Internet Service Providers

tadgerpoppy

How many of you really read the small print before checking the 'I have read etc' box? I decided to change providers to Madasafish. I rang their customer support and I believe it is an Indian continent call centre. I listened to the range of products on offer, and was attracted by the 5gb/month for £17.99 with the option to upgrade to 50gb for £27.99. I found the offer worthwhile, logged on and signed up. The next morning, 12 hours later, I browsed around their site then read my mail. Firstly my mail said my 5Gb download limit was passed, and their website displayed the 50gb as 20. Obviously the asian lady had said 15 more and not 50. I rang Madasafish again reaching India, intending to cancel and realised I was wasting my time talking to a lady somewhere far off. I e-mailed Madasafish, they replied saying that consumer protection law does not apply once I had signed, and that I should pay £80 to cancel get my MAC number back. Poor provision, poor comms, I did read the article on ISP's here, but essentially my fault. I'm not sure however about the legality of denying any cooling off/change of mind period. Any legal advisors?

Rex_Mundi

I'm pretty sure the Distance Selling Regulations cover you in this case. If you buy over the internet or phone, you have a seven days cooling off period in which you can change your mind. You need to phone the company back and remind them of this. If they still refuse you to cancel, tell them you will contact trading standards. They should be able to sort this out for you.

Here's some info on the regulations from the DTI website.

If you sell goods or services to consumers:

* on the internet or digital television
* by mail order, including catalogue shopping
* by phone
* by fax

the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 may apply to your business.

Key features of the regulations:

* the consumer must be given clear information about the goods or services offered
* after making a purchase the consumer must be sent confirmation
* consumer has a cooling-off period of 7 working days
* new powers for local Trading Standards Departments and the OFT
http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/guide/distsell.htm

Any protection that you are offered from the company is on top of your statutory rights.

andy88_2

Did I misunderstand - you used 5 GB in 12 hours ?

tadgerpoppy

What was strange initially was that they had already claimed I had downloaded .1Gb before i had even switched from my previous supplier, but yes I suppose that could be possible. Have you seen Usenext?

Stonk

While 5 GB in 12 hours is technically possible if your speed is 1024Kbps or faster, you've really got to be going some! At 1024Kbps, for instance, you need to be downloading at max speed constantly for the full 12 hours.

Maybe there's something unpleasant running on your computer, like a remote-control virus/worm that's mass-mailing or launching denial-of-service attacks?