terminated, and I had the customer number, landline number and the birthday of the contract holder, he didn't know and he told me that we have to call some other number to ask about that, while Mr. *** told me that he can do that by giving him these information. And he (Mr. ***) took my number twice, one time for the first situation where I wanted to to know how much should be paid for the suspended contract, and the other when I went to him asking about the Gigacube SIM card internet problem, and he told me that he will call me next day to tell me about the solution and what to do. But, he didn't call or send me a message at all, which I find very irresponsible act and it shows clearly that he doesn't care about his customer.
Finally, based on all the facts which I explained above and taking into consideration how many times I went back and forth and the time I wasted there going to the shop and how confused and shocked from the behavior of your representative and how stressed I am these last days till now because of that, I'm kindly asking to terminate my contract which was signed based on wrong information from your representative. I know that I can transfer the contract with me wherever I go but I don't want to get connected to it for two years as I am moving frequently from place to place due to working purposes and I don't want to get involved in this, plus that I feel deceived and tricked by what happened. I was even considering changing to Vodafone to be my cell phone provider, because my current contract with another company is about to end, but after this horrible experience, I totally changed my mind and I am extremely unsatisfied at all.
I want to apologize for this very long email as well, but I wanted to describe every single detail during my story to put you in the picture. Till now I haven't done anything regarding installing the router or calling the technician to get an appointment to install the new internet for the new contract, especially because we still in the first 14 days, and I hope to get an from you answer about my complaint and my termination request as soon as possible.
I trust your integrity and I hope to hear from you soon.
If you have any further uestion or any unclear thing, please contact me through my email: XXXXXXXXXXXX
or my mentioned phone number above.
Best regards,
Tarek
Edit: @T_ata Personal data deleted. Do not post personal information publicly.
