o2 took £56 and refuse to give it back

Fine

Hi guys, I'll try make this short:

I took a 24 month contract out with Carphone Warehouse on the o2 network for £28/month.

Before it was about to expire, they called to me ask if I'd like an upgrade.

I told them I don't want to upgrade, I wish to cancel as I will be moving to PAYG myself.

They said, fine.

Just before the contract was up, I switched the sim to a PAYG and got on with my life.

2 months later... here we are and I've just discovered 2 amounts of £28 have been taken from my account.

I called o2 and asked why, they said the contract is still active.

I explained, I've not had an upgrade, I fully paid off the phone and I told Carphone Warehouse I will not be continuing.

Here's their response:

"You needed to tell us, otherwise we will continue to take the same amount regardless of whether you get an upgrade or not".

I spent an hour on the phone, explaining the situation to countless people and they all refused to refund my money on the basis that it wasn't their problem.

(It even showed no usage on the account for the past 2 months)

They told me to ask Carphone Warehouse for the money!!

On top of that, they cancelled the contract for me on the phone but told me I would get a 3rd bill for this month.

(I cancelled the direct debit as they're not getting another penny out of me).

Am I in the wrong here? I feel totally misled and I don't know who to turn to for help.

Any advice, please

macman

It wasn't a 24m contract, it was a 24 month minimum term. After that time, the contract continues until such time as you give 30 days notice. If you failed to do that, then the contract runs on and you will be billed. It's not 100% clear from your post if you gave notice or not. Non-usage of the phone is irrelevant, as is declining an upgrade.
Did you request your PAC and port the number to the PAYG SIM? If so that proves that you gave notice. Cancelling your DD is not a good idea, as a default will be recorded and your credit file trashed for six years.

Fine

macman wrote: »

It wasn't a 24m contract, it was a 24 month minimum term. After that time, the contract continues until such time as you give 30 days notice. If you failed to do that, then the contract runs on and you will be billed. It's not 100% clear from your post if you gave notice or not. Non-usage of the phone is irrelevant, as is declining an upgrade.
Did you request your PAC and port the number to the PAYG SIM? If so that proves that you gave notice. Cancelling your DD is not a good idea, as a default will be recorded and your credit file trashed for six years.

Thanks for the reply.

I did in fact tell Carphone Warehouse (as I took the contract out with them) that I wanted to cancel - This was when they phoned me about an upgrade.

I do understand that non-usage doesn't entitle a refund, I only added that point to enforce my argument that I believed the contract had ended.

I didn't request a PAC code because I took the number of the new PAYG sim.

o2 said they will take more money, if I don't cancel the DD then I can't stop it. What else can I do?

The cancellation thing aside, not sure why I'm being still charged £28/month anyway when the phone was paid off after the 24 month period.

I'm essentially paying the same price for only the minutes, texts and data. It's totally illogical??

Maybe I'm getting this all wrong but it feels so misleading and unethical.

DCFC79

I wonder if the cancellation of the contract was actioned, just a thought.

victor2

Fine wrote: »

The cancellation thing aside, not sure why I'm being still charged £28/month anyway when the phone was paid off after the 24 month period.

The contract was not to buy a phone over 24 months. It was a monthly payment of £28 for the airtime with a free phone thrown in and a minimum term of 24 months.
You have at least cancelled the contract, but should pay the additional month, then argue with O2 about it afterwards if you wish, but I doubt it will achieve anything. If you refuse to pay, by cancelling the DD, they will chase you for it and legally have the right to do so if you hadn't given notice to cancel, which it sounds like you didn't - even if you believed you had through another party.

busybee100

victor2 wrote: »

- even if you believed you had through another party.

Ok, I misread the first post. If you spoke to Carphone Warehouse they would expect you to cancel the contract with O2.

Semple

I think your only complaint could be with CPW for not advising you to cancel directly with O2. But as you were no longer a customer of theirs, i guess they couldn't give two hoots.

The T&C's of your contract would likely have stipulated the need to cancel the contract directly with the telecoms company (O2). Unfortunately there's really little you can do here, a complaint may have a gesture of goodwill given to you for a free month, but that's about it.

Also if you don't pay your final month you'll have a black mark added to your credit file, which is silly all for the sake of £28.

Semple

Fine wrote: »

The cancellation thing aside, not sure why I'm being still charged £28/month anyway when the phone was paid off after the 24 month period.

I'm essentially paying the same price for only the minutes, texts and data. It's totally illogical??

This is why 24 months contracts are a waste of money, unless you're someone who's happy to pay a premium, and wishes to go for a new phone every 21 months. Otherwise as you point out, you're paying the same price each month, even after the 24 month period.

I have a pay monthly sim only plan, and buy the phone outright. My last phone broke after 30 months, but at least it meant the 6 final months i was still paying the sim only price rather than a full contract price.

forgotmyname

I have 24 month contracts and negotiate the deal so it was cheaper than last year, so i get 2 or 3 months at the lower rate.

Worked really well sometime back when they were pushing android phones. Worked out cheaper than a sim only deal and buying the phone.

£400 phone for just under £300 over the sim only price.

Alias_Omega

I would aim to speak to 02 with a "oh, I told CPW that I did not want to continue the contract, did they not pass the information on" conversation in a hope that they give you an account credit/discount.

If not, you will need to give them the minimum required term for a cancellation, and pay the relevant fees (suspect 30 days i.e. £28)

Good Luck,

Fine

Thanks for everyones replies.

It seems like there's little I can do. I was thinking of writing a letter to someone higher up at o2, worth a try?

Semple wrote: »

Also if you don't pay your final month you'll have a black mark added to your credit file, which is silly all for the sake of £28.

I hear you but it's not just £28, they took £56 already so it will be a total of £84 they've had from me.

Just because they're a big company, I can't allow myself to be intimidated and give them what they want because it's easier on my life.