Service provider has changed a clause in their T&C without notifying customers.

Me_2

I am an employee of the service provider in question, hence why I'll try to keep this anonymous. I'm essentially concerned that my employer is acting wrongly or unfairly, if not illegally and I need to be able to establish whether or not they are in the wrong before I potentially kick up a stink with my bosses by raising my concerns. It's quite a small company so doing so is a big deal.

The service provider in question has made a significant amount of changes to it's customer terms and conditions over the last couple of years without notifying existing customers in any way when new versions are written and come into force. They have however kept the version of terms & conditions published on their website up to date and current at all times.

I have to say that for the most part, the changes haven't made a massive impact on how the product performs or the rights of customers, with the exception of one term that they are now seeking to blanket enforce - in my opinion, unfairly on all customers regardless of when they first became a customer. Ordinarily customers would be able to cancel their service/product at any time and get a refund minus a small cancellation fee. There is a clause in the T&C however, that reads along these lines:

"Repayment of any refunds will be granted at our discretion and in order to protect and preserve the integrity of the company, repayments will not be granted when, in any 12 month period the total amount of customer refunds exceeds £X. We retain the right to review and adjust these provisions at any time and retrospectively apply them."

For the last few years, that £X number has been quite high and has never been close to being triggered. There was however a massive shake up in the industry at the back end of last year and the company significantly reduced this £X value by about 75% in response, fully expecting a rush on customers requesting refunds. When this change was made, as with all other changes - no existing customers were notified. The T&C document on the website was updated however.

That £X value has now been met - due to how much it has been reduced by - and we are therefore denying all refund requests across the board - in effect we are denying refunds to customers who have never seen the T&C in their current form. For a bit of perspective, refunds can be thousands of pounds, so we aren't talking a few quid here.

If I can answer any more questions I need to, I will, but I think that's pretty much the size of it. I have asked for meeting on Monday, so I am hoping to get some clarity before then. Thanks in advance to all who can offer a helping hand.

[Deleted User]

Me_2 said:

Ordinarily customers would be able to cancel their service/product at any time and get a refund minus a small cancellation fee. 

Is the ability to cancel and get a refund a right that is specified in the terms, or is it just general practice? 

Ectophile

If the customers are normal consumers, then the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations will apply.  They prohibit all sorts of unfair terms - there's a big list at the back.

Me_2

Deleted_User said:

Me_2 said:

Ordinarily customers would be able to cancel their service/product at any time and get a refund minus a small cancellation fee. 

Is the ability to cancel and get a refund a right that is specified in the terms, or is it just general practice? 

It is specified in the terms as a right. It's also a significant selling point and prominent on marketing material.  

Me_2

Ectophile said:

If the customers are normal consumers, then the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations will apply.  They prohibit all sorts of unfair terms - there's a big list at the back.

Customers are normal consumers.

Me_2

Ectophile said:

If the customers are normal consumers, then the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations will apply.  They prohibit all sorts of unfair terms - there's a big list at the back.

Having a look here - it might be important to also state that in denying the customer a refund, the company is not also denying the validity of the product - they simply aren't allowing the customer to have a refund and essentially forcing them to retain the product - that they also might still have outstanding payments on. I'll edit the original posts to add these bits in as footnotes.

Reading these Unfair Terms - I guess these 3 all sound like they might apply.

(c)making an agreement binding on the consumer whereas provision of services by the seller or supplier is subject to a condition whose realisation depends on his own will alone;

The supplier's will being choice to lower the threshold for obtaining refunds entirely at their own discretion? 

(i) irrevocably binding the consumer to terms with which he had no real opportunity of becoming acquainted before the conclusion of the contract;

Essentially binding the consumer to versions of terms they have not seen - unless they happen to check the website T&C all the time, which is surely unreasonable to expect?

(p) giving the seller or supplier the possibility of transferring his rights and obligations under the contract, where this may serve to reduce the guarantees for the consumer, without the latter’s agreement;

Reducing the guarantee (possibility) of gaining a refund on request - without their knowledge or agreement?

F1shyFingers

Personally I wouldn't rock the boat and leave if I felt strongly enough about it.

It's their customers job to take them to task, not yours.  Presumably they have some sort of legal advisor so they're unlikely to be going into this blindly.

ThumbRemote

F1shyFingers said:

Personally I wouldn't rock the boat and leave if I felt strongly enough about it.

It's their customers job to take them to task, not yours.  Presumably they have some sort of legal advisor so they're unlikely to be going into this blindly.

It's a small company, not a multi-national with a legal department. They have almost certainly just written the clause themselves, with no idea of the law. 

user1977

ThumbRemote said:

F1shyFingers said:

Personally I wouldn't rock the boat and leave if I felt strongly enough about it.

It's their customers job to take them to task, not yours.  Presumably they have some sort of legal advisor so they're unlikely to be going into this blindly.

It's a small company, not a multi-national with a legal department. They have almost certainly just written the clause themselves, with no idea of the law. 

Hence one of their employees seeking legal advice on a consumer web forum.

bris

They can write any T&C's they want, whether they stand up in consmer rights is another matter.

The T&C's will be what new customers sign up to, existing customers can't be forced to accept them and can continue to use the terms at the time they signed up. 

They could sue for breach of contract if they unfairly lose their service or are forced to pay a higher price.

Botton line is this isn't new, companies, big or small have tried to do this on many occassions. There are laws to prevent it.

Me_2

I raised my concerns with my employer on Monday and was basically told that this was none of my concern and pretty much echoed what F1shyFingers said, in that it wasn't for me to question the legally of their actions, it's for the customers to do.

Still doesn't sit right with me - I don't believe most customers understand their rights so they're basically being taken for a ride.