Taking O2 to small claims court

jahman

Hi All,

Apologies if this is the wrong board but I'm looking for a bit of advice re. taking O2 to small claims court.

In a nutshell, I have had simply shocking customer service from O2 which they themselves have admitted. I went through months of grief trying to resolve numerous problems which they caused with the management of my account, initial discout tariff, direct debit and the phone itself. This amounted to many hours of my time spent dealing with them rather than working at my business.

I went through the O2 complaints procedures all the way up to High Level Complaints but their offer of compensation was inadequate to my mind considering the trouble they had caused me. I was left with no choice but to take them to small claims court. In fact I'd been told by one of the HLC staff to do this and they'd probably settle out of court.

I have issued proceedings in the form of an invoice for my time and O2 has offered to pay half of my claim. I'm still not happy with this. They say that the contract I signed has a clause stating that they are not responsible for any losses in terms of time, out of pocket expenses etc. I think that this is an unfair contract term.

I would like to know if anyone has actually gone to court against O2 and won. Whether it's advisable to stand up to them in court or just take the money offered.

Thanks in advance.

jahman

elljay20

it depends. what have they offered you as compensation?

jahman

It amount to around £1500 out of a claim for nearly £3000. I know that would probably sound like a great offer to a lot of people but I pay them > £100 per month in call charges etc., and have lost many hours of valuable time over more than a year.

Cheers,

jahman

elljay20

jahman wrote: »

It amount to around £1500 out of a claim for nearly £3000. I know that would probably sound like a great offer to a lot of people but I pay them > £100 per month in call charges etc., and have lost many hours of valuable time over more than a year.

Cheers,

jahman

i would take it on the condition that they also gave you a pac code. that way you are getting out of the contract early. if i were you i would deal with a shop for your next contract. that way they can be dealing with all these problems for you.

jahman

elljay20 wrote: »

i would take it on the condition that they also gave you a pac code. that way you are getting out of the contract early. if i were you i would deal with a shop for your next contract. that way they can be dealing with all these problems for you.

I did buy the phone from an O2 shop. The service there was even more appalling than that from O2 direct. In fact, I think the shop helped to cause many of the initial problems.

I'm interested to know if anyone is aware of someone having defeated this "no liability" clause in the O2 contract or indeed any other contract from a supplier.

Cheers,

jahman

elljay20

only if they made your actual LINE unavailable.

knighty1

i'd just go as far as you could with it ,but i hate o2.they ruined my life for 2 years,i managed to escape my contract half way through 3rd year,,they are a total disgrace,,,,,and customer service,well don't even go there,,,,,,,good luck mate,let us know how u get on...x

matrix999

jahman wrote: »

I went through months of grief trying to resolve numerous problems which they caused with the management of my account, initial discout tariff, direct debit and the phone itself. This amounted to many hours of my time spent dealing with them rather than working at my business.

Tell us more about what actually went wrong, you talk about the management of your O2 account?? What did they do wrong? The inital discount, what was that for? Direct Debit's are covered by your bank of building society, if a mistake is made your entitled to an immediate full refund. What was the problem with the phone?

HugoSP

It all depends on howa court would value your lost time and out of pocket expenses.

In certain situations courts can overrule a no losses clause in a contract if they find that the company has been particularly slack, or that the problems caused could have been forseen and dealt with internally and circumstances beyond their control did not play a part.

It seems that if they are offering you £1500 out of a £3k claim, they know something is up. If you take it from here and the courts award you the full amount then costs will probably be awarded against them as well. However, if a court were to decide that the £1500 was reasonable, you may get hammered for their costs, despite winning the case!

knighty1

well in the 1st year they managed to screw the payments up a few times,,charging for calls that were free....and mucking up the direct debit bit,as in forgetting to change payment or credit to correct amount.then i styaed with them and as a reward got 50%minutes and texts free.and a reduction of £10 to my contratc.thought great.nope..first they argued i never got the offer.then they threatened court action if i didnt pay,,,i got credits left right and center eventually and it worked out around month 6 or 7 of the 2nd year.and when it came to 3rd year,yes i know why go through it all again and they promised that 1-would have no mess ups,2-can keep my number free for life plus 20 minutes and 100 texts free for life,if i didnt upgrade.3-or 1000texts and 200 mins any network plus a phone 12 month contract for £15.00 a month....never got the free number or texts when left eventually,never got my offer as was told i was lying .and wasnt offered it.got phone calls applogising and i did get it offered,but it was like anytime someone phoned to correct it and kiss my !!! the next person undone it all...so i gave up,and left them and bought myself out of my contract..<<<wat a mug.but you live and learn...

msmoneypeny

hiya,
sorry to act bit thick but in your last note you mentioned o2 offered to let you keep your number for life....why would you not be able to keep number???