3 Won't Switch My Tariff Pls Help!!!

SparklyB

Hi,

I'm wondering if someone could please help me as I really do not know what to do.

I signed up to 3 in April on a £35 a month contract. I recently decided to go back to college full time as a mature student and have realised that without a monthly wage coming in I'm just not going to be able to afford the tariff I am on.

I rang today to ask them to change to a lower tariff, but they told me that because I joined after Feb that I cannot change to a lower tariff.

I asked to speak to a manager and she was most unhelpful. Telling me that even though I wasn't told that I wouldn't be able to change my tariff to a lower tariff when I signed up to the contract, there was nothing she could do and she couldn't change my tariff.

Also if I wanted to cancel my contract that would be a cost of over £400.

So basically I'm stuck in a contract of £35 a month until October 2008 that I can't afford to pay now I will be a student.

I really don't know what to do. If I'd known at the time that I wouldn't be able to change my tariff I never would have signed up to the contract.

Can anyone give me some advice???

Thanks

Becca

mcmanlyn

You can lower your tariff once you are halfway through your contract. You can lower it by 1 level (i.e. next tariff down) for free, or go to the lowest one (currently £25.00) for an admin fee of £25. I just did this with mine last month, so i'd be surprised if it's changed so quickly.
HTH

SparklyB

Thanks for answering.

I wasn't told either of those things. I was told that they've changed their policy and that if you sign up after Feb that your tariff is fixed and you cannot change to a lower tariff, only a higher one.

Even if I could change to a lower one after 9 months. That's still £140 I have to pay until I get to 9 months into my contract. It's quite a chunk when you're a student.

Becca

z4kir

If your happy with 3 (apart from this obvious problem) If you recommend others you get £30 and so do they, not exactly a solution but a way of running down the costs?

SparklyB

Thanks, although I'm not really happy.

The phone I got when I first joined up broke twice!!!!! So in the end I sold it and went back to the phone I had when I was on Orange and put my 3 sim card in that.

I miss out on the extra services from 3. I also don't use all of my texts and mins available which is also why I want to switch to a lower tariff.

It just seems unfair that they signed me up to something that they didn't explain to me. Surely that's deception???

Becca

Llyllyll

Just had a quick scout around the 3 site.

Buried within the 'help' section I found this:

You can move to a cheaper price plan but there are conditions depending on when you took out your contract and how long it’s for. Go to the types of price plans page to see what’s on offer.

Call us on 333 free from your 3 mobile and we’ll tell you more about the options available to you.

Unfortunately the link to the price plan page doesn't work and I couldn't find anything in their T&C about this either.

Does it mention anything about minimum term before downgrading in any paperwork you received?

SparklyB

Hi,

Thanks for checking this out for me.

The only thing I have relating to my contract is the receipt of sale I was given on the day. Which just states the phone I got, my price plan and say's '18 Month Price Plans' Doesn't mention anything about this being a fixed tariff.

I remember the guy circling my tariff in the catalogue and as far as I know that is all the information I got on the day.

I just can't think that if they had made it clear to me that my tariff couldn't be changed at all to a lower tariff then I would be ringing up today to try and change it.

I just feel conned completely by this and totally at a loss as to what I can do about it. It just doesn't feel right to me that they are allowed to do this.

Becca

Mobile_Mole

If you’re on an 18 month contract, once you’ve been with us for 12 months, you can move to a lower value price plan twice during the remainder of your contract period.

This policy was introduced November 2006 and the £25 downgrade fee was introduced December 2006.

SparklyB

Hi,

Where did that information come from? Because it's not the same as the information the manager gave me on the phone today.

I wasn't told that I could change my tariff to a lower one at any time in my contract. And they didn't give me any information about a downgrading fee.

I have the customer services address anyway to put in a formal complaint

Becca

reehsetin

SparklyB wrote: »

I just can't think that if they had made it clear to me that my tariff couldn't be changed at all to a lower tariff then I would be ringing up today to try and change it.

SparklyB wrote: »

I just feel conned completely by this and totally at a loss as to what I can do about it. It just doesn't feel right to me that they are allowed to do this.

you signed a contract saying you would pay x amount for 18month or 12 or whatever, the policy to downgrade is a gesture as they loose money from what you promised to pay them
its not their fault you assumed you could change it!

SparklyB

Well every phone company I've ever been with since I was 19, 8 years ago has always allowed me to change my tariff to whichever tariff available.

I've been with every phone company out there and I've never known a company not change you to a tariff that suits you better because of a change in useage etc.

According to them this was also a policy which only came in in March. If it was there policy before to change customers to lower tariffs then is it not also their job to tell new customers that their tariff is fixed and cannot be changed to a lower one.

Becca