Bolt Ons -Underhanded but not illegal practice!

mrsands

First of all my apollogies if this Thread goes on here 3xs ( new user and having probs posting today!!)

I just want to flag up to everyone something that I feel is a Delibratley Underhanded practice that shreeks of a Lack of Intergity by my MPP.

I joined my MPP in 05. At the time when I joined I must have needed a Bolt On of an extra 100 texts. Anyway I have stayed with the same MPP since 05 and always called at Renewal Time to discuss my usage and negotiate myself a better deal. I have always asked what my av mins and texts pm usage was and then asked what they could offer me based on that info.
At no point during these negotiations have I ever thought to discuss Bolt Ons as I did not need any as I always made sure I had what I needed in my contracts that I agreed to each time I renewed (apart from yr1).

Anyway I have just found out ( by accident) that for the past 4 yrs I have been paying for a Bolt On that I VERY CLEARLY didnt need! ( It came to light by accident)

Now you may ask why I didnt notice it on my bills - Well to be honest it was naivety on my part mainly but in my opinion also not made clear on my paper bill. It said " Your Monthly Extras" and I just though this was because I'd agreed something at each renewal that wasn't a "standard" contract - ie because I had said I needed 300 mins and 200 texts.
At no point did I realise that it was in addition to what I had asked for Min/Text wise!

Anyway on flagging this up to my MPP i was told that they had no "Legal Obligation" after a Bolt On had been added to an account to discuss that Bolt On with the customer at the Contract Renewal Point unless the customer requested to discuss it.The Bolt On will stay on the account UNTIL the customer cancels it ( even if you negotiate a new contract with the same MPP)

In my opinion the practice stinks of - "We wont talk about it and hopefully you will forget/not realise you are paying for it"

So to EVERYONE who has renewed a contract with the same MPP please do give them a call and ask if you have any bolt ons....it might just save you some £££s.....Im sure that if my MPP has this practice then many others will too!!

I ended up getting 6 months back credit for the Bolt On plus have cancelled it so have saved about £90 in the coming 12 months.

ACDeag

mrsands wrote: »

First of all my apollogies if this Thread goes on here 3xs ( new user and having probs posting today!!)

I just want to flag up to everyone something that I feel is a Delibratley Underhanded practice that shreeks of a Lack of Intergity by my MPP.

I joined my MPP in 05. At the time when I joined I must have needed a Bolt On of an extra 100 texts. Anyway I have stayed with the same MPP since 05 and always called at Renewal Time to discuss my usage and negotiate myself a better deal. I have always asked what my av mins and texts pm usage was and then asked what they could offer me based on that info.
At no point during these negotiations have I ever thought to discuss Bolt Ons as I did not need any as I always made sure I had what I needed in my contracts that I agreed to each time I renewed (apart from yr1).

Anyway I have just found out ( by accident) that for the past 4 yrs I have been paying for a Bolt On that I VERY CLEARLY didnt need! ( It came to light by accident)

Now you may ask why I didnt notice it on my bills - Well to be honest it was naivety on my part mainly but in my opinion also not made clear on my paper bill. It said " Your Monthly Extras" and I just though this was because I'd agreed something at each renewal that wasn't a "standard" contract - ie because I had said I needed 300 mins and 200 texts.
At no point did I realise that it was in addition to what I had asked for Min/Text wise!

Anyway on flagging this up to my MPP i was told that they had no "Legal Obligation" after a Bolt On had been added to an account to discuss that Bolt On with the customer at the Contract Renewal Point unless the customer requested to discuss it.The Bolt On will stay on the account UNTIL the customer cancels it ( even if you negotiate a new contract with the same MPP)

In my opinion the practice stinks of - "We wont talk about it and hopefully you will forget/not realise you are paying for it"

So to EVERYONE who has renewed a contract with the same MPP please do give them a call and ask if you have any bolt ons....it might just save you some £££s.....Im sure that if my MPP has this practice then many others will too!!

I ended up getting 6 months back credit for the Bolt On plus have cancelled it so have saved about £90 in the coming 12 months.

Not their fault. If you ask for a service, it really is up to you to tell them when you don't want it. I guess if they had removed it because they thought you did not need it and you suddenly incurred an extra cost you would also have been on here like a flash.

mrsands

ACDeag wrote: »

Not their fault. If you ask for a service, it really is up to you to tell them when you don't want it. I guess if they had removed it because they thought you did not need it and you suddenly incurred an extra cost you would also have been on here like a flash.

Yes you are "Legally" correct that it isnt their fault and at no point have I said it was . If you read through my post you will see that I said -In my opinion the practice stinks of - "We wont talk about it and hopefully you will forget/not realise you are paying for it".

Just because "it's not their fault" and they have no "Legal Obligation" doesn't make it "Good Moral Practice" or "Good Customer Service"

If you think I just wanted to come on here to let off a bit of steam and vent my frustration then you are mistaken. I accept that the company was in it's rights to keep the bolt on on my account until I asked for it removing and I take accountability for my naivity..after all I have paid the cost to the tune of about £300 for being so naive.

