3 - charging for text delivery receipts

valentin_alcalde

JudasPriest wrote: »

I guess people in this thread now need to decide whether they wish to actively pursue this. I will be, but judging from the posted communication, it'll be a drawn out thing and involve hassle from Three for those walking from their contract due to this.

Anybody using the services from Three on or after 6th June accept the changes by doing so. It looks like those wishing to pursue the matter have to remove the SIM and use alternative services and pursue this legally.



[/B][/I]They're still trying to change the terms after contract inception. If it's not an "Additional Service", then it's grounds for leaving the contract. There is no definition of what is, or is not, core. A Google "site:three.co.uk" search for "core service" yields zero results. "core services" gives one - but it's a user comment on a blog post. Nothing in the terms and conditions, nothing in their price guide, nothing on my invoice when making the purchase.

Delivery report charges were checked by me in-store prior to taking out a contract - I have the name of the member of staff, and the date. The day I received my SIM, I made a telephone call to Customer Services to confirm there were no charges - this was confirmed, and I have the date and time of that call.

It may feel fruitless, but you all have good grounds for fighting this change in my opinion. I have to - if I continue to use their services after the change in the manner I did when taking out the contract, I'll face an additional £200 of charges over my term. Alternative is to lose included and needed functionality that was a major part of deciding to use Three.

I'm on the "One Plan" - 2000 x-net minutes, 5000 texts, 5000 minutes to Three mobiles, unlimited internet, and included tethering. To get the same functionality and services, it'll mean taking out services from several other providers. The cheapest way I can do this:-


Giffgaff do unlimited data, free delivery reports, and unlimited texts. An extra 500 minutes(to match the deal from Three) at 8ppm will bump up the cost per month by £40. Believe it or not, that's still the most cost-effective alternative as all other networks have a hidden limit to their "unlimited" data.


But tethering isn't included, so I'll need a second set of services at home for unlimited broadband. As I don't have a landline, the cheapest option for this is Virgin Media, at £21 per month for their lowest offering. A total of £96 per month - or £66 per month more than it would cost through Three.

Over 20 months, that'll be £1330 out of my pocket for the same functionality using the cheapest alternative services I can find, and the basis of going to small claims. Wouldn't mind advice from people if they know of better value deals?

You can allways get the 15 pounds prepaid card from three, it gives you:
Great value Add-ons:Sim only All in one 15
This SIM comes preloaded with our All-in-One 15 Add-on, which gives you all this for up to 30 days:
300 minutes
3000 texts
All-you-can-eat data

this is more than what you would find with any other provider...

JudasPriest

Sadly, I do tend to use over 1000 minutes per month...

bantoi

Hello,

I got a call yesterday from 3's Executive Office.

They told me the following, paraphrasing it a bit:

"Regarding your complaint about the contract termination and looking at your previous usage patterns and since you use around 100 SMS per month, we will offer you a discount of £2 per month. Should you go ahead with the compaint, we will withdraw the offer".

I've asked them to send me an email stating this and they said they will, which they still haven't but they did say that they will be sending me regular letter.

They also tried to state that since "SMS reports weren't part of the core service" I don't have valid grounds for contract termination.

It seems to me that 3 know that they have a rather weak claim and that they are looking to retain me as a customer. My guess is that they are hoping that me trying to cancel my contract will be too much of a hustle for me as it will ruin my credit rating.

What do you think? What will you guys do?

Thanks for your time.

Makeandsave

bantoi wrote: »

Hello,

I got a call yesterday from 3's Executive Office.

They told me the following, paraphrasing it a bit:

"Regarding your complaint about the contract termination and looking at your previous usage patterns and since you use around 100 SMS per month, we will offer you a discount of £2 per month. Should you go ahead with the compaint, we will withdraw the offer".

I've asked them to send me an email stating this and they said they will, which they still haven't but they did say that they will be sending me regular letter.

They also tried to state that since "SMS reports weren't part of the core service" I don't have valid grounds for contract termination.

It seems to me that 3 know that they have a rather weak claim and that they are looking to retain me as a customer. My guess is that they are hoping that me trying to cancel my contract will be too much of a hustle for me as it will ruin my credit rating.

What do you think? What will you guys do?

Thanks for your time.

I did send you a PM, I have now sent a email to the [EMAIL="executive.office@three.co.uk"]executive.office@three.co.uk[/EMAIL] I have used some of whats said in this thread. Lets hope i get a result and i will update this thread with any replies.

Snakeeyes21

bantoi wrote: »

Hello,

I got a call yesterday from 3's Executive Office.

They told me the following, paraphrasing it a bit:

"Regarding your complaint about the contract termination and looking at your previous usage patterns and since you use around 100 SMS per month, we will offer you a discount of £2 per month. Should you go ahead with the compaint, we will withdraw the offer".

I've asked them to send me an email stating this and they said they will, which they still haven't but they did say that they will be sending me regular letter.

They also tried to state that since "SMS reports weren't part of the core service" I don't have valid grounds for contract termination.

It seems to me that 3 know that they have a rather weak claim and that they are looking to retain me as a customer. My guess is that they are hoping that me trying to cancel my contract will be too much of a hustle for me as it will ruin my credit rating.

What do you think? What will you guys do?

Thanks for your time.

Go figure, I still havet receved an email or call from my initial complaint :rotfl: Maybe they dont want to offer me a similar deal to yours as itll cost them £15 a month

Ah well, still a few days left to go, if they think I wont just cancel and go the hard way then they are very much mistaken

cifpower

Received a response from 3 today and in it they said

The delivery report is an additional service, we haven’t made any changes to your contract. According to our terms and conditions, in section 4.1 b (ii), we reserve the right to change the price of an additional service. This is why, we’ve increased the price of the delivery reports from 0p to 1p per report received. So, we can’t cancel any contract if an early termination fee is applicable,

bantoi

I did post my letter, via registered mail, on Tuesday (24th) and emailed them on Wednesday(25th) last week.

bantoi

cifpower wrote: »

Received a response from 3 today and in it they said...

Was it an email? Did they address you by your name?

Thanks

cifpower

It was an email and they addressed me by name. He was also specific in how to turn delivery reports off on my model of phone.

IMO, an additional service charged at 0p should be billed as 0p and appear on my bill. It wasn't as it was inclusive. I've asked for a letter of deadlock as we will not agree.

cwmparc

Just had a call from Three exec office, same story Orange charge, you cant get them with 02, I quickly pointed out that I didn't sign up with orange or O2.
He got very defensive saying it has all been cleared by their legal team and ofcom.
So next plan is the ombudsman services to see what they say.
I WILL NOT GIVE UP WITHOUT A FIGHT