Am I missing something here?!?

caerleon9176

I took out broadband with a let's just call it a 'company', researched the terms/contract length which ended in Dec 20. I paid monthly without issues and as I was about 2 weeks till the end of the contract I contacted them to say I wouldn't be renewing, they said I would be charged because I was CANCELLING my contract, for another 30 days which is in their T&C's which strangely I never got sent at the inception of taking out the service, I argued that I wasn't cancelling the contract, I was simply not renewing it and therefore should not be charged. I was sent an email saying sorry you're going blah and that I owed £0 on my account, switched to a faster supplier and I cancelled the DD at the end of that month.

I just tried taking out a loan and from my own bank of 30 years and they refused it?!? I earn £48k a year, have a 10k limit on my CC, no debts at all and have had loans from them before. I did a credit check and it showed a bad debt since Dec of £13 each month from you guessed it the 'company'. My score had gone from 850 to 350.

I called 'the company' to ask why they say I owe them money when I have the email in front of me showing this isn't the case? Refused to admit it is their fault, cancelled the alleged £13 I owed immediately and I asked if I had a debt, what efforts have they made to collect it as I haven't been advised of anything, they said they have not made any effort to do so!

I took the time to reminded him I was a shareholder in the company he works for and I would have to raise this with the MD. He has agreed to 'review' this matter urgently and have the defaults removed from my credit file. So, they ballsed up and I pay for it?

My exposure to contract law was limited to 2 semesters at Uni - but surely this is veiled contract term is to con consumers into paying an extra payment..I won't mention the company but sounds like Vaderplone...Always check your credit score (avoid site saying it needs your card details first, it should be free).

TadleyBaggie

Contracts with providers of broadband, mobile etc do not end unless they are cancelled. The contract length is merely the minimum term and when that has been reached you will typically need to give 30 days notice.

GrumpyDil

TadleyBaggie said:

Contracts with providers of broadband, mobile etc do not end unless they are cancelled. The contract length is merely the minimum term and when that has been reached you will typically need to give 30 days notice.

This. I've always taken out a contract with a new broadband provider to take over just after my contract end date and never had any issues. I do the same with my mobile contracts via a PAC or STAC code.

The only time you need to give notice on a broadband contract is if you are not moving to a new provider in which case it is generally one months notice, expiring on or after the end of the initial contract period. 

elsien

caerleon9176 said:

I took out broadband with a let's just call it a 'company', researched the terms/contract length which ended in Dec 20. I paid monthly without issues and as I was about 2 weeks till the end of the contract I contacted them to say I wouldn't be renewing, they said I would be charged because I was CANCELLING my contract, for another 30 days which is in their T&C's which strangely I never got sent at the inception of taking out the service, I argued that I wasn't cancelling the contract, I was simply not renewing it and therefore should not be charged. I was sent an email saying sorry you're going blah and that I owed £0 on my account, switched to a faster supplier and I cancelled the DD at the end of that month.

I just tried taking out a loan and from my own bank of 30 years and they refused it?!? I earn £48k a year, have a 10k limit on my CC, no debts at all and have had loans from them before. I did a credit check and it showed a bad debt since Dec of £13 each month from you guessed it the 'company'. My score had gone from 850 to 350.

I called 'the company' to ask why they say I owe them money when I have the email in front of me showing this isn't the case? Refused to admit it is their fault, cancelled the alleged £13 I owed immediately and I asked if I had a debt, what efforts have they made to collect it as I haven't been advised of anything, they said they have not made any effort to do so!

I took the time to reminded him I was a shareholder in the company he works for and I would have to raise this with the MD. He has agreed to 'review' this matter urgently and have the defaults removed from my credit file. So, they ballsed up and I pay for it?

My exposure to contract law was limited to 2 semesters at Uni - but surely this is veiled contract in term is to con consumers into paying an extra payment..I won't mention the company but sounds like Vaderplone...Always check your credit score (avoid site saying it needs your card details first, it should be free).

That probably had them rolling their eyes at the other end of the phone.

 

MobileSaver

caerleon9176 said:

researched the terms/contract length which ended in Dec 20. ... 2 weeks till the end of the contract I contacted them to say I wouldn't be renewing, they said I would be charged because I was CANCELLING my contract, for another 30 days ... My exposure to contract law was limited to 2 semesters at Uni

Yes, you are missing something.

You took out a minimum term contract not a fixed term contract and so you were legally obliged to give the 30 days notice you agreed to when you signed up. To be honest it's utterly incomprehensible that someone who studied contract law at Uni didn't know that...

mattyprice4004

I echo the above - it’s baffling you didn't grasp that you need to give 30 day’s clear notice if you’re cancelling or not renewing; regardless of which it is 30 days is a pretty standard length of time for notice of termination.

Given your education in these matters did you not think it prudent to ask for a copy of the T&Cs if you didn’t receive them originally, or think you research them online so you’re aware of the cancellation procedure? 

Sounds to me like they’re making the right noises to please you (which is great) but I can’t imagine the ‘I own 0.02% of your company’ line will cut much ice with the National Living Wage worker on the other end of the call  

Aylesbury_Duck

caerleon9176 said:

I took out broadband with a let's just call it a 'company', researched the terms/contract length which ended in Dec 20. I paid monthly without issues and as I was about 2 weeks till the end of the contract I contacted them to say I wouldn't be renewing, they said I would be charged because I was CANCELLING my contract, for another 30 days which is in their T&C's which strangely I never got sent at the inception of taking out the service, I argued that I wasn't cancelling the contract, I was simply not renewing it and therefore should not be charged. I was sent an email saying sorry you're going blah and that I owed £0 on my account, switched to a faster supplier and I cancelled the DD at the end of that month.

I just tried taking out a loan and from my own bank of 30 years and they refused it?!? I earn £48k a year, have a 10k limit on my CC, no debts at all and have had loans from them before. I did a credit check and it showed a bad debt since Dec of £13 each month from you guessed it the 'company'. My score had gone from 850 to 350.

I called 'the company' to ask why they say I owe them money when I have the email in front of me showing this isn't the case? Refused to admit it is their fault, cancelled the alleged £13 I owed immediately and I asked if I had a debt, what efforts have they made to collect it as I haven't been advised of anything, they said they have not made any effort to do so!

I took the time to reminded him I was a shareholder in the company he works for and I would have to raise this with the MD. He has agreed to 'review' this matter urgently and have the defaults removed from my credit file. So, they ballsed up and I pay for it?

My exposure to contract law was limited to 2 semesters at Uni - but surely this is veiled contract term is to con consumers into paying an extra payment..I won't mention the company but sounds like Vaderplone...Always check your credit score (avoid site saying it needs your card details first, it should be free).

Why do people go to the bother of messing about like this?  Just name the company, or don't.  What's the point in faffing about declining to name them, then basically doing so anyway?

As for the bit about being a shareholder....groan.  Pretty much anyone with a pension or investments is likely to have some financial interest in most large companies.  It doesn't mark you out as someone special or deserving of preferential treatment, and to throw the old "don't you know who I am?" card is properly old-fashioned and probably ineffective.  You get much more help if you're decent with people on the end of the line.

The_Fat_Controller

D'oh !

The Ts and Cs of all ISPs are available on their websites, nobody does paper any longer.

sheramber

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Jenni_D

To respond to the thread title - Yes.

The posts above cover the details.