Contracts Question

Cardinal-Red

Hi all,

I have two long standing contracts with o2 - one for me and one for my partner.

Now o2 and I have always had a rocky relationship since the whole Genie Unlimited Texts farce a few years back but we maintained our contracts with them because their product was the cheapest on the market for our specific needs.

This time however they have broken the camel's back with their antics and some research showed that their competitors are now offering the same kind of product (text heavy packages) for reasonable rates.

So I've now signed up with T-Mobile (the reasons are long and boring) and happily using them.

However because of handset upgrades, the two contracts do not 'expire' (i.e. 12 months) until September and January 2006.

I decided because of the half price line rental that I could just absorb the cost of the remaining o2 tariff and get on with using my T-Mobile, just leaving the o2 one redundant.

So I wrote my letter giving notice to quit both accounts when their respective twelve months end, but was told that 'giving more than 30 days notice is not possible.'

I would disagree with this and am prepared to take it up with o2... I want to forget about them ASAP, not bother about remembering to send a letter 30 days beforehand.

I've read their T&Cs and it just says 30 days notice.

So, contractually, can I actually give more than the 30 days?

Thanks!

pin

If you are planning to leave the o2 one redundant, why don't you just pay off the remaining line rental and close the account?

Cardinal-Red

Cash flow mainly - and secondly those 500 free texts might still come in handy.

MissG_2

There should be no problem with gving more than 30 days notice, contact their retention team and advise you have sent a letter giving the 30 notice period.

Any probs, ask to speak with a manager and request they action your request and CONFIRM this in writing.

Arkwright

You could always put a reminder in your phone, providing you have this nfacility. I do this to claim cash back and things.

Cardinal-Red

Arkwright wrote:

You could always put a reminder in your phone, providing you have this nfacility. I do this to claim cash back and things.

It wouldn't be difficult to remember to do this.

I just dispute that I'm not able to give more than 30 days notice.

matrix999

Sell the O2 Sim Cards to someone, ie transfer ownership of the contract to someone else. People pay good money for a tariff like that believe it or not. Check out e-bay for some hints and tips.

I seen recently an Orange Everyday 50 Sim only sell on E-bay for well over £100.

malolo

If they accepted the notice at this moment in time the onus would then be on them to remember and cancel your contract which would mean doing a job which technically isn't theirs... no doubt if they forgot to cancel there'd be another dispute which would be more serious than this one.

I can understand why it's just 30 days that they want as it could become ridiculous with people giving notice to cancel their contracts on the day that they actually sign them.

If I were you I'd just put the reminder in my phone and write it on a calendar too for good measure

Cardinal-Red

matrix999 wrote:

Sell the O2 Sim Cards to someone, ie transfer ownership of the contract to someone else. People pay good money for a tariff like that believe it or not. Check out e-bay for some hints and tips.

I seen recently an Orange Everyday 50 Sim only sell on E-bay for well over £100.

But would I not still be liable if that person defaulted?

An interesting proposal certainly!

Cardinal-Red

malolo wrote:

If they accepted the notice at this moment in time the onus would then be on them to remember and cancel your contract which would mean doing a job which technically isn't theirs... no doubt if they forgot to cancel there'd be another dispute which would be more serious than this one.

I can understand why it's just 30 days that they want as it could become ridiculous with people giving notice to cancel their contracts on the day that they actually sign them.

If I were you I'd just put the reminder in my phone and write it on a calendar too for good measure

Surely you're not suggesting though that when I give thirty days notice, they wait thirty days and then 'remember' that I asked to be cancelled?

There must be a computer system in place on which they place the cancellation pending the expiry of the notice period.

If that system only allows 30 days notice, then is that really Ok/fair/legal?

carmenes82

i) To suggest that you can't send your letter to O2 now because they might forget is just rubbish- how many millions of pounds do you think they have spent on computer systems ensuring customers pay on time? I'm fairly confident these same wondrous machines can remember to cancel a contract too.

ii) '30 days notice'- this is poorly drafted by whoever 02's lawyers are. It is standard practice to say 'at least 30 days notice' in this situation since it is not practicable for every user to write a letter on the day and send it (which, by the way, would technically be late as you have to add 48 hours for posting).

iii) I'd send the letter now via recorded delivery keeping a copy for yourself. If they forget to cancel the contract, they haven't got a leg to stand on. After all, they acknowledged receipt of your notice when they received the recorded delivery.

Hope that helps.

Car.