Is this breach of contract from EE?

kiwie

I'm having a nightmare with EE.

I changed my contract to a Roaming Plan in February. Basically I get unlimited free calls and texts from certain overseas countries. When I changed I was told about a 250 pound deposit, but was told I was exempt from this (due to good credit rating I think). So I went ahead.

They subsequently text me saying I need to pay the deposit, I called up, explained what had previously been said, they agreed I don’t need to pay it and say they will sort it. It is ‘in dispute’ between cust serv and credit dept apparently. This has happened twice. Same tedious process each time.

Last week, without warning, they blocked my phone from making calls and texts. I'm in Australia, have no landline and so it's extremely hard to contact them. Only non-phone way I could find of contacting them on website was Twitter or Facebook. Used Twitter. It’s about this deposit again. They say I have to call Customer Services... But my phone is blocked...

I'm completely at the end of my tether. This is a matter of dispute between two of their departments. I've been told 3 times I don't need to pay it. And since I signed up to this contract on the assurance that I didn't need to pay it, I don't think I should have to if they change their minds.

Currently I am paying for a service I'm not receiving. Is this breach of contract on their part? Can I tell them I'm cancelling my Direct Debit and cancel the contract? What should I do next? Any advice gratefully received!

PS: This is the short version, have had other probs with their customer services, but have tried to keep it short and relevant. Can supply details if required!

gjchester

kiwie wrote: »

Currently I am paying for a service I'm not receiving. Is this breach of contract on their part?

It's always been possible you need to pay a deposit for roaming, can you not simply pay it, it is after all a deposit, it will sit there for a few months, then be used to pay your bills, you won't lose it. That may be a quicker option than trying to deal with the departments.

Is it a breech of contract, probably not, the contract will likely say that "you may be required to pay a deposit" The problem is a billing issue.

kiwie wrote: »

Can I tell them I'm cancelling my Direct Debit and cancel the contract? What should I do next? Any advice gratefully received!

You can cancel the DD but as this is a billing issue , charges will continue and if you don't pay them they'll move to recover the debt or sell it on to debt collectors, leaving negative reports on your credit file.

Have you considered it could be you have been cut off for other reasons, namely you've already run up a large bill and they've stopped it for that reason?

kiwie wrote: »

They say I have to call Customer Services... But my phone is blocked...

Twitter is not a secure way to contact them, they'll want to verify you are who you say you are. The number to call to talk to them is If you're abroad, call +44 7953 966 150 I appreciate it may not be free or cheap to do so, but that's probably what you'll need to do.

macman

Why don't you call CS on another phone?

kiwie

Thanks for your replies.

The issue with using another phone is that based on call charges and previous experience of call times, it'll cost me between 10 and 15 pounds. Also, I'll have to trek off down the street to a payphone and after a long day at work followed by getting a toddler to bed, this is not appealing! It's not impossible, but it is pretty unreasonable, given that this isn't my problem, it's an inter-departmental dispute at EE.

It's not another problem such as large bill run up, they have said via DM on Twitter it's the deposit and I've checked my online statement, no drama there.

I don't have a problem with the concept of a deposit. But whenever I phone, they say I don't need to pay it, and that is the basis upon which I took the contract on. Much as I would love to get them off my back by 'simply paying it', finding a 250 quid lump sum over and above what I've budgeted for phone use is easier said than done I'm afraid.

Tony5101

You could always call them and ask the advisor to call you straight back I guess? I know it's not the most convenient thing to do - but at least it could save you some money?
Have they cut your phone off completely or only stopped outgoing calls?

d123

You can call the UK from Australia for 1.5 Aus cents per minute.

For example:
http://www.callingcards.com/shopping/rate_table1.asp?GUID=431EE2D93678B74FBF14813F58EC2187

matttye

Could you not message them on Twitter asking their CS Dept. to call you? Or can you not receive calls eithers?

Anyway I'm pretty sure that them cutting you off after you being told you don't need to pay a deposit IS a breach of contract.

It's basically being cut off even though you're up to date with your phone bill.

Do you have written proof you've been told you don't need to pay a deposit? If you complain they'll probably just deny they told you that.

Herongull

You may be able to get out of your contract if they are not honouring what was agreed, but to do this you will have to down the formal complaint route and then to the ombudsman.

You should ask them to give you a copy of the recording of the phone conversations where they told you that you don't need to pay the deposit.

Bingolingo

What happened IS a breach of contract. However, in the grand scheme of things, it is not a fundamental breach of contract. Any remedy proposed by EE, or, even further down the line, the Ombudsman or other arbiter would likely be proportionate to the original breach. Some compensation, £50 or so, perhaps may be reasonable. Cancellation of the entire contract would not be.

I'm sure some phone contracts allow you to withhold payment of bills if you give notice to them and a reason why. Have a read of EE's terms to see if that may be a quicker route to compensation.

kiwie

Thanks everyone. Message received-stop whinging and just phone them!
So I did.

Explained the situation. She said she could see all the backing and forthing on the records but it wasn't clear from the documentation of the first call why I hadn't been charged the deposit. She said she had never had a situation where someone wasn't charged a deposit for a roaming contract and when she set one up, she had to have the deposit before commencing the contract. She said she would escalate it to a manager and get a definitive answer (been through this twice already).

I said if the manager was insistent that a deposit was needed then I would consider that breach of contract and would want to terminate the contract. She said she could understand why I felt that but that I couldn't prove they had said I didn't have to pay it in the first call. I said they couldn't prove they said I did have to pay it, and if according to her you normally don't start a contract without the deposit, then that was proof in itself of my position.

She agreed to deduct this month's line rental from my bill and credit my account with ten pounds which was what I reckoned the call cost me.

We left it with her escalating it to her manager and I later got a text with her saying the team leader was investigating it and she'd get back to me asap.

So we'll see what happens. Will definitely ask for the call recordings and for everything in writing (although they've said they'd put stuff in writing before and then just not done.)