Unicom question

[midlands bloke]

Hi all

New poster to this forum, with the same common enemy , Unicom!

 

Does anyone know if they have ever actually taken anyone to court?

 

i cant seem to find anything.

 

Also my father who has a small business was signed up by these cowboys in Sept 2011,

he advises he told the sales rep he was due to sell the business in approx 6 months so didnt need a long term contract,

to which the sales rep advised would be ok,

 

obviously that was a load of bull and now they want approx £500+ in cancellation charges a,

which includes estimated call charges they think we would have used (WTF!)

 

sadly my father had signed the contract but if there's any advise anyone can give to possibly get out of having to pay the cancellation fees or atleast reduce it ?

 

Thanks

Edited August 14, 2012 by midlands bloke

[rebel11]

Hi midlands

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will be happy to advise as soon as they are available.

 

Please let us know how your problem has been resolved, it could help fellow Caggers.

 

Thread has been created.

[midlands bloke]

They also have located my father to his home address, i guess its easy for companies to locate peiople via their credit reports and linked addresses? allthough im pretty sure there was no link between the business and home address. Could be wrong. Wonder how they do it? Hmmm...So folks any ideas as to what options my father has available? should he contest the charges we deem unfair, the estimated usage charges they have applied, or ignore their letters?

[anotherdebt]

Hi Midlands bloke,

I left a pub after 2 and half years in March this year but had signed contract (stupidly) with Unicom for 3 years, always paid on time. They have been chasing me for termination charges of £300ish since then, now just ignoring their letters, they have told me they won't deal in writing even though the interest invoice is still coming each moth by email. Have had 2 letters a month apart threatening court summons but nothing happened yet. Made them an offer of £1.35 per month but they have ignored that also. Very aggressive on the phone so dont answer their calls any more. They use a 'debt collection name UDS which is in house, after ignoring those goes back to Unicom letters!! (Even though they dont deal in writing!!).

I know this doesnt answer your question but just thought I would let you know for the info.

[midlands bloke]

Hi Another DebtThanks for your post mate. As you left the pub did they also track you down to your new address or had you given them this info? Has anyone else had the missfortune of b eing in a similiar scenario?

[caro]

Hi midlands bloke. Have unicom provided a breakdown of exactly what they are charging for?

 

What does the contract say about cancellation charges?

 

What are they doing to chase the alleged debt?

[caro]

I see that Ofcom banned 3 year contracts before your father signed up with Unicom.

[midlands bloke]

Hi Caro.Sorry for the late replyAs yet my father has declined to get into conversation with them on the phone, i guess we should really request a complete breakdown of charges and contest from there? As my father signed up for the contract in Sept 2011 i dont think 3 year contracts were banned at this point? i thought it was all new contracts from 2012 onwards? my fathers business is only small with 2 people. Can anyone shed any light if the contract is still enforceable? Thanks

[anotherdebt]

Hi Midlands bloke, delayed answer to you earlier question! I notified Unicom with my new address when I left my pub. They've gone a bit quiet lately, still sending me an invoice monthly with another £5 interest added on to the termination charges of £300 ish. Have written and made them a small monthly offer of but as they 'don't deal in writing' they have just ignored!! Hence I am just ignoring them. I dont answer their phone calls any more as they are extremely aggressive on the phone so just waiting to see what happens?

[RMJ]

Hi

I spoke to Ofcom recently to clarify the rolling contract ban because the rulings seemed to be a bit evasive and this is what they told me.

 

It became illegal to sell any new rolling contracts from December 2011 but existing rolling contracts remain valid until 31st Dec 2012. What that means is that if someone's contract expires this year and they do not given the required notice, Unicom would be entitled to roll it over for a further term be it 1 year or 3 years and the customer would remain tied for that time.

 

Ofcom have ruled that rolling contracts must be phased out altogether by 31 Dec 2012 and providers must contact all customers on existing rolling contracts rolling contracts before 31st Dec 2012 to offer them an alternative deal for when their contract ends.. I know that other providers have already started the process of offering alternative deals but has anybody heard from Unicon yet?

 

I was interested to read that Unicom Telecom are diversifying into the energy industry and have recently acquired Economy Gas. I hope they treat their gas customers better than they seem to treat their telecom customers.

[midlands bloke]

Hi RMJSo in my fathers case the first anniversary of the 3 year contract is next month, so i guess we would have another 2 years to go?

[RMJ]

Hi

Yes -according ot what Ofcom told me.

 

You can ask for a breakdown of termination fees and the following information was copied from the Ofcom site (sorry can't leave a link here)

 

Charges that consumers face for leaving their landline phone contracts early will be cut by as much as 85 per cent, Ofcom announced today.

Over the past 18 months, Ofcom has been working with the three biggest UK landline providers, BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media, to ensure that the charges they levy when customers end their contracts early – ‘early termination charges’ – reflect the costs that the providers save by no longer providing the service.

