Vodafone told: don’t call
CUSTOMERS’ ALARM AS PHONE FIRMS CONTINUE WITH DOOR-TO-DOOR SALES
ONE of the nation’s biggest communications firms has been accused of putting people at risk of catching Coronavirus.
Vodafone appears to have told its door-to-door sales teams to carry on regardless, ignoring the social distancing messages from the Government.
On Monday afternoon, one salesman in Huddersfield was spotted going along a street packed with pensioners, who are more vulnerable to the virus, and standing right in front of them when they answered their door.
One of those who was shocked to find the salesman in her face when she answered the door was Dawn Low, of Bradley Mills.
She said she was horrified to find the man close up to her and claimed he had put a number of her elderly neighbours at risk.
“I got really mad with him,” she said. “I thought door-to-door sales would have been one of the first things that got knocked off.
“If someone who’s in one of the atrisk groups opened the door to him, they were face-to-face with this man.
“I told him to get lost, as there’s a lot of older people living round here.
“I said I can’t believe you’re doing this and he just said ‘I’m only doing my job.’
“There should be a manager or someone telling him door-to-door sales is a no no at the moment.”
A Vodafone UK spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for any upset and concern caused. We have recently launched Vodafone Gigafast Full Fibre Broadband in the area, and the representative from a third party partner was looking to notify residents of the fact.
“Our partner has told us that their representative took necessary steps to follow Government guidelines, including the use of hand sanitiser, frequent handwashing and was also instructed to observe social distancing during discussions. All activity has stopped in light of the recent announcement by the Government.”
The issue is not confined to Vodafone, with another member of the public reporting that TalkTalk salespeople were out and about last Friday.
The resident, who did not want to be identified, said they suspected firms were taking advantage of the increase in home workers during the national emergency.
TalkTalk told the Examiner it had suspended all doorstep sales call last Tuesday, four days before the resident said they were contacted.
A spokesperson said: “TalkTalk’s sales team suspended all door-todoor sales on March 17, in accordance with Government guidance on social distancing.
“As per the updated guidance provided by the Government yesterday evening (Monday, March 24), TalkTalk’s sales team will no longer be making any door-to-door visits to customers.”