Business mobile phone contract

Bigal17

Is it law that as a business mobile contract I still get a 14 day cooling off period.
I was cold called by prestige telecom and I’m now 10 days into my contract but felt pressured into the contract. I’d like to go back to EE. But I was told I don’t get a cooling off period.

DCFC79

Bigal17 wrote: »

Is it law that as a business mobile contract I still get a 14 day cooling off period.
I was cold called by prestige telecom and I’m now 10 days into my contract but felt pressured into the contract. I’d like to go back to EE. But I was told I don’t get a cooling off period.

What's does it say in your contract ?

You should never move to another network based on a cold caller.

You felt pressured, why did you not just hang up.

dj1471

Nope, a business is expected to be able to look after itself in a legal sense and doesn't get the same protection as afforded to consumers.

FinancialElite

Well I got into some trouble with Plan.com & One Direct.
I took out a so called Business Mobile Contract with them, No Cooling Off Period, No Internet or Email Data for a month either.
When I complained that it was effecting my ability to get one I was just fobbed off by them.
I then did some digging around and found a link to the 2006 amendment of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act which reads:

2.32 A regulated agreement can be with an individual or relevant recipient of credit. This includes a sole trader or a small partnership (2 or 3 partners which are not all incorporated) or an unincorporated body of persons (which are not all incorporated). It does not include companies or limited liability partnerships. 

Can someone from  Money Saving Expert pleas explain if a Sole Trader is now covered by the COnsumer Credit Act as this would stop businesses like Plan.com & One Direct from saying that I had no legal rights even after not have full service for a month or over.

Regards
Robert Williamson

shaun_from_Africa

FinancialElite said:

Can someone from  Money Saving Expert pleas explain if a Sole Trader is now covered by the COnsumer Credit Act as this would stop businesses like Plan.com & One Direct from saying that I had no legal rights even after not have full service for a month or over.

Yes, a sole trader does generally have rights under parts of the Consumer credit act.
This is because although it has "Consumer" in the title, certain sections (Such as S75) refer to debtor and not consumer and a debtor is:

the individual receiving credit under a consumer credit agreement or the person to whom his rights and duties under the agreement have passed by assignment or operation of law, and in relation to a prospective consumer credit agreement includes the prospective debtor;

and "Individual:

“individual” includes—

(a) a partnership consisting of two or three persons not all of whom are bodies corporate; and

(b) an unincorporated body of persons which does not consist entirely of bodies corporate and is not a partnership

shaun_from_Africa

Following on from my post above. (I still don't have this new forum sussed out).
Even though you may be covered by parts of the Consumer credit act, this doesn't mean that you have a 14 day cooling off period or any rights under the Consumer rights act as these do not generally apply to any businesses, only consumers.

isplumm

shaun_from_Africa said:

Following on from my post above. (I still don't have this new forum sussed out).
Even though you may be covered by parts of the Consumer credit act, this doesn't mean that you have a 14 day cooling off period or any rights under the Consumer rights act as these do not generally apply to any businesses, only consumers.

Shaun - if you want to edit your own posts, there is a cog wheel that appears in the right hand corner!! Not obvious!

Mark

shaun_from_Africa

isplumm said:

Shaun - if you want to edit your own posts, there is a cog wheel that appears in the right hand corner!! Not obvious!

Mark

I found that but what I was trying to do was to write some more comments after the 2nd quote I put in and for some reason, I couldn't get the cursor to appear below that quote.

 

FinancialElite

Ok thanks Shaun,
So does that mean than even though the company wanted by mobile phone business that when they did not deliver the full service I was paying for for over a month that they can just say "Well its a business contract and you are not cover, so To bad" and nothing else happens?

davidmcn

FinancialElite said:

So does that mean than even though the company wanted by mobile phone business that when they did not deliver the full service I was paying for for over a month that they can just say "Well its a business contract and you are not cover, so To bad" and nothing else happens?

No, that's not what it means. It means you don't have the additional protection against the credit provider which a consumer would have. Nothing to do with the rights you still have against the service provider if they're not upholding their side of the contract.

shaun_from_Africa

FinancialElite said:

Ok thanks Shaun,
So does that mean than even though the company wanted by mobile phone business that when they did not deliver the full service I was paying for for over a month that they can just say "Well its a business contract and you are not cover, so To bad" and nothing else happens?

Not exactly.
What it means that as a business, the contract isn't covered by consumer trading legislation such as the Consumer rights act.
When buying goods or services as a business, the terms of the contract depend on what was agreed at the time or what is written into the contract.
Business buyers and business service users generally have far fewer rights than consumers as they are expected to be more knowledgeable about the law and to ensure that any contract meets their needs.