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THREE mobile broadband contract I did not agree to
paulglee
Posts: 7 Forumite
The short version:
THREE have applied a 2 year contract to my account which I never agreed to. They won't close the account and keep billing me though I don’t use the service. They have passed my details onto debt collectors. How do I put an end to this?
The long version:
About 5 years ago I signed a Mobile Broadband contract with THREE. At the end of the contract I kept up the arrangement paying monthly. Then December 2011 I was offered (on the phone) a free upgrade to 15GB data - I knew that this deal would usually require a commitment to a 2 year contract which I didn’t want to do, so before agreeing to it I asked the question. I was definitively told that I wasn’t committing to a new contract, and was getting this offer only because I was a long-term customer. On the basis of this I also bought a new MiFi dongle from them for about £90. When my next bill arrived, sure enough it stated I was in a 24 month contract - I complained on their website but the best they could offer me was to downgrade my account back to the previous data limit. I would only agree to this if they refunded me the £90 cost of the MiFi dongle as I didn’t want it without having the 15GB. They wouldn’t do this because it was now past some 15 day refund period. Through the follow few months over a series of phone calls they insisted I had agreed to a 2 year contract - they were to check the original recording of when the "agreement" took place - the next time they called I was vaguely told not to worry and that it was all okay. I thought nothing of it until October when I attempted to close my account and they said I still had 15 months left in my contract. I have asked them to show me a contract, they can’t, they say by using the service I have effectively agreed to the contract. Do they really have a leg to stand on? Eventually in December 2012 I stopped using the service and didn’t pay my last bill until they rang me up. I got them to agree to close the account and paid the final month’s bill by card over the phone. After they had accepted my payment he told he had made a mistake and that he could not close my account as I still had 13 months left on my contract. Unbelievable. I haven’t been using their service but the bills keep coming - now they have passed my details onto Debt Collectors who are threatening to send agents around to my house, set private investigators on me and instruct credit reference agencies.
Has anyone got any advice on how to put an end to this?
THREE have applied a 2 year contract to my account which I never agreed to. They won't close the account and keep billing me though I don’t use the service. They have passed my details onto debt collectors. How do I put an end to this?
The long version:
About 5 years ago I signed a Mobile Broadband contract with THREE. At the end of the contract I kept up the arrangement paying monthly. Then December 2011 I was offered (on the phone) a free upgrade to 15GB data - I knew that this deal would usually require a commitment to a 2 year contract which I didn’t want to do, so before agreeing to it I asked the question. I was definitively told that I wasn’t committing to a new contract, and was getting this offer only because I was a long-term customer. On the basis of this I also bought a new MiFi dongle from them for about £90. When my next bill arrived, sure enough it stated I was in a 24 month contract - I complained on their website but the best they could offer me was to downgrade my account back to the previous data limit. I would only agree to this if they refunded me the £90 cost of the MiFi dongle as I didn’t want it without having the 15GB. They wouldn’t do this because it was now past some 15 day refund period. Through the follow few months over a series of phone calls they insisted I had agreed to a 2 year contract - they were to check the original recording of when the "agreement" took place - the next time they called I was vaguely told not to worry and that it was all okay. I thought nothing of it until October when I attempted to close my account and they said I still had 15 months left in my contract. I have asked them to show me a contract, they can’t, they say by using the service I have effectively agreed to the contract. Do they really have a leg to stand on? Eventually in December 2012 I stopped using the service and didn’t pay my last bill until they rang me up. I got them to agree to close the account and paid the final month’s bill by card over the phone. After they had accepted my payment he told he had made a mistake and that he could not close my account as I still had 13 months left on my contract. Unbelievable. I haven’t been using their service but the bills keep coming - now they have passed my details onto Debt Collectors who are threatening to send agents around to my house, set private investigators on me and instruct credit reference agencies.
Has anyone got any advice on how to put an end to this?
0
Comments
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Two suggestions.
1. Tell the debt collection agency very firmly that you do not owe the money, and they should refer the matter back to Three. After that, refuse to deal with them in any way.
2. Ask Three to review the original call again. If they get awkward, make a formal request for a copy of the call under the Data Protection Act. they may make a small charge for this, but if they have a copy of the call, they must supply it. If they can't supply it, then they clearly have no record of what you originally agreed to and they will be in a very weak position if it ever gets to court.If it sticks, force it.
If it breaks, well it wasn't working right anyway.0 -
No, it would be the op who is in the weak position, by using the contract for 7 months they have accepted it, difficult now to get out of.Two suggestions.
If they can't supply it, then they clearly have no record of what you originally agreed to and they will be in a very weak position if it ever gets to court.
It won't however go to court, but they will chase it and blacklist the credit file as well as keeping it on record making it difficult to get credit again for the next 6 years at least.0 -
No, it would be the op who is in the weak position, by using the contract for 7 months they have accepted it, difficult now to get out of.
