MSE News: Three to raise mobile prices

JakeMM

I've just got the email from Three this morning.

Although Orange were allowed to increase their prices as inflation had hit a 20 year high, inflation is currently at a 26 month low.

Although Three think that they can get away with it as Orange did, the circumstances are completely different now the rates have changed.

As inflation is at a 26 month low, it's going to lower than it was when pretty much everyone's phone contact was taken out and so the price should be technically going down instead of up.

I've sent a complaint to Ofcom about this and will update this thread when I get a reply.

aldredd

JakeMM wrote: »

I've just got the email from Three this morning.

Although Orange were allowed to increase their prices as inflation had hit a 20 year high, inflation is currently at a 26 month low.

Although Three think that they can get away with it as Orange did, the circumstances are completely different now the rates have changed.

As inflation is at a 26 month low, it's going to lower than it was when pretty much everyone's phone contact was taken out and so the price should be technically going down instead of up.

I've sent a complaint to Ofcom about this and will update this thread when I get a reply.

I think perhaps you've mis-undersood how inflation works / what the headline has been.

Inflation is indeed 'down', but it's still inflation - as in price are still going up. Just means they're not going up as fast as they were previously.
If they were going down, it would be deflation - or negative inflation.

Doesn't happen very often - happened in ROI recently, and Hong Kong in the late 90's

JakeMM

Ah, I didn't realise that.

Surely they shouldn't be raising the prices though, as inflation is still lower than it was at the time that the contract was written out.

I know inflation is still happening, but if it's happening at a lower rate per month than was expected at the time the contract was written, how can they explain the increase mid-contract.

Surely they should have accounted for inflation at atleast the current amount (at the time) when the price of the contract was decided in the first place.

Idiophreak

JakeMM wrote: »

Surely they should have accounted for inflation at atleast the current amount (at the time) when the price of the contract was decided in the first place.

You'd have thought...but it seems they decided to put a clause in the contract allowing them to increase prices mid-term instead.

I'm sure that's so they could give you the lowest possible price at the time you took the contract out... :think:

Of course, doing it this way equates to PR suicide, but whatever

aldredd

JakeMM wrote: »

Surely they should have accounted for inflation at atleast the current amount (at the time) when the price of the contract was decided in the first place.

Exactly my thoughts. You'd have thought that having a 50p month more expensive contract and not have to put up prices would be a better message to give potential customers!

System

Could someone please let me know the penalty to cancel a contract with Three? I can't find the information on their site. Thanks.

KTF

From: http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,varset_cat=billing,varset_subcat=3772,Case=obj%283710%29

Cancelling your contract.
We're sorry to hear that you're thinking of leaving us. Whatever the reason, we would like to talk to you before you make any decisions. Please give us a call on 333 from your Three phone or 0843 373 3333 (5p per minute from a BT landline, other networks may vary), so we can look at the best options for you.

Here's some important information you need to know before you call us:

• You'll need to give us 30 days' notice if you're going to end your contract. You don't have to put it in writing, we can do it all over the phone.
• If you're thinking of leaving us before the end of the contract period you committed to when you joined or renewed, there will be a charge. If you're not sure about this we can explain more when you call.
• If your Three device has been lost or stolen, there's no need to cancel, just let us know straight away. We can protect your account from misuse, sort out a replacement, and get you back up and running quickly.

aldredd

candyflossing wrote: »

Could someone please let me know the penalty to cancel a contract with Three? I can't find the information on their site. Thanks.

I suspect it'd the the contract price x months remaining.

Sometimes it'll be the 'minimum tariff you could reduce to' x months remaining - not sure how 3 work it though.

Idiophreak

aldredd wrote: »

I suspect it'd the the contract price x months remaining.

Sometimes it'll be the 'minimum tariff you could reduce to' x months remaining - not sure how 3 work it though.

Can sometimes avoid paying VAT on the remaining term, too...but not sure how that works.

completelyterrified

candyflossing wrote: »

Could someone please let me know the penalty to cancel a contract with Three? I can't find the information on their site. Thanks.

If you're a customer who's upgraded at any point, it's your remaining term in months * monthly cost - a 10% discount.

If you're a new customer, or in your first contract, it's the same but - a 3% discount.