Supanet Nightmare!!

aimzee84

Hi!
We've been customers of Supanet for 12 years (started with DialUp and then moved to broadband). We've never agreed to a new contract but every now and then they put the monthly DD up by £1-£2, so we call, they say it was an error on their part, and they put the price back down.
The last time we did this was in July 2013 when the DD went from £14.99 to £16.99. I called up and was told that they weren't sure why it had increased as we hadn't gone over our usage allowance, so they reduced it back down to £14.99.

We've just decided to take advantage of one of BTs offers, as we have our phoneline with them too, so called Supanet for our MAC code to switch.
Well, that is apparently being sent in the post...
In the meantime, I apparently have to pay £178.50 early termination fee for cancelling within the minimum term (which apparently is 24 months..), having been a customer for 12 years I asked how this could be possible, and was told that during the July phonecall I had agreed to a new contract! I did no such thing! My next DD is due on 7th January 2014 and I am worried they will try and take the full £178.50 from my account..
I was told by the adviser that she would listen to the phonecall and get back to me, which she of course hasn't done, but I have read that unless they can provide me with either a signed contract or a recording of me agreeing to the contract-stating all T&Cs and cancellation policies, then it is null and void.. I'm not sure how true this is?

Any help you can offer me would be greatly appreciated as I'm starting to panic now!!!

Thanks so much!

egrescrimp

If payment is via Direct Debit and they take the cancellation fee without your permission, just call your bank and have the direct debit payment recalled and then go through the supanet complaints procedure and during that time they cannot bill you for that cancellation fee until the compliant is resolved. They would have to then prove you agreed to the new contract and provide you with this proof, failing todo so should mean your cancellation fee is not applied (they may have some T&C's saying they don't have to provide proof), this is just what happened when I had a dispute with BT and I ended up having a £275 early termination fee waived after lodging a complaint.

Tommyt52

I'm sorry to say this, but you may have a fight on your hands. I, and many others have been through the same loop, and I believe that Supanet have a deliberate policy of lies, deceit, falsification and denial that must surely be illegal. There is almost no point talking to them, as they will subsequently deny everything, but of course, you have to continue the dialogue (once you get through their obviously ficticious wait times) . I would strongly urge you to contact OFCOM and the Ombudsman; they are both pathetic in their lack of action, but maybe they'll listen if enough people complain. Have a look for Supanet in reviewcentre.com, to see that you're not alone (but be warned, it won't make you feel any better). My question is, how does a company continue to operate with, at best, appalling morals, or more likely, fraudulent practices and NOBODY takes them on? I've been through OFCOM, IPSA, Citizens' advice, Watchdog, and others, but the deceit still goes on. I think the regulators really should be ashamed of not stopping these practices (with their management roots in the failed PC companies of Time, and Tiny, both renowned for sharp practices and poor service). I think it won't stop until some determined, and probably rich, individual takes them to court. Even if you think you are free of them, there are many people who find they are sent bills for fictitious services up to two years after they closed their account, or that Direct Debit payments are taken long after the service ceased. (I got a bill eight months after I'd moved house and switched both ISP and telephone number, so even though it was physically impossible for me to have used their service, they were still quoting download figures on the bill!). I don't have any words of condolence for you, I'm afraid, all I can say is keep complaining, and don't back down.

shadwell36

Same thing happened to me. During a marketing call my contract was renewed for one the same as I was on, this tied me in for 12 months. The words "are you happy to continue for another year" were used, when I replied "yes" this was the signal for them to renew my contract. At no point was it made clear to me that I was entering into a new contract!! A few months later I had another call saying my bb contract was due for renewal, when I queried this I was told they were trying to get everybody onto the new contracts!!!! (and therefore tie them in for 12 months). I received no confirmation this had happened, although they claimed that it had been sent by 1st class post. It was only when I called to get a better deal and mentioned that I might leave, I discovered the contract had been renewed!!. Ask for a copy of the recorded conversation (I suspect it does not exist). I stuck it out for a year and then left, taking the precaution of recording all calls to them. They have to give you your MAC code, whether you are in contract or not, within 5 days. Had to chase mine up after 6 days, finally got it by E-mail. Quote OFCOM rules to them. Supanet were recently fined £60,000 by OFCOM for "slamming" -- moving people onto their phone service without their consent. This is what you're dealing with I'm afraid. Good luck.

jobdone1

I have noticed that most company's are now adopting this kind of practise. I see this being the next big scandal being exposed. They trip up people by using choice words how that can warrant agreement of contract is beyond me.

shadwell36

Read somewhere this week that when a contract is renewed by phone, it should be made absolutely clear to the customer that this is happening; this won't stop Supanet though.

MataNui

As i keep saying. None of these companies are in the least bit honest. You should always assume they are trying to rip you off and act accordingly. That means:
If you send a setter, always send recorded delivery.
Try to use webchat, that way you can save the transcript.
If you phone them, always record the conversation yourself.
always repeat back what you believe you are agreeing to and get them to say 'yes'. That way since you will be recording it you will have evidence.

The problem with issues like above though is that if you dont pay they wont take it to court. They will just trash your credit rating and get a debt collection agency to send nasty letters. They have no actual power to enforce the debt but the black mark on your credit report will cause you problems for a long time. They wont take you to court because its very basic contract law. The onus is on them to prove a contract exists. If they have been dishonest then you can be 100% sure they wont be able to find any recordings of conversations etc so they would lose.

horriblehorace

I cancelled my contract with Supanet in June 2013 after being with them for 13 years. The cancellation was hard work and involved phone calls, emails and recorded delivery letters. After a lot of hassle they finally agreed. I moved to Talk Talk and cancelled the Supanet direct debit. Imagine my surprise/horror on checking my bank statement today to find that Supanet had taken £99.00 from my account by BCC. I phoned Supanet immediately and after being moved from pillar to post was told by a member of staff that the charge was for the 10 year old router that I had not returned. When I said that nobody had told me to return such an old router I was informed that it was in the "small print" of my original contract!!!AVOID THESE SHYSTERS AT ALL COSTS!

nelehb

Supanet are a bunch of crooks. I cancelled my account with them in November 2013 and had to pay £112.74 to get out of the contract. They have now charged me two further amounts of £129 and £31.08 (August 2014). When I challenged them about it they put me onto their 'account' line - which nobody answer after waiting for 30 mins. I called them again and they then said that the £129.00 was for the 11 year old router which I should have returned. They at no time asked me to return and they couldn't explain why they had also charged me £31.08. I have contacted the disputes department of my bank and they have refunded me the money - thank goodness. However, I feel extremely angry that they can get away with this - surely it is fraud to take money from an account after the account with them has been closed. I also put the cancellation of my account in writing, which they admitted to receiving. I have used another internet provider since I cancelled my account with them and have not used their services since that time. I would like to know if there is anything that can be done to stop these villains - I would happily return the money to the bank, if I could do anything to get my money back from them. I cannot understand, either, why the bank cannot stop them taking the money, even though I had informed them of the cancellation when I did it. Somebody should stop these criminals - does anybody know of anything that can be done against them?

macman

Did you cancel the DD once you paid what you believed was the final bill? If so, the bank is fully liable under the DD guarantee.

horriblehorace

They did the same to me and took £99.00 from my bank account at the end of June, 13 months after I had left them. On contacting them they said it was for the unreturned 10 year old router. I told them that what they had done was a criminal offence against The Theft Act 1978 and that if they did not refund my money within 28 days I would take legal action and report them to the police as well. They refunded me at the end of July!