O2 new contract prices & recent 3.2% increase

minislim

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Because people don't read the contracts or small print, I am afraid.

You are doing the right thing in going for your best option, which may be giffgaff, Tesco, Ovivo or whatever.

But you can't single out O2 as being any worse than any of the big 4, only that it affected you as you were a, O2 customer.

Orange have just done the same to me and if my contract wasn't up in April, I would have gone for them on the badly written contract referring to the Office of National Statistics that was dissolved 15 years ago - see current thread.

I will switch my 2nd line from Orange to Ovivo which will be free for me, but I will keep my Vodafone sim-only contract with a major player asat less than £12 it's too little cost to bother me and reliability of service is a must.

i bought online and the t&c's are not that clear. strangely i actually think that when i signed up the t&c's where actually different to the ones i can see online now.

the main thing is that all four main networks have stung their existing customers. when the first ones did it caused a major upset.
the others have followed suit. so they're all as bad as one another.

so everyone should leave the big four if they dont agree with this.

what was most annoying was O2's small print. they state that i can cancel my contract penalty free under the ofcom rules if i am in material detriment.
yet i have pointed this out to them and they do not recognise that charging me more for my remaining term amounts to material detriment.

its their own take on the rules. so even the t&c's are not concrete.

their excuse was that they had to increase existing customers contracts to cover their increasing costs.

i questioned why they didnt just increase new contract prices. and they said because the couldnt as they wouldnt be as competative as their rivals.

utter nonesence! so i sign up to a price just so they can hike it up mid term to cover giving new customers a better deal.

that to me is financial suicide. the short term gain in revenue from those stuck in a contract will backfire when the mass exodus happens with customers leaving.

ah well the damage is done now. i gave them the chance. they blew it. the fact they did it in such a way annoyed me even more and now i will help as many people as i can to get out of contracts with O2. or any other major network.

Gordon_Hose

You have to prove material detriment though, not just say "This increase means I can't pay my rent".

minislim

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

You have to prove material detriment though, not just say "This increase means I can't pay my rent".

i had done. i'd pointed out that increases to all bills had resulted in me being out of pocket.

i'd also tried to resolve the situation by offering them three alternatives. dispute resolution is a field i deal with in my work.

still no result. i threatened them with the ombudsman. and they just basically said "go on then, they dont cover this sort of thing"
i've refererred my case now to the ombudsman now anyway and await their comments. the fact i had given them options means i was willing to compromise.

their attitude has completely changed from the helpful network that solved any problem you had to one that doesnt give two hoots to their existing customers anymore.

so even if loose my case and i have to stay with o2 till the end of my contract now o2 will effectively have lost me as a loyal customer. the damage has been done and nothing will make me return to them.

had they have accepted one of my resolutions i would have stayed with them.

i wont be the only one.

Gordon_Hose

Everyone affected by the price rise is "out of pocket" though! It doesn't constitute material detriment though.

There is no specific definition of material detriment, that's why it is so hard to prove.

You crack on, but I think you're wasting your time.

Silk

minislim wrote: »

i'd also tried to resolve the situation by offering them three alternatives. dispute resolution is a field i deal with in my work.

Out of interest is cutting off your nose to spite your face the way you resolve disputes at work then ?

Del_Astra

OP for that sort of usage look at Ovivomobile a one off cost of £15 at the moment, then 150 Mins 150 texts and 400Mb every month. The initial £15 is used as credit and you can top up if required.

I'm on Orange Sim only 12 month deal, they increased my costs recently, although have provided another 10% discount (long story) there is a thread on here at the moment about Orange / T-Mob increasing prices.

I think the only way to protect against any increase would be rolling monthly sim only.

Del_Astra

"so even if loose my case and i have to stay with o2 till the end of my contract now o2 will effectively have lost me as a loyal customer. the damage has been done and nothing will make me return to them."

SO fast forward to renewal time and say O2 are offering the best deal, best value for money, most mins, txt, data etc, would you still pay more elsewhere? Or would you take the best deal available to you at the time?

All the major players have done it, so we the customers need to be mindful of this and consider it prior to signing. I was annoyed at Orange for doing it to me, I called them and questioned it, ended up reducing my monthly bill by 52pence. I know you tried to speak to your provider and I don't know if they are doing things for others but you can't pick up the phone and be all confrontational with them, they will dig their heals in if you are. I'm not saying you were, however you seem to be on a mission and are coming across as being up for a battle. I'm saying this trying to be helpful, I do understand why you feel like you do, but getting worked up about it, isn't going to change it, you will still need to pay the increase.

In the grand scheme of things do you think 10K a year is much to O2? Its not, they earn more in an hour. (I say earn, perhaps make / fleece would be more apt).

minislim

Silk wrote: »

Out of interest is cutting off your nose to spite your face the way you resolve disputes at work then ?

no its not. bearing in mind i had at the point of offering ways to resolve the situation i had been in contact wit o2 for a couple of weeks.

the resolution options where my last chance to let them off. and they blew it.

the ombudsman though will look at it favourably towards me as i had offered to let them sort it.

minislim

Del_Astra wrote: »

"so even if loose my case and i have to stay with o2 till the end of my contract now o2 will effectively have lost me as a loyal customer. the damage has been done and nothing will make me return to them."

SO fast forward to renewal time and say O2 are offering the best deal, best value for money, most mins, txt, data etc, would you still pay more elsewhere? Or would you take the best deal available to you at the time?

All the major players have done it, so we the customers need to be mindful of this and consider it prior to signing. I was annoyed at Orange for doing it to me, I called them and questioned it, ended up reducing my monthly bill by 52pence. I know you tried to speak to your provider and I don't know if they are doing things for others but you can't pick up the phone and be all confrontational with them, they will dig their heals in if you are. I'm not saying you were, however you seem to be on a mission and are coming across as being up for a battle. I'm saying this trying to be helpful, I do understand why you feel like you do, but getting worked up about it, isn't going to change it, you will still need to pay the increase.

In the grand scheme of things do you think 10K a year is much to O2? Its not, they earn more in an hour. (I say earn, perhaps make / fleece would be more apt).

10k was only in the space of two weeks. if i keep that sort of thing up who knows how much. it might be small in the grand scheme of things now. but if i get the ball rolling and it keeps going. maybe they might take some notice of their existing customers in the future.

i just dont like companies like this that take advantage of customers like o2 and the other big 4 did.

and i think most people would feel the same.

Del_Astra

minislim wrote: »

10k was only in the space of two weeks. if i keep that sort of thing up who knows how much. it might be small in the grand scheme of things now. but if i get the ball rolling and it keeps going. maybe they might take some notice of their existing customers in the future.

i just dont like companies like this that take advantage of customers like o2 and the other big 4 did.

and i think most people would feel the same.

I too feel the same, however most people don't the vast majority accept it, that is why they do it. If 50% of existing customers complained they wouldn't do it. By the way 10K is a good effort, more than I could do, but its just not going to register with them, even if you maintained that 10K every two weeks for a year.

I was just trying to offer some advice on how to deal with it so you get the best deal for you. Would it not be better to focus your efforts on getting the best deal for you as opposed to taking on O2? When it comes to renewal time, of course keep this in mind when making your choice but don't select a provider on the basis it not "O2" as the others are likely to do it. My understanding is only Tesco have committed to no mid contract increases at this time.