Do Phone Companies Have To Honour Their Mistake?

Conzumer

Hello.
I took out a contract with ee which i then had 2nd thoughts about when i lost my job, i phoned customer support to ask about sending the phone back during the 2 week grace period but instead made a deal with one of the advisors who gave me a good deal 20% off the contract. I'm not good with maths so jumped at the chance to only pay £40 pm for a great deal.

Before yesterday off chance i phoned ee to see when my 1st bill was due and how much it was, i was then told 29th and £50! I then had a conversation with them and told them as they record the conversation to go and listen and it will prove i was told/promised £40pm, they said they would and then phone me back.

They didn't and i had to chase them. The cs advisor tried to wriggle out of it saying maybe they meant £40pm temporarily as i was going through hardship and i said no i took the contract under the fact that i was told that it would be £40pm throughout (24 month contract)
They then listened to the recording , seen i was right and then phoned me back and said the best they can do is give me 6 months at £40pm and then the duration for £50pm and if i didn't like it i could send back the phone and they would still accept it.

I told them that i had spent x amount on the latest headphones and accessories as i though the phone was mine and would they also reimburse me for the accessories and the answer was obviously no, i then asked that could they insure my phone or give me half price and again no.

The final word was either accept the £40pm for 6 months afterwich it goes up to £50pm, send back the phone or we will have to go through the necessary channels.

Do they have to honour their promise?

Should i accept or fight?

Are they in the wron, if so what should i do?

Ta in advance, they're going to phone me soon so would love some advice from a legal perspective as i'm totally out of my depth seeing it's me against a billion dollar global goliath.

bobbymotors

You can't afford the phone but you can afford the accessories then?

JJ_Egan

legal perspective ??

This forum can give you advice but its not always right .

Fight depends upon the time and effort and how right the evidence is that you have .

You can afford £40 per month to me is the key if not send the phone back .
£15 PAYG phone instead of a £40 / £50 pm phone .

Conzumer

Are they not obligated to give what was offered via the verbal contract even though it was a mistake on their part?

When i took out a contract and then tried to leave they wouldn't let me!

cono1717

You acknowledge it was a mistake so you can't really base a contract on a mistake, if that was the case anyone could hold everyone to account.

What was the bill before you called up, out of interest?

DoaM

If they offered, and you agreed, then contract terms were agreed. They cannot then rescind the agreement without also allowing you to cancel the original contract. It doesn't matter if it was a mistake ... a 20% reduction offer is not an obvious error, and it was made by a person not a computer.

You could send in a Subject Access Request (for which they can charge up to £10) for a copy of all data they hold about you - including copies of phone call recordings. Once you have that then you have evidence to make a claim against them for breach of contract.

eddddy

From what you say, it sounds like you had a contractual agreement to pay £40pm for 24 months.

(The advisor may have made a mistake, but you did not know or suspect that they had made a mistake at the time, so the contract isn't voidable.)

So now they cannot unilaterally change those terms (e.g. to £50 after 6 months) without your agreement.

But you and they can mutually agree to change the contract in some other way. E.g. you could both mutually agree to terminate the contract, if they refund the cost of the accessories.

Ganga

Whats the betting the poster comes back on in a few months and says" i have a phone on £40 a month and cannot afford it as i have lost my job and the company will not cancel the contract"

powerful_Rogue

This is what frustrates me.

Yes, EE made a mistake, but they are showing tolerance in the fact you lost your job and offering you a lower rental for you to get yourself back on your feet. Personally I feel six months is very reasonable.

All that will happen in the future is that they will say "Sorry, not our problem. You signed up to £50 a month and that's what you have to pay".

If I had lost my job, I would jump at the chance to cancel early so I had extra money to get myself back up and running. Instead you saved £10 a month and blew it on accessories!

dj1471

They've offered to let you return the phone and cancel the contract, this seems like the best course of action given your circumstances.

If you're desperate to keep the phone then get the same model on a cheaper contact or pre-pay.

macman

I'll do the maths for you. If you have no job, can you really afford paying £960 over 24m for a new mobile? If they'll release you from the contract with no penalty, they're doing you a huge favour.
Buy a £60 basic Android and either PAYG or a cheap SIM deal under a tenner.