Telecom Plus Discussion Area

loon_2

NigeWick, your posts state that you are an independent distributor for T+. I would have thought, that your use of ‘thought’ is misappropriated. Surely, someone who works for T+ would ‘know’ how discounts are applied, as is it not your job to promote the products and know the ins and outs of all tariffs backwards?

NigeWick

lisyloo wrote:

However I've now given an exmaple plus Hansi has given another similar example on a different thread.

So I was just coming back to back up my claim. Albeit not in the timescale that some others would have liked (I do have other responsibilities).

If you want to re-open the debate about the advertising then that's up to you, as far as I am concerned I have backed up my original claim on the subject.

When I started with T+, they always were the cheapest I could find for my circumstances. I've always encouraged potential customers to check their own figures if they can. I used to work out likely savings for them, but the company have told us not to do this now, so I just tell people what the costs are for their area so that they can compare them to their current bills. I always add everything in so that there are no surprises. That way if they sign up, they know that I haven't hidden anything. It makes sense to me to build up trust so that I can always get a cuppa when I visit Mum!

As to backing up your claim, that was "before my time" here I try not to throw stones as *I* am very delicate and may drop one on my foot.

I think many companies fall foul of advertising standards on occasion because they want to put their own viewpoint across as strongly as possible. I believe that we should all learn from our mistakes and just move on. No doubt I'll make more mistakes as I go along, but, I'll do my best to put them right. From my experiences with T+, they do try and improve all the time. They are expanding very rapidly and sometimes I think their legs aren't long enough to cope with the steps. All I can say is, I have been happy with the way I have been treated both as a customer and distributor.

Nigel.

NigeWick

Smartasss wrote:

Quoting Utilita, NigeWick (from T+) wrote:



Very misleading and completely false!

The whole idea behind this company is that they do give incentives by way of credits which you can either use to buy energy saving products or (maybe better) get worthwhile cashback from your energy bills - 8% is paid by cheque annually.

******************************************

To confuse us more, the T+ Rep states that he will get a further £20 off the energylinx quote.

This is not true.

Quotes from Energylinx include any annual discounts, so in the case of a quote for T+, they will factor in the £10 discount T+ give for taking both fuels from them.

If the T+ rep is getting £20 discount from T+, then that must be for taking another service from them (as well as both gas and electricity), so the other £10 being received should not be being presented to us as being part of a total of £20 being discounted off the T+ price for gas and electricity.

We're obviously talking at cross purposes here. I looked at the energylinx site and there were no incentives shown there for Utilita (there were for npower & powergen). *I* am a loyal T+ customer, so *I* get £20 cashback for electricity & gas, as well as landline, internet access and freephone number on top of a mobile phone. *I* get £50 cashback. I never said that I get £20 off the energylinx quote, I said I get £20 off the T+ price.

From energylinx:-" These additional offers are not included in the actual price comparison. "

If I wished, I suppose could accuse you of falsehood too. However, I'd rather discuss this in a reasonable way and I'll admit any mistakes I make. I have never deliberately tried to lead anybody astray, and if you accuse me of it again, I will tend to believe that you have some personal grudge against anybody involved with Telecom Plus.

I noticed from Utilita that one has to sign up for a minumum of a year. Would you advise signing up for that length of time with the possibility that prices may increase?

Nigel.

NigeWick

loon wrote:

NigeWick, your posts state that you are an independent distributor for T+. I would have thought, that your use of ‘thought’ is misappropriated. Surely, someone who works for T+ would ‘know’ how discounts are applied, as is it not your job to promote the products and know the ins and outs of all tariffs backwards?

I don't "work for" T+, I dabble for myself. Independent Distributors are just that, independent. If somebody wants the services offered, they make an agreement with the company, not the distibutor. My advice is always to make sure one is happy with all the terms and conditions before signing up. My memory of the "rules" regarding the cashback was/is that one has to be a customer/club member for a year before qualifying for cashback.