Cheaper early termination charges will also apply to landline customers who receive broadband in the same package.

Early termination charges

Communications providers have obligations to meet under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999.

Ofcom’s interpretation of the Regulations is that consumers who end contracts early should never have to pay more than the payments left under the contract – in fact they should often pay less, to reflect the costs providers save because the contract ends early.

Ofcom published a statement about our view of the law in December 2008, and opened a monitoring and enforcement programme in early 2009 to check whether communications providers’ terms and conditions comply with the Regulations.

 

In answer to your earlier question, they have never EVER to our knowledge take anyone to court for termination charge debts but that is not to say that they won't. They do a lot of threatening with unofficial court proceeding letters but have never taken it any further. In the unlikely event that it did go to court, your father would have a strong case as he was specifically told he was not entering a long term contract. If you father was not told about termination fees, it would strengthen his case even more.

 

Hope this helps

[midlands bloke]

Hi RMJAppreciate your response :)I think my father should perhaps forget the 'ignore' fucntion and address them via letter , obviously we cannot get out of contract but hopefully we can battle for reasonable and fair cancellation charges. Hes one stubborn old man though! i reckon he'd prefer for them to continue with their threats and simply ignore them in the hope they will go away. ahain hes not sure how they tracked him down to his home address, So he just needs to keep it for 6 years (lol) before the debt becomes insolvent? is that correct?

[RMJ]

Hi

Not sure about the 6 year rule in business. I think that only applies to residential property. You will need to check on that one.

 

If you Google 'Unicom contracts' you will find that quite a few people who have been in disputes with Unicom have contacted their MP for advice and you will be surprised how helpful that can be if the MP contacts Unicom on your behalf. You could give that a try - you have nothing to lose and everything to gain if Unicom release your father from his contract as a result.

[trulycharmed]

Hi everyone,

Literally just created an account so I could sure my experiences with this and hopefully get some advice.

My father signed a contract with elite calls who unicom later took over. This was originally a 2yr contract. It ended last September and rolled over without our knowledge. We noted the bills were increasing so moved back to BT as our other bills were with them and it seemed the best option. We settled our account of all other charges that we had incurred with unicom then they started saying we needed to pay a cancellation fee. I was under the impression that ofcom ruling meant we didn't have to pay as we are a small company less than 10 employees and had passed the INITIAL TERM OF CONTRACT of 2yrs. When we told unicom this they tried to say we had made a 5year contract with elite calls. We finally got sent the recording made of the initial contract with elite calls and sure enough it was for 2 years. This hasn't stopped elite calls sending letters and even though the amount was in dispute they keep adding more and more interest to the amount.

The rude and unhopeful staff simply told me it was what we owed 'as it is the accounts owing' screen(which surely means, by their logic, if I send them an invoice they would owe me?!)

My father eventually just said take me to court to prove I owe it. After this a man rang last week and tried to settle the matter and told us to get out an old invoice from March this year(after we had cancelled) and to just pay what we owed on that amount-but looking at the invoice they credited us with landline charges so they actually owe us that amount-nobody has said about paying this to us and we received a letter saying universal debt collection had issued a notice of legal proceedings-I was unaware this was their sister company until reading this. When I told her the man rang to just settle this one invoice she said they have no record of anyone settling this and the only record of speaking to my father was 6months ago when he mentioned court-which I must say is rather convenient for them!

[midlands bloke]

Ok so my father has received futher letters advising a court date will be applied for on or for (i cant recall) next week some time with a threat of bailiffs to retrieve funds.Is this enforcable upon a telco debt? i thought i had read somewhere it doesnt, anyone here know? Would difference would it make it it were for a residential or business contract, does the legal standing change in anyway?

[RMJ]

Unless the letter has a court stamp on it, it is not a court document. This is collection tactic that some companies use to try and put pressure on you for payment. If they do apply for a CCJ the first thing you will receive is a stamped County Court Claim form

Before a bailiff would be appointed, a CCJ must be obtained and court would set a repayment amount and only if you did not meet this amount could they then apply for a bailiff.

I have read of many instances where people have received threats of court action but have never read of it actually going to court. That is not to say that they won’t, but to our knowledge they never have.

[caro]

Unless the letter has a court stamp on it, it is not a court document. This is collection tactic that some companies use to try and put pressure on you for payment. If they do apply for a CCJ the first thing you will receive is a stamped County Court Claim form

Before a bailiff would be appointed, a CCJ must be obtained and court would set a repayment amount and only if you did not meet this amount could they then apply for a bailiff.

I have read of many instances where people have received threats of court action but have never read of it actually going to court. That is not to say that they won’t, but to our knowledge they never have.

 

Interesting. What does that tell you?

[midlands bloke]

Interesting. What does that tell you?

 

Their bark is worse than their actual bite?

[caro]

Their bark is worse than their actual bite?

 

More like they don't want to go anywhere near a court because they know they couldn't win.