Three Early Cancellation Fee

kishanp

So my contract with 3 ends the 4th May. I called them up a couple weeks ago to upgrade to the new Galaxy S8+ which would entail a £100 device upfront fee with a £55 a month contract.

My current package is around £65 for the old S6 Edge. However I managed to get a great deal on Vodafone for £42 per month and no upfront fee so I called Three on 18/04/2017 to reverse the upgrade on my account to the new phone.

On the 21/04/2017 my new phone arrived from vodafone so I called 3 to get my PAC code which I then used a few days later. I was told it expires after 30 days but not warned about any early cancellation charge.

I looked at my bank account this morning to see that £159.95 had been debited from my account so was immediately on the phone to Three who said that they are waiting for the device to be returned to them before they can finalize my final bill. Seems strange to me as I never received any notice of the phone being dispatched to myself. They said they cannot refund the £159.95 and when my final bill is due on the 21/05/2017 they will take this into account and deduct any remaining balance.

That was bad enough as I don't know why I've been charged for an item I never received, so I got on the phone Lloyds Bank who have reversed the charge at my request.

The final annoyance though is that my pac code was requested on the 21/04/2017 and as I used it straight away they have charged me £45.10 which was the early cancellation fee which was based on the remainder of the 30 days notice I was meant to give which was like 27 days or something. However as my contract officially ends on 04/05/2017 shouldnt they have only charged me the early cancellation fee based on 2 weeks?

Frozen_up_north

Why on earth are you spending this kind of money on a mobile contract? While we are supposed to be kind to newbies, I have to say you are pouring money down the drain at £42/month for 2 years.

Sounds like you might get a default on your credit file over the payment reversal too...

d123

kishanp wrote: »

The final annoyance though is that my pac code was requested on the 21/04/2017 and as I used it straight away they have charged me £45.10 which was the early cancellation fee which was based on the remainder of the 30 days notice I was meant to give which was like 27 days or something. However as my contract officially ends on 04/05/2017 shouldnt they have only charged me the early cancellation fee based on 2 weeks?

Contracts don't end, you simply reached the end of your minimum term. At that point you are required to give 30 days notice to cancel if you wanted to end the contract.

indesisiv

I am going to keep my eye on the outcome of this just out of interest.

I wasn't aware that once you upgraded you could then cancel that upgrade?

Agree with d123 that yes you need to pay the 30 days notice period at a bare minimum.

Buzby

There is no cooling off period for upgrades - and never has been, so these cancellation charges are valid. The MSE advice is to request a PAC, then use it 28 days later to minimise any fees, using it immediately is simply asking for trouble!

macman

kishanp wrote: »

So my contract with 3 ends the 4th May. I called them up a couple weeks ago to upgrade to the new Galaxy S8+ which would entail a £100 device upfront fee with a £55 a month contract.

My current package is around £65 for the old S6 Edge. However I managed to get a great deal on Vodafone for £42 per month and no upfront fee so I called Three on 18/04/2017 to reverse the upgrade on my account to the new phone.

On the 21/04/2017 my new phone arrived from vodafone so I called 3 to get my PAC code which I then used a few days later. I was told it expires after 30 days but not warned about any early cancellation charge.

I looked at my bank account this morning to see that £159.95 had been debited from my account so was immediately on the phone to Three who said that they are waiting for the device to be returned to them before they can finalize my final bill. Seems strange to me as I never received any notice of the phone being dispatched to myself. They said they cannot refund the £159.95 and when my final bill is due on the 21/05/2017 they will take this into account and deduct any remaining balance.

That was bad enough as I don't know why I've been charged for an item I never received, so I got on the phone Lloyds Bank who have reversed the charge at my request.

The final annoyance though is that my pac code was requested on the 21/04/2017 and as I used it straight away they have charged me £45.10 which was the early cancellation fee which was based on the remainder of the 30 days notice I was meant to give which was like 27 days or something. However as my contract officially ends on 04/05/2017 shouldnt they have only charged me the early cancellation fee based on 2 weeks?

If you look at it as paying £1,008 over the minimum term, it's really not a great deal at all. The upfront fee is not important-what matters is the total price to the end of the minimum term.
Three give you 14 days from receipt to return an upgrade, so I suggest you call them ASAP and get the delivery tracked, as they appear to think it's in your possession.
The debit made is not a cancellation charge, it's the £100 upfront fee plus the first month's advance billing.

Nnenne1

Yes there is, I just did it with o2, 14days cooling off period. Any distance selling has this at a minimum.

Jon_01

Nnenne1 wrote: »

Yes there is, I just did it with o2, 14days cooling off period. Any distance selling has this at a minimum.

That's right for new contracts, the op's talking about an upgrade. Not all network allow a these to be canceled after they're taken out.