length of time companies must keep verbal contracts for?

burntbreadman

I'm trying to find out how long companies must keep verbal contracts for so I can request a transcript of the telephone call.I'm ms there an act of law where theu must keep it for a period of time?

An overview of what's happened. My parents are with Bt on a line rental businesses line and wanted broadband. Due to my having diffulties understanding more complex terminology, the contract was made in a three way call.(as i don't live at home)
It turns out that all the operative at the time just added broadband to the package. Rather that what I agreed to (an all inclusive package) I kept notes of the call so know the exact details of what was agreed to.

Overall if will cost an extra £50 a quarter plus any phone calls on top (I agreed that 500min was inclusive in the package)

Im more than certain that I have been missold and would like to request for a transcript of that telephone call. I even have the date and precise time the call was made.

Admittedly a copy of the contract which differs to what was agreed to on the phone was sent. But due to me living away and my parents not been 100% literate it was largely filed and ignored.

What should I do next ?
Any help would be appreciated.

HappyMJ

Read the written contract. The written contract trumps any verbal contract.

bod1467

Is the contract your parents' or yours?

You (or they) can raise a Subject Access Request on BT for a copy of all data held about you (them), including copies or transcripts of phone calls. BT are allowed to charge up to £10 to service the request.

bod1467

HappyMJ wrote: »

Read the written contract. The written contract trumps any verbal contract.

In general, yes. But not always.

bris

Wouldn't matter now what was said, if the written contract was sent after the call then the written one (or last) takes precedence.

Same can be said for a written contract, you can call up and ask for changes as some often do and whats verbally agreed also takes precedence so it can work either way.

So in effect the written contract doesn't necessarily trump a verbal contract, just the last thing that was agreed.

wealdroam

And just to add to what Bris has said, you parents appear to have agreed to the 'revised' written contract by filing it away and continuing to use the service.

WTFH

It's also not quite as straight forward if they are on a business contract rather than a personal one.

Is there a reason why they are on a business contract?

burntbreadman

Thanks for the responses.
The contract is in my parents name as I was speaking on behalf of them on a threeway call.
They are on a business line as it's on a business premises. I would have changed it as they don't need the business perks. However the deal they offered by keeping the business line worked out better than going residential (plus it would save the hassle of moving the number across to a new contract....or so they said to me on the phone)

The written contract is vague in itself. There are no details on the cost, just the term length and the product name. " BT Business Total Broadband"

Surely by agreeing something verbally but receiving a different contract is miss selling of a contract or a bait and switch selling?
They knew prior to that that my parent are not literate enough to fully understand the small print (not that there is anything in detail to what they were signing up for
They also were fully aware that I do not live at home therefore could not confirm the contract was correct (hense the reason why the had to make a three way call)

Thank you bod1467 I'll raise a Subject Access Request with them.

Finally is there anything in the law which I can quote relating to "bait and switch selling" or is it totally legal as it's down to the consumer to make sure it hasn't been used on them.

Thanks again for the input.

WTFH

burntbreadman wrote: »

Finally is there anything in the law which I can quote relating to "bait and switch selling" or is it totally legal as it's down to the consumer to make sure it hasn't been used on them.

But they aren't consumers, they are a business on a business contract.

If they are not a business and want to go onto a residential contract, it's possible but it takes some time as it means switching from one part of BT to another, which requires a bit of effort.

Hintza

burntbreadman wrote: »

it was largely filed and ignored.

So to simplify:-

You got a verbal quote, which was followed by a written contract (which you disagree with) which was left ignored for however long.

By not dealing with it at the time and assuming it is 14 days or more since you received the contract it will be very difficult to argue you haven't accepted it. And as WTFH says it is a business contract.

So you really have no rights and your best bet will be to talk nicely to them and see what they can do to help. Make demands or mention fictitious rights and you will probably be ignored.

InsideInsurance

burntbreadman wrote: »

I'm trying to find out how long companies must keep verbal contracts for so I can request a transcript of the telephone call.I'm ms there an act of law where theu must keep it for a period of time?

Other than a couple of regulated industries there is no legal requirements for companies to keep customer correspondence at all let alone for a set period. Based on the law of limitations most would argue that 6-7 years after the conclusion of the contract would be a prudent timescale but inevitably his has costs and some may decide a much shorter timescale.

On the flip side having done a records retention project one bank kept almost everything forever and had massive bills from storage companies but on auditing what was there there was a mass of rubbish (include a crate of tea bags that they'd had in storage for over a decade) and almost no indexing in place so was impossible to find anything other than by guessing when it was likely sent off from which office and then manually going through all the boxes.

You can do a subject access request for a copy of the call/ a transcript. The issue is in part going to be that it was followed up by a written contract and that wasnt contested when it arrived