+44 being added to old messages and contacts, only 9 now show

A

AC Question

I have been on holiday from Uk to France, Belguim, NL, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and back again to the Uk. A driving holiday so my Samsung S7 edge has been updating to which ever Vodafone partner.
Since my return, the contacts are just 9 of the 100 or so I have. I noticed the messages are shiwing +44 so phone not recongizining it.
I have checked the country it thinks its in, turned the location on and off, even removed the Sim card overnight.
Vodafone say its a handset issue.
Any ideas why this is happening, and more importantley, a fix please!!!
Many thanks