Tmobile price increase

adamoneill88

Barnicle_Fiend wrote: »

Reply from Ofcom.

Quote:
Dear Mr XXXX,


Thank you for your email to Graham Howell about T-Mobile’s recent price increase. I work in Ofcom’s Consumer Contact Team and I have been asked to respond; as you raise a number of issues, for ease, I will address individually below:

Who did you commission to examine the terms and conditions?

Ofcom is aware of the issues you have raised and we have looked at the terms and conditions in question. However, your complaint appears to relate to how the terms and conditions have been applied rather than the terms themselves. The redress scheme for complaints of this nature is operated by CISAS. As such, we would encourage you (and other affected consumers) to escalate the complaint to CISAS, which is able to assess the complaint and reach an impartial decision.

Why was this not picked up?

Ofcom monitors its customer complaints data very closely in order to ensure that it can respond, as appropriate, to any developing issues.

Within this context, we are aware that many consumers want to be afforded greater protection from mid-contract price increases and we launched an in-depth review last year to look at this issue more closely. As part of that review we have been considering the adequacy of the current level of customer protection in this area.

Our consultation (which we launched in January of this year) consulted specifically on proposals to allow consumers to exit their contract penalty-free in the event of any price rise. That consultation has now closed and we are currently considering the responses we received. We will be publishing a statement in due course.

This is a very obvious mis-application of the T&Cs, how can consumers have confidence in the regulator to comprehend more complex issues?

As previously recommended, CISAS is the appropriate body to judge whether EE has complied with its terms and conditions or not. Ofcom itself cannot investigate individual complaints. As your complaint appears to relate to how the terms and conditions in question have been applied rather than the terms themselves, we would encourage you to exercise your right to take your complaint to CISAS, who will assess the complaint and reach an impartial decision.

Have you become too close to the industry to be effective?

Not at all. Ofcom acts with complete impartiality at all times in carrying out our principal duties to further the interests of citizens and consumers.

What action will OFCOM take now? Surely it has to be to give consumers the right to cancel their contracts without penalty as cancelling the price will not act a deterrent nor a punishment will it?

As aforementioned, CISAS is the appropriate body to consider your complaint and issue a decision it thinks is fair. CPs are bound by any decision that CISAS reaches.

On the general theme of mid-term price rises the OFT* rules are clear, yet OFCOM has taken no action – will you review that situation in light of this as “consultation” hardly seems an appropriate action of regulations have already been breached? Our consultation discusses the issue of transparency and marketing of contracts to consumers.

Our consultation on proposals to allow consumers to exit their contract penalty-free in the event of any price rise has now closed. We are currently considering the responses we received and will publish a statement in due course.

I hope this information proves useful.


Yours sincerely

Lauren Hillary
Consumer Contact Team

What a load of nonsense!

stoney73

Barnicle_Fiend wrote: »

Reply from Ofcom.

Quote:
Dear Mr XXXX,


Thank you for your email to Graham Howell about T-Mobile’s recent price increase.... bla-bla-bla....
Lauren Hillary
Consumer Contact Team

Just received this aswell. A great amount of waffle. Defensive waffle at that.

Edit: Has anyone had any progress with their Cicas Applications?

d123

stoney73 wrote: »

Just received this aswell. A great amount of waffle. Defensive waffle at that.

Edit: Has anyone had any progress with their Cicas Applications?

Other than the email saying a decision was on hold as T-Mobile had objected to the case being heard by CISAS and "The company’s objection has been escalated higher within CISAS", nothing yet, not even a reply to my request for further info.

stoney73

d123 wrote: »

Other than the email saying a decision was on hold as T-Mobile had objected to the case being heard by CISAS and "The company’s objection has been escalated higher within CISAS", nothing yet, not even a reply to my request for further info.

Basically sounds like its been referred to their chairman buddies, who will discuss it at the Saville Grill, and then sweep it all under the carpet.
Cynical I know.

d123

stoney73 wrote: »

Basically sounds like its been referred to their chairman buddies, who will discuss it at the Saville Grill, and then sweep it all under the carpet.
Cynical I know.

I did have a very similar thought, I suppose the outcome will show how impartial CISAS really is.

Wait and see time .

