EE out of contract but still taking Direct Debit

sully1311

FBaby said:

Mogilby, I am not so convinced that what they are doing is indeed legal. 

I remember when I signed up to a loan and questioned the monthly charge and they told me that it was legal and sent me flying just like EE have. Well years later, they fit challenges in court and had to repay everyone. 

That could very much be similar so I am not giving up yet. Still trying to work out the actual legality of it.

EE have done nothing wrong legally. They've followed the Ofcom rules by sending a text: 

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2020/companies-must-tell-customers-about-their-best-deals

Well morally, I'd kind of agree that they shouldn't be charging full price after the minimum term has ended, it's up to consumer to shop around and look for better details or renegotiate with these standard contracts. 

simax

I still find it amazing that people willingly sign up to contracts without even checking the basic small print. It’s not as if mobile phones haven’t been around for nearly 40 years… if you’re not happy with the contract terms, don’t take the deal. Simple.

FBaby

*Providers must now tell you when your contract’s up, and what their best deals are*
EXACTLY! I'm the customer, not my son. They didn't tell ME that MY contract was up. That's is the basis of my challenge.

*if you’re not happy with the contract terms, don’t take the deal. Simple*
Again, totally missing the point. I don't believe they've followed the terms of the contract. A contract taken with ME, not my son. My point is that their method of informing about the end of the contract should insure it is received by ME,not someone else and therefore a message on the phone shouldn't be legally acceptable, especially when I am the one who has access to the APP, and therefore notification should be through that mean.

It is correct that noone here can help as my query is very specific from a legal perspective. I was hoping that a lawyer familiar with ofcom would lurk here. Clearly not. 

mrochester

FBaby said:

*Providers must now tell you when your contract’s up, and what their best deals are*
EXACTLY! I'm the customer, not my son. They didn't tell ME that MY contract was up. That's is the basis of my challenge.

*if you’re not happy with the contract terms, don’t take the deal. Simple*
Again, totally missing the point. I don't believe they've followed the terms of the contract. A contract taken with ME, not my son. My point is that their method of informing about the end of the contract should insure it is received by ME,not someone else and therefore a message on the phone shouldn't be legally acceptable, especially when I am the one who has access to the APP, and therefore notification should be through that mean.

It is correct that noone here can help as my query is very specific from a legal perspective. I was hoping that a lawyer familiar with ofcom would lurk here. Clearly not. 

I don’t know how EE would know that it’s NOT you at the end of the mobile number.  It seems like a reasonable assumption to make that the mobile number in your name is accessible by you. 

Alderbank

Telecoms is a very highly regulated industry.
Providers have to abide absolutely by Ofcom's rules whether they agree with them or not.

Ofcom considers that the 'customer' is the person who uses the phone, not necessarily the one who pays the bill. There is some logic to this as it is the user who is affected by the sort of issues that Ofcom is interested in such as service availability and quality. 

Although Ofcom require the provider to send communications to the user (the 'customer') rather than the bill payer they do permit that to be changed.

Ofcom's terms and conditions, which are binding on Telecoms providers, say:

Ofcom requires all telecoms providers in the UK to offer third party bill management. This allows a customer to nominate a friend or relative to help manage their account. The third party can receive copies of bills and can pay the bills, but does not become liable for them.

The customer should contact their telecoms provider to set this up.

Also, if the customer is of unsound mind or is too frail to make those arrangements, Ofcom accept that the bill payer rather than the customer could set these up if they have power of attorney.

OP, if you think Ofcom should change their rules you could write to your MP.

For what it's worth, I would guess that no more than 50% of mobile contracts are actually paid by the phone user.
I know quite a few families consisting of mum, dad and two school-age kids. In every case, one bill payer pays for all four phones. I also know quite a few people who pay for their elderly parents' phones.

Timzone

Same thing happened to me - I just think EE have a duty of care to not over charge the customer - after a 2 year contract is up - the phone is paid off - its that simple - the price should be reduced to sim only or a curtesy call - the text to say the contract is ending doesn't highlight the fact the they will continue to charge for the phone as well as the tariff. 
Yes its my fault for not contacting - but like I say where is the duty of care, they're just a happy to line their pockets for as long as possible.

sdduk

To be honest i see all points and answers...I took out a contract with 3 for my granddaughter in my name and what i did was put the date the contract would Finnish on my calendar i paid for it every month and my daughter gave me the money back.
When the contract finished i looked for a sim-only deal for her because the phone was still ok, all i did was got a Pac code from 3 and gave it to another provider all you do is Text: Pac to 65075 it will come back with the code and if you owe any money or not...But your contract will end has soon as the number goes over to the new provider.
If you want to know how much you owe on your contract if its not finished you can Text: info to 85075 and with-in a min or so you will get your answer from your provider by text.
So now days you don't even have to ring your provider if you don't want to unless you want to stay with them then you would have to ring or go on chat.

Neil_Jones

Timzone said:

Same thing happened to me - I just think EE have a duty of care to not over charge the customer - after a 2 year contract is up - the phone is paid off - its that simple - the price should be reduced to sim only or a curtesy call - the text to say the contract is ending doesn't highlight the fact the they will continue to charge for the phone as well as the tariff. 
Yes its my fault for not contacting - but like I say where is the duty of care, they're just a happy to line their pockets for as long as possible.

The default position if you don't tell the provider is to drop into a rolling contract and maintain your phone serice.

The alternative is to cut you off altogether.

Would you prefer to be just cut off after 24 months and lose your number?

savergrant

Neil_Jones said:

Timzone said:

Same thing happened to me - I just think EE have a duty of care to not over charge the customer - after a 2 year contract is up - the phone is paid off - its that simple - the price should be reduced to sim only or a curtesy call - the text to say the contract is ending doesn't highlight the fact the they will continue to charge for the phone as well as the tariff. 
Yes its my fault for not contacting - but like I say where is the duty of care, they're just a happy to line their pockets for as long as possible.

The default position if you don't tell the provider is to drop into a rolling contract and maintain your phone serice.

The alternative is to cut you off altogether.

Would you prefer to be just cut off after 24 months and lose your number?

I think op would prefer to be moved to the equivalent sim only tariff once they have paid for the 'free' phone.