I am here to warn others and hopefully help save some others that are as equally naive as I have been some £££s.

May I ask what reason you had for replying to this thread with an answer telling me "it's not their fault" when at no point in my thread did I say it was?

Oh and btw how much of your salary is commission based?

ACDeag

mrsands wrote: »

Yes you are "Legally" correct that it isnt their fault and at no point have I said it was . If you read through my post you will see that I said -In my opinion the practice stinks of - "We wont talk about it and hopefully you will forget/not realise you are paying for it".

Just because "it's not their fault" and they have no "Legal Obligation" doesn't make it "Good Moral Practice" or "Good Customer Service"

If you think I just wanted to come on here to let off a bit of steam and vent my frustration then you are mistaken. I accept that the company was in it's rights to keep the bolt on on my account until I asked for it removing and I take accountability for my naivity..after all I have paid the cost to the tune of about £300 for being so naive.

I am here to warn others and hopefully help save some others that are as equally naive as I have been some £££s.

May I ask what reason you had for replying to this thread with an answer telling me "it's not their fault" when at no point in my thread did I say it was?

Oh and btw how much of your salary is commission based?

Zero actually.

keystone

Caveat emptor methinks. What would be your attitude if you had been getting a bolt-on by mistake for the past 4 years that you weren't paying for but using all the same and it never got discussed at renewal either?

Cheers

mrsands

ACDeag - Was that Zero to both questions or just one and if just one then which question were you answering with your response?

Keystone - May I remind you that the reason for this thread was to warn the MAJORITY of the consequences of naivety and hopeful save SOME some £££s.

Others on his board MAY pursue a course that is in the interests of a MINORITY but I dont.

MarkLS12

The warning is really to make sure you understand your bill.
If you negotiate a monthly price with your provider, and the bill is £7 more than the agreed price, then ask why.

ACDeag

mrsands wrote: »

ACDeag - Was that Zero to both questions or just one and if just one then which question were you answering with your response?

Keystone - May I remind you that the reason for this thread was to warn the MAJORITY of the consequences of naivety and hopeful save SOME some £££s.

Others on his board MAY pursue a course that is in the interests of a MINORITY but I dont.

I am not going to get into an argument I am bored with this thread now.

mrsands

Mark - yes you are correct it is!

Many of us "think" we understand but the reality is we dont. Whenever I have negotiated a new contract with my MPP its been a case of "Job done -happy with price-just saved x£'s - right lets move on and get on with another thing on my to do list". Once I've agreed the price my mind moves into "Saved £s" mode and forgets what I'm actually paying(as its usually been less than previous contracts) especially as I pay by DD and rarely go over my contracted mins/text. When I do check my bill I've honestly just concentrated on the big picture and checked to make sure Im within my limits I have set myself. ( having asked a few friends they all said that they tend to do the same too)

My understanding is that this forum it designed to help people SAVE money and if my experience helps others not to make the same mistake as me then I have got what I wanted from posting this thread.

keystone

mrsands wrote: »

Keystone - May I remind you that the reason for this thread was to warn the MAJORITY of the consequences of naivety and hopeful save SOME some £££s.

Thank you but its not necessary. The first sentence of my post was rather in support of that position I thought. My second sentence was merely a question really seeing as you used the words "Deliberately Underhanded"

Others on his board MAY pursue a course that is in the interests of a MINORITY but I dont.

Ehh?

Cheers

mrsands

Keystone - My apollogies if I misunderstood your first response. I certainly never intend to offend those on the side of whats "morally right" rather than "legally right". Also the last paragraph was generic and directed at ALL readers in order to bring to their attention that not all posters may have their best interests at heart.

In my opinion existing Bolt On's should be discussed at the point that a customer calls to relook at their contract. After all the MPP's are quick to suggest Bolt On's when they have you on the phone at renewal time.
This could be viewed as a great opportunity for some MPP's to prove to their customers ( existing and potential) that they are providing a "beneficial service" to their customers rather than just "grabbing as much ££S as they can " .Who knows one or two might start to stand out from the crowd as trues leaders in their field and gain market share.

In this era when we are bombarded daily with stories in the media clearly showing that there is so much "Legal" yet "Moral Corruption" taking place on a daily basis in both business (sorry to bring this up ) and in politics I strongly feel that that it's important that we do everything we can to protect our own finances and help each other to do so in what ever small way we can.

I also strongly believe that those businesses that PROVE to their customers that they are on their side will be the winners during this recession and will exit it in with far heathier profits than they would do otherwise if they continue to on a path that doesn't put their customers needs first.

The only way we will get them to do this though is to put some pressure on them to review their business practices so the more people that call them to double check on things then the better. Personally I think that checking to see if you have any Bolt Ons is a good start.