Contract question

[MYST]

Hi guys,

 

Just a quick question really.

 

I had a t-mobile contract a few years ago and asked them to cancell it at the next renewal. However i keeping getting bills from them at about £35 a month and its now at the debt collectors for a few hundred. I've spoken with them and they say i said no such thing to them and i must pay it. Naturally i tell them where to go.

 

I just need to know... If i didn't sign a contract to renew it, are they legally allowed to continue charging me? Could i just ask the debt collector for the contract (which doesn't exist) to shut them up?

 

any help would be great.

 

Thanks!

[locutus]

Mobile contracts don't just end at the end of the minimum term, you need to terminate it. Have you any proof that you asked to terminate at the end of the minimum term?

 

If you have no proof that you requested to terminate you may be in a bit of the brown stuff Mobile contracts also report to credit reference agencies (the same way banks do if you don't pay bills!!)

 

So, moving forward how to handle this?

Never talk to the DCA over the phone. If they phone you refuse to go through security, tell them you are dealing with T-Mobile directly. If you hang up on them, they are on an automatic dialer and they won't call back until your number gets it's rotation again.

 

Deal with T-Mobile in writing. The following is a quote from their "Code of practice" which outlines the most effective way to lodge your complaint.

Complaint handling and alternative dispute resolution procedures

We hope that you will never have reason to complain about any aspect of our services. However, if there is

something you are not happy with you should contact Customer Services and we will seek to resolve any

complaint or query you may have. Customer Services can be contacted on telephone number 150 if

calling from your T-Mobile phone, or on 0845 412 5000 from a land line. We will aim to find an immediate

solution where possible; however, more complex complaints may take several working days or longer to

resolve. If, having contacted Customer Services, you feel that your complaint has not been addressed or

resolved, you have the right to ask for your complaint to be escalated to a Manager. If your complaint then

remains unresolved, you should follow the complaints procedure below.

T-Mobile complaints procedure:

Step 1. Put your complaint in writing and send it to the following T-Mobile address:

The Customer Resolutions Team

T-Mobile

6 Camberwell Way

Sunderland

Tyne and Wear

SR3 3XN

The letter must include:

A) Your name

B) Your address

C) Your T-Mobile account number and /or mobile telephone number

D) Details of your complaint

E) Your resolution requirements

F) A daytime contact telephone number

Step 2. T-Mobile will acknowledge receipt within 3 working days of receiving your letter.

Step 3. T-Mobile will provide a full written response to your complaint within 14 days of receipt of your

letter. Subject to point 4 below, the complaints procedure will be at an end.

Step 4. If the letter from T-Mobile makes an offer of settlement, or it includes a proposal to resolve your

complaint, you must respond to it in writing within 14 days of its issue, again addressed to The Customer

Resolutions Team.

Step 5. If you do not respond to the letter from T-Mobile within 14 days of its issue, the complaints

procedure shall be at an end. If you respond by accepting the offer of settlement or proposal to resolve

the complaint, T-Mobile shall within 7 days of receipt of your letter either:

n Reply to your letter acknowledging your rejection, upon which the complaints procedure shall be at an

end, or;

n Reply to your letter putting forward new proposals in respect to which the provisions of points 4

onwards above shall apply.

You may also obtain independent advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau, Consumer Advice Centre,

Trading Standards Departments or other telecoms user organisations recognised by the Secretary of

State. Whilst we are happy to work together with any of the above independent organisations, if you

decide you need their help to resolve your complaint, we would always recommend that you contact us

first as most problems can be resolved quickly this way.

If after discussion with T-Mobile you are still unhappy with any aspects of our services, we have

established, in consultation with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a straightforward and convenient

procedure for independent, dispute resolution. This process may be used where we are unable to resolve

your complaint after a period of 8 weeks from the date of your initial complaint has passed or if we write to

you at any time informing you that we cannot resolve the complaint.

If the amount you are claiming does not exceed £5,000, subject to consent by T-Mobile, you have the right

to put the dispute to this adjudication process.

Details of how to apply to the T-Mobile adjudication services can be obtained by writing to the legal

department at:

T-Mobile

Hatfield Business Park

Hatfield

Hertfordshire

AL10 9BW

Or by email to [email protected]

Alternatively, you can obtain further information directly from CISAS by writing to them at:

CISAS

c/o Dispute Resolution Services

The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

12 Bloomsbury Square

London, WC1A 2LP

Website: http://www.arbitrators.org

Telephone: 0207 421 7432

Or by email to [email protected] or to [email protected]

 

Personally, I'd check my credit file for adverse information and also complain about that.

 

The more detail you can give them the better. What date and time did you call to cancel? What was the persons name? Things like this that you can remember will add weight to your complaint!

 

Keep us informed please

[MYST]

Thank you for your detailed response!

 

I feel i may be in a spot of bother then as i don't recall when it was that i requested the cancelation or the persons name or anything. I guess the only thing i have to work in my favor is that the contract has not been used for about 6 months. Not one single minute or text as i took out another contract when i asked them to cancel it before the renewal.

 

I have my phone set to automatically go to answer phone at the moment as i don't want to talk to them (its buchanan clarke + wells).

 

I just find it to be really dishonest of them to renew a contract without my consent. Whenever i have phoned them and been like WTF are you still charging me for?? they just say theres no record of me contacting them to ask for it to be canceled.

 

You think i should file a complaint with them then?

[Human Writes]

I just find it to be really dishonest of them to renew a contract without my consent. Whenever i have phoned them and been like WTF are you still charging me for?? they just say theres no record of me contacting them to ask for it to be canceled.

 

You think i should file a complaint with them then?

 

They didn't renew the contract they simply honoured the terms that you initially agreed with them which was that they would continue to provide service until they received notice of disconnection from you, you say you sent it, they say you didn't and they have no record of you making any such request so the contract remained active.

[locutus]

Did you phone to cancel? If so give them the date (as close as possible) as if someone accesses your account they generally leave notes or what is called a "Footprint" (which shows the date your account was accessed)

 

Ask them to listen to any calls made around whatever month (if you can narrow it down further, do so!). Defiantly worth a letter or 2, but if they dig their heals in you'd be in for a hard slog ahead to get them to remove it! (CISAS will generally need evidence that you canceled to uphold a complaint as such)

[buzby]

Unfortunately, 'not using' the handset doesn't help in any way - becasue if the disconnected all contract phones that had not been used for 6 months or more not only would it affect their profitability, but alarm customers who make infrequent use or have them for emergency back up. Anyone in a contract MUST terminate if they want to depart. Some require written notice, others MAY accept this request over the phone, but it remains the customers responsibility to check that this request has been complied with.