Around 18 months ago i agreed to a three year Landline and Internet contract with True Telecom,

which i soon regretted ,

The internet was weak and the lower prices that i was assured were not to be ( read the small print i suppose ).

A few months ago i saw a direct debit set up on my account from Chess Ltd ?.

I looked them up and asked who are you ?

I was told that Chess had taken over the service from True Telecom.

I noticed the service prices going up,

yet we hardly use the landline

and had the same weak internet router and service.

A couple of weeks ago i got a call from a broker who offered me a deal with one of the big providers for around a third of the cost and much better internet and i agreed.

A few days later i received a letter from Chess regarding the switch of service informing me of an early termination fee of over £400 pounds.

I contacted Chess telling their representive that i dont have any agreement with Chess

and was told that Chess purchased the account

and i would owe the amount,

I was then offered a deal of cheaper service though not as low as the amount on offer through the broker

and a new 18 month contract with Chess which was not on with me.

The new provider took over yesterday,

We now have much better broadband and the phone is ok.

Do i need to pay Chess at all and if so as much as over £400 pounds and if so can i pay instalments ?.

All advice welcome folks.

http://www.truetelecom.com/ - Read the top of the page...

Then know that Ofcom and the ICO are owed substantial amounts of money.

You should be allowed to exit out of your contract accordingly if the company ceases to be.

How much did the prices go up by?

Did you agree to Chess taking over your services?

I doubt they would even stand a chance if this went anywhere.

Thanks fkofilee, I did not agree to Chess taking over our services.

Do you have the original terms and conditions from True?

I recently found an unread email saying that Chess had taken over from True Telecom, i was not asked to sign or agree.

Theyve sold off their customer base - Yet havent informed anyone that this is happening.

My understanding is that you should be allowed to exit a contract early if a company fails / administration etc

Do you have the original terms?

Yes i believe i have the terms and conditions.

Post them up here if you can

Lets have a read

Im doing a search, One set of terms and conditions i dont have is from Chess as they never sent any, their early termination fee is £472

I will post True telecom terms and conditions when i find them.

Cancellation

If you wish to end your contract with us, You may do so by giving us at least 10 working days written notice before the end of any contract period, or the agreement end date.

The contract started in early February 2016.

Full Ts and Cs plz...

Remove any personal info...

I am looking for the original letter which i saw a few days ago.

The brochure ssates that if i cancel early True Telecom can ask for the monthly fee up to the end of the contract be paid.

I have not found any paperwork with terms and conditions with my signature attached, and do not recall signing any, i believe it was done over the phone and i signed the direct debit form, it may be on that.

I have not found any paperwork with terms and conditions with my signature attached, and do not recall signing any, i believe it was done over the phone and i signed the direct debit form, it may be on that.

I dont remember getting a debit mandate form,

i beleive it was set up on the phone,

The new deal was set up on the phone,

So there is probably no signed T&C with True Telecom

The details were set up by phone and i have the letter to check details on late April 2016, so no signed letter of contract.

Does anyone know anything about a letter i could copy and send to Chess Ltd ?.

they wont know that you weren't told over the phone that you could cancel for free where you originally took the contract out:madgrin:

and they cant prove otherwise

so pers i'd ignore them.

Thanks dx, I am wondering if i dont pay if they can trash my credit file, As yet i do not have an invoice from Chess.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/11/17/ofcom_fines_true_telecom_for_slamming/

can't unless its already showing

they cant just create an entry to default you where its never shown as a running account already.

dx

Thanks dx, i will cancel the direct debit set up by Chess so they dont try to get money from there.

The direct debit that they set up without my permission.

I have cancelled the Chess direct debit from my account,

the money has been coming out at the end of each month

i will wait and find out when Chess will be in touch,

I will pay them by cheque any money due for the part of the month up to the change over,

I will not be paying the so called termination fee.

I will post any information from them as soon as it comes in,

Thanks folks.

Hi Blueda

Thanks for letting us know. Sorry i missed you other posts

I havent heard from Chess since i switched provider, I expect the invoice for early termination will be on its way by post.

it is not the transfer of undertakings that lets you walk away from the contract but the change in the charges.

They have to notify you of these and unless the changes are very small then it is not compulsory to accept them

and you can walk away from the rest of the contract.

let it run for more than a month and you will have deemed to have accepted them.

From what you say it seems as though you have not kept on top of this and you may now have problems

I have received an email from Chess informing me that the bank has advised them that i have cancelled the direct debit,

with a survey included asking me the reason,

I have not replied,

Also an email from the Ombudsman Company saying the time is nearly up that Chess has replied to me and for me to answer Chess.

The only correspondence i have had from Chess was several calls left on my answer phone and emails urging me to contact to try and keep me as a customer.

No attempt has been made by Chess to resolve the issue of the termination charge that they claim is legally due to them.

The charges did go up,

do you mean that after a month of Chess taking over from True telecom and that i allowed Chess to continue, then i have to Chess accepted them as supplier ?.

Chess did not inform me of anything other than an email which i did not find until months later in my inbox,

the first i heard of them was when looking online at my bank account an invoice from Chess Ltd and i called to find out who they are,

I never signed or verbally agreed to anything to Chess. I was not happy with True Telecom service, weak internet and the same with Chess.

http://www.truetelecom.com/ - Read the top of the page...

Then know that Ofcom and the ICO are owed substantial amounts of money.

 

You should be allowed to exit out of your contract accordingly if the company ceases to be. How much did the prices go up by?

Did you agree to Chess taking over your services? I doubt they would even stand a chance if this went anywhere.

I have looked at the True telecom link you provided and called True Telecom, their claim is that they passed contract rights to Chess who should have got in touch with me, it looks a bit shoddy to me.

they informed you and they dont have to do anything else.

That is why you have to keep on top of things by checking your bills and bank statements every month.

You accepted the contract when you paid the increased charges, not when they transferred the undertaking.

If you had got in touch with them inside a month after the new charges started/were announnced then you can walk away without breaking the contract.

They may be shoddy but they did the minimum they needed to do, one of the problems with using email and not letters.

Chess did not inform me of anything other than an email which i did not find until months later in my inbox, the first i heard of them was when looking online at my bank account an invoice from Chess Ltd and i called to find out who they are, I never signed or verbally agreed to anything to Chess. I was not happy with True Telecom service, weak internet and the same with Chess.

I have received the latest Chess bill today online, over £58.00 to be debited at end of month ( i cancelled direct debit )

Some things i noticed that i never agreed to have.

Care level, Fraud monitor, Line assurance ?, Voicemail, I do not have voicemail.

This invoice is for Landline and broadband only,

We do not have any mobile phone or TV service with them.

All advice as always welcome.

I will post back shortly