3 year rolling contract

[Andi6700]

We have just moved house and gave our telecoms co the required 3 months notice to terminate our line. (which they actually terminated 3 days before we asked);

We moved into short term rented and didn't want to set up a land line for a brief time. We then received a "proforma" invoice for Terminaton charges of £700.62! Upon enquiry, we were told we were on a 3 year "rolling" contract. Although we told them we had been with the company since June 2006, we were certainly not made aware of this after the intial 3 year period, and were not aware of any "rolling" agreement. We were quite willing to re-instate them once we had a permanent property, (not now) however, we are now receiving letters saying they are taking us to court and the amount has gone upto £752!

 

Communications have got us nowhere, they are just insisting we pay it.

 

Help!

[locutus]

1st name and shame them

 

2nd all telecoms suppliers need to adhere to a "code of practice" and they must make that available (so probably on a website) that will give you the information to complain effectively.

 

3rd if the pass the debt that you dispute to a debt collection agency then they have broken the OFT ruled on debt collection.

 

Now something you need to make sure of... Check your credit report! A lot of the posts on the telecoms forum are about telecoms suppliers ruining peoples credit file. Experian, equifax and call credit are the main three, you can get the basic information they hold on you by sending £2.00

 

• Experian – www.experian.co.uk - You can order your statutory £2 credit report online, by phone, or in writing. Click here for details.
  
• Equifax – www.equifax.co.uk - You can order your statutory £2 credit report online, or in writing. Click here for details.
  
• Call Credit – www.callcredit.co.uk - You can request a copy of your statutory £2 credit report by post. Click here for details.
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good luck! Keep us informed

[Andi6700]

Many thanks.

 

A

[buzby]

The FIRST thing you need to do is actually check the agreement you entered into - what locutus mentions is fine IF there was no agreement, but if there was and they can prove it, you've really got nothing to complain about.

 

Whilst 3 year rolling contracts are unusual, they're not illegal. What does their T&Cs say about minimum service periods?

[Andi6700]

The initial agreement was only for 3 years, with a required 3 months notice of termination.

 

We advised them in June of the intended termination, but were then told verbally we had already "rolled" over into the next contract. We were definitely never aware of any rolling agreement and would certainly have given earlier notice if we were aware.

 

Does this mean we can only escape from the contract once every 3 years? Surely this isn't deemed "fair".

 

Not only that, our tel no has now been re-allocated, so we cannot take it with us anyway!

[buzby]

Your contract would be what you agreed to - so it is to this you would need to look and challenge if the verbal interpretation was wrong when you queried it. If push came to shove, you'd be challenging them to prove this.

 

As to whether it was 'fair' - well, if you agreed to it, and received the benefits of this lock-in, the answer would be yes - completely fair. However, the three month notice period is interesting, as wherever this would be mentioned, this would challenge the rolling nature of the original contract - so there's all to play for!

[Andi6700]

Many thanks, I will get out my magnifying glass again to go over the small print!

[buzby]

You probably won't need the tablets to read the whole thing - sections to concentrate on are; Duration / Minimum Term / Notice of Cancellation that kinda stuff, also HOW they require notice of termination to be given.

 

As long as you comply with this, what they say on the phone is literally, hot air!

[Andi6700]

We have never received an actual invoice for the Termination charges, only a Pro-Forma. Can you be taken to court over non-payment of a Pro-forma invoice?

[buzby]

Nope. Pro Forma's cannot be pursued, it has to be a 'real' bill for services supplied. Anyone can issue a pro forma, and if it isn;t paid, you just don;t get the service/goods contained therein.

 

Read the actual definition here:

 

Proforma Invoice financial definition of Proforma Invoice. Proforma Invoice finance term by the Free Online Dictionary.

[Andi6700]

Thanks again, interestingly, at the time we were sold our contract by Unicom (June 2006). I have found out they were under investigation by Ofcom for mis-selling. I may bring this up the next time I get a threatening letter!

 

Again, thanks for all the help it has certainly given me clarity.

 

A

[buzby]

Anytime - and do remember to lets us all know what happened, as it is useful for others down the line should they attempt the same tactics!

[Unicom are a problem]

know the problem - we have a and probably the same pb except they are chasing a 14k that doesnt exist....

we havent lived at the address for 5-6 years and give them full an final settlement notice - and payment by cheque after they ignored the fact we were moving home.

do you know of any good solicitors that have beaten them before?

 

if so let me know.

 

there are hundreds of people in the same situation.