PAC information text told me £0 would be payable but final bill has £225 of early termination fees

simon69c

I recently upgraded my Virgin Media package to Ultimate Oomph which came with an unlimited data phone SIM (weirdly the deal was cheaper with the SIM than without).  I wasn't originally planning to use it as I still had a SIM only unlimited data plan with Three with some months left to go, but out of interest I checked the Three website and was pleasantly surprised it told me if I switched I would have £0 outstanding fees to pay.  Great I thought, I'll switch over to the VM SIM afterall and make an extra saving.  I requested the PAC and the info text from 85075 also confirmed "If you switch today, your final bill will be 0 GBP."  Based on that information I initiated the switch and it all went through as planned.  Today I have received my final bill from Three and they have lumped a £225 early termination fee onto it.  Where do I stand on this?  Technically I did have some month's left to go on the SIM only contract, but both Three's own website and the 85075 switching text information had told me I would have £0 to pay on my final bill?  Unfortunately trying to speak to Three about it is a challenge as yesterday live chat said their systems were down all day, and today both phone and live chat are claiming the same thing.

sdduk

Hopefully you have kept the text message from Three and copied the three web page where it said you owe nothing because on Ofcom's website it states that if you text 85075 it will give you the amount you would have to pay it you was to leave.
So i cannot see how Three can charge you anything because they will be breaking the law now i would of thought.
Just keep trying to contact them because they have a email where you send your evidence so they can see for themselves.
Ofcom Link Below.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2019/end-it-with-a-text-mobile-switching
By the way i am with Three till next Feburay and i did the same thing and mine came back i would owe nothing i did it about 4 days ago.

simon69c

That's what I thought, and yes I took a screenshot of the webpage and also still have the text message.  Will keep trying to contact them to see if their systems are back up!

sdduk

simon69c said:

That's what I thought, and yes I took a screenshot of the webpage and also still have the text message.  Will keep trying to contact them to see if their systems are back up!

Hopefully you get a good result and they don't have any get out claws by saying something like the info bit is down but to be honest thats not your thought if it isn't working properly and they should have something to say its down.
Anyway Good Luck and  let us know how you get on.  

simon69c

Just to let you know how this eventually panned out...
When I eventually managed to speak to Three about it they were initially sticking to the "you were still in minimum term therefore the charges apply" line, but when I said I wasn't happy with that and the OFCOM website clearly states the PAC text must include any Early Termination Fees that will apply the complaint was supposedly escalated and I was told I would be contacted within 3 days.  The next day I was called back but only to say it would take longer than they originally stated.  I then heard pretty much nothing from them and just over a week later the final direct debit came out of my account.  In the meantime I was contacted by a MSE forum staff member and they managed to speak to Three's press office about it on my behalf about this and Three acknowledged the text message had been an error but that they would honour it nevertheless since it was their mistake and not mine.  Today I finally got a call from the Three executive office to confirm they would be waiving the fee in this case and to apologise for the confusion due to the PAC text message containing incorrect information and as the direct debit has already gone out I should expect a refund within the next 5 working days.  So a happy result in the end (assuming the refund appears as promised)  - and thanks to Nick for helping via Three's press/executive office!

niktheguru

Great result!! Well done.

sdduk

simon69c said:

Just to let you know how this eventually panned out...
When I eventually managed to speak to Three about it they were initially sticking to the "you were still in minimum term therefore the charges apply" line, but when I said I wasn't happy with that and the OFCOM website clearly states the PAC text must include any Early Termination Fees that will apply the complaint was supposedly escalated and I was told I would be contacted within 3 days.  The next day I was called back but only to say it would take longer than they originally stated.  I then heard pretty much nothing from them and just over a week later the final direct debit came out of my account.  In the meantime I was contacted by a MSE forum staff member and they managed to speak to Three's press office about it on my behalf about this and Three acknowledged the text message had been an error but that they would honour it nevertheless since it was their mistake and not mine.  Today I finally got a call from the Three executive office to confirm they would be waiving the fee in this case and to apologise for the confusion due to the PAC text message containing incorrect information and as the direct debit has already gone out I should expect a refund within the next 5 working days.  So a happy result in the end (assuming the refund appears as promised)  - and thanks to Nick for helping via Three's press/executive office!

Brilliant result glade you got it sorted well done.