Overpaid my out of contract phone subscription at EE by a lot!!

ANPS

I wonder if anyone could help me on this. My mobile phone provider, EE's contract ended 4 yrs ago. i didn't check the deals and don't remember receiving emails and didn't check them either. I just carried on paying what EE was charging me, which was £39 a month. I just found out I could have been paying like £7 a month for the same thing. 😥I've brought it up with them and they said they'd give me a 6 month rebate. Do I have a case to complain to the Ofcom or is it pointless? If I do take it up with the ombudsman, then I'll lose that 6 month rebate. 

Any suggestions?

jon81uk

you haven't over paid. You paid what you agreed to when you took out the contract.
The fact you chose not to shop around and find a better deal isn't EEs fault.

Penguin_

Take the 6 months & run. When you took the contract out it would have been for 24 months possibly & in the Ts & Cs it would have said that after your contract period ends you will still pay the contracted amount.

ANPS

jon81uk said:

you haven't over paid. You paid what you agreed to when you took out the contract.
The fact you chose not to shop around and find a better deal isn't EEs fault.

Yes, I understand, it's my responsbility. I was wondering if there was something on their part they didn't do that could mean I get my money back. thanks for your answer

ANPS

Penguin_ said:

Take the 6 months & run. When you took the contract out it would have been for 24 months possibly & in the Ts & Cs it would have said that after your contract period ends you will still pay the contracted amount.

Makes sense, move on and stop worrying about my losses! Thanks

Thrugelmir

ANPS said:

jon81uk said:

you haven't over paid. You paid what you agreed to when you took out the contract.
The fact you chose not to shop around and find a better deal isn't EEs fault.

Yes, I understand, it's my responsbility. I was wondering if there was something on their part they didn't do that could mean I get my money back. thanks for your answer

What happened to all the notifications you were sent? 

ANPS

@Thrugelmir, I didn't see the notifications from them. I checked again, but can't find anything. 

flaneurs_lobster

OFCOM's rules say (from their website):

"From 15 February 2020, your provider must tell you when your contract is coming to an end – and they must also tell you about their best available deals.

If you’re already out of contract, you must be reminded you’re out of contract, and told every year about your firm’s best deals."

So if EE didn't follow the rules then you would have grounds for complaint. The problem, I guess, is that you would have to show that EE didn't do something. Unless they say "it's a fair cop guv" then you have to prove a negative and that's hard.

ANPS

@flaneurs_lobster, thanks very much for taking the time and effort of putting that in. I also saw something like that (not the "every year" part). I'm not good at reading my emails, but I've asked for the ones they would have sent to see if it will make a difference. 

Thrugelmir

At a basic level I'm reminded that I can view my bill every month. Always been reminded of contract periods ending.