Well that's a kick in the nuts....

AngryDog

thegolfingdog wrote: »

so i wrote to a1 last week via email and have not had a reply

confused!

Thats because you need to send it in writing, not email.

ridgers84

thegolfingdog wrote: »

how did you get on with this mate?

ive had the exact same letter today and worried sick now

So the update is....

I sent a couple more emails, they threatened passing my details on to a third party. I basically said I would be happy to dispute this in court and that because I consider this matter still in dispute, any third party I had contact with would be told the same thing. I had a couple of replies back, the last being on 3rd July 2014 which stated:

Dear ****** *******

I am emailing you to confirm receipt of your email and to advise you that we take on board your comments, however our position still remains the same at this point.

Haven't heard anything back since...

matttye

You have no argument. You agreed to their terms and their terms are that because you ended your airtime contract early, you must now either pay off the handset or send it back.

This is entirely reasonable. The way that their business model works is that T-Mobile or another network pays them on completion of the minimum term of the airtime contract (or pays them earlier than that but recoups the money if you don't finish the airtime contract). You did not complete the minimum term, so they don't get any money. You agreed when you signed up that you would pay when they did not get paid by the network.

You might think that because you've paid off your contract, you shouldn't have to pay anything, but that has nothing to do with BuyMobiles. You have only paid T-Mobile; they didn't see any of the money you paid to T-Mobile. They are, as they say, now at a loss.

It's not worth compromising a mortgage application when you're entirely liable for the money. There's no point in going to court because you will surely lose. It's a waste of everyone's time and money.

Either pay or send the phone back.

matttye

FireWyrm wrote: »

Not unless they can prove it and show that they explicitely made you aware of this and drew your attention to their Ts&Cs. As far as you are concerned, your 'contract' is with T-Mobile.



No. You were completely unaware of this outfit and how and where they connect to T-Mobile. Nowt to do with you.



No, it really isnt. You bought out of your 'contract' with your creditor by paying the outstanding total. End of.



Boo hoo



Ah..now we get to the nub of it (in bold). That's their problem, not yours. T-Mobile supplied you with a contract for a handset and airtime. You paid it off. The fact that T-Mobile have taken money BACK from BuyMobiles is nothing to do with you.



You did. Tell them to speak to their customer T-Mobile who 'bought' the phone from them and supplied it to you as part of your 'contract'



Not your problem. You have paid the only contract you had...with T-Mobile. What happened consequently is nothing to do with you.



And if you had them, you would have read them...since you didnt and were evidently completely unaware of this ad-hoc arrangement with BuyMobiles, they can prove it in court.



Yes. That is the definition of a contract...stupid woman.



No. You have bought it. You paid the contract...although, frankly for this much hassle, I might be inclined to do just that. Not necessarily in good order either.



Do you now. Well, you're going to be sadly disappointed.




Not your concern and frankly, i would be DEMANDING an explanation from T-Mobile as to why their supplier is chasing YOU for money that should have been paid by THEM.



The ombudsman and trading standards at a first guess.

If the OP had ordered the phone from T-Mobile, I would agree with you, but he quite clearly ordered the phone from BuyMobiles on a T-Mobile airtime contract.

This means that he is subject to the BuyMobiles t&cs.

ridgers84

Ok Mattye, a couple of things... I haven't ended my airtime contract I simply paid off all the money that was owed on said contract, according to my credit file the contract is still active and satisfactory. So, as I haven't ended my contract early why should I have to pay. The contract is still running but is just fully paid up.

matttye

ridgers84 wrote: »

Ok Mattye, a couple of things... I haven't ended my airtime contract I simply paid off all the money that was owed on said contract, according to my credit file the contract is still active and satisfactory. So, as I haven't ended my contract early why should I have to pay. The contract is still running but is just fully paid up.

That usually causes the contract to end and you will stop being able to use your phone unless you switch to another plan.

Or are you saying you'll be able to use your phone for the next 6 months without paying any more money? I doubt that that's the case because monthly bills are not fixed; they're dependent on many calls you make, messages you send, data you use etc. They would therefore not allow you to pay for 6 months and then not pay anything for 6 months.

Whenever I have paid early, it terminates the contract at the end of the next billing cycle.

AngryDog

I think a very simple point is being missed here.

The OP took out a contract via a 3rd party. This was at £x amount a month. The OP was paying this amount each month to T-Mobile as per the contract.

The OP then decided with a short while left on their contract, that they no longer wanted to continue with T-Mobile, so paid the REMAINDER of the contract up. This being the monthly payment x the months left + any early termination fee = amount paid to T-Mobile. This is the SAME amount that the OP would've paid (less any early termination fee) to T-Mobile had they allowed the contract to run its natural course.

Now unless there was any "end of contract payment" to be made to Buymobiles, then the OP has no case to answer, as they have paid all monies owed. If Buymobiles are owed any money, it is owed to them by T-Mobile.

thegolfingdog

just to let you all know,

i won my battle with A1comms and now no longer need to pay them £396

ridgers84

thegolfingdog wrote: »

just to let you all know,

i won my battle with A1comms and now no longer need to pay them £396

How did you do it?!

ridgers84

Hi guys

I just wanted to update this thread. So after no correspondance from these people for months, I today get the email pop up in my inbox...

'FINAL LETTER OF DEMAND PURSUANT TO THE CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES 1998 AND ANNEX B OF THE PRACTICE DIRECTION-PRE ACTION CONDUCT.

