3 mobile phone contacts

Howard_Payne

OK, so I have always read these forums for years, but have today decided to sign up for an account so I can post.


I have 3 mobile phone contracts with three. I have had them for over 10 years and all start on the same date. I do not do the "free" upgrades to phones, if I want a new phone I go and buy one myself, instead of using the "free" but an extra £14 a month option for 18 months.


I opened some older mail (12 days old) today and found that they had increased one of the price plans from £14 per month to £19 per month (although the letter states £29 per month with a recurring discount of £10) I forgot to ask why it was invoiced in this way, but I assume its so they can charge the extra £10 (or just remove the discount without breaching the contract) at their will.


The guy on the phone was very helpful, but he did keep spewing the "company line" every time I asked an awkward question, and the phone call went on for 1hr and 10 mins.


I asked why my contract had been increased, and was told that as it was an old plan and no longer available they had put me on the new plan because of the extra benefits I would get.


I asked what extra benefits I was going to get and they finally told me there were none.


I asked why it had happened to only 1 of my 3 phones and not the other 2, and I was told that the system picks people, not at random as I suggested, but via an algorithm, essentially meaning the same thing.


I asked how they could legally change the contract without my consent, as it was signing me up for 12 months at that price, and they told me I would have received a letter, text or email outlining my options. None of these were received, I checked all formats while they were on the phone. They could not confirm what medium was used to convey this to me, but then informed me that not responding to whatever form of contact they use is the same as me agreeing to the changes. Surely this can't be right? This would have tied me into them for another 12 months without any consent from me.


They also said that when the retail price index changes in January, the price may also change on my contracts and that although they could not tell me how much or even IF it would happen, that I would still be tied into the 12 month contact and trying to end it at this point would still leave me liable for the extra months until the contract finished. I know the RPI last year was only about 2%, but I would have thought that the supplier should honour the contact at signup price for its duration.


So, while I managed to get all the contracts £2 cheaper each month than I currently pay, and the RPI is something we all have to deal with, these practices seem almost like a scam to get the company more money from people who just accept the changes or do not have time to spend on the phone with them.


What is the difference between this and a scam? Can I just email all my customers and then move them onto a difference price per hour without their consent, or seeing as I have a years contact in place with them should I ask them first? I would never make changes with my customers without getting their acceptance first, so how come a huge corporation like three can do it?


As it was only one mobile phone out of the 3 I own that was targeted, it also shows a lack of consistency or hard policy so that we can understand how their internal system works.


In short, question everything..


Sorry to have taken up so much of your time reading this :-)


Howard

JJ_Egan

< but I would have thought that the supplier should honour the contact at signup price for its duration.>


But not if the terms and conditions of the contract say RPI price increase .Thats after all what you agree to .

jaybeetoo

If you can, go into a 3 shop and see what deals they have. It seems every time I go into a 3 shop, they offer me a better deal than the one I'm on (less money, more data) as long as I sign up for another contract. I'm on SIM only. YMMV!

[Deleted User]

Howard_Payne wrote: »

OK, so I have always read these forums for years, but have today decided to sign up for an account so I can post.


I have 3 mobile phone contracts with three. I have had them for over 10 years and all start on the same date. I do not do the "free" upgrades to phones, if I want a new phone I go and buy one myself, instead of using the "free" but an extra £14 a month option for 18 months.


I opened some older mail (12 days old) today and found that they had increased one of the price plans from £14 per month to £19 per month (although the letter states £29 per month with a recurring discount of £10) I forgot to ask why it was invoiced in this way, but I assume its so they can charge the extra £10 (or just remove the discount without breaching the contract) at their will.


The guy on the phone was very helpful, but he did keep spewing the "company line" every time I asked an awkward question, and the phone call went on for 1hr and 10 mins.


I asked why my contract had been increased, and was told that as it was an old plan and no longer available they had put me on the new plan because of the extra benefits I would get.


I asked what extra benefits I was going to get and they finally told me there were none.


I asked why it had happened to only 1 of my 3 phones and not the other 2, and I was told that the system picks people, not at random as I suggested, but via an algorithm, essentially meaning the same thing.


I asked how they could legally change the contract without my consent, as it was signing me up for 12 months at that price, and they told me I would have received a letter, text or email outlining my options. None of these were received, I checked all formats while they were on the phone. They could not confirm what medium was used to convey this to me, but then informed me that not responding to whatever form of contact they use is the same as me agreeing to the changes. Surely this can't be right? This would have tied me into them for another 12 months without any consent from me.


They also said that when the retail price index changes in January, the price may also change on my contracts and that although they could not tell me how much or even IF it would happen, that I would still be tied into the 12 month contact and trying to end it at this point would still leave me liable for the extra months until the contract finished. I know the RPI last year was only about 2%, but I would have thought that the supplier should honour the contact at signup price for its duration.


So, while I managed to get all the contracts £2 cheaper each month than I currently pay, and the RPI is something we all have to deal with, these practices seem almost like a scam to get the company more money from people who just accept the changes or do not have time to spend on the phone with them.


What is the difference between this and a scam? Can I just email all my customers and then move them onto a difference price per hour without their consent, or seeing as I have a years contact in place with them should I ask them first? I would never make changes with my customers without getting their acceptance first, so how come a huge corporation like three can do it?


As it was only one mobile phone out of the 3 I own that was targeted, it also shows a lack of consistency or hard policy so that we can understand how their internal system works.


In short, question everything..


Sorry to have taken up so much of your time reading this :-)


Howard

Are you sure they moved you on to a 12 month contract? I find that highly unlikely and would have thought it would be a rolling monthly contract.

20aday

Until recently, I forget when, Three didn't apply RPI increases to their SIM Only plans but that's since changed.

I'm fairly certain there were several threads on Three customers being moved onto new plans around 18-24 months ago as they were getting rid of legacy plans, such as All You Can Eat, amongst others.

[Deleted User]

Colin_Maybe wrote: »

Are you sure they moved you on to a 12 month contract? I find that highly unlikely and would have thought it would be a rolling monthly contract.

I've just had a look and they've been moving people off the legacy packages for years but only if they're out of minimum term. The people who have been moved over are still on 30 days notice so there's no way they've put just you on a 12 month contract. They would have given you plenty of notice and if you don't like the price you either phone them up and renegotiate (which you appear to have done and got an even better deal) or ask for your PAC.

Considering you're better off I'm unsure of what your complaint is?

Oh, and no, it's not a scam...

Frozen_up_north

20aday wrote: »

Until recently, I forget when, Three didn't apply RPI increases to their SIM Only plans but that's since changed.

Three have just started applying an RPI increase, at the time of the increases Three “conveniently for them” also increased the prices of new contracts by more than RPI, giving the illusion that existing customers were still getting a good deal.

Now the contracts for new customers are back at the pre RPI prices, leaving existing customers with the prices + RPI... :mad:

SnowTiger

Howard_Payne wrote: »

I have 3 mobile phone contracts with three. I have had them for over 10 years and all start on the same date. I do not do the "free" upgrades to phones, if I want a new phone I go and buy one myself, instead of using the "free" but an extra £14 a month option for 18 months.

Is there anything special about the contracts?

You may find a better/cheaper option elsewhere.