Consumer law

mjgreen60

Hi there

Just wondered if anyone knows of any examples of consumer law where something is not strictly included in a contract but by it having been included anyway for a number of years it can be assumed to be included?

The circumstance I am thinking of is O2 suddenly stopping free calls to the Isle of Man. Whilst their contract doesn't strictly cover these calls, they have been free for a number of years.

Many thanks

mj

unholyangel

Is the contract binding on you? Was it stated anywhere at all that the calls were free on the price plan?

In my experience, price plans are detailed to tell you where you get free calls so if its not listed, its possibly been a mistake. Especially if literature they do have states a charge for the calls.

mjgreen60

Hi

Thanks for reply.

Slightly confusing as far as the contract goes as it says free call to UK for numbers starting in 01,02 and 03. The number starts in 01 but the Isle of Man is not strictly in the UK!

My main argument however would be that the calls have always been free and I checked when I first took my contract about 4 years ago and the calls were free.

Thanks

mj

wealdroam

mjgreen60 wrote: »

My main argument however would be that the calls have always been free and I checked when I first took my contract about 4 years ago and the calls were free.

Contracts do change.

Usually, a company will advise you that a change is due to take place in (say) three months time.
They will also say if you do nothing then you will have deemed to accepted the change.
If you thought the change would have a detrimental effect, then you should have said so at the time the change was proposed.

Did you receive advance notice of the change?

Before the change, did you use your free minutes to call the Isle of Man?
If so, did you object to the change in a timely manner?

whatmichaelsays

You can usually argue that the contract changes are 'materially detremental' but it is not an easy argument to have - many suppliers tend to argue this point.

To do this, you would have to demonstrate that the changes to the contract would leave you significantly worse off. In your case, you would have to demonstrate that you make a reasonable amount of calls to the IOM.

Like I say though, don't think that this will be an easy argument to have.

WTFH

wealdroam wrote: »

Did you receive advance notice of the change?

AFAIK, the change has been announced recently, but comes into force from 4/12/13.

ILW

Are you allowed to leave the contract before the changes?

WTFH

ILW wrote: »

Are you allowed to leave the contract before the changes?

Given that the OP has stated that they started the contract 4 years ago then they would just need to give a month's notice, so yes, they could leave before the changes.

mjgreen60

Thanks for all the replies.

Whilst I have been with O2 for 4 years I just upgraded a few weeks ago so entered a new contract. As said above the changes were just announced. Part of their contract says that you can exit the contract without forfeit if they make changes which would vary the amount you pay per month by greater than 10%. In my case this is certainly the situation.

However it is complicated by their wording of what is and isn't included in the contract. 01 numbers are free but the Isle of Man isn't part of the UK, despite the fact calls there have always previously been included in the free calls bundle.

I've spoken to CS to terminate the contract but they said that it wasn't allowed.

Just want to know exactly what my rights are before I escalate it to their higher levels complaints.

Thanks once again

mj

frugal_mike

I'm sure I remember reading recently that any increase in price beyond inflation (other than tax rises) had been deemed materially detrimental. Unfortunately I have a feeling this ruling will not be in effect in time to help your situation. I think I read it on MSE so it may be worth trying to find the article to see if it helps you.

pmduk

You might find it helpful to calculate precisely how much this would have cost you in each of the last 6 months. If it does increase your bills by the 10% then press the company further via the complaints process, It's very unlikely that the front-line customer service will have the authority, so I'd stick to writing.