Issue with O2 contract

anowar999

I had iPhone 4s contract of 24 months of about £35/month with O2. Contract finished in January 2014. I thought it will be converted to Pay as you go automatically. I realized in February that they are still charging me about £35. They should charge me only for the tariff not for the phone. I called and asked for a refund. They did not give me any refund. Their terms says that the contract will automatically be a monthly rolling contract after the contract period, which is fair enough. I have spoken to one of the customer service person and manager, requested to cancel my account straight away. Later on after that I requested a PAC code to transfer to a different network. However I did not transfer. I realized today they they are still charging me about £35/month. I called asked for refund, they said they cant refund. I only made 12 calls, 7 text, 22MB internet. Should they charge me £35?
=> Once I have requested to cancel the account and given notice, this means the account will be cancelled after the notice period or converted to pay as you go. After that If I call and request for a PAC code, why did they make it a rolling contract again without my CONSENT? Is this right?

JJ_Egan

They are not charging for the phone .
Tariff rolls on every 30 days .They do not convert to PAYG .
If you did not cancel the contract then its rolling until you do .
PAC is not a cancellation .

anowar999

Thanks for your reply.
I know PAC is cancellation.
=> Once I have requested to cancel the account and given notice, this means the account will be cancelled after the notice period or converted to pay as you go. After that If I call and request for a PAC code, why did they make it a rolling contract again without my CONSENT? Is this right?

ZhugeEX

I can see the confusion here.

1- 24 months is the minimum term, not a cut off point. You expected the 24 month contract to cut off after 24 months but this will not happen on O2 or any network. As you now know the T&C state the contract rolls over on a 30 day basis till you take action and make it SIM Only or cancel the contract.

2. When you cancelled the contract you rang back to get a PAC. These are effectively two different things. Requesting the PAC overrides the cancellation and now you have to USE the PAC to actually cancel the contract. So because you didn't use the PAC and go to another network your contract goes back to it's 30 day rolling state.

It's an easy mistake to make but it should have been told to you when you requested the PAC. I'd ask for a copy of both calls and see if they did tell you how the PAC works. Only if they didn't tell you or told you the cancellation would still go ahead (or something else wrong) then you would have a leg to stand on and be able to claim the money back for the months.

But from where I'm sitting O2 have done nothing wrong. Unfortunately it was confusion that has led to you being in this situation.

And also remember, just because you only use 12 minutes doesn't mean O2 should charge you less. You signed up for a £35pm contract.

I'll repeat one more time (as i just saw your second post). Asking for a PAC DOES NOT cancel the contract. Only using the PAC cancels the contract.

robbies_gal

as z says only using it will cancel the contract not just requesting it

its good youve noticed it some peoppe seem t take another year then somehow realise theyve still got a running contract

just pay up and leave

Herongull

I wouldn't be surprised if they "forgot" to tell you that requesting a PAC without using it retracts a cancellation.

It is counter-intuitive unless you know or it is brought to your attention.

Quite a few people will cancel and be told that their notice to cancel is recorded and accepted. Then a week later, they think of asking for a PAC. Then subsequently decide not to use it.

Then a few months later they find that money is still be deducted and their contract is somehow not cancelled. They phone up to query this and are told that asking for a PAC but not using will magically retract a previously accepted cancellation. Very convenient for the phone company. A cancellation should be a cancellation unless the customer explicitly retracts it.

Otherwise the phone company could have other secret codes - perhaps if you phone up on a Tuesday this also magically retracts a cancellation? Perhaps phoning before 10am magically extends the minimum period by another year?

I suspect that failing to use a PAC = cancellation is retracted would not be upheld if tested in court (unless the customer was informed or it was very clearly spelt out in the T&Cs)

Techhead_2

Herongull wrote: »

I wouldn't be surprised if they "forgot" to tell you that requesting a PAC without using it retracts a cancellation.

It is counter-intuitive unless you know or it is brought to your attention.

Quite a few people will cancel and be told that their notice to cancel is recorded and accepted. Then a week later, they think of asking for a PAC. Then subsequently decide not to use it.

Then a few months later they find that money is still be deducted and their contract is somehow not cancelled. They phone up to query this and are told that asking for a PAC but not using will magically retract a previously accepted cancellation. Very convenient for the phone company. A cancellation should be a cancellation unless the customer explicitly retracts it.

Otherwise the phone company could have other secret codes - perhaps if you phone up on a Tuesday this also magically retracts a cancellation? Perhaps phoning before 10am magically extends the minimum period by another year?

I suspect that failing to use a PAC = cancellation is retracted would not be upheld if tested in court (unless the customer was informed or it was very clearly spelt out in the T&Cs)

Its not part of the Terms and Conditions, its the Ofcom regulation and part of the porting process that Operators must adhere to (for consumer contracts).

There are enough warnings given, (its even on the the automated message when you ask for a PAC). I doubt very much a court would overturn it.

MikeWhite

Techhead wrote: »

Its not part of the Terms and Conditions, its the Ofcom regulation and part of the porting process that Operators must adhere to (for consumer contracts).

There are enough warnings given, (its even on the the automated message when you ask for a PAC). I doubt very much a court would overturn it.

Certainly true in my experience. Every PAC I've requested has bee provided with very clear guidance that if I don't use it the contract will continue...
There are exceptions to every rule, though, so they say.