When is a contract not a contract?

AlatMartins

I had a one-year contract for broadband & phone with Virgin Media but very late in the day discovered it doesn't end after a year,  apparently my "contract" with Virgin Media is an indefinite one until 30-days after I've given notice.  As if Virgin Media needs me to tell them when it ends, even though they know exactly when to raise the price.
  
They said "It's in the Terms & Conditions", the all too often justification of corporate unreasonableness.

If it's important for Virgin Media to have 30-days notice of not accepting their new T&Cs they should give you the clear option of saying "I won't be renewing on your NEW T&Cs" 30-days before the agreed contract ends.

I understand loyal car insurance customers won't be penalised in future on renewal; it's time loyal customers elsewhere aren't penalised by T&Cs designed as Arthur Daley-esque nice little earners. 

born_again

All these type fixed term contracts tend to become a rolling 30 day contract.

I'm sure you would not be happy if you rang them up to cancel & they said OK. All is cancelled so no TV, Mobile or Broadband was working.

Perhaps you need to go through any Broadband, mobile/phone contract as they are all the same.

Jenni_D

As above ... you're not signing up to a 1 year contract; you're signing up to a contract which has a minimum term of 1 year. If you want to leave after 1 year then you submit your notice 30 days before the 1 year term is up.  

Sandtree

If you like the FCA rules around car and home insurance so much then why not raise your thoughts to OfCom... the guys there are more likely (by a tiny amount) to do anything about it  than people here are.

As others have said, you've signed an indefinite contract with one year minimum term. There are no change in T&Cs at year end (automatically) but just different clauses take effect. 

Carrot007

There would be a lot more complaints if it was the way you are suggesting OP.

Try reading what you are signing up to in future. There arre only as very small minority that do not understand this is the way things occur. Maybe you are from a country where things are usually the other way round?

Ectophile

If this wasn't the way telecommunications services worked, imagine how many people would unexpectedly find that their phone has been cut off every year.

JJ_Egan

As above and non VM customers who are cut off as the OP wants may lose their place in the local cabinet and take months for a new slot .

bris

Its not a 1 year contract, it's a minimum 1 year contract rolling on until you give the required notice after that.

Brie

I had an interesting discussion with EE about our broadband & phone service.  I had definitely signed up for a 1 year contract but they said that they were no longer able to tell me that it was coming to the end of the year even though it meant an increase in what I was paying.  All they could do is send a DD notice saying "£23 being paid on the 5th" one month and the "£35 being paid on the 5th" the next.  Apparently this was to remove the companies opportunity to sell more products to an individual.  According to the regulator this was a better option for the consumer then the possibility of not noticing the increase in the DD until after it had been taken.  (yes we should read these emails but face it most of us don't even assuming it doesn't get misdirected into the junk mail folder.)

Money_Grabber13579

Brie said:

I had an interesting discussion with EE about our broadband & phone service.  I had definitely signed up for a 1 year contract but they said that they were no longer able to tell me that it was coming to the end of the year even though it meant an increase in what I was paying.  All they could do is send a DD notice saying "£23 being paid on the 5th" one month and the "£35 being paid on the 5th" the next.  Apparently this was to remove the companies opportunity to sell more products to an individual.  According to the regulator this was a better option for the consumer then the possibility of not noticing the increase in the DD until after it had been taken.  (yes we should read these emails but face it most of us don't even assuming it doesn't get misdirected into the junk mail folder.)

My minimum term with EE has just expired and I got an email about 3 weeks before to let me know that it was expiring.

AlatMartins

Fair cop guvs, thanks to all.