Three Mobile Contract problem

[happy hippy]

Hi, wonder if anyone can help with this. I've been on contract with 3 for a long time, but had a new phone on 24 month contract due to expire in june 2012. I also have a phone for my daughter and pay her bill too. However, quite suddenly the service was reduced on my phone to such an extent that i was getting texts 2 days after they were sent and could not make any calls at home, the nearest i could make a call was about a mile away. my daughters phone is used at uni so hers was not a probem. I got in touch with 3 and they said they would moniter my phone for a week and see what happened. After, they got back to me saying there was a problem so i said i wanted to cancel the contract for my phone only. The lady agreed to this and sent an envelope to send back the phone, charger and battery but i was to keep the sim. I pressed the woman on the contract being ended and she said yes. All good until last week when i had 2 calls saying i owed them line rental and i disputed this but they said the contract was not ended. Today i had a call from a debt collection agency and he said i could pay him a fee and he would return the matter to 3 and i could dispute again. I told him in no uncertain terms what to do with his fee, but do wonder where i stand now? Any ideas? Thanks.

[2Grumpy]

I think that 3 having sent the return envelope proves that the conversation took place, the only thing left is what was discussed

 

Why would you return the phone if it was not connected with cancelling the contract?

 

Presumably they were no longer in a position to keep to their side of the contract and so agreed to early termination.

 

If anything, you have lost out because part of your line rental was to pay for the phone. You had paid 3/4 of that but lost it all when you returned the phone

 

Watch out for them updating your credit file - even if it's not very good, a default from a mobile company might make another one think twice!

 

Time to contact 3 again, but this time inwriting, re-iterate what has happened & maybe demand compensation for

1. the value of the phone that you have lost due to their no longer providing you with the service

2. libeling you by telling the DCA that you owe them money

3. putting you in the position where you had to deal with (unpleasant) debt collectors

 

If you don't get anywhere, ask for a deadlock letter then escalate to the telecomms watchdog or whatever it is called

[liswt69]

I am sorry you are having problems with 3. Just thought i would write on here to let you know that we had said "Debt Collectors" contact us only to discover that actually they aren't proper collectors they actually work in another dept of 3 itself ! You will find that actual "Debt Collectors" write first, then telephone if no contact has been made,it usually tells you in the letter how long you have before action is taken !!

[happy hippy]

Hi, thanks for the help. I sent the letter and today received a call from 3. They apologised and said that after looking into the facts, I was right and I was told that my contract was cancelled, except that it wasn't, but apparently it is now! It looks as if it's sorted and I have not had calls from debt people for a couple of days so fingers crossed. Thank you all again for your help and Merry Xmas to all.

[kitttenjane1234]

Hi, wonder if anyone can help with this. I've been on contract with 3 for a long time, but had a new phone on 24 month contract due to expire in june 2012. I also have a phone for my daughter and pay her bill too. However, quite suddenly the service was reduced on my phone to such an extent that i was getting texts 2 days after they were sent and could not make any calls at home, the nearest i could make a call was about a mile away. my daughters phone is used at uni so hers was not a probem. I got in touch with 3 and they said they would moniter my phone for a week and see what happened. After, they got back to me saying there was a problem so i said i wanted to cancel the contract for my phone only. The lady agreed to this and sent an envelope to send back the phone, charger and battery but i was to keep the sim. I pressed the woman on the contract being ended and she said yes. All good until last week when i had 2 calls saying i owed them line rental and i disputed this but they said the contract was not ended. Today i had a call from a debt collection agency and he said i could pay him a fee and he would return the matter to 3 and i could dispute again. I told him in no uncertain terms what to do with his fee, but do wonder where i stand now? Any ideas? Thanks.

 

I know what you feel, they treat us as cash cows.

I think you could give customer direct a call and then ask for their advice. with my case, they advised me three mobile actually broke the law!

I have read posts online about they will continue to charge you 1 month extra if you cancel your contract, it is like 30 days notice. But that is only if there is no fault at their end, you need to speak with the customer service saying you cancelled because there is no signal reception, etc, and you could never use the phone. You will be speaking with the call center staff in India, they can be tough to deal with. My experience is that talking with them is a big waste of time, I had to make a big fuss to get my complaints to be forwarded to customer complaints team.

 

Obviously, if three mobile would like you to pay them, they will have to take you to court, and you can argue your case there. It is likely they will just drop their case, because they will need to pay legal expenses £150? maybe to take you to court, and there is a good chance they will lose.

 

But I have heard that they can be very intimidating, so if the debit collection agency harrass you, you need to be firm, because the law protects you! Say if they phone you in middle of the night etc. that would be an offence on their side; or even call you during unsociable hours, that is also an offence.

 

Good luck, i hope you get your issues sorted out.

 

I have written a new review based on my experience with three mobile

 

and started a webpage exposing three mobile, search for

The Truth About Hutchison 3g three mobile

 

you will get it.

[kitttenjane1234]

Hi, thanks for the help. I sent the letter and today received a call from 3. They apologised and said that after looking into the facts, I was right and I was told that my contract was cancelled, except that it wasn't, but apparently it is now! It looks as if it's sorted and I have not had calls from debt people for a couple of days so fingers crossed. Thank you all again for your help and Merry Xmas to all.

 

sorry didn't see your issues get sorted, mine hasn't yet. but congras! Good to know that. Merry Xmas!