Mobile Phone Contract - Provider Not Honouring Agreed Price

gj373

ILW wrote: »

It doesn't seem to say that a phone is included.

The email says:

Item.
Apple IPhone 4S
Ultimate Internet 500
24 Month Contract

Monthly Charge: £18.00

Upfront Cost: £0.00

...And they sent and activated the phone.

Eydon

The fact they sent you the phone kind of implies it was included in the deal.

gj373

Can we all just assume the email is legit (which it is). What are my rights as a consumer? At the moment Three refuses to honour amount or release me from contract.

What should I do from here? First thing I am thinking is cancel the direct debit but I don't want black marks against my name.

[Deleted User]

You should contact their executive office email address.. they're good at issues like this. You'll get nowhere with the call centres

Eydon

You could start with a formal complaint via their website. They even have a category of "I was promised a different tariff at time of sale / upgrade" and you have the email confirmation to back it up.

shocky_2

I just had a look on the 3 web-site. I went to the iPhone 4S section and it says the "Ultimate Internet 500" iphone plan is £32 month, but when you click "price details" it says the plan is £18 a month. When I went to check-out the price was £32 a month with a £3 discount making a total of £29. I suspect the deal is £18 a month for the plan plus £16 a month for the phone. Admittedly it isn't clear and this is definitely bad customer service.

If your contract says £18 a month then you can hold them to that. However your email confirmation is only confirmation, it does not form part of your actual contract. I imagine you had to confirm your purchase at checkout, did it tell you the price then?

gj373

youngsolicitor wrote: »

I just had a look on the 3 web-site. I went to the iPhone 4S section and it says the "Ultimate Internet 500" iphone plan is £32 month, but when you click "price details" it says the plan is £18 a month. When I went to check-out the price was £32 a month with a £3 discount making a total of £29. I suspect the deal is £18 a month for the plan plus £16 a month for the phone. Admittedly it isn't clear and this is definitely bad customer service.

If your contract says £18 a month then you can hold them to that. However your email confirmation is only confirmation, it does not form part of your actual contract. I imagine you had to confirm your purchase at checkout, did it tell you the price then?

I have nothing other than the email confirmation to go on. As far as I am aware there was no cost for the phone and I don't have that documented anywhere. I can't go through the upgrade process again to confirm this. If the email confirmation doesn't form part of my contract then what does. There is nowhere else that the monthly charge is documented.

ILW

gj373 wrote: »

The email says:

Item.
Apple IPhone 4S
Ultimate Internet 500
24 Month Contract

Monthly Charge: £18.00

Upfront Cost: £0.00

...And they sent and activated the phone.

Sorry, but that still does not seem to say a phone is included for the £18.00

shocky_2

Hmm. When you checked out I assume you had to confirm your order, enter your personal details and tick a box to confirm you accepted their terms and conditions? Maybe it said the price there? What you are shown at checkout and the T&Cs will be part of your contract with 3.

Initially my reaction was that it would be impossible for a mobile phone company such as 3 to be so incompetent that they don't make the terms of the contract clear when you checkout. Having actually been on their website now I am now not so sure. Maybe it would be best to escalate your complaint with 3 and see what they come back with?

gj373

Shame I can't upload an image. Copy and paste ruins the format of the email.