£50 compensation for O2 Pay upfront for life package holders

haveagoade

The below is not the same as my case with OTELO, so do not confuse, as I have and additional contract booklet.

I've dug up an old argos catalogue Spring summer 2002

Pg 672 item 547/642.....pay up front for life £199.95

" A choice of 4 new inclusive call options for life"

Now this could be argued in two ways

"A choice for life"........means a choice between the 4 for life.

or O2 will argue a choice of one of the 4, for life.

You may take your case to OTELO saying you bought the package thinking you had a choice between the 4 for life.

Site my case as a precident when O2 argue the case that it does not mean a choice between them for life.

I think that will swing it for PUFFL contract holders who do not have the contract document such as mine where it specifically says a choice for life.
This document is clearly valuable in that it prove's the case and has been accepted by OTELO

Having said all the above.........

I think a strict grammatical interpretation of " Choice of 4 call options for life"
means the choice remains for life.

After all it says in the blurb about the phone "Choice of Ring tones" which dont mean you cant change them does it.........D'oh!

REMEMBER

I've already proved to OTELO , and they have accepted,a breach of contract.

Its up to OTELO to decide if BT Cellnet were marketing these PUFFL with the intention of offering the choice for life and that O2 have subsequently tried to wriggle free of the T&C's via semantic's.
I think my case and the above example prove o2 are trying to wriggle free of the T&C's.

andy88_2

I see what you say. It is that apparently later (because of the date) 4-way version that I have. And I don't have a leaflet like you describe.

"A choice for life" - it is rather ambiguous. Would someone buying this one, whose friend had recommended the other version, have been disabused of the assumption of choice? - to follow your hints, probably not.

I've asked each of the people I've spoken to if there are, somewhere centrally recorded in O2, details of all old tariffs that can be accessed for resolving such questions as this.

If there is, I haven't yet found out where. I think this tends to imply their negligence in your case is systematic (can't reach the info) rather than deliberate; but a deficiency all the same.

I suspect these were marketed only until the deal that separated BT and Securicor ... and weirdly now neither of them owns it, and BT has courted Vodafone and T-mobile. No wonder it's hard to track down what's going on!

haveagoade

I think.........but can;t prove .....O2 withdrew this PUFFL as soon as they took over from BT Cellnet............I wonder why?

The buyers from Argos have basically the some package as me athough as mine was slightly earlier MY option of text and/or x net mins were additional cost options to be added to the main choice of 200 or 50min call plans......hence they were cost "add ons." (l8tr called "Bolt on's")

The argos plan was a choice of 1 of the 4.

BUT A CHOICE OF ONE OF THE 4 FOR LIFE.

With the basic choices remaining for life the difference between the two versions is a case of "swings and roundabouts".

haveagoade

I think andy88 you certainly have a case to take to OTELO.

You have your contract booklet together with the marketing page from Argos
( A full page special).

Take this together with the previous version of the PUFFL package as my case has shown.....put it together with the wording of the newer PUFFL package ie " A choice of 4 new inclusive call options for life"

And you have reason to assume the wording means exactly what it says......."a choice for life."

If BT Celnet/O2 had meant otherwise they should have made it expressly clear that it was NOT a choice for life.

The procedure for going to OTELO couldn't be easier.

1. Write to the O2 Customer complaints Resolution dept
ADDRESS ON BACK OF BILL
OR
ROBERT RAMSDEN
STAFFORD TAYLOR BUILDING A 1 LEEDS CITY OFICE PARK
MEADOW LANE
LEEDS
LS11 5BD

2 Tell Them you want to swap as appropiate.

3 They'll write back and say NO

4 Tell them you want a DEADLOCK letter stating they will not do it.

5 Send your complaint to OTELO together with deadlock letter to OTELO

If enough of us do it we'll get the T&C'S honoured.........or at least £50

andy88_2

I'm wondering if the 2 versions were simultaneous via different distribution.

Yours sounds more evolved though, as if in response to feedback - "We want to be able ..." The fact X-net minutes were still a very recent idea then tends to support that

nb apparently a manager at Line Advance said the PUFFL never had add-on packages, and if someone had them it must have been a mistake. Well I'm pretty certain by now that you've got that in writing.

It just shows the company has been reorganised so much it's hard to keep track ... I think I read elsewhere a lot of their offices moved from Slough; I haven't driven past for about 2 years to see if it's even still there ...

haveagoade

The 20 x net mins were 1 of the 4 in the argos catalogue.

Mine was a £4.99 add on to either of the two main plans.

Not a bad deal still as it brings the cost of peak call 'sto cross nets down, as they are otherwise expensive on this call plan.

I use an orange contract during the day........mainly cos of the killer deal back awhile and the chance to get a great new nokia phone.

If I used the O2 phone more I'd consider adding the add on of 20 x nets.

£4.99 for 200 off peak mins and 20 x net mins per month is good value .

or what I'd like if succesful is

£4.99 for 50 anytime and 20 x net mins per month.

I know that this is not as good as some of the deals being pushed at the mo but as I said this is for life, we dont know how long the likes of "3" will be offering promotions.

andy88_2

haveagoade wrote:

The 20 x net mins were 1 of the 4 in the argos catalogue.

Then there are 3 variants. The other 2 on mine were 50 texts or 100 weekend min + 20 text - small wonder they dropped those; not enough for text fans and too many for anyone else.

I'd check those 0870, 0845, 0844 numbers again if I were you. I was wrong above about 0800's but the others are on most O2 contracts incl mine, and I try to save it for those calls.

Which would be a good reason for you to want to change as such numbers will be rung mostly during daytime.

I can't see why O2 wouldn't want to let you switch once they've checked the contract details; if the various options were costed out they'd still come out roughly equivalent, so they're not losing. Or maybe you could try asking to add the 50 minutes for £4.99, or that and the X-net for £9.98.

haveagoade

quote
"Or maybe you could try asking to add the 50 minutes for £4.99, "

Why should I do that when I'm entitled to it for nothing?

Unless of course you mean as an add on to the 200 off peak mins which WOULD make sense.

Anyway the postion of O2 is that this plan does NOT EXIST . Clearly a lie , it does exist, just they will not let me have it.

OTELO shall be made aware of this position.

So the three variants are

1. Mine...... 200 o/p or 50 peak mins main choice for life with 50 txts and or 20 x nets add ons.

2. andy88's ......50 mins or 100 o/p mins + 20 txts or 50 txts choice for life? (Please clarify)

3. Argos's, as mine but a choice of between the four options for life.

andy88_2

haveagoade wrote:

quote
"Or maybe you could try asking to add the 50 minutes for £4.99, "

Why should I do that when I'm entitled to it for nothing?

Unless of course you mean as an add on to the 200 off peak mins which WOULD make sense.

That is what I meant; it's as though each option (included or added) is worth approx £5 a month - why not ask about that possibility, or even ask about 2 add-ons at once; it's a rather subversive way of giving them a bit more to think about

So the three variants are

2. andy88's ......50 mins or 100 o/p mins + 20 txts or 50 txts choice for life? (Please clarify)

200 min evening and weekend
50 min anytime
100 min weekend + 20 text
50 text

haveagoade

Cant see O2 offering the 50 mins anytime to me even if I pay for it , since they have already told/ lied to me AND OTELO that it doesn't exist.