HTC Desire Vodafone 500mb Fair Usage Policy

danielz000

bym007 wrote: »

I believe the 2.05pm post by VF clarifies where do VF and ourselves stand now.

I am quite happy now that VF has dropped a somewhat clear answer to the questions raised albeit a week after the issue was raised.

Now, all I want to work towards is if this contract is legal anymore or not?

Well mate,

He is admitting to implementing a new pricing structure that's going to cost you more (£5/500mb)...

Although he says it's not a cap... It definitely is... They just ain't going to implement it for a couple more months... So they're taking away your unlimited use...

The definition of a month is rubbish... A month is a month... and for me, the month that will matter is May. (10% increase)

bym007

Right, so what needs to be changed in our cancellation notice letter ?
(I clearly do not want to miss the 5.00pm Post Office deadline)

Seajays

I have a Vodafone HTC Desire, pay monthly contract, bought from a third party website. There was never any mention of a 500GB FUP when I purchased on the site, nor was there any mention of it in the welcome email from vodafone, nor in the terms and conditions. Please read the terms and conditions if you haven't done so - they DO NOT specify any numerical limits in them. They speak about "excessive" use. How using my phone normally, to read emails and browse the web on the bus can be considered excessive, I don't know. Yet I know from the usage tool I've installed that I'm using about 20MB a day. So I'm going to be consistently at around 600MB a month.

The phone and package is still being advertised on the site I bought it from using the following:

Mobile Internet - Unlimited web browsing and email access!
Browse more for less with Mobile Internet and Email Packs. For a £5 monthly fee you can surf the web and use emails as much as you like for the full duration of your contract. Also available free on select tariffs.

So for those claiming that I knew about this limit on my unlimited internet, the simple answer is I did not, nor was it made known to me in any of the communications during my signing up. I only heard about it when I got the stray (mistaken) text last week, saying I had gone over my limit and would be charged.

danielz000

bym007 wrote: »

Right, so what needs to be changed in our cancellation notice letter ?
(I clearly do not want to miss the 5.00pm Post Office deadline)

Use this if you want:

Dear Sir/Madam,

RE: Termination of Pay Monthly Mobile Contract – Mobile No. 00000000000 Account No. 000000000/1

I am writing to give you 30 days notice of the termination of my pay monthly mobile telephone contract with Vodafone, in accordance with §11 of your October 2009 Pay Monthly airtime agreement terms and conditions.

There are two reasons I am terminating my contract:


1) The removal of agreed services, the significant disadvantage this will have on me and the breach of contract Vodafone made by Vodafone.

Information posted on the Vodafone eForums on 12 May 2010 at 14:38 and 13 May 2010 14:05 states that Vodafone intends to introduce Out Of Bundle charging for Pay Monthly customers from 1 June 2010. The net result is that my agreement with Vodafone for unlimited data access will no longer be honored and instead, a 500mb limit will be put in place. I refuse to agree to this new contract as it represents a change to my ‘significant disadvantage’.

I will also take this opportunity to highlight that under §7.b of my Terms and Conditions it states that you will give me 30 days notice when withdrawing or changing services. This has not been the case and Vodafone is therefore in breach contract.


2) The introduction of charges resulting in more than a 10% increase in my bills and the significant disadvantage these charges impose on me.

Under §7.a your introduction of a planned £5 per 500mb charge on the 1st of June would have resulted in more than a 10% increase in my previous months (May’s) bill, it also puts me at a significant disadvantage by massively limiting the use of my mobile phone. I therefore choose to exercise my right to cancel our agreement under §11.b.


The introduction of charges and removal of service also offend §(i)-(l) inclusive of Schedule 2 and §5 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. In particular, Schedule 2 (1) “(l) …allowing a seller of goods or supplier of services to increase their price without in both cases giving the consumer the corresponding right to cancel the contract if the final price is too high in relation to the price agreed when the contract was concluded”.

You will be aware of Ofcom’s Guidance that this is objectionable “under continuing contracts where consumers are 'captive' – that is, they have no penalty-free right to cancel” but you have not seen fit to comply with Ofcom’s advice that to be fair; Any kind of variation clause may in principle be fair if consumers are free to escape its effects by ending the contract. To be genuinely free to cancel, they must not be left worse off for having entered the contract, whether by experiencing financial loss (for example, forfeiture of a prepayment) or serious inconvenience, or any other adverse consequences.”

I now exercise my legal right to cancel the contract due to your breach of agreed terms and the Significant Disadvantage that they cause.

Any attempt to claim a penalty and in particular a cancellation charge will be resisted. These terms are also unfair and therefore non-binding and unenforceable. Any claim for them will be disputed and you will need a Court Order to obtain payment of them. I will defend any legal proceedings for such sums under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

[I have spoken to your account staff and can confirm that no charges have been incurred in excess of the monthly charges paid in advance –which I have paid as usual. I will cancel my direct debit immediately.]

OR

[I have spoken to your account staff and can confirm [£ ] of other charges have been incurred in excess of the monthly charges paid in advance –which I have paid as usual. I will cancel my direct debit immediately. I now enclose a cheque in full and final satisfaction of the remaining charges owed to you under the contract and including any ancillary or collateral contracts, if any.] [NB in this case ---don’t forget to add “In Full and Final Settlement” to the cheque].

Yours sincerely,

essex_chris

I can understand the idea that Vodafone might be saying "we could have charged you before". This is fair enough so long as there is documentation to prove it.

What isn't fair is to sell products by not just using vague descriptions, but actually advising customers as recently as days ago (and quite possibly today too) that they will only be charged if they abuse the system or go above an allowance excessively.

If you were sold a deal by being told Unlimited - note that isn't the same as Unlimited * (*fair use policy read XYZ for details) then again you should be able to have unlimited use.

I do think it's absurd to be able to say Unlimited when it's not. It would be better to have Gold Silver and Bronze packages - but the very word unlimited is clear.

If you buy a car, and you are explicitly told that it can travel at 122mph - even if the laws as such that you cannot drive at over 70mph legally the car must travel up to 122mph in optimum conditions which will be clearly set out.

Vodafone have sold products using a descriptiona and salesmans explanation that is contrary to these changes. That alone is grounds to take issue with them.

andywicks

bym007 wrote: »

Right, so what needs to be changed in our cancellation notice letter ?
(I clearly do not want to miss the 5.00pm Post Office deadline)

I have just sent in the following:

Termination of Pay Monthly Mobile Contract – Mobile No. xxxxxxxxxxxx Account No. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing to give you notice of the termination of my pay monthly mobile telephone contract with Vodafone, in accordance with §11 of your July 2009 Pay Monthly airtime agreement terms and conditions.

There are two reasons I am terminating my contract:

1) The introduction of new charges, the significant disadvantage this will have on me and the breach of contract made by Vodafone.

Information posted on the Vodafone eForums on 13th May 2010 at 15:05 states that Vodafone intends to introduce Out Of Bundle charging for Pay Monthly customers from 1 June 2010. I refuse to agree to this new contract as it represents a change to my ‘significant disadvantage’.

(Link to forum post mentioned above: <link to Tom's post>)

Vodafone state that they will be enforcing the existing Fair Usage Policy with regards to data usage over 500MB per month. The existing Fair Usage Policy states:

==========
"All Vodafone services offered free or under unlimited subscription are subject to our Fair Use Policy. If, in the reasonable opinion of Vodafone, your use is excessive, we may ask you to moderate your usage. If, after we have asked you to moderate your usage, you fail to do so, we reserve the right to:

a) charge you for the excessive element of your usage at your price plan's standard rate;

b) throttle your usage; or

c) suspend or terminate your service in accordance with your airtime terms and conditions."
==========

Vodafone also state that for customers with a Handheld data bundle the charge will be £5 for an additional 500MB.

However, in the information posted at 15:05, Vodafone state that "There isn't currently a standard rate published". This means that the "£5 for an additional 500MB" is a new charge being introduced. As this charge was not in force at the date I signed my current agreement with Vodafone last year, this constitutes a change to the Terms and Conditions of my contract, as the price plan forms part of my contract.


2) The introduction of these new charges resulting in more than a 10% increase in my bills and the significant disadvantage these charges impose on me.

Under §7.a your introduction of a planned £5 per 500mb charge on the 1st of June would have resulted in more than a 10% increase in my previous months bill, it also puts me at a significant disadvantage by massively limiting the use of my mobile phone. I therefore choose to exercise my right to cancel our agreement under §11.b.

The introduction of charges and removal of service also offend §(i)-(l) inclusive of Schedule 2 and §5 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. In particular, Schedule 2 (1) “(l) …allowing a seller of goods or supplier of services to increase their price without in both cases giving the consumer the corresponding right to cancel the contract if the final price is too high in relation to the price agreed when the contract was concluded”.

You will be aware of Ofcom’s Guidance that this is objectionable “under continuing contracts where consumers are 'captive' – that is, they have no penalty-free right to cancel” but you have not seen fit to comply with Ofcom’s advice that to be fair; Any kind of variation clause may in principle be fair if consumers are free to escape its effects by ending the contract. To be genuinely free to cancel, they must not be left worse off for having entered the contract, whether by experiencing financial loss (for example, forfeiture of a prepayment) or serious inconvenience, or any other adverse consequences.”

I now exercise my legal right to cancel the contract due to your breach of agreed terms and the Significant Disadvantage that they cause.

Any attempt to claim a penalty and in particular a cancellation charge will be resisted. These terms are also unfair and therefore non-binding and unenforceable. Any claim for them will be disputed and you will need a Court Order to obtain payment of them. I will defend any legal proceedings for such sums under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.


Yours sincerely,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

bym007

I have been updating this template. Any comments?

---

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]13th May 2010[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Name and Address[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Customer Relations [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Vodafone Group Plc[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Vodafone House[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Connection[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Newbury[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Berkshire[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]RG14 2FN[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]RE: Termination of Pay Monthly Mobile Contract[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mobile No. 00000000000[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Account No. 000000000[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Dear Sir / Madam,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I hereby terminate my pay monthly mobile telephone contract with Vodafone, in accordance with §11 of your May 2009 Pay Monthly airtime agreement terms and conditions.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There are three reasons I am terminating my contract: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1. When I took this contract, Vodafone did not specify any charges for exceeding the Fair Usage Policy allowance, so effectively the charges currently stand as £0.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Information posted on the Vodafone eForums on 6 May 2010 at 3:39 PM states that Vodafone intends to introduce Out Of Bundle charges of £5 for Pay Monthly customers from 1 June 2010. A further post clarified this on 7 May 2010 at 5:00 PM.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The net result is that my agreement with Vodafone will no longer be subject to a Fair Use Policy, as stated in §27 of the Vodafone Your Plan Price Plan Terms.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]According to §7 of the Pay Monthly airtime agreement, any changes to the agreement, which includes the Vodafone Your Plan Price Plan Terms and out-of-bundle charges, require at least 30 days’ notice. I have received no such notice, and therefore consider Vodafone to be in breach of its agreement.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2. According to §11.b if you increase my out-of-bundle internet charges by £5, as intended on the 1st June 2010, and this has the effect of increasing my bill by more than 10% based upon my previous months usage I am entitled to cancel. This will be true as of the 1st June 2010 and is likely to remain true for the duration of my contract.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3. The changes to my agreement as outlined above will mean my mobile usage will be subject to out-of-bundle charges and hence, not Fair Use Policy, a change which is to my Significant Disadvantage as it restricts use of data services, specifically mobile applications, for the remainder of my contract. Any attempt to impose them on me without allowing a penalty–free right to cancel, is unfair and unenforceable as a matter of law. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]§11.b of the Pay monthly airtime agreement states I may end my agreement if such changes cause Significant Disadvantage. Furthermore, these automatic charges offend §(i)-(l) inclusive of Schedule 2 and §5 of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. In particular, Schedule 2 (1) “(l) …allowing a seller of goods or supplier of services to increase their price without in both cases giving the consumer the corresponding right to cancel the contract if the final price is too high in relation to the price agreed when the contract was concluded”.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You will be aware of Ofcom’s Guidance that this is objectionable “under continuing contracts where consumers are 'captive' – that is, they have no penalty-free right to cancel” but you have not seen fit to comply with Ofcom’s advice that to be fair; Any kind of variation clause may in principle be fair if consumers are free to escape its effects by ending the contract. To be genuinely free to cancel, they must not be left worse off for having entered the contract, whether by experiencing financial loss (for example, forfeiture of a prepayment) or serious inconvenience, or any other adverse consequences.” [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I now exercise my legal right to cancel the contract due to your breach of agreed terms, your automatic charges and the Significant Disadvantage that they cause. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I reject as unfair your attempt to artificially limit the right to cancel to some scenarios and not others in the face of the clear legislation and regulatory guidance and General Condition 9. Any attempt to claim a penalty and in particular a cancellation charge will be resisted. These terms are also unfair and therefore non-binding and unenforceable. Any claim for them will be disputed and you will need a Court Order to obtain payment of them. I will defend any legal proceedings for such sums under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][I have spoken to your account staff and can confirm that no charges have been incurred in excess of the monthly charges paid in advance –which I have paid as usual. I will cancel my direct debit immediately.] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]OR[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][I have spoken to your account staff and can confirm [£ ] of other charges have been incurred in excess of the monthly charges paid in advance –which I have paid as usual. I will cancel my direct debit immediately. I now enclose a cheque in full and final satisfaction of the remaining charges owed to you under the contract and including any ancillary or collateral contracts, if any.] [NB in this case ---don’t forget to add “In Full and Final Settlement” to the cheque]. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Yours sincerely,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Name Surname[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]

---

[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Edit: Last Updated 4.29pm 13/05/10
[/FONT]

danielz000

bym007 wrote: »

I have been updating this template. Any comments?

Hi mate,

To whom is may concern is your greeting, put it on the left, don't underline it, follow it by a comma... Failing that, swap it for a Dear Sir/Madam (that was the advice of a friend of mine who is a team leader in a complaints team).

Also, the charge isn't £5 a month, it's £5 per 500mb a month...

Oh, the date should be bellow your address I believe...

Cheers,

Dan

andywicks

bym007 wrote: »

I have been updating this template. Any comments?

---

---

They are still continuing with their existing Fair Usage Policy, but they are now deciding to enforce it.

I think the only change to the conditions of our contracts is surrounding the introduction of the new charges for data usage of 500MB.

As far as I know the pricing structure makes up part of our contract with Vodafone. At the time we signed our contracts, there was NO rate for data usage above your allowance, as confirmed by Tom at 15:05 today.

In order to enforce the existing Fair Usage Policy which states that we would be charged at your "price plan's standard rate", Vodafone have to introduce a standard rate of charging, which they have announced will be £5 per additional 500MB.

As the pricing structure makes up part of our contract and Vodafone are making changes to the pricing structure, they are making changes to the conditions of our contract.

bym007

danielz000 wrote: »

Hi mate,

To whom is may concern is your greeting, put it on the left, don't underline it, follow it by a comma... Failing that, swap it for a Dear Sir/Madam (that was the advice of a friend of mine who is a team leader in a complaints team).

Also, the charge isn't £5 a month, it's £5 per 500mb a month...

Oh, the date should be bellow your address I believe...

Cheers,

Dan

Updated. Thanks for the input!

andywicks wrote: »

They are still continuing with their existing Fair Usage Policy, but they are now deciding to enforce it.

I think the only change to the conditions of our contracts is surrounding the introduction of the new charges for data usage of 500MB.

As far as I know the pricing structure makes up part of our contract with Vodafone. At the time we signed our contracts, there was NO rate for data usage above your allowance, as confirmed by Tom at 15:05 today.

In order to enforce the existing Fair Usage Policy which states that we would be charged at your "price plan's standard rate", Vodafone have to introduce a standard rate of charging, which they have announced will be £5 per additional 500MB.

As the pricing structure makes up part of our contract and Vodafone are making changes to the pricing structure, they are making changes to the conditions of our contract.

Thats what I believe as well. Apart from the £5 there is no change?

Unless someone sees things differently ?