3mobile - what a useless lot they are!

loobiloo

I wont go into every minute detail of my annoyance with 3mobile but I wrote to them in February to cancel my subscription early. They rang me, we had a conversation where I repeated that I was cancelling my subscription (due to end in May). They tried to sell me more of their services, I said no and that I was cancelling, blah blah.. this all ended up in a row and me putting the phone down on them.

Since then they have asked me for my early termination fee which I have sent them and now they are still wanting money for me despite the fact that I have cancelled the account. I have paid my final bill and I have paid the early termination fee.

The fact that their call centre is in India doesnt help with trying to understand and be understood, however, they have just called me again telling me I need to speak to their early cancellation department... I told them I have already cancelled. etc etc

I dont need to bore you any more with it but can anyone tel me how to tell them to go away, leave me alone and stop sending me bills for a line that I no longer use?

macman

So what are they actually billing you for?

robt_2

Sounds like there is more to the story than meets the eye as the OP specifically states they are not telling us everything.

loobiloo

I have nothing to hide robt! I didn't think every minute detail and date were relevant but here it is.

I wrote to them on Feb 6 to cancel my account early. (I had a new phone and new supplier and didn't want to wait until May to close the 3mobile account)

They called me to try and talk me out of it. I said I wanted to cancel. I already had a new phone and a new number and no longer wanted to be with 3mobile. They continued to hassle me on the phone and I put the phone down.

They wrote to me on Feb 21 confirming our phone conversation and asking for an early termination fee of £30.50 plus 30 days notice.

I wrote to them on February 26 giving them the 30 days notice and a cheque for £30.50 thereby making the reasonable assumption that my account would be closed on March 26th.

I have paid my bills up to date including the final line rental bill of £20.86 which covers the period 26 Feb to 26 March.

They are now mailing and phoning me asking me for £21.94 due by March 17 and then a susequent bill of £15.91 due by April 14. I have no idea why or what this these amounts are for.

Meanwhile, they still havent cancelled my phone as my old message is still there.

macman

loobiloo wrote: »

I have nothing to hide robt! I didn't think every minute detail and date were relevant but here it is.

I wrote to them on Feb 6 to cancel my account early. (I had a new phone and new supplier and didn't want to wait until May to close the 3mobile account)

They called me to try and talk me out of it. I said I wanted to cancel. I already had a new phone and a new number and no longer wanted to be with 3mobile. They continued to hassle me on the phone and I put the phone down.

They wrote to me on Feb 21 confirming our phone conversation and asking for an early termination fee of £30.50 plus 30 days notice.

I wrote to them on February 26 giving them the 30 days notice and a cheque for £30.50 thereby making the reasonable assumption that my account would be closed on March 26th.

I have paid my bills up to date including the final line rental bill of £20.86 which covers the period 26 Feb to 26 March.

They are now mailing and phoning me asking me for £21.94 due by March 17 and then a susequent bill of £15.91 due by April 14. I have no idea why or what this these amounts are for.

Meanwhile, they still havent cancelled my phone as my old message is still there.

This problem may not be of your making, but wouldn't it be easiest to contact them and ask them to explain what these charges are for?

hotkee

loobiloo - If I read this right the contract was due to finish at end of May.

You have paid them £30.50 plus 30 days notice expectiving to finsih everywthing in March.

But thats not quite right - you owe them for April, May bills - the termination fee is upto end of the current contract period.

PS - assuming that your monthly bill is roughly £30.50 otherwise I am talking rubbish what do I know!

loobiloo

hotkee
yes, the contract was due to finish end of May.
The £30.50 is based on the equivalent of total of the price plan until the end of the contract. I cant think why I would also have to pay for April and May bills?

macman, I had a conversation with them yesterday where we went round in circles, trying to understand eachother and where, it seemed to me, that they wouldn't accept what my £30.50 payment was for. They kept wanting me to talk to their cancellation department, which I have done before and which involves a hard sell where the call centre person goes into 'automatic pilot' and starts reading from a script and no matter what I say, they dont listen. Hence my slamming down of the phone (for the 2nd time; not something I do very often!)

macman

The early termination fees are the total that you would have paid until the end of the contract (end of May). What do you mean by 'April and May bills'? What is your actual monthly fee? If it's say £20 a month and you terminate 4 months early, you pay that plus the 30 days notice, i.e approx £100.
You terminated about 4 months early. so unless your monthly fee is less than £8, your total early termination fee is going to be more than £30.50.
There really is no point in terminating early unless you need to port the number (which you didn't). You're going to pay for the monthly call package anyway so you might as well use the airtime.

loobiloo

Thanks macman
The monthly charges were £17 + vat

I was under the impression that by paying an early termination fee, which is (and I quote their letter) "the equivalent to the total you'd pay on your price plan until the end of the contract" that I no longer had to pay the monthly charges until end of May. Is that incorrect?

As I traded in my old phone with my new supplier, tmobile, who also paid half of my termination fee, it seemed like an easy option to me.

I would have taken my old number with me, but I knew that getting 3mobile to deal with that would have been a nightmare; it was easier to discontinue the old number and start afresh.

hotkee

"that I no longer had to pay the monthly charges until end of May. Is that incorrect?"

Not correct - the end of contract is to end of May and there lies the problem - its money owed to end of May which you will have to pay Three.

Its the same with any network - if you leave a contract before the full term completes, the termination fee is to the end of the contract day plus or minus a few days depending on when you give the 30 days notice.

And so you have to speak to their cancellation department to get it sorted.

I have had three contracts with three in past - and whilst there is some issues with communicating sometimes, overall they were pretty good. Even gave me a £5 a month deal once :-). I like their web site and I like the £5 free downloads, messenger you get etc.
And would go back (leaving o2) if they offered 12 month deals rather than 18 months - are you listening Three?

ScottishChick

As far as I'm aware..as soon as you pay an Early Termination Fee..that is you cutting all ties with the company (you are ending the contract early - hence the fee).

You don't pay an Early Termination Fee PLUS your monthly line rentals for how ever many months you have remaining. The early termination fee covers these costs, allowing you then to go elsewhere.

Or so I thought anyway.