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Basically i moved in to a new flat on April24th 2009. Being a hater of BT i tried to get Virgin fibreoptic services but was told numerous times there was no service to my new address (even though next door had it).
So i bit the bullet and paid BT their extortionate £125 connection fee (they claim it didnt previously have a service). I havent plugged a phone in since the service became active, I use the BT service purely to get broadband from orange.
Now yesterday, Virgin inform me actually i CAN get 50mb broadband and all the other services! Naturally i want to ditch BT but realise ill have to pay them all the remaining months on my contract up to April 2010 (for a phone line i dont use).
What i wondered was
1. How enforcable is the contract i have with BT (since i pretty sure i never signed anything and therefore they have no written agreement with me)
2. If the verbal agreement with them is sound, what about getting out of it under the consumer protection (distance selling) regulations? It states
"
you must give consumers clear information including details of the goods or services offered, delivery arrangements and payment, the supplier's details and the consumer's cancellation right before they buy (known as prior information)
you must also provide this information in writing "
I dont remember if i ever received this information in writing, and even if i did there's certainly no proof i ever received it (nothing arrived by recorded delivery e.t.c).
In which case i can cancel my BT agreement without penalty via this:
"
If you fail to provide consumers with written confirmation of all the required information, then the cancellation periods can be extended up to a maximum of three months and seven working days. If the missing information is provided during this time, then the cancellation period ends seven working days beginning with the day after the full written confirmation is received by the consumer."
that would give me until the end of July 2009 to cancel.
I've been looking into this - DSR doesn't offer you anything, as all it really means - should you choose to invoke it - that they wait the 14 days before installation takes place. Once it is and service is activated, the contract you have is confirmed. For clarification, your contract isn;t 'verbal' it exists and can be viewed on BT's website. Only your ordering rocess is verbal.
I'd have really ripped into Virgin, as your initial decision was right, and they screwed up royally so should pay some form of compensation for their stupid error. However, you don;t have just 1 contract, you have 2 - what of your orange Internet minimum term This is usually 18 months, so if you abandoned BT, Orange would still be pursuing you for that commitment as well.
I'd suggest you see off the minimum term, and then switch to Virgin's superior fibre offering as soon as you can.
thanks.
Im misunderstanding the DSR somewhere then?
In the link i posted, It says they (BT) would need to show they gave me a written copy of the agreement/cancelation terms prior to installation, if they cant show that i then get 3mths plus 7days to cancel dont i? (in which case im still within that term). I understand what you mean about the 14days period and the agreement is confirmed after that point, but they still need to put details of cancellation e.t.c in writing dont they?
My orange contract is fine since my 18mth agreement runs out on 24th July, ill just give 30days notice this month.
If you made your commitment in a BT Shop, this would be correct. (However, they closed them all years ago, and the requirement to 'sign' a contract is now just a memory) so they do not have to provide this. A court has already held that since the agreement T&C's are the same for all customers, it is sufficient for them to be 'read' on the web. Details of cancellations and obligations on all parties can also be read there. No need to actually provide you with it (although it is considered good practice to do so).
I see.. im reading it too literally then, i can see how being available to view online might be accepted.
Thanks for your input.. guess ill just pay them off to get them out my life in that case.
I agree, its nonsensical to have all this consumer 'protection' only to have it all bypassed by other situations. This isn't new - Direct Debits (from banks) have now evolved into the most serious erosion into someone's financial security since the invention of the mattress....
Depends on how you arranged the line with BT, if done on line then yes t and c are on the site and you would have been obliged to tick the box that you accept them, however if it was arranged over the phone then they must send copies of the t & C. and if you did not get them then DSR applies.
BT - Distance Selling Act 200? can i use it?
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