Broadband provider reneging on 50% off forever

Dalaibuy

Hi, this is my first post, I've done my best to familiarise myself with the forum's guidance, but apologise if I miss something.

When I signed up with one of the alt-nets that started putting fibre up in my local area, they offered a (frankly crazy, I recognise) 50% discount (on what would be the full rate package) for as long as I stayed their customer.

They just informed me that they are now withdrawing this discount and when I questioned this they pointed me to a new post on their website which now says they can withdraw any offers at any time.

So I'm now faced with my broadband doubling at the end of this month. I have an email trail from the representative I spoke to at sign-up confirming unambiguously that this discount would always apply for as long as I stay a customer.

I've asked them for my original contract and the terms and conditions that would have applied at the point I signed up as one of their customers, however it has now been over a week and they are continuing to claim 'computer issues'.

Has anyone had any situation similar to this? I do recognise that it is likely there's not much I can do and that I should probably just shut up and enjoy the fact that I got silly cheap fibre for a couple years.

400ixl

Assume you are out of your minimum committed term then? That should mean you can give notice and go and find a better deal elsewhere.

DullGreyGuy

Dalaibuy said:

Hi, this is my first post, I've done my best to familiarise myself with the forum's guidance, but apologise if I miss something.

When I signed up with one of the alt-nets that started putting fibre up in my local area, they offered a (frankly crazy, I recognise) 50% discount (on what would be the full rate package) for as long as I stayed their customer.

They just informed me that they are now withdrawing this discount and when I questioned this they pointed me to a new post on their website which now says they can withdraw any offers at any time.

So I'm now faced with my broadband doubling at the end of this month. I have an email trail from the representative I spoke to at sign-up confirming unambiguously that this discount would always apply for as long as I stay a customer.

I've asked them for my original contract and the terms and conditions that would have applied at the point I signed up as one of their customers, however it has now been over a week and they are continuing to claim 'computer issues'.

Has anyone had any situation similar to this? I do recognise that it is likely there's not much I can do and that I should probably just shut up and enjoy the fact that I got silly cheap fibre for a couple years.

Where's your copy of the agreement?

Have you used Wayback Machine to see if it has a snapshot of their site at the time you signed up?

Jenni_D

And if you're not out of the minimum contract term, and they're looking to put the price up anyway, then you can probably* leave penalty-free anyway.

* subject to those T&Cs

Dalaibuy

400ixl said:

Assume you are out of your minimum committed term then? That should mean you can give notice and go and find a better deal elsewhere.

I can, yes, but there is nothing close to that deal around at the moment. 

I suppose my main question is can a company promise a 'forever discount' and then just perform a rug-pull somewhere down the line?

Dalaibuy

DullGreyGuy said:

Dalaibuy said:

Hi, this is my first post, I've done my best to familiarise myself with the forum's guidance, but apologise if I miss something.

When I signed up with one of the alt-nets that started putting fibre up in my local area, they offered a (frankly crazy, I recognise) 50% discount (on what would be the full rate package) for as long as I stayed their customer.

They just informed me that they are now withdrawing this discount and when I questioned this they pointed me to a new post on their website which now says they can withdraw any offers at any time.

So I'm now faced with my broadband doubling at the end of this month. I have an email trail from the representative I spoke to at sign-up confirming unambiguously that this discount would always apply for as long as I stay a customer.

I've asked them for my original contract and the terms and conditions that would have applied at the point I signed up as one of their customers, however it has now been over a week and they are continuing to claim 'computer issues'.

Has anyone had any situation similar to this? I do recognise that it is likely there's not much I can do and that I should probably just shut up and enjoy the fact that I got silly cheap fibre for a couple years.

Where's your copy of the agreement?

Have you used Wayback Machine to see if it has a snapshot of their site at the time you signed up?

I've looked and it looks like I was never actually provided a contract, or terms and conditions, or anything.

The Wayback machine is a great shout though! I'm having a look at it now, although I have a few screenshots from when I signed up.

400ixl

Depends on the wording, but most have enough ambiguity to allow them to. Although within a couple of years is a bit short of a timescale to be doing it.

You really need the terms.

user1977

Dalaibuy said:

400ixl said:

Assume you are out of your minimum committed term then? That should mean you can give notice and go and find a better deal elsewhere.

I suppose my main question is can a company promise a 'forever discount' and then just perform a rug-pull somewhere down the line?

What does the offer actually mean though?

"50% discount (on what would be the full rate package)" could just mean there's a fictional "full rate" of double whatever they want to charge you from time to time.

Dalaibuy

user1977 said:

Dalaibuy said:

400ixl said:

Assume you are out of your minimum committed term then? That should mean you can give notice and go and find a better deal elsewhere.

I suppose my main question is can a company promise a 'forever discount' and then just perform a rug-pull somewhere down the line?

What does the offer actually mean though?

"50% discount (on what would be the full rate package)" could just mean there's a fictional "full rate" of double whatever they want to charge you from time to time.

It's a good point, however, they aren't making the case that they are doubling the price of my broadband and therefore my discount still applies, its just that their base rates have increased - an honestly I'm surprised they didn't argue this as I'm pretty sure that would be the harder situation for me to argue against.

They have simply stated "When you joined us, we were pleased to offer you a 50% discount on your monthly broadband charge. We’ve worked hard to keep this promise, but due to rising costs, we can no longer sustain this offer. As a result, we need to bring your pricing in line with our standard rates."

Dalaibuy

I've used the Wayback machine and, strangely enough, at the time I signed up, all mention of terms and conditions are gone from the website, the best you get are FAQs which just talk about the company. But the price I signed up at is quoted and corresponds with the screengrab I took from when I originally signed up (seen above).

Also a quote from my conversations with the sales rep. when I queried the 'forever discount': "Okay, so, what that means is those particular prices are fixed for 2 years. After this term we may review our standard full rate packages and increase them in conjunction with inflation and VAT rises but if you remain with us forever you will always have 50% off applied to whatever we may be changing too."

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

When did you first take out the broadband OP?