Detrimental Contract changes - can I void?

grumbler

OneADay wrote: »

The bill is not part of the mobile service!

It is.
If the charges are not fixed (and they are not in fact) it is the only way to check that you are being charged correctly.

So the argument about assuming everyone has internet access is weak - but you are welcome to go to court and get a judge to tell you what the service contract is and that billing is not part of the service contract.

As I said in my first post, the chances were slim. However, it was not the same as your categorical "there is no get out of contract".

OneADay

grumbler wrote: »

It is.
If the charges are not fixed (and they are not in fact) it is the only way to check that you are being charged correctly.
As I said in my first post, the chances were slim. However, it was not the same as your categorical "there is no get out of contract".

My categorical "there is no get out of contract" is in reference to the matter of billing charges.

People have managed to get out of contracts in past where there have been changes to their service plan - NOT bill charges.

Guys_Dad

Let's unpack this.

If they had said "We are stopping paper billing" then that is one thing and I am on less sure ground.

But OP has said that they are now charging £1.50 for paper bills, which means that they are raising the monthly charge like for like. That is something else. That is a change to their previous t&c.

Now I know that some businesses do not accept printed output from online systems. T-Mobile have said goodbye to mobile billing but have added the following

The design is slightly different but the information is exactly the same. Your electronic bill is more flexible because you can click on it and see the information broken down in different ways. Your paper bill is your legal record for accounting purposes

It also means, as has been said above, that checking your bills now depend upon customers having PC access. Many older customers may not be computer literate and may have gone to this network specifically because they wanted paper bills. Now they are being charged extra for that, despite it was on offer at the start of their contract. My partner's father for one can't even switch on a PC, but uses a mobile and likes to be able to check his bills.


So it all boils down to "Are they raising their charges? or "Are they changing their billing process?" I think it could be argued either way, but they should have allowed existing contracts to continue with paper billing until the end of the initial period.

Guys_Dad

Done a bit more research and found this on the Ofcom site.

http://ask.ofcom.org.uk/help/services-and-billing/conchange

When you take out a broadband or phone deal it’s understandable that you expect to get what you signed up for.
But sometimes a communication provider may decide to alter the terms and conditions of your original contract.
They can do this so long as they follow certain Ofcom rules, called General Conditions.
If a communications provider wants to alter a contract’s terms and conditions, they must consider, among other things, whether the change will be of material detriment to their customers.
Under General Condition 9.3, communications providers must provide customers for whom a change is likely to be of material detriment with one month’s notice of the change.
Customers must also be informed that they are entitled to terminate their contract without penalty if the change is not acceptable to them.
If you are affected you by such a change, in the first instance you should speak to your provider about your concerns.

and also

Additional charges are the extra charges that you may have to pay on top of the headline price.
These charges are generally for: paying by cash or cheque (rather than by direct debit), receiving an itemised or paper bill, paying late (or not at all) or leaving your provider before your contract has ended.
Not all providers charge extra and charges may vary so it’s worth shopping around.

Regrettably, most of Ofcom's site and documents deal with the principle of charging for itemised paper billing rather than introducing charges half way through, but take a look at http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/telecoms/policy/addcharges.pdf section F Itemised Billing and draw your own conclusions.

robt_2

You won't be able to get rid of your contract - that isn't realistic for this.

The most you can hope for is they charge you £1.50 a month for a paper bill, but credit your bill with £1.50 each month to cover it. Problem solved. Or were you just trying to get out of your contract

Guys_Dad

robt wrote: »

You won't be able to get rid of your contract - that isn't realistic for this.

The most you can hope for is they charge you £1.50 a month for a paper bill, but credit your bill with £1.50 each month to cover it. Problem solved. Or were you just trying to get out of your contract

Yes, I would think they would do as robt suggests. It makes commercial sense.

WestonDave

Thanks for the debate guys. To be honest it was a rather academic thought about whether if I wanted to I could use this as a way out to get a new phone on a different contract. However in practical terms it doesn't really make sense apart from the "I wanna" in respect of a better phone. I don't use the £5 per month allowance now, so not much point getting out of that only to pay £15 a month for a better phone, unless I choose to do it as a "luxury". I can easily afford to pay out the last £30 of the current contract and also the £10 per month on a new deal to get a new phone, but if I don't need/use it I have to decide how much I want it compared to other things I could spend that cash on. Even without buying out the contract that's another £240 over the next 2 years - might make more sense to see if I can get one of the HP Pre3's for £50 and run it on the current contract to see what use I'd get out of smartphone before making the leap further down the line.

OneADay

WestonDave wrote: »

Thanks for the debate guys. To be honest it was a rather academic thought about whether if I wanted to I could use this as a way out to get a new phone on a different contract. However in practical terms it doesn't really make sense apart from the "I wanna" in respect of a better phone. I don't use the £5 per month allowance now, so not much point getting out of that only to pay £15 a month for a better phone, unless I choose to do it as a "luxury". I can easily afford to pay out the last £30 of the current contract and also the £10 per month on a new deal to get a new phone, but if I don't need/use it I have to decide how much I want it compared to other things I could spend that cash on. Even without buying out the contract that's another £240 over the next 2 years - might make more sense to see if I can get one of the HP Pre3's for £50 and run it on the current contract to see what use I'd get out of smartphone before making the leap further down the line.

Interesting HP Pre3 cut down in price - but be careful, no updates coming from HP for that now they are changing their business with ditching web OS.

Don't forget with a smartphone, you will need internet which costs £5 a month upwards - though you can turn that off on the mobile.

Have a look at giffgaff or Lebara pay and go.