Dear Mr **************,

As advised in previous correspondence we have been notified by your service provider T-Mobile that you have been disconnected. We have tried to contact you on numerous occasions regarding this (by email, letter and/or by phone) however you have not resolved the matter with us. We would now like to give you one last opportunity to resolve the matter with us before your account is passed to a third party debt collection agency or considered for court action. As a result of the disconnection, in accordance with our terms and conditions, which are fully particularised below, we now require you to pay to us the following sum, for the products provided;

Amount due £468.00 or Return of Goods
We accept payment by;
Credit/debit card – Please call 0345 413 6212 (Monday-Friday, 9 – 5.30pm, option 2)
BACS – Please use the following details;
A1COMMS LTD
Account Number – 81539007 Sort Code – 405162
Please ensure that you use your order number (2885468) as a reference as we can’t track your payment without it. Please call/email us once you have set this up.
Cheque – Made payable to A1COMMS LTD. Please write your order number on the back of the cheque.

Goods can be returned to the address below;
A1comms Ltd (F.A.O The Collections Team)
Contract House
Turnpike Business Park
Alfreton
DE55 7AD
We would strongly advise that you use Royal Mail special delivery to post your goods to us. This will enable you to track the delivery and cover you for any loss or damage whilst in transit. If the goods arrive damaged we may not be able to accept them to settle the debt. Please ensure that you package the goods securely and include a cover note explaining the reason for return.

The goods must be in good condition and in full working order. You have 7 days from the date of this letter/email to return the products failing which we will proceed to recover from you the cost of the products as particularised below. Assuming you fail to return the products in good working order within 7 days, it is our policy to provide you with one opportunity to settle the debt prior to legal action being commenced. This letter is therefore being sent pursuant to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 and in accordance with Annex B of the Practice Direction – Pre Action Conduct. We should highlight that should you fail to pay pursuant to this letter within 7 days (assuming you haven’t returned the products in good working order) we will either commence court proceedings or alternatively we may pass the debt on to a third party which will then in turn commence a court claim to recover the monies due. This correspondence should therefore be taken seriously.

1 The Debt
1.1 As stated you owe a total of £468.00, to us. Please note should payment not be forthcoming and a claim is issued we reserve the right to claim statutory interest at a rate of 8% in respect of each of the amounts from their due dates following our payment requests, to the date of actual payment.
2 The Claim
2.1 In anticipation of forthcoming legal proceedings (assuming the goods are not returned or paid for pursuant to the terms and conditions below), we will summarise our position below.
2.2 You entered into a contract with us when ordering the phone and tariff from our website. After you placed an order you will have received an email from us acknowledging that we have received your order. Once Goods were dispatched to you, having passed security checks, you will have been sent by email a Dispatch Confirmation. This is when the contract was formed between you and A1 Comms Limited.
2.3 By proceeding to confirm the order on our website you indicated agreement to our terms and conditions, a copy of which you are directed to on the website.
2.4 These terms and conditions note the following:
2.4.1 “By ordering goods you agree to be bound by these Terms...”
2.4.2 “If you purchase a Contract phone or Sim-Only we will often charge you less for those Goods than the amount we would charge if you were buying them without a Network Contract (the Retail Price). You acknowledge that us providing those Goods to you for free or at less than the Retail Price is conditional on you not downgrading your Tariff or ending your Network Contract during the Minimum Term.”
2.4.3 “Except in circumstances where you cancel your Contract and your Network Contract in accordance with clause 9, if your Network Contract ends before the end of the Minimum Term or if you downgrade your Tariff then:
2.4.4 Clause 4.6.1 - Within 7 days of the downgrade or end of the Network Contract you must:
(a) Pay us the difference between the price you paid for the Contract Phone or Sim-Only and a sum equal to the Retail Price including VAT, plus the market value of the Promotional Products plus VAT; or
(b) If the contract Phone or Sim-Only and any associated Promotional Products are in good working order, fully functioning and intact you can return them to us”;
2.4.5 Clause 4.7 – “If you do not make the payment required under clause 4.6.1 then we will be entitled to take back the Contract Phone or Sim-Only and any associated Promotional Products and you must return them to us as soon as we ask you to do so”.
2.4.6 Clause 4.8 – “If you fail to return any Contract Phone and Promotional Products under clause 4.7 we will commence proceedings to recover the cost of the Goods from you including but not exclusive to invoicing you for the sums owed”.
2.5 As a result, you are clearly in breach of the contract. As stated, on the basis that the goods are not returned within 7 days pursuant to the terms and conditions, the total amount due currently amounts to £468.00. Please note should proceedings be issued interest can be claimed at the statutory rate of 8% from the date each amount fell due to the date at which settlement is received.
2.6 Payment of the Goods can be made using debit or credit card by contacting us on the telephone number 0345 413 6212.
3 The Next Steps
3.1 Should the goods not be returned nor payment made in full, we will be left with no other option than to commence legal proceedings in 14 days or pass the debt to a third party to recover payment. In the event that proceedings are issued, we or the third party will seek to statutory interest, and seek to recover any legal costs of bringing the claim in addition to the balance discussed above. Any legal proceedings could result in a county court judgment being entered against you which if unpaid, could impact on your ability to raise credit in the future.
3.2 Finally, we are obliged to advise you that you may wish to take independent legal advice in respect of this matter. Free independent advice and assistance can be obtained from several organisations. If you require any advice on this please contact us for details.

We look forward to hearing from you as a matter of urgency.'

Yours sincerely
Collections Team

Since this all started I have sought legal advice and I will be fighting it if that's what it comes to. From my legal advice I have found I have done nothing wrong, the issue lies between T-Mobile taking their fee back from buymobiles.net - They simply refuse to contact T-Mobile to ask for the fee (which has been taken back in error) so they are taking it out on the little guy!

Will keep this post updated as and when...