Vodafone are issuing a €2 million refund to customers who continued to be billed after cancelling their accounts.
The company have over-charged around 74,000 people in recent months. Affected customers will have 90 days to claim a refund and are being asked to use the same email address they registered with to request their money back.
The issue was revealed after Vodafone conducted a review of their billing system, upon request from regulator Comreg. The inquiry also found credits on people’s accounts, unrelated to post cancellation charges, after they had stopped using Vodafone. The company had not refunded these credits for previous customers after they ended their contract with the mobile service provider.
READ MORE: Grandad of baby taken by car thief claims child was 'dumped face first' on roadside
“Rather than proactively refunding affected customers, Vodafone kept the post-cancellation charges as credits on inactive accounts and only issued a refund if one was requested by a customer,” Comreg said of the inquiry.
The two separate issues with refunds has resulted in losses of €2 million for 74,000 customers. The post cancellation charges amount to €1.3 million, while the credits remaining on old accounts total €790,000.
Vodafone said the process of refunding customers will be complete by February 2023. The company also told the Independent that they will proactively seek to refund customers in the future to avoid similar errors.
Similar telecom providers have faced overcharging scandals in recent years. Comreg accused Eir last year of overcharging customers by €11 million euro, a move which affected roughly 70,000 customers. Meanwhile, Virgin Media was forced to pay up €3 million after it overcharged some of its customer base for a period of six years.
READ MORE
- Dumbfounded Dubliner says chicken wrap must be 'made of gold' after paying nearly €9
- Met Eireann's stunning forecast as Dublin to roast in weekend scorcher
PS5 prices Ireland: Sony raises cost amid economic pressures
Gangster facing prison disciplinary charges after allegedly becoming violent after cell booze-up
Jennifer Zamparelli breaks silence after Nicky Byrne quits Dancing With The Stars
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox
