O2 - Kept me on a old expensive contract

ianianian_2

Afternoon all,

For the last few months I’ve been spending far more on my mobile phone contract than I’d have liked - the bill is supposed to be £20 a month, but it was £85 this month!

I appreciate that this is my fault - I’ve been made redundant and have been spending a lot of time on the phone looking for jobs - however, every month I ring up to ask how my bill can be this expensive and yet this is the first month that I’ve been told that I am on a dated contract that could have been updated last year saving me nearly £100 in the last few months.

Apparently " I was on the Simplicity Q108 contract, which is a rolling £20 contact providing 400 free minutes, however the Simplicity Q110 came out last year and provides an additional 200 minutes for the same price". I am furious that none of the other people I have spoken to at O2 mentioned this despite my queries.

I've been an O2 customer for years now. I started on a long term contract, but I decided not to continue this when my friends all got far better deals on iphone contracts and thought I would stay on a cheap contract to save cash whilst my job was uncertain.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom about the complaint letter or is this all my fault?

DUTR

Depends how you use your phone, the newer simplicity make less value for some, eg the older tariff includes mms and sending texts from abroad out of the inclusive allowance plus no 500mb cap on data, but you have to advise them if you wish to change tariff, good luck with the job hunt .

Techhead_2

I agree with DUTR, the newer tariff is not automatically better value. So it would be foolish of O2 to have recommended it to you. I doubt very much that you have cause for complaint. I have been in your shoes, the best advice is to review your outgoings thoroughly.
(As an aside, have you checked if there are any job clubs or third party support centres, they provide free use of phone, postage stationery etc. Good luck with the job hunt)

ianianian_2

Thanks both - I’ve sorted a new job (woohoo) and I’m now looking to get a new phone contract - that's one of the reasons I want to check I haven't been having the £$!$ taken out of me by o2.

I appreciate what you are both saying, although the customer service advisor today was quickly able to see I’ve never ever sent media messages and was able to see that the new tariff would be suited to my usage- I just don't know why the customer service advisors I’ve spoken to in the last few months with exactly the same question have never mentioned this other tariff.

Techhead_2

Congratulations on the new job. The issue is that they can't tell what you'll need in the future, so it's best but to advise. I've seen complaints on here from people who only realised down the line that the new terms and conditions put them at a disadvantage (there's more to it than mms and roaming texts). Sounds a bit patronising, I don't mean it to, but never rely on customer service to choose you tariff for you.