If you know of anybody who can remember all the tariffs for electricity, gas, UK & international phone calls, mobile tariffs & call charges, internet access prices & etc, I am sure they'll be very interesting to talk to. I can't, and do not propose to learn them all. If somebody asks me a specific question, I am happy to look it up for them.

I'll e-mail the company and ask why some club members/customers are getting cashback early. Don't expect a reply from me before Monday evening.

Nigel.

PS Just looked at my dictionary. Misappropriate:- Take (another's money etc.) for one's own use. Embezzle.

How can I misappropriate my own thought?

NigeWick

hansi wrote:

I ain't giving it back!

:beer:
Nigel.

lisyloo

"I thought that too, but I've got it and I ain't giving it back!"

I don't mean to be a spoilsport Hansi, but legally the company may be entitled to claim this money back.
If you don't give it then there are various way they can take it e.g. by getting an "attachement of earnings" to take it from your wages.
This will make you very unpopular with your employer.

Sorry - I'm not taking sides, but that's what I see as the legal position.

I think the contract you signed stands (if they choose to enforce it).

lisyloo

"As to backing up your claim, that was "before my time" here "

Hi Nigel - I don't think I have any argument with you here.

I just wanted to set the story straight as I was unfortunately unable to do that whilst going through a minor crisis in my personal life.

I don't know whether Paul will come back - maybe not.

Smartasss

They have an easier way to get back any money owed.

They can "legally" block your move away from them on the grounds that you owe them some money.

This would mean you were tied to them until the matter was resolved, and would have to continue paying them their charges even though you could be getting cheaper supplies elsewhere.

Just wouldn't be worth it for you if they decided to cut up rough over any money owed!

(They are pretty quick to invoke their Ts + Cs if any member owes them any money - they first cut off the phone if you use them for telephony)

Smartasss

NigeWick wrote:

I looked at the energylinx site and there were no incentives shown there for Utilita.........................I suppose could accuse you of falsehood

So which "falsehood" could you accuse me of?

When you get a quote from energylinx, click on the price for a particular supplier, and a box pops up detailing the tariff and any special offers.

For Utilita it says:

"A discount has been applied to this tariff to reflect the fact that under the Utilita Credit Guarantee you may opt out of the energy saving scheme after one year and receive the discount shown in the form of a cashback."

For T+ it says:

"Included Discounts per Annum £ 10"

You say you get £20 for being loyal to T+, but you will agree this is somewhat misleading and not the norm - no "ordinary" member gets £20 cashback for having duel fuel from T+. All they will get is the standard £10 annual cashback.

You mention the Utilita 12 month minimum contract in relation to possible future price rises, but don't mention that in return for entering a 12 month contract they give you their Price Tracker Promise which pegs their prices in line with other players in the field.

I don't advise anyone to sign up for any particular supplier, though I do advise that everyone should get the full details of a supplier they are interested in, and that relying totally on a company's own sales staff to give them the full details is being naive!

There are lots of examples of misleading claims by sales staff to be found on this Board!

lisyloo

"I noticed from Utilita that one has to sign up for a minumum of a year. Would you advise signing up for that length of time with the possibility that prices may increase?"

I totally agree that one has to look at the entire service being offered and not simply the price (as we have already agrede in relation to land lines).

However you have not mentioned the fact that there are some safeguards in place with regard to price changes for Utilita.
There are also a number of downsides to the Tplus service but as with any product being marketed - the product is put inthe best possible light by the people that sell it.

That is perfectly OK, but as you say (and we agree) people need to do more than just look at the price and look beyond the often limited information given out by vested interest.
They need to look at the service on offer, any tie-ins and also make sure they compare like with like e.g. DD prices with one supplier with the same DD prices for another (which is NOT what you did for phone prices). If this was a one-off mistake then fair enough.

I think we are largely in agreement, that people need to do research for themselves, however because you have a vested interest, so far you spoken about the "pros" of Telecom Plus and the "cons" of other services like Utilita, which quite clearly does not give a balanced picture.
You have also made unfair comparisons price between BT and TPlus.

I don't have a vested interest and prefer to objectively consider the pros and cons of all the offerings and where possile provide information - hopefully without any bias.