Tesco Mobile - Get out of contract early !! EMAIL SCREENSHOT ADDED !!

thedalmeny

Successfully gotten out of my contract early.

Tesco Mobile have increased prices recently due to the VAT increase

One increase i noticed was international call charges going up from 20p to 25p - an increase which far exceeded the VAT increase itself.

I complained - quoting the Ofcom general condition 9.3:

Where the Communications Provider intends to modify a condition in a contract with a Consumer which is likely to be of material detriment to the Consumer, the Communications Provider shall:

(a) provide the Consumer with at least one month’s notice of its intention detailing the proposed modification; and

(b) inform the Consumer of the ability to terminate the contract without penalty if the proposed modification is not acceptable to the Consumer.

My contract has now been terminated without cancellation fee or penalty.

It took around 3 weeks - but stayed polite throughout and after many calls while they were checking things out.. They agreed that the Ofcom general condition did apply. To be fair though, the customer service i have received has been nothing short of excellent.

The price increase did occur around 3+ weeks ago, so you'll have to be quick if to get your complaint in. As you've only 30 days.

I really hate it when mobile operators increase their prices, since i believe when you sign upto a contract it should stay the same throughout.. Unless they have a good reason to change it, such as VAT increases... Certainly not beyond that though.

thedalmeny

Feel free to use the below email to help you resolve the matter with Tesco.

I dealt with somebody named "Becky".

I can't include my account number, for obvious reasons. But this should be enough for you to kick up a fuss, if they aren't providing you with the same resolution as myself. Since they can't hardly justify giving one thing to one person, then not to another.

Should stop them saying "Well people can say anything on the internet."

I asked them to just change the account to sim only, while i decided on which network i'd like to move to.

heyho_3

Tesco replied with the following am I too late?

Thank you for e-mailing [EMAIL="support@tescomobile.com"]support@tescomobile.com[/EMAIL]

I am sorry to learn of your concern regarding our price increase, especially with regards to the change in charge international calls.

The new price changes are in line with the governments VAT rise to 20%.

This is not only because of the recent VAT increase but also an Offcom ruling that has reduced the amount that we are allowed to charge other networks for cross network calls.

As a result, we have had to restructure our tariffs to absorb these costs.

All changes to the tariffs were restructured in accordance with government ruling and Offcom themselves and the mentioned period of notice was given to customers either by letter, SMS or through notification on the Tesco Mobile web site.

For full terms and conditions, please visit: http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/content.aspx?page=52 and see point 6.6.

For further information on our price changes, please visit: http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/content.aspx?page=153#20

I hope you find this information useful, and if you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Alternatively you can call our dedicated customer service line on 0845 301 4455.

Thank you

Wayne

Tesco Mobile E-mail Customer Service Team