Mobile Contract Lengths

Scootymad

Someone, please correct me if I'm wrong... but is there legislation in place to say mobile phone contracts can not be over a certain length?

TIA.

TadleyBaggie

Let me guess...you are couple of months into a 24 month contract and want to get out of it?

Mulder00

3 year contracts were banned by Ofcom a few years ago, they cannot be longer than 2 years.

Scootymad

I thought I was correct in that. Do you know when that was put into place, just out of interest?

Mulder00

May 2011. http://thenextweb.com/uk/2011/05/26/3-year-mobile-contracts-now-banned-in-the-uk-1-year-contracts-now-mandatory/

NFH

Mulder00 wrote: »

3 year contracts were banned by Ofcom a few years ago, they cannot be longer than 2 years.

Actually this ban on >24-month contracts was instigated by the European Commission, not by Ofcom, even if Ofcom now enforces it in the UK. The European Commission's next proposal, according to Article 28(2) of a proposed directive, is:

Consumers, and other end-users unless they have otherwise agreed, shall have the right to terminate a contract with a one-month notice period, where six months or more have elapsed since conclusion of the contract. No compensation shall be due other than for the residual value of subsidised equipment bundled with the contract at the moment of the contract conclusion and a pro rata temporis reimbursement for any other promotional advantages marked as such at the moment of the contract conclusion. Any restriction on the usage of terminal equipment on other networks shall be lifted, free of charge, by the provider at the latest upon payment of such compensation.

Buzby

This is only relevant to consumer contracts - business contracts are not affected.

Scootymad

So, here is a scenario.

A colleague of mine upgraded his mobile phone with Vodafone, in April 2011. It was a 6 month early upgrade, which means total new contract length would come to 30 months... Can Vodafone still enforce this full length?

WTFH

Scootymad wrote: »

So, here is a scenario.

A colleague of mine upgraded his mobile phone with Vodafone, in April 2011. It was a 6 month early upgrade, which means total new contract length would come to 30 months... Can Vodafone still enforce this full length?

OK, so you're trying to find a way out of your contract early?
Nope, you're not signed up to a 30 month contract as such, you signed up to a 24 month extension to your old contract, based on you getting that nice shiny new phone you wanted.

But unless you've got your dates wrong, 30 months from April 2011 would be September 2013, i.e. 2 months ago, so you can get another shiny new phone now.

WTFH

NFH wrote: »

Actually this ban on >24-month contracts was instigated by the European Commission, not by Ofcom, even if Ofcom now enforces it in the UK. The European Commission's next proposal, according to Article 28(2) of a proposed directive, is:

Consumers, and other end-users unless they have otherwise agreed, shall have the right to terminate a contract with a one-month notice period, where six months or more have elapsed since conclusion of the contract. No compensation shall be due other than for the residual value of subsidised equipment bundled with the contract at the moment of the contract conclusion and a pro rata temporis reimbursement for any other promotional advantages marked as such at the moment of the contract conclusion. Any restriction on the usage of terminal equipment on other networks shall be lifted, free of charge, by the provider at the latest upon payment of such compensation.

Another ill-thought-out vote winner, looks like a good deal for consumers but ultimately means higher prices for those of us who aren't interested in upgrading every 6 months or screwing people over, instead some of us just want a good, reliable service and are happy to pay for it.

It's all about people not taking responsibility for their own decisions or their own money, then wanting laws to sort out their stupidity.

A far more intelligent law would be this:

MikeWhite

WTFH wrote: »

Another ill-thought-out vote winner, looks like a good deal for consumers but ultimately means higher prices for those of us who aren't interested in upgrading every 6 months or screwing people over, instead some of us just want a good, reliable service and are happy to pay for it.

It's all about people not taking responsibility for their own decisions or their own money, then wanting laws to sort out their stupidity.

A far more intelligent law would be this:

A deinite +1 from me!