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Dormant contract was still being paid for 2 years...whos liable?!
Hi.
We were sorting out finances out about 2 months ago and my husband noticed that he has two Orange direct debits coming out of his bank account.
He thought that this was a bit odd, so he called the helpline. Long story short is that an old mobile of his, on which he did not renew the contract circa 2010 was still being paid for out of his account!
He moved to the Isle of Man during that period and the phone was completely dormant.
Orange made him wait about 40 minutes on the phone to tell him that it was HIS fault for not cancelling his DD. They can see that the phone has been completely dormant and refuse to answer as to whether the contract was renewed or not.
Surely if the contract was NOT renewed and phone was dormant, Orange should have not continued on taking money out of the account?
Orange said that they would give back six months (£180) worth of payments to my husband but that "That's all he was getting."
2 months later and they still haven't even done that!!!!
How can we make them pay back the money on a dormant phone? Has anyone had similar experience and won?
Cheers!
We were sorting out finances out about 2 months ago and my husband noticed that he has two Orange direct debits coming out of his bank account.
He thought that this was a bit odd, so he called the helpline. Long story short is that an old mobile of his, on which he did not renew the contract circa 2010 was still being paid for out of his account!
He moved to the Isle of Man during that period and the phone was completely dormant.
Orange made him wait about 40 minutes on the phone to tell him that it was HIS fault for not cancelling his DD. They can see that the phone has been completely dormant and refuse to answer as to whether the contract was renewed or not.
Surely if the contract was NOT renewed and phone was dormant, Orange should have not continued on taking money out of the account?
Orange said that they would give back six months (£180) worth of payments to my husband but that "That's all he was getting."
2 months later and they still haven't even done that!!!!
How can we make them pay back the money on a dormant phone? Has anyone had similar experience and won?
Cheers!
0
Comments
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Contracts don't end or 'go dormant'!
They reach the end of their minimum term and become 30 days rolling contacts. They continue like that until the customer calls to cancel it.
All networks operate like that (if fact just about all contracts operate like that).
You should take the 6 months refund, learn the lesson and move on.0 -
YOU are. YOU continued the contracts whether you used them or not. Had you cancelled the direct debit they would still have continued resulting in the network passing the debt to debt ollectors and trashing your credit files for years. You are lucky to have paid, negligent for not noticing and extremely fortunate they are doing anything to mitigate your cost.
Any one who "notices" direct debits going out after two years and then asks who is liable for the money on a contract they didn't cancel gets what they deserve. If they have any sense - and it doesn't sound like it - they will change their behaviour to avoid further similar problems in the future in all sorts of areas.0 -
I have to ask... how on earth do you not notice something like for 2 years (or is it actually 4 years as 2010 is mentioned in the OP)?!0
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I agree. I thought he would and should've noticed the DD going out of his account.
As far as he was concerned, he did take the 6 months rebate and they didn't send that either.
Any suggestions with how to go about at least getting this little bit back?0 -
In all honesty, I've tried to get my husband to get his dates correct from the off. I wasn't with him when he had this phone contract, so I don't know for sure. I only know that the phone was considered 'dormant' he didn't renew the contract and he's been paying out for it for a couple of years from his DD.0
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If he has that promise in writing he can make a formal complaint to EE. Should they ignore that or refuse to pay as promised he can take the complaint to CISAS (after 8 weeks without a letter of deadlock). Without proof he has limited chance of success under the circumstances.
Teach him to check his bank account and statements (I check mine daily - it takes seconds) and to know what he's obligations are when enetering into any form of contract. That could end up much more valuable than chasing a refund.
The only person to consider the contract "dormant" must have been him.0 -
I only know that the phone was considered 'dormant' he didn't renew the contract and he's been paying out for it for a couple of years from his DD.
as stated contacts dont go dormant, the contract ends and it reverts to a 30 day rolling contract, which to cancel, you call them and cancel the account, just leaving it will not stop payments, but i find it strange not noticing a DD for at least 2 years being taking from is bank account for a phone contract0 -
I only know that the phone was considered 'dormant' he didn't renew the contract and he's been paying out for it for a couple of years from his DD.
As has been said, contracts are never considered 'dormant' by anyone but you, and you don't have to renew a contract, once it reaches the end of the minimum term it becomes a month to month contract until you terminate it.
No-one to blame but your husband, stop looking for someone else to blame for his !!!!-up.====0 -
As has been said, contracts are never considered 'dormant' by anyone but you, and you don't have to renew a contract, once it reaches the end of the minimum term it becomes a month to month contract until you terminate it.
No-one to blame but your husband, stop looking for someone else to blame for his !!!!-up.
I wasn't attempting to blame anyone, I was asking who was liable. Meaning that I understand if my husband was in the wrong.
I just wanted to know if there was a way we could regain some of the money lost. Obviously, I think it's stupid that he didn't check his DDs and missed this payment for such a long time. It's just gutting to see that such a large amount of money has gone out to pay for nothing!0
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