BB and LL out of contact help 19 January at 7:06PM in Broadband & internet access 6 replies 113 views

cfcboy97

So I’m with xln at £40 per month for business bb and land line. Today I noticed it shot up to £100! I assume it’s out of contract and they have just put me on some stupid monthly stitch up bill.

I haven’t had any notification of this change via email or letter so I’m quite annoyed. I only noticed as the £100 has just come from current account.

What are my options here? Can I get a refund of the difference and move as I haven’t agreed to the extra or a new contract? TIA

MorningcoffeeIV

You haven't agreed to a new contract so they haven't put you on one. That means you go onto a rolling monthly at the out of contract price as you agreed.

If you want something cheaper, look for a new contract, but they're very unlikely to let you backdate it and claim a refund.

 

Neil_Jones

cfcboy97 said:

So I’m with xln at £40 per month for business bb and land line. Today I noticed it shot up to £100! I assume it’s out of contract and they have just put me on some stupid monthly stitch up bill.

I haven’t had any notification of this change via email or letter so I’m quite annoyed. I only noticed as the £100 has just come from current account.

What are my options here? Can I get a refund of the difference and move as I haven’t agreed to the extra or a new contract? TIA

XLN as you say is a business provider so you don't have any of the protections/regulations/whatever of the consumer market, which will include notification of ending contract dates.  If you're running a business you're expected to look after your own affairs so far as the business is concerned.

So this is easy - all you can do if you want to reduce your bill is agree to a new contract.  Or pick another provider.  Your choice.

matelodave

You really need to make sure that contract dates are put in the diary so you can anticipate and prepare rather than getting a nasty surprise.

onomatopoeia99

matelodave said:

You really need to make sure that contract dates are put in the diary so you can anticipate and prepare rather than getting a nasty surprise.

Or go with a provider that doesn't try to lure you in with discounts and charges the same whether in minimum term or not.

The OP definitely is not out of contract as no-one would supply them without a contract, and we should get away from this absurd and incorrect use of "out of contract".

matelodave

I think you misread what I said - I did not suggest that the OP was out of contract,

I said that he should check and diarise his contract dates to avoid surprises as I guess that his contract probably has an escalation clause or terms and conditions that allow increases at some point in the contract cycle, whether it be a minimum term or ending of a discount period.

iniltous

Unfortunately many consumers and even companies refer to an  ‘out of contract price’  all they really mean is outside any minimum term , as noted ,  those on a 30 day notice to quit , still have a ‘contract’ .
As far as the OP , they may have the option to quit with a minimum notice period, or it could be that a discount period within the minimum term has expired, but not the minimum term.
As far as getting a refund, that’s not likely , chances are it’s in the T&C’s that the price increases after the discount period ends , or the minimum term expires, the OP needs to check what they agreed to , without knowing that , it’s impossible really to give an opinion, if for example they are still within a minimum period with onerous penalties to quit , moving to a ‘cheaper’ provider may not come close offsetting the costs to quit .