BT / EE Contract dispute (bullying OAP)

AnotnaC7

A family member aged 78 and not tech savvy noticed that their BT Broadband package including TNT sports had gone up significantly in price, he did not consult me or anyone else about this and ended up in the EE shop in town. He walked out of their having agreed on a contract that included new SIM card as this was the only way he could get TNT sports as part of the package. He already has a mobile contract and did not require this, they were pressuring him to get a PAC code to do the switch. The guy in shop kept insisting that BT and EE are now the same company but when I look at BT site I can still see broadband deals that include the Discovery + app (including all TNT Sport channels). I told him to cancel the deal as he has 14 days cooling off period but EE are saying he cannot cancel as they are the same company.
His original BT contact still has 12 months to run, I feel that he is being manipulated due to the fact he is an OAP with very little understanding, he didn't even know that he was getting a SIM card as part of this deal.

Mark_d

I don't believe you have a cooling off period as the service started in-store.  However, your OAP has been mis-sold this new service as he already has a broadband contract and a mobile contract.  See the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

savergrant

How do you know what happened during the store visit? Have you asked for a recording/cctv?
Was any pre-contract info given which was false? It is true that BT and ee are jointly owned and that, generally, they are moving towards BT branding for business and ee branding for personal customers. So it may be that some existing bt offers are not available to new personal customers.
How has the broadband service been miss-sold? Did they know that the customer was already under contract with another provider, or did they imply that they needed an additional broadband contract?
Is your relative registered as someone under a lasting power of attorney or subject to a mental capacity assessment? I don't think it is proportionate to say technology firms shouldn't be allowed to sell products or services to anyone over the age of 75 because they might sign up to something they don't need.  If the salesperson has lied then the customer's age is irrelevant.

AnotnaC7

Mark_d said:

I don't believe you have a cooling off period as the service started in-store.  However, your OAP has been mis-sold this new service as he already has a broadband contract and a mobile contract.  See the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

I spoke to the agent in the EE store and told him that my father inlaw did not require this. The agent confirmed to me that there was a 14 day cooling off period. But now when he calls them they say it can’t be cancelled.