O2 no longer to support BT Openzone

morrison1984

O2 are stopping free access by o2 customer to BT openzone hotspots.

Given that O2 have been marketing this feature for a long time and this was part of the decision for me to join O2 does it constitute a breach of contract?

NFH

morrison1984 wrote: »

O2 are stopping free access by o2 customer to BT openzone hotspots.

Given that O2 have been marketing this feature for a long time and this was part of the decision for me to join O2 does it constitute a breach of contract?

If O2 is removing this service before the end of your minimum contract period, then yes, you could expect some kind of discount on your monthly charge as a result of its withdrawal.

Before anyone claims incorrectly that BT Openzone is a "free" benefit, consider that O2 marketed access to BT Openzone as part of its services and also bear in mind Schedule 1 Regulation 20 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 .

morrison1984

Is that true even if the O2 terms and conditions state:

2.10 Unless specified otherwise in a Related Agreement, we can add to, change, substitute, or discontinue any Additional Services we provide at any time. We don’t guarantee any particular Additional Services will continue to be available.

Tony5101

Aren't they rolling out free access for everyone to their own wireless hotspots now instead? So one has been replaced with the other.
To be honest - I find that with the access that I have via Sky/Cloud & O2 free wifi & BT Openzone (via Orange - which is specifically part of the Panther tariff) - that my data usage has dropped dramatically when being out and about. Although I usually find that the BT Openzone is the slowest /most unreliable of the lot.

NFH

In the above quoted paragraph 2.10, I think O2 would have a hard time justifying that "Additional Services" comprises anything that is included at no additional charge within the monthly price for the service. If the intention of the paragraph is to allow O2 to remove such included benefits without compensation, then the paragraph would fall foul of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

NFH

Tony5101 wrote: »

To be honest - I find that with the access that I have via Sky/Cloud & O2 free wifi & BT Openzone (via Orange - which is specifically part of the Panther tariff) - that my data usage has dropped dramatically when being out and about.

I totally agree. I now view 3G data as a backup for when there's no wifi. I find wifi more responsive than 3G data even when the bandwidth is sometimes lower.

morrison1984

Tony5101 wrote: »

Aren't they rolling out free access for everyone to their own wireless hotspots now instead? So one has been replaced with the other.
To be honest - I find that with the access that I have via Sky/Cloud & O2 free wifi & BT Openzone (via Orange - which is specifically part of the Panther tariff) - that my data usage has dropped dramatically when being out and about. Although I usually find that the BT Openzone is the slowest /most unreliable of the lot.

I agree with all of this however there are a couple of key points to mention:
o2 wifi is free to everyone not just o2 customers where BT Openzone is not free to everyone.
There are 8000 o2 wifi hotspots. There are 4 million BT Openzone hotspots - If you believe the O2 marketing when they were promoting it as a perk.

gjchester

Also applies to anyone who used o2 as the carrier, so I assume GiffGaff, Tesco and so on that offered BT Wifi as the package....

Got a text on my Teso mobile earlier

robins66

I got a text from Tesco. The free unlimited BT Openzone access was one of the main reasons my husband and I went with Tesco Mobile. Spoke to them earlier and they have offered to increase our data allowance to 2GB. Asked 'what happens if we don't want to accept that?' and advised that we would have to pay the cost of the phone, which, since we both paid £100 upfront for the phones, I don't understand what costs they are referring to. They also said they would probably be able to waive the termination fees.
Dilemma!:(

indesisiv

I can't see you being able to cancel your contract because of this.
Although it would be nice to actually come across a BT openzone wifi. I have never seen one lol.

gjchester

robins66 wrote: »

Asked 'what happens if we don't want to accept that?' and advised that we would have to pay the cost of the phone, which, since we both paid £100 upfront for the phones, I don't understand what costs they are referring to.

The phone you have is unlikey to have cost £100, It was subsidised to give you the price of £100. Lets say it was an Iphone 4, they sell at £319 at Apple, so you got a subsidy of £219 on the phone. Thats what they are referring to.