1-month rolling contract left going without realising/notification - any compensation rights?

holyone2

The mess I got myself in

I bought a one-month rolling contract SIM with Three that came with a Mobile Wifi router. The contract started in June 2021 and I thought I had cancelled it in July 2021 but was shocked (and embarrassed!) when I spotted in my account in Jan 2023 that have been billing to me each month since then.

As it was so long ago, my memory is sketchy at best, but I believe I requested a cancellation over the phone on 13th July 2021 as I can see on the SIM card it has a STAC code received then (that message was not opened by me until today), which I have learned today is a code used to cancel. I think what must have happened is that I was not aware that I needed to use this STAC code to complete the cancellation and so it did not occur. 

Why I am wondering if I have ground for a complaint

I also have eBilling setup - they say "With eBilling you'll get a text message on your phone when your bill is ready. You can then view your bill summary on your phone, or see an itemised bill online by logging in to your My3 account." 

But given I had this SIM card in the Mobile Wifi router they provided with the contract, I was unable to see or receive these texts which they should have sent to me on this number. When I plug in this device, it has no record of any billing texts since July 2021. I have never received any emails from Three, except the initial email saying they are sending the SIM. Importantly, my registered contact number was and IS a different number to the contract SIM number, and if they had just sent me eBilling updates on that number I wouldn't have gotten into this mess as I would have been aware it was not cancelled. I can view the bills by logging into my account, which requires 2-factor authentication with the SIM itself, so is not something I ever did until today I think. 

1) Do I have any grounds to complain if they did not notify me of billing on my registered contact number (instead contacting me on the contractual number, which I had no visibility on)? As far as I can see, they notified me on neither number, but I am unsure if texts are received if the device containing a SIM is off for a year.

2) In this situation, I was unaware my contract was renewing, are there any consumer rights that say they need to notify me on renewal of an auto-renewing monthly contract?

3) It seems likely they didn't make it clear to me that the STAC code needed to be used (as I surely would have actioned it if they had made this clear) - do I have any rights to complain if this is the case, given I likely can't prove what they told me? (They might have the call recorded, but I do not)

Overall, seems unlikely to me there is much I can do, as I should have spotted the issue earlier from my bank statements, but I am surprised it's possible to get into a situation where one is "silently billed" in this situation. I also have not used the contract at all for a year, I wonder if there's any way of asking for compensation given it was an oversight of mine that has cost Three "nothing". Do you think I have any rights to compensation or refund?

Thanks for any advice,

born_again

You can ask, but they do not have to refund anything. As sadly you did not follow the cancelation process.

There is not need for them to contact you, as it is in the T/C that it will automatically move from fixed to rolling term.

HillStreetBlues

Seems like you just wanted to cancel the rolling contact rather than move to another network (STAC not to keep number, PAC to keep number) so neither code needed.

Not sure how (and if) you can get any money back.

holyone2

Thank you for your posts.

They informed me today that if I use a STAC code applied to a fresh SIM like a Giffgaff SIM is a slightly cheaper way to cancel than stopping the renewal as it allows me to terminate midway through the month, so I'll cancel that way, but this time I'm actually aware of the need to use the code so it should be fine.

Indeed when I cancelled I don't think I knew about STAC, so I think there's a good chance the person I was on the phone to simply told me it was cancelled and instead sent me this STAC, which requires using it within 30 days.

Alderbank

holyone2 said:

Indeed when I cancelled I don't think I knew about STAC, so I think there's a good chance the person I was on the phone to simply told me it was cancelled and instead sent me this STAC, which requires using it within 30 days.

No, you don't have to use it at all if you don't want to. Simply ignore it.
It expires within 30 days, but if you want to use it and it has expired, just text the word STAC to 75075. Your  provider will then send you an automated reply containing your STAC

HillStreetBlues

Alderbank said:

holyone2 said:

Indeed when I cancelled I don't think I knew about STAC, so I think there's a good chance the person I was on the phone to simply told me it was cancelled and instead sent me this STAC, which requires using it within 30 days.

No, you don't have to use it at all if you don't want to. Simply ignore it.
It expires within 30 days, but if you want to use it and it has expired, just text the word STAC to 75075. Your  provider will then send you an automated reply containing your STAC

I believe the OP is taking about the contract with 3.
To cancel the contract with 3 via  STAC you are required to use it within 30 days. 
failure do do so means the contract with 3  remains.

holyone2

Yes exactly what I mean is that by sending me the STAC and not using it within 30 days, my telephone request to cancel back in July 2021 was essentially silently rejected without me knowing (I don't know I had a STAC to use within 30 days). Maybe they told me about this on the phone when I cancelled, but I don't have a record of the phone call to check sadly.

The real frustration here for me is that by signing up to ebilling, I would have thought they have a responsibility to inform me of new bills beyond simply having them displayed in a web portal behind a password.