£15 exit fee for Shell broadband, even though i'm out of contract. 15 January at 6:39PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Broadband & Internet Access 38 replies 1.9K views

Neil_Jones

carpy said:

Neil_Jones said:

It's not MSE's job to tell you to read terms and conditions because that's what you should be doing anyway before you sign up.

agreed (although who read through all the t&cs!)......however where they are telling consumers the best deals and showing them the annual/monthly equivalent cost then this should be accurate! 
MSE were obviously just as unaware of it as unfortunate customers were!

And this is why it says at the bottom of the pages " do note you use the information at your own risk ... always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances." and "Do note, while we always aim to give you accurate product info at the point of publication, unfortunately price and terms of products and deals can always be changed by the provider afterwards, so double check first."

ColinD1

I presume the charge only applied if you terminate a contract rather than switch to  another provider using Openreach? There appear to be a number of unexpected problems that some people have and if it doesn't go as smoothly as Martin Lewis implies you will be better off finding a wall to bang your head against. From my own experience it can take months without resolution. The complaints handlers appear to have a script rather than engaging brain and looking at the facts and will not escalate the problem to someone with a technical appreciation. I believe Ofcom have recognised there can be problems, but each individual is left to battle alone. I do not think bad resolution of problems should put you off switching, but if I knew I would have these unresolved problems I wouldn't have started.

carpy

ColinD1 said:

I presume the charge only applied if you terminate a contract rather than switch to  another provider using Openreach? 

you would have thought so!

prowla

Wow - being charged to end a service!

Steve_PL_too

That’s buried a long way down in their Ts & Cs (pg 17 / 28).  Depending on how well (or otherwise) it was flagged in Shell’s advertising at the time, you might want to consider a complaint to Ofcom.  They are very hot at the moment about pricing and barriers to moving suppliers, so they could well be interested in this.

carpy

Steve_PL_too said:

That’s buried a long way down in their Ts & Cs (pg 17 / 28).  Depending on how well (or otherwise) it was flagged in Shell’s advertising at the time, you might want to consider a complaint to Ofcom.  They are very hot at the moment about pricing and barriers to moving suppliers, so they could well be interested in this.

already reported it.
like you say very well buried within the T&C's which realistically no-one really reads, let's be honest!
no mention of it in advertising and the biggest joke of all is their welcome email which states "Now that you’re with Shell Energy Broadband, you won’t ever have to worry about a price rise at the end of your contract. Also, there are no hidden costs, and you have access to unlimited downloads."

ColinD1

I am very confused about what Ofcom actually does.

Over the weekend I discovered they supposedly do some investigation on number porting problems, so I had actually already filled in the form and had an email back with what I had said and a number.

So far so good. I know they do not take up individual cases, but I phoned up ask the question about if there were any legal measures/regulations on incorrect billing or mis routing of calls. The official line is we are not legal you should consult a solicitor.

Does anyone else find it odd that a regulator cannot tell you what the regulations are?

Neil_Jones

ColinD1 said:

I am very confused about what Ofcom actually does.

...

Does anyone else find it odd that a regulator cannot tell you what the regulations are?

Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.

Therefore it only regulates the companies themselves.  This is why it does not take up individual cases and also why it cannot tell you what the regulations are - because the regulations that protect you are not the same regulations that Ofcom uses to police the companies, and your protections is not their remit.  That's what the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme and others are for.

ColinD1

I understand who to complain to. But I wanted to know what the legal position when an ex supplier demands money it is not owed, is this something the police would have jurisdiction? This goes back to a flaw in the switching process that TalkTalk have refused to correct/help with. Never had any problem with them until I followed the Ofcom website on how to switch. Their website and community forum are remarkably quiet about how to leave on good terms. I have tried very hard to resolve this and am in the process of filling in the ADR form. The attitude of TalkTalk is reminiscent of we say we are providing your service (perhaps because they still had the lease of the number from BT) even though the rest of the world was correctly routing through Vodafone. Mistakes happen, good companies resolve them.

skippyroo

I've just found out about the cessation fee, too!  I'm very annoyed with Shell and MSE (it should be included in the overall cost calculations). I'm not sure about the legality, but willing to join anyone who wants to make a complaint.  There was nothing about the fee in any of the communication with them prior to joining and I feel this should be pointed out expressly upfront, not hidden in the Ts and Cs.  Come on MSE - you should be making some noise about this!