Please help: Disputing Contract Cancellation Fee

bluecat78

Firstly hello everyone, I'm new to this forum. Therefore I apologise if I am posting this thread in the incorrect place, I'm disputing a debt, but as it is relating to a mobile phone contract this seemed the appropriate place to ask for help.

I've just checked my credit report to see a marker from T-Mobile (EE) showing an outstanding balance of £83 and flagging missed payments on the account that I cancelled three months ago, when I switched provider. This on the same day that received a mysterious letter from Moorcroft Group PLC requesting that I contact them but stating nothing about what it is regarding.

I had been a T-mobile customer for a little over three years and when my initial 24-month contract had expired I had kept my phone and signed up to what I was told was rolling contract of £10/month. The start of this second contract was May 2013, which I was told was for 12 months and that I could still cancel at any time without penalty as it was effectively a rolling contract (T-Mobile/EE never sent me any documentation regarding this arrangement). I switched providers in June this year (13 months later) and confirmed with the customer service advisor on the phone when I got my PAC number that my account was up to date and there would be no further charges. Yet when I contacted them today they have told me that the second contract was not due to expire until May 2015 and I have an outstanding cancellation fee of £83 to pay, which has been transferred to the Moorcroft Group to collect. When I disputed this I was told I would be transferred to 'Billing', put on hold for several minutes, and then disconnected.

Firstly, I have had no communication from EE/T-mobile regarding this cancellation fee, by mail, phone or email, all of which they have contact details for. Can they really charge me for a debt and mark my credit score negatively when they have never billed me for it?

Secondly, if I signed up to a contract I believed I was within rights to cancel but that T-mobile claim I was not, is this not a case of mis-selling? Can EE/T-mobile legally charge me a cancellation fee when their advisor has told me over the phone that there will be none?

I'm sorry this is such a long post but I wanted to provide as much information as possible. Can anyone please advise me how to approach this now?

Thanks and regards, Jonti

Silk

You need to ask for a breakdown of what the £83 relates to.


A rolling monthly contract shouldn't have attracted any charges other than the monthly notice you will have given when you used the PAC.
If you didn't use the PAC then the contract would have continued and the charges made would probably be correct


As the dates quoted seem to make out you agreed to another 24 month minimum contract you need to contest this and ask them to listen to the call relating to the PAC request for confirmation

grumbler

bluecat78 wrote: »

...I had kept my phone and signed up to what I was told was rolling contract of £10/month. The start of this second contract was May 2013, which I was told was for 12 months and that I could still cancel at any time without penalty as it was effectively a rolling contract

This makes no sense as one-month rolling contact cannot be for 12 months. Most likely you misunderstood this.

(T-Mobile/EE never sent me any documentation regarding this arrangement).

Well, you could/should have insisted in getting what you wanted, at least by a email or a text.

I switched providers in June this year (13 months later) and confirmed with the customer service advisor on the phone when I got my PAC number that my account was up to date and there would be no further charges.

Again, you should have requested a written confirmation or, at least, recorded the call.

Yet when I contacted them today they have told me that the second contract was not due to expire until May 2015

Do the say that the minimum term was 24 months?

Firstly, I have had no communication from EE/T-mobile regarding this cancellation fee, by mail, phone or email, all of which they have contact details for. Can they really charge me for a debt and mark my credit score negatively when they have never billed me for it?

Many providers are similarly arrogant and routinely do the same.

Secondly, if I signed up to a contract I believed I was within rights to cancel but that T-mobile claim I was not, is this not a case of mis-selling?

Well, the question is what exactly you signed up to. The only way to prove your point now is to get transcripts of your calls if they exist.

Can EE/T-mobile legally charge me a cancellation fee when their advisor has told me over the phone that there will be none?

I think they can if the advisor made a mistake, although they will probably waive it if you can prove what you were told.

I'm sorry this is such a long post but I wanted to provide as much information as possible. Can anyone please advise me how to approach this now?

Follow the formal complaints procedure, then take the case to the ombudsman if needed, but without the transcript(s) it's just your word against theirs.

bluecat78

Thank you, I appreciate the responses.

I have now contacted Moorcroft Group and explained to them that I am contesting this debt and that I am going through the complaints procedure with EE. This has at least got them to place the debt "on hold" while they relay my dispute to EE. As talking about this on the phone to EE has proven difficult I am writing to their complaints department detailing what I've put here.

This makes no sense as one-month rolling contact cannot be for 12 months. Most likely you misunderstood this.

As I understood it was sold to me a as a 12 month contract. There may have been confusion as to my right to cancel in this period but as 13 months had elapsed anyway I believed I was fine to cancel. I wish I had insisted on a paper copy of the agreed contract now - hindsight eh!

Transcripts of calls should back me up. It's just all rather galling knowing that they have never even contacted me regarding this bill as I know I had provided my current address.