Vodafone forced to backtrack over paper bills

TELECOMS giant Vodafone is contacting customers it may have misled into thinking they could no longer receive their bills by post.

The firm has been forced to act after Money Mail raised concerns about text messages it sent to 32,000 paper bill customers telling them they will soon only receive statements online. Last week, we revealed how phone providers charge as much as £36 a year to put bills in the post.

Judith Donovan received a text and called Vodafone, which currently charges £1.54 per paper bill. She says: ‘Everyone I spoke to insisted paper bills were being axed.’

Judith is chairman of the campaign group Keep Me Posted, which champions the right for people to pick how they get bills and statements. She says only when she threatened to find another provider was she told she could still receive bills.

After Money Mail contacted Vodafone, a spokesman says: ‘We’re sending a followup communication to all customers affected to explain how they can keep their paper billing service, if required.’