RandomCurve

shedder101 wrote: »

i have won

received a letter from EE today admitting to blocking my IMEI numbers

offering compensation payment in full for the replacement phones as well as clearing the cancellation of the contract. so i am free and clear of TM the two phones they blocked are now working OK so can be sold.

very happy today.... dont give up keep hammering it home fight for your rights.

Congratulations. :T

To save me time trawling through the post were you on a pre or post 2012 contract? And can you give a quick overview of what happened? - Thanks

RandomCurve

stoney73 wrote: »

Just received this aswell. A great amount of waffle. Defensive waffle at that.

Edit: Has anyone had any progress with their Cicas Applications?

Anybody got a brickwall I can borrow to bang my head against?

The Ofcom phrase in the MSE article reads:
"Telecommunications regulator Ofcom adds that it has examined EE's terms and conditions and says: "We consider the approach they [EE] have taken is reasonable and do not consider that we need to take further action."
Must be refering to the operation and EEs response of the clause and not the clause itself, yet now Ofcom is saying they can't comment on the operation of the clasue. So okay fair enough - I'll now ask them to comment on the clasue itself! See what waffle thay can come up with for that. And I'll call and ask to speak to "Mr I'm too important to respond to you little guys myself Graham" on Friday when I'm off work. And an email to my MP too. Won't do any good, but nice to think I'm a bit of thorn in their side!!! Actually if someone sends me a brickwall I may be able to get more sense out of it!
I think it is rellly funny that he all these bodies that are set up to "protcet the consumer" actually are there to protect the industry.

On a serious note can everyone who receives that email forwarded it to all the media outlets and watchdog etc (copy in Graham) and ask them if they think it adequately covers the points or if it is a master class in avoiding the question! I will once I receive my version.
And if you never sent the original email - you can still send it and the reply, just say you have seen this on a forum and you can't understand how the response in anyway addresses the questions asked.

Thanks

Lifes_Grand_Plan

Update from my end:

Ofcom:
After receiving their bull$hit e-mail about "we can't get involved in individual complaints so speak to CISAS and we will register your complaint also" I replied back to say "thanks for your response, however you completely ommited to respond to the part about T-Mobile breaching point 4C of their (Ofcom's) Approved Code of Practice for Complaints Handling which states " A CP must promptly issue a written Deadlock Letter when requested by a Complainant". That was 6 days ago and I have heard absolutely nothing since.

CISAS:
Since they rejected my case stating that the "price rise is a business decision which is not within the scope of the scheme" - despite me clearly saying that my complaint was about the breach of contract for not allowing me to cancel, NOT about the price rise. I then went back and again tried to clealy explain I was complaining about the breach of contract, not the price rise and mentioned RandomCurve's chat with Mr Jean-Marie saying that the complaints should be accepted on this basis.... again have heard absolutely nothing since, which is 5 full working days ago so by their own claims, they should have responded by now.

I don't know if they think they can ignore us and we will go away, or if they are just delaying all claims whilst D123's claim is escalated and they can get their story straight before they reject / accept the claims in bulk.

Is anyone else close to the 14 day timeframe for a response from T-Mobile? I guess they will use the same defence and CISAS will delay, but the only thing consistent with CISAS, T-Mobile and Ofcom is their inconsistency so we never know.

Barnicle_Fiend

I think the pertinent question is:

If Ofcom refuse to step in when t-mobile abuse their position in a way that affects thousands (millions?) of customers (i.e. deliberately twisting and misinterpreting their own t&c's for financial gain) then of course only a very small percentage of customers will take their case to the CISAS (due to the process being relatively long, opaque and complex).

Does that mean that Ofcom is, in effect, rewarding foul behaviour from networks by making it financially beneficial for them? (i.e. The network only looses a few customers and raises a huge amount of extra money from the majority by lieing & cheating customers).

d123

Lifes_Grand_Plan wrote: »

Is anyone else close to the 14 day timeframe for a response from T-Mobile? I guess they will use the same defence and CISAS will delay, but the only thing consistent with CISAS, T-Mobile and Ofcom is their inconsistency so we never know.

I'm sure Anna was only a few days behind me in the timescale, perhaps she had an unfavourable answer from CISAS and that's why she hasn't been back?

I've always been pretty sure it's going to be a 50/50 bet on outcome, all we can really do now is to wait and see. I'll post up any more responses from CISAS when they arrive.