Tado - New subscription for app

Hilazing

Hi all,
I have been using the Tado smart heating system for a couple of years now and I find it great to be able to control the temperature of every room in my house independently.
There's always been the option to sign up for a subscription service for a fee and get additional features - none of which really appealed to me, and I didn't want to be paying extra for something which is supposed to be saving me money.

Then today I see someone on Facebook complaining that they went to buy some Tado products and got a popup warning them that as of May this year there is a fee for using the app, and they are not able to purchase anything without acknowledging this.

There's been no announcement yet as to whether this affects existing users, or only new ones, but my question is this - as I have been sold a free-to-use service - should Tado decide to implement these charges to existing customers - where do I stand? Can I get a refund on all of the stuff I have bought - which isn't exactly cheap, or am I stuck with partially functional devices or forced to pay a subscription?

The subscription cost is pretty minimal (For now) but that's not the point - I would've looked elsewhere if I knew there was an ongoing costs associated with this product.

powerful_Rogue

Hilazing said:

Hi all,
I have been using the Tado smart heating system for a couple of years now and I find it great to be able to control the temperature of every room in my house independently.
There's always been the option to sign up for a subscription service for a fee and get additional features - none of which really appealed to me, and I didn't want to be paying extra for something which is supposed to be saving me money.

Then today I see someone on Facebook complaining that they went to buy some Tado products and got a popup warning them that as of May this year there is a fee for using the app, and they are not able to purchase anything without acknowledging this.

There's been no announcement yet as to whether this affects existing users, or only new ones, but my question is this - as I have been sold a free-to-use service - should Tado decide to implement these charges to existing customers - where do I stand? Can I get a refund on all of the stuff I have bought - which isn't exactly cheap, or am I stuck with partially functional devices or forced to pay a subscription?

The subscription cost is pretty minimal (For now) but that's not the point - I would've looked elsewhere if I knew there was an ongoing costs associated with this product.

What do the Tado T&C's state?

Sustainabloke

If you go onto the tado community then they are saying it was a test to see what the customer response is....

MSE_James

Tado has been in touch with us and provided the following statement: 

"Hi, Like lots of other companies, we routinely do marketing tests and research, plus we look at customer feedback every day. This message was part of a test and those involved retain full access to the tado° App with no charge."

TightGit73

My app this morning says: From 19 February 2025 on, accessing the tado° app requires subscribing to one of these plans. Without a subscription you will only be able to control your tado° directly on the devices or with smart home apps such as the Apple Home app, Google Home app or Alexa app.

The basic subscription is only £0.99 but this is still disappointing as the price will only ever increase.

This is very short notice and the billing is annually.

darrude

Just seen this on a facebook group.  I bought as it was subscription free as I don't do subscriptions, especially for something like this where you have no control as you've bought the kit (inevitably next year it'll be 20p/month more as it's only '20p', then the year after, and the year after....). 

If they do this for existing then surely this is literally the legal definition of miss-representation of goods so I can't see it happening.  Surely it would also destroy any trust they have in the market.  

Pollycat

darrude said:

Just seen this on a facebook group.  I bought as it was subscription free as I don't do subscriptions, especially for something like this where you have no control as you've bought the kit (inevitably next year it'll be 20p/month more as it's only '20p', then the year after, and the year after....). 

If they do this for existing then surely this is literally the legal definition of miss-representation of goods so I can't see it happening.  Surely it would also destroy any trust they have in the market.  

Have you read the message up-thread from MSE James?

BeerSavesMoney

There has been a lot of talk about this on the Tado Community forums and Reddit recently as more users have been receiving this “test”. 

Tado have even mocked up a fake Apple Pay screen which users have to navigate through to make a fake payment to retain features.

It’s been reported that some users who have child locks on their Tado TRVs (smart radiator valves) have been unable to operate them unless they sign up to this fake subscription test.

If users go through with the subscription they are advised they won’t be charged and that it’s a test. 

This test in itself is unfair and will be producing results that are showing a high number of users subscribing. What choice do they have when they’ve been locked out of using their Tado equipment?

This been conducted poorly and Tado now have a lot of unhappy customers.

If this were to be implemented I would hope there is some way that customers can be reimbursed for the expensive Tado equipment they’ve purchased which would be effectively no longer smart and only operate the same way as a traditional thermostat would.

400ixl

If they were to go down that route then there would unlikely be recourse for refunding any hardware purchase costs. It is likely coming, just when really. Look at the number of other devices that have gone subscription or even been made obsolete by smart device providers.

There are other options out there such as Home Assistant where you can run your own app to control them without the need to be using Tado services and connecting to China. At the very least make sure anything you buy has such a fall back option.

Personally all of the Smart Home equipment I have purchased is all able to be controlled by software not provided by the manufacturer and without subscription (Ring is the only exception as I had that long before I did home automation and will replace that at some point).

born_again

Do they have anything in the T/C about the possibility of introducing charges?

A_Geordie

born_again said:

Do they have anything in the T/C about the possibility of introducing charges?

They don't, but according to the T&Cs on the website they have a right to amend the terms and the consumer can object to those revised terms.

I'm also a Tado user but have not experienced this yet. I wonder if the manner in which they are doing this to users could potentially contravene the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, though it would ultimately be a matter for trading standards to take up.