o2 changing tariffs and conditions

Rawr_2

I was looking for some advice on where i stand really, or even the best way to get around this.

I was looking at phones for a friend and whilst in 02, they offered me a good deal. £10 a month for unlimited texts and 50 minutes. I myself am deaf, so the minutes do not get used but the texts seemed like a good deal so i took out the 24 month contract. This was in feburary. I told them in the shop, that I go into hospital frequently and so i enquired about the price to add internet onto the phone. I was told it could be added on as a bolt on at any time for £10 a month and taken back off any time, with a months notice.

I am about to be admitted to hospital for a month,so I have rang them and asked to add the internet on. They said that they can do that, but I need to change my tarrif. I asked about the changes. My minutes would stay the same, but I would only get 250 texts. I said that I needed the texts as that is my main reason for having a mobile. They said to go back to having unlimited texts I would have to pay £21, but I get 300 minutes with this.

I explained again that I dont use minutes, but they quickly told me that this is the only way I can get unlimted texts and use the internet without paying a fortune.

So what it comes down to, to get exactly the same contract for what I would use, will now cost me £27 instead of £10. Over double the price for using the same thing?!?!

Then on top of the £27, I can add internet for either £3, £6 or £10. But there is no way to add internet to my current tarrif.

To say this has annoyed me is an understatement. I depend upon my phone to keep in touch with people when far from home and stuck in hospital. Yet I am stuck in this contract for another 20 months, with only half of what I want and require.

The only thing I can think of, is to try to sell the phone, to cover the cost of the remaining contract and start again with an honest company. But I couldnt do that in time before my next admission. :mad:

Anybody any advice or ideas?

OneADay

Think they are leading you up the garden path for no reason.
If you are on a monthly contract at £10 a month or any monthly tariff, you can add a bolt on for internet

£3 per month to get 100MB data
£6 for 500MB tariff
£10 for 1Gig allowance

http://www.o2.co.uk/tariffs/paymonthly

Now I don't know why they are trying to get you to change tariff.
As you say you are deaf, I suggest going to the o2 web site and click on Contact Us - > Monthly and it should somewhere come up with a popup and you can chat online to a customer services rep.

Explain you want a bolt on - don't enter into anything straight away, ask them to give you details first via email or writing. And then get one of the above added. Suggest £6 one will do you fine.

PS You can add the bolt on yourself in your My O2 account.

Rawr_2

That was what I wanted to do. But they told me that I am on a 2010 tariff and the boltons are only allowed to be added to the 2011 tariffs. There is no way the computer would let them, not even the managers.

OneADay

Ok I think what they are saying is right at least in terms of their rules. I just checked my O2 account and bolt on for data not available unless I change tariff.

Ok I think your solution if you only need data for your hospital stay is to get a pay and go Giff Gaff sim card - giffgaff.com
Top up for £10 and get internet.
Might need to keep a spare phone as it will be a new number. Irony is that giffgaff is owned by O2.

easyhost

well they are trying it on with you, i was on the same 2010 tariff and o2 added the £10 web bolt on without my permission or request. and i was only 3 months into the 24 month contract.

i told them that i never requested the bolt on and therefore not paying, they told me to i had to pay it . they even refused to provide and evidence that i had requested this, so i told them to cancel the contract as this was a breach of contract as they added an item to this at an extra cost without my permission or request, i was tolsd i would have to pay the remaining contract if i leave, this was until i contacts consumer direct about my problem, one i told o2 of this they cancelled the contract and told me i did not owe anything.

Spencer_Li

Have a look at some deals from other phone companies; e.g. for example Orange do a Canary sim only deal which is unlimited texts for £10.

Armed with this information, call them up again and ask to be put through to disconnections and ask them for your PAC code.

I know you're locked into contract, but just because you request your PAC code, doesn't mean you have to use it.

Explain to them that your contract is useless to you so you don't mind paying the disconnection fee and going with someone like Orange.

