£800 taken by T-Mobile for 1 week of Data (in UK!)

jimpom23

Apologies in advance, it’s a long one, but only because I want to put all the facts down for the best advice possible (I hate it when people ask for assistance but don’t give specifics!)

I was with T-Mobile for over 2yrs as was my wife – same phone, same contract, on 300 mins, 300 texts, unlimited internet (3gb as it was an Android device) but shopped around to see if I could get a lower deal. Having found one with Three I rung up T-Mobile to cancel my contract (outside of my minimum term) and got railroaded into a very cheap deal that was 300 mins, 5000 texts, unlimited browsing and 250mb of data – I expressed much concern about the data aspect but was told the data allowance was only for streaming and even if I DID go over it I would never be charged any extra, I would simply receive a text message and potentially have my service slowed so no risk – or so I thought. She also mentioned that there was a 7 day cooling off period on all of their upgrades and sim deals so I agreed.

Day 1 goes by on the new deal despite me being in my home on the wifi network I get a text saying I have gone over my allowance (!) I rung them up to find out what was happening and they said that the allowance was pro rata so I must have used more than 8mb that day (or similar – its not important) I said this wasn’t possible, they maintained that position so I said I’d like to exercise my right to cancel the contract and get my PAC code as I orginally wanted to. They said this was fine and told me I had to use my PAC code within 30 days or it would run out and my monthly payments remain – he told me that I would have to pay for the next month due to the notice period, seeing as there was a week crossover with new sim I wasn’t too bothered about that.

As I waited for my new sim to arrive I naturally used the phone and internet given that I was still paying for my service until the PAC was used and the contract formally terminated. I have been on Three for a month or so now and today checked my bank to find that they had taken £650 for data charges (and £150 for my wife’s as we did identical for her) during that one week crossover when I was in my notice period. What seems to have happened is that for some reason they removed my ‘Internet Booster’ when I asked to cancel my plan but didn’t tell me nor explain what that meant (having looked it up – 73p/kb)

I’m in the process of discussing and them looking into it but having done my research it all comes down to the fact that for whatever reason they removed that internet booster without mentioning so (explicitly anyway, I only asked for them to cancel my contract which would happen at the point of my number porting to Three)

So I’m here incredibly angry trying to make sense of it all – I don’t have any faith in customer services with billing teams, I’ve had all kinds of grief with Sky and so am dreading the call back where they don’t offer any reasonable position. In the meantime I have been looking at the details around their packages and the cooling off period and have lifted the following out of them which, one would hope, support my position(?) – One other point to note is that I had no notification that this money would be leaving my account, normally they would send a text but obviously the money was being taken post termination so that wasn’t possible – don’t they have to notify me?)

You've got a 7 day cooling off period to cancel your purchase, counting from the day your new items are delivered. More information about how that works will be included in your details about delivery package. Remember that if you do cancel, you'll have to pay your postage costs of returning your items to us.
This 7 day cooling off period applies to:
· all pay monthly (including SIM-only) and pay as you go new connections
· free pay as you go SIM cards
· upgrades and renewals (this is what I invoked)
You'll have to pay for any usage before you return the phone to us. If that's on pay as you go, we won't refund any credit you've spent or any left on your phone when it's returned. If that's on pay monthly, your final bill will include a charge for services used at your price plan rate (my price plan rate was sold to me as never ever charging for any data use over and above my fixed monthly charge)

If you use more than your fair use policy amount, we won't charge you anymore, but we may restrict how you can use internet on your phone, depending on how often you go over your amount and by how much.
However much you use the internet, you'll never get charged extra
We're the only operator to offer you a fixed price for browsing and emailing on your mobile broadband connection with no limits and no extra charges.
· Never pay more than your monthly fixed price
· You can always browse and email with no limits
· Perfect for getting online when you're out and about
Is there an allowance?
You can browse and email as much as you want.
Your plan will come with an allowance‑ which varies depending on the plan that you select‑ however we will not charge you if you go over your allowance. If they go over their allowance‑ we will not charge any extra‑ or prevent them from using the internet however we may restrict their usage on downloads and streaming.

So there it is – though seemingly in their eyes (I assume having looked into my itemised bill online) I have at some point consented to the internet booster being taken off for that week (why on earth would I agree to that, knowingly or otherwise?!) as per this line,

If you remove a chargeable internet booster and then use internet on your phone you'll automatically be charged our daily rate, see t-mobile.co.uk.

Well done if you have got this far, as I say I am yet to hear back but in my frantic state am wanting to get as much feedback as possible or hear if anyone has had similar happen to them.

Thanks

NFH

jimpom23 wrote: »

One other point to note is that I had no notification that this money would be leaving my account, normally they would send a text but obviously the money was being taken post termination so that wasn’t possible – don’t they have to notify me?)

Yes, under the Direct Debit Guarantee, they have to notify you 10 working days before taking the payment. If they don't do this, then "you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society".

grumbler

Well, "normally they would send a text " implies online billing. If so, I don't think that they really failed to notify.

NFH

grumbler wrote: »

Well, "normally they would send a text " implies online billing. If so, I don't think that they really failed to notify.

With online billing, the onus is still on the organisation to notify the customer that the bill is available for viewing. Silently making a bill available on a web site is not a notification.

jimpom23

NFH wrote: »

Yes, under the Direct Debit Guarantee[/URL][/B], they have to notify you 10 working days before taking the payment. If they don't do this, then "you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society".

Thanks for your reply NFH, I most certainly didn't receive this but couldn't they just fast they sent the text as usual? (despite any logical person or system knowing that wouldn't reach me)

What should I do in that respect, go to T-Mobile and ask or go straight to my bank?

grumbler

You contact your bank and ask for an immediate refund:

http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Businesses/DirectDebit/Collecting/Pages/CustomersRights.aspx

Alias_Omega

You may recover the £800, but you wont elimate the debt.

If you recover the £800, they will come after you via the courts. I would contact T-Mobile to see if you can sort the problem from there end.

jimpom23

Spoke to my bank who are crediting it back to my acct and going to tmobile direct. Just need to read up on next steps as if tmobile say I still owe it and it's not resolved between us then I need to understand what happens. The bank say if tmob refuse then it could be debited again but I would expect any request to go on hold pending formal resolution in the event of a dispute?

NFH

Just beware of T-Mobile putting a bad mark on your credit file for non-payment of your bill. However, given that they broke the Direct Debit Guarantee and the amount was not due anyway, they would have to reverse any adverse information about you that they pass to a third party, otherwise you would have a valid claim against them for defamation.

jimpom23

I'm aware that there is obviously still a 'debt' now but I just need to make it clear to T-Mobile this is what has happened and go through their process of dispute resolution which I believe is 8 weeks of discussions and whilst this is going on the debt will be on hold(?) If we agree then obviously it is paid/not paid, and if not then I will refer it to the relevant Ombudsman (with debt remaining on hold?) and then abide by their decision whatever that may be...

Unless I'm mistaken?

d123

Put the complaint in writing and address it to the Chief Executives Office, google their HO address.

It will be as simple as a mistake made by the agent who handled the disconnection, I've always found the Staff at the Directors Office to be efficient and courteous, and quick to fix mistakes.

I suggest writing as the EE merger could mean emails don't go where expected.