It won't however go to court, but they will chase it and blacklist the credit file as well as keeping it on record making it difficult to get credit again for the next 6 years at least.
But I never accepted the new contract, aside from using the service and paying my bills - I complained to them immediately on receipt of the first bill which stated the 24 month term - I never saw or agreed to any terms - surely they have to prove an agreement was made?0 -
But I never accepted the new contract, aside from using the service and paying my bills - I complained to them immediately on receipt of the first bill which stated the 24 month term - I never saw or agreed to any terms - surely they have to prove an agreement was made?
http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft311.pdf
look up the section on hidden terms specifically
ETA do you have anything which will help back uyou up that they told you it was fixed? For example do the bills usually always tell you that you're in a 24 month contract or do they give a countdown of months remaining or do they just mention it on the first bill only?You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride0 -
Stop dealing with this by telephone that is what kicked off this mess in the first place, write a letter of complaint. Do not stop paying for the contract until it has been agreed in writing that you are not in one/ have cancelled. You have a credit agreement so you can get a black mark on your credit file by not paying. If you exhaust the formal complaints procedure you can go to the ombudsman.
http://www.three.co.uk/Support/Contact_Us/Complaints_code
Did you read ALL the paperwork, including the small print and invoice when you received the new handset and dongle? Do you still have that paperwork on file? That should have said if you had been put into a contract and you should then have returned the items unused. If a contract was started you are deemed to have accepted it by using the handset and service, a contract does not have to be a signed document.Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0 -
Stop dealing with this by telephone that is what kicked off this mess in the first place, write a letter of complaint. Do not stop paying for the contract until it has been agreed in writing that you are not in one/ have cancelled. You have a credit agreement so you can get a black mark on your credit file by not paying. If you exhaust the formal complaints procedure you can go to the ombudsman.
Did you read ALL the paperwork, including the small print and invoice when you received the new handset and dongle? Do you still have that paperwork on file? That should have said if you had been put into a contract and you should then have returned the items unused. If a contract was started you are deemed to have accepted it by using the handset and service, a contract does not have to be a signed document.
I haven't paid for 2 months, or used the service - why should I keep paying when I never agreed to a contract, and I am positive that they could not possibly have any evidence that I did. I paid the same monthly amount before and after they claim the contract began,0 -
unholyangel wrote: »
look up the section on hidden terms specifically
ETA do you have anything which will help back uyou up that they told you it was fixed? For example do the bills usually always tell you that you're in a 24 month contract or do they give a countdown of months remaining or do they just mention it on the first bill only?
All my interactions started with me going onto they-re website and sending them an electronic message which they replied to by phone-call over the following day or two. Therefore I don't have a record of my complaints to them and I can only rely on them having a recording of the conversations.
I am absolutely positive that they lied to me on the phone and then applied a 2 year term to my account. Unfortunately I was a little naive and though I complained as soon as I saw it on the bil, I kept paying. I thought well it's they're problem as they don't have a contract and I can leave when I want.0 -
All my interactions started with me going onto they-re website and sending them an electronic message which they replied to by phone-call over the following day or two. Therefore I don't have a record of my complaints to them and I can only rely on them having a recording of the conversations.
I am absolutely positive that they lied to me on the phone and then applied a 2 year term to my account. Unfortunately I was a little naive and though I complained as soon as I saw it on the bil, I kept paying. I thought well it's they're problem as they don't have a contract and I can leave when I want.
It's doubtful they will still have the call. When i worked for Orange, they were recorded for training purposes and kept for a maximum of 30 days.
Obviously I don't know how 3 works but I imagine it will be similar. They do have a leg to stand on because by using the service, you are deemed to have accepted the agreement. There doesn't need to be a bit of paper for it to be legally binding.
However, I do think that if you go down the WRITTEN complaints route then they may just back down.
Do you know if you are still receiving the 15GB package or have they actually changed it to the lesser one you said they said they would?0 -
My point was that if they have no written contract, and no copy of the phone call, then it is impossible for Three to prove to a court what the customer agreed to.
Using a service does not in any way prove that the customer has agreed to a new 2 year contract.If it sticks, force it.
If it breaks, well it wasn't working right anyway.0 -
My point was that if they have no written contract, and no copy of the phone call, then it is impossible for Three to prove to a court what the customer agreed to.
Using a service does not in any way prove that the customer has agreed to a new 2 year contract.
I see where you're coming from but you could say that about any phone contract. Or any contract really. We are in a 1 year contract with Virgin but didn't sign for it.
Using the service can be taken that you have accepted the terms. OP should have followed it up and seen it through to the end previously.
They agreed to reduce his plan back to what it was before and I daresay they would have had to amend his contract to show that he was not still in contract. He refused this option because they wouldn't refund him for the MIFI device. Admittedly frustrating but OP should have sorted the main issue first and then taken action re the MIFI device.0
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