Do I have a case for a complaint? [Resolved]

Racxie

Hi all,

So yesterday evening I went on Plusnet's website via the MSE link to get the amazing Plusnet 12-month contract deal (12GB data, unlimited minutes & texts for £7 a month + £30 gift card effectively making it £4.50 a month), however I kept getting an 'unexpected error' when putting my details thorough via the desktop site. So I tried again on mobile and managed to authorise the payment and the payment was taken from my card, but the website crashed again afterwards. It wasn't 100% clear whether it had gone through so I tried to call them twice, but on both occasions I couldn't get through due to their call queues (and as I was working til the time they shut I couldn't hang on the phone the entire time).

I didn't want to try putting the order through again as I know I'd definitely be charged twice, and as far as I was concerned payment was taken so a legal contract would have been formed. I've just rang them to check what's going on as I still haven't received any confirmation, only to be told that found my details and the payment, but as there was an unknown issue on their end and it hadn't gone through properly, they'll refund me the upfront payment. I mentioned the offer to ensure I could still get it but the agent told me they wouldn't be able to as I went through a third party (MSE) and that offer is no longer available. I asked to speak with their sales rep anyway, who just repeated the same thing and said they literally cannot offer that deal anymore because it doesn't exist, and there's nothing their manager would be able to do either so I just left it at that.

I work in insurance, and in insurance a legal contract is formed as soon as a payment is made even if no paperwork is produced, but I'm unsure if this applies in other industries such as mobile phone contracts. Does anyone know if this is the case? I've looked at MSE's complaint tool and as above I had every reason to believe I'd be getting the advertised offer and I contacted them as soon as possible.

So, to those more knowledgeable on this kind of thing, is it worth me pursuing it further and completing a Resolver form?

Update: I completely forgot to update this thread, but I did end up using Resolver and Plusnet got back in touch with me very quickly. They said feedback would be provided to the agent who wouldn't bother checking with anyone if something could be done when I specifically asked them to, and they also offered me credit towards my contract to make up the difference plus an extra couple of quid on top. I eventually managed to get the same contract but with a £25 gift card instead, so I essentially still got this deal in the end and was happy with them as a result of course I wish it didn't have to resort to that, but it's in the past now.

DE_612183

you may have a point, but I would suspect that in the small print somewhere there is a clause that allows them to vary the contract at any point in time...

Racxie

DE_612183 said:

you may have a point, but I would suspect that in the small print somewhere there is a clause that allows them to vary the contract at any point in time...

Looking through the T&Cs of their website (https://www.plus.net/help/legal/mobile-terms/) it states:

22.2. We'll normally try to give you 30 days' prior notice before suspending or stopping providing our services and/or ending our agreement). However, we may not do this if we believe there is a real risk of loss or harm to us, our network or our other customers (for example, if you’re not paying for the service or where there is a reasonable suspicion of fraud or other abuse).

The latter definitely doesn't apply. It also states on their T&Cs that:

6.1. Our agreement starts when we accept your order (normally by sending you an email) and it will continue until one of us ends it in accordance with these terms.

So as far as I'm concerned they accepted my order as soon as they took payment (as is the case with insurance), and it does state "normally by sending you an email", so it doesn't state that they "definitely" will send me an email.

If this was insurance I know I'd definitely have a case (and would likely win), but I don't know if contracts like these have as much legal backing.

P1Fanatic

If you didn't receive any order confirmation detailing the deal then how would you ever prove what you agreed to & paid for? I would suspect its more effort than its worth pursuing something like that with an MVNO. I'm sure I've seen a few posts on here with people having problems with Plusnet (possibly related to transferring your number) so maybe see it as a sign and avoid them.

Racxie

P1Fanatic said:

If you didn't receive any order confirmation detailing the deal then how would you ever prove what you agreed to & paid for? I would suspect its more effort than its worth pursuing something like that with an MVNO. I'm sure I've seen a few posts on here with people having problems with Plusnet (possibly related to transferring your number) so maybe see it as a sign and avoid them.

They did have my details on file and confirmation of the payment, and although I don't know exactly what details they have, I can reasonably prove that was the offer I was aiming to take out as the only other deal they have for £7 a month is for 1GB data and 250 minutes (which no one in their right mind would take out especially as they even offer 5GB data with unlimited minutes for £6 a month), but I also have evidence of the conversation I have with my current phone provider about switching to that particular offer.

Even after leaving my current provider that offer would still save me just over £30 in the year which is quite a big difference imo, and the overall rating on MSE for them (when the promotion was shown) was pretty decent.

P1Fanatic

A conversation with the other provider isn't going to be any use in proving what you actually ended up ordering with Plusnet. At the end of the day its up to you to decide if you think the effort to chase it up is worth your time. They are unlikely to change their mind and offer it to you but may offer you some compensation or discount on another deal.