Are EE breaching Ofcom guidelines with their recent changes?

m321jdpo0912

In the last month I've received two messages from EE;

1) That my included Netflix package is being changed from Basic (which was £7.99/month) to "Standard with Ads" (which is £5.99)
2) The the Roaming included is changing from EU and a few other countries, to EU *or* a select number of countries.

For 2 you can only change between the two separate packages once every 30 days.

The add-ons were something that made me choose EE, so, my understanding of CRA2015 Part 1, Chapter 4, Section 50, this means they form part of my contract with EE.

Ofcom say, on their contracts page, "Phone and broadband providers can change the terms of a contract but they must give you at least one month's notice and a right to exit the contract without penalty if the change does not benefit you.". 

This, to me, means that the cheaper Netflix package, and the removal of the ability to roam in the EU and a few other countries at will, is definitely not to my benefit, and so I should be offered the opportunity for a exit without penalty (i.e. without an early termination charge). 

EE say that these two things are add-ons, and have separate T&Cs which allow them to change them without offering an early exit, but, the CRA2015 indicates that, because they were part of my contract choice, they are part of my contract, and that any clause which tries to get around their obligations is unlawful (CRA2015 Part 2, Paragraph 62, example clause is in Schedule 2 of the act).

So, Can EE really change these things, which were a fundamental part of me choosing the contract, as they please, without offering me any discount or early exit opportunity, or are they trying to pull a fast one?

PHK

The OFCOM quote refers only to calls/texts/data and not to things like extra bundles, passes, add-ons etc. 

I don't personally agree with your interpretation of the CRA. Your contract allows you to chose add-ons which EE have allowed you to do. They also say the choice of add-on may change. (This isn't unique to EE by the way, similar logic is used by the other providers and even in other areas such as packaged bank accounts. )

Remember the MSE advice, if you were to be able to leave - can you get the same for less elsewhere? If you can't then there is no point trying. If you can then at least raise a formal complaint with EE. 

m321jdpo0912

The part of the CRA that I beleive means add-ons are part of the service (Part 1, Chapter 4, Section 50) states;

(1)Every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including as a term of the contract anything that is said or written to the consumer, by or on behalf of the trader, about the trader or the service, if—
(a)it is taken into account by the consumer when deciding to enter into the contract, or
(b)it is taken into account by the consumer when making any decision about the service after entering into the contract.

Therefore, if the add-ons were part of the selection process, then they fall under (1)(a) and form part of the main contract and not a separate service.

Can you clarify where you have read that the Ofcom quote only applies to calls/texts/data, and not the whole contract (which the above would mean includes add-ons).

What EE are now offering can be found cheaper elsewhere via separate tarriff with Roaming (£12 Giff Gaff Tariff which includes EU roaming, plus £5.99 for Netflix Standard plus Ads, plus £10.99 Apple Music, has a total of £28.98. My EE package is £42/month). 

Glasseye

m321jdpo0912 said:

The part of the CRA that I beleive means add-ons are part of the service (Part 1, Chapter 4, Section 50) states;

(1)Every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including as a term of the contract anything that is said or written to the consumer, by or on behalf of the trader, about the trader or the service, if—
(a)it is taken into account by the consumer when deciding to enter into the contract, or
(b)it is taken into account by the consumer when making any decision about the service after entering into the contract.

Therefore, if the add-ons were part of the selection process, then they fall under (1)(a) and form part of the main contract and not a separate service.

Can you clarify where you have read that the Ofcom quote only applies to calls/texts/data, and not the whole contract (which the above would mean includes add-ons).

What EE are now offering can be found cheaper elsewhere via separate tarriff with Roaming (£12 Giff Gaff Tariff which includes EU roaming, plus £5.99 for Netflix Standard plus Ads, plus £10.99 Apple Music, has a total of £28.98. My EE package is £42/month). 

This is a really good question and you seem to have researched it well! I'm in exactly the same boat as you with EE and keen to know the answer to this.. did you talk to EE or explore this any further 

Frozen_up_north

m321jdpo0912 said:

 My EE package is £42/month

Those “nice” extras are costing you around £32 per month.
I am currently roaming in Europe, 14GB roaming data per month, 50 GB in UK, unlimited mins and texts. All on EE for £10 and no contract… it’s called 1p Mobile.
Why on earth are you paying £42 per month?

Jon_01

Frozen_up_north said:

m321jdpo0912 said:

 My EE package is £42/month

Those “nice” extras are costing you around £32 per month.
I am currently roaming in Europe, 14GB roaming data per month, 50 GB in UK, unlimited mins and texts. All on EE for £10 and no contract… it’s called 1p Mobile.
Why on earth are you paying £42 per month?

Just used 1p for just this. And, they offer free roaming in Switzerland, which EE were going to charge me for...