Origin Broadband price increase, won't allow termination without fees

DeepSeaDozzer

I've been with Origin now for just over a year, so only have another five months left on my contract.  They have just announced price rises and when I've had that previously with other suppliers, I've been given a month's notice and been able to terminate the contract without penalty as outlined on the Ofcom website.

Origin claim that in their terms and conditions, it states they can increase their charges by up to 10% and as they are only increasing by 4.2% (November’s CPI rate of 0.3% plus 3.9%), I cannot leave unless I pay penalty payments for early termination.  At this stage, those payments are undisclosed and so I will have to wait until June before I can leave.  

This information was given to me via online support (after an hour of waiting) and via telephone support.  

Am I right in thinking that they cannot do this and I should pursue with the formal complaint, potential "deadlock" and then finally a report to ombudsman/Ofcom (whatever good that may do)?

matelodave

Did you actually read and keep a copy of your T&C's when you joined them. 
Most ISPs have a similar clause in their contracts nowadays allowing them to increase priced during the term of the contract. Once upon a time if you took out a contract then it was fixed for the duration but not anymore, especially with longer contracts. BT have a 3.9% +CPI uplift in their contracts so if there's a similar clause in yours then then there's nowt you can do about it.

Browntoa

Quite clear on their website

JJ_Egan

As per Ofcom rules .

OP its similar to other ISP contracts with a built in price increase that you have agreed to .

The free no penalty is only for non agreed in contract price rises .

matelodave

Browntoa said:

Quite clear on their website

It appears that the OP is on a fixed contract if he's still got five months to go and so not a rolling contract, in which case the above condition does not apply.

NeedSomeHRadvice

I was with origin, they ask for the router back at the end of the contract and say that they will refund the postage costs. despite asking them to refund they postage many times, they refuse to even reply to my emails. total scum. avoid.

DeepSeaDozzer

matelodave said:

Browntoa said:

Quite clear on their website

It appears that the OP is on a fixed contract if he's still got five months to go and so not a rolling contract, in which case the above condition does not apply.

Those terms and conditions are specifically for "rolling monthly contract rates".  I am on a fixed-term contract, not a rolling contract.

DeepSeaDozzer

JJ_Egan said:

As per Ofcom rules .

OP its similar to other ISP contracts with a built in price increase that you have agreed to .

The free no penalty is only for non agreed in contract price rises .

Yes, this is a non-agreed, in contract price rise.  When did I agree to any price rises?  Their terms and conditions refer to a rolling monthly contract, which I do not have I am locked into a fixed-term contract and did not agree to any changes.

I've had similar increases before, Vodafone springs to mind and they allowed me to leave without penalty, as per Ofcom guidelines.

matelodave

Which terms & conditions refer to your specific contract- they are the ones that govern your agreement with Origin, not the the ones for a rolling contract. 
Hopefully you have kept or downloaded a copy of the T&C's in forces at the time when you signed up for your 18 month deal as the T&C's now sitting on their server may have been revised since then.

DeepSeaDozzer

matelodave said:

Which terms & conditions refer to your specific contract- they are the ones that govern your agreement with Origin, not the the ones for a rolling contract. 
Hopefully you have kept or downloaded a copy of the T&C's in forces at the time when you signed up for your 18 month deal as the T&C's now sitting on their server may have been revised since then.

Yes, I have kept a PDF copy that they sent me when signing up.  They don't actually have separate terms and conditions for different contract types it seems, they just have a one-fits-all policy.  The one I have is identical to the one currently on the website that others presented above (I cannot link to it here as I don't have enough posts).

The entire price rise section is as quoted above, there is nothing more contained within that section and nothing relating to fixed-term contracts (in my eyes) and so the above paragraph does not apply.

DeepSeaDozzer

UPDATE:  For anyone else experiencing this and want to leave.  I was unhappy with the service (dropouts) and poor support, the price increase was an opportunity for me to cancel my contract.

I raised a complaint via "Resolver" claiming that it was a breach of their own terms and conditions which only included price rise information relating to rolling contracts.  As I had a fixed-term contract and price rises were not outlined at the start of the contract, I felt this was a breach of Ofcom guidelines and Origin should have outlined my right to cancel without incurring any penalties.

They have now apologised in writing and given me the option of terminating without penalty.  We will see if this goes smoothly.