The computerised system may restrict what they can do, but there is sometimes a way around things.

A while ago, I wanted a phone for free (from O2) but they said I couldn't unless I moved up to a higher tariff - which I wasn't prepared to do. Anyway, to cut a long story short - they ended up moving me up to the higher tariff, giving the phone to me for free, and then giving me a discount every month for a year so that I was paying the same as before.

Anyway, explain your situation to the disconnections person and see what they can offer you. Remember to remain polite and calm at all times.

Good luck!

Wintermute

What they say is correct, at the end of March O2 launched the Quarter 1 2011 tariffs which have the data bolt-ons seperate from the account and the lowest tariffs don't include unlimited texts any more. The ability to add data bolt-ons to older tariffs has unfortunately been removed, because you're wanting to change something about your account they are within their T&C to withdraw bolt-ons or require you to move to a newer tariff to do this and as what you were told at the time was correct you have not been misold the contract.
If you have a chance before you're admitted it might be worth doing is returning to the store and speak to the store manager, calmly and politely explain the situation, store managers are able to authorise credits and often discounts. Unfortunately you are relying on a goodwill gesture to get this sorted for you so try and get whoever you speak to on your side.
As you are so early on in your contract I think it's very unlikely that you'll have any luck speaking to retentions, I think you'd have more luck with the store manager or getting customer services on your side.

Toe-Jam

have you logged in to you "my o2" on the o2 website, and clicked on manage bolt ons, usually you can buy the tethering bolt on from there. I'm on a 2010 tariff also, and i can change my data from there.

Rawr_2

the message when I try to add a bolt on is

Sorry. There aren't any data Bolt Ons available with your tariff. If you want to buy a Bolt On, call us and we'll move you to one of our current tariffs.

Thank you for all the good advice.
I think that the only way that I am going to be able to do this, is as mentioned above, to put my o2 sim in a cheap phone and use it for texting and putting a giffgaff sim in my good phone and use it for web. Then, once I have more time, sell the phone and use the money to pay off the contract and start again

Its a pain having to mess about with two phones as its often difficult enough managing one phone and charger, when in an acute setting, but I really do depend upon my text + web when I am in to keep upto date with family.

I have looked into text forwring, like you get call forwarding, as this would make things much easier as I could just forward everything to the giffgaff sim when I am using it, but that would require me to use my good phone for the o2 sim and have it turned on.

Actully, the other thing I was thinking, does anybody access the unlimited wifi that you get with the higher based data package on o2? I am sure there is an access point in the hospital, which would make things easier if I had access to that, but how does o2, know its you?My dad has data on his o2 phone, but only the basic. If I were to put him on the larger data package, with the free wifi, would it be posible to access the wifi from my phone instead of his? I doubt it is, but I guess I am clutching at straws.

Thank you for the advice.
Kim

OneADay

Rawr wrote: »

Actully, the other thing I was thinking, does anybody access the unlimited wifi that you get with the higher based data package on o2? I am sure there is an access point in the hospital, which would make things easier if I had access to that, but how does o2, know its you?My dad has data on his o2 phone, but only the basic. If I were to put him on the larger data package, with the free wifi, would it be posible to access the wifi from my phone instead of his? I doubt it is, but I guess I am clutching at straws.

Thank you for the advice.
Kim

Think its the iphone that gets unlimited access to wifi hotspots through O2. And they know because its an iphones.

You would first need to check the hospital usage policy - and secondly messing around with your dad's tariff etc - it all sounds like you are getting yourself into a pickle.

Also depends on how long your hospital stay is but to be honest if you go into hospital, its to get well and not be using internet all the time.

grumbler

OneADay wrote: »

Think its the iphone that gets unlimited access to wifi hotspots through O2.

I can be missing something, but they offer "Unlimited Wi-Fi in O2’s Cloud Network" with some deals not only for iPhones.