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Future Comms mobile contract - joseph Stickler


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Okay, send them a letter before claim and give them 14 days for you will sue for the money, interest and court fees and without any further notice.

 

Yes, late payments are certainly breach of contract and I think that they have had long enough with you.

 

Can you just outline again what they owe you, and since when.

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Thanks, BF. It's only 2 cashbacks yet (£18 + VAT x2), plus a months free, plus the fee for early termination to EE (that I've paid, £156) they say will be paid in March.

 

As you know this is sufficient for me to never trust them and 3 years will be a battle, I know! If I wait until the end of March it will be more worthwhile.

 

I want to include the 'breach of contract' with a view to legitimately ending this farce, then. Can this still be done through small claims at the same time as non payment? Giving them 14 days notice, though, will likely make them act/pay up...….then it will just keep repeating itself month after month! Like so many others....

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You are entitled to treat a contract is terminated if the other sides breach undermines the purpose of the contract.

 

You could be in a slightly difficult find here because the purpose of the contract is really to provide you with a communication service – and the problem is that despite the fact that they owe you certain payments, it might be difficult to argue that you have been deprived of the benefit of the contract.

 

Am I right in remembering that in fact there contract says that your service contract is with O2 and that your contract with them is ancillary in some way?

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This is a dilemma, which is why I asked both sides to clarify the contract. Neither has. I receive the service and pay O2. FC are supposed to pay me a cashback every month, pay early termination fee and keep me happy. FC also has my PAC no (??). I don't want to lose my number.

 

 

It really is the contract I want to escape from. I knew from the start it was questionable (polite). Could I argue that FC promised me a cheaper tariff if I went with them? With EE I was paying £23.50 + VAT, including handset payment over 2 years. With FC they offered, SIM only for £15 + VAT. I am currently paying £39.60/pm (incl. VAT). They promised cashback of £18 +VAT/pm.

 

I now own my handset and O2 could give me a SIM only for £13 +VAT. :|

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Yes. This is a bit complicated.

 

From the sounds of it, your contract with O2 is safe. If you managed to extract yourself from the contract with Future Comms then it should have no impact on the O2 contract.

 

If you are paying O2 directly, then surely if you stop paying future comms, O2 would not have any reason to complain against you because you would still be up-to-date with their own bill. Is this correct?

 

Also, as far as I can see, future comms are not doing anything more for you. Of course they are meant to pay you back some money – but they aren't actually providing any further service to you. Is that correct?

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Yes, O2 take £39.60 from my account by DD each month. And provide the service, of course. I don't know which one has the PAC no. for my phone (I had to ask EE for it and give it to FC).

 

FC do diddley-squat, except I suppose get commission from O2 and bank it all instead of giving me back my promised cashback.

 

I can almost understand why O2 aren't doing anything. It doesn't affect them - they're getting their money! So are FC!!!

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You are in rather a strange position. I can see that Future Comms have a fantastic thing going here. I suppose they get some deal from O2 whereby they are able to broker a contract and share a bit of the commission they receive with you as a sweetener.

 

You are receiving substantially the whole benefit of the contract – which is the communication service. Your ancillary contract with Future Comms has been fully completed by them except to the extent that they have to give you your cut every month and of course the termination fee. But actually even if they breach the contract, you have no basis for terminating the agreement because they have fully carried out the main purpose of the contract which was to introduce you to O2 and to get you a deal.

 

At the moment I can't see a way that you can escape being locked into here for three years. However you can make life tough for them.

 

Although it's going to be a nuisance, you may as well make it a bit sporty. You've already suggested making repeat court claims – and I think that that is probably the way to go for the moment. Also, you need to involve O2 closely and to make life as difficult for them as possible. Future comms very clearly depend on their goodwill as a business partner and if you can disrupt that then that will put additional pressure on Future Comms

 

Can you just lay out what payments they have missed so far and the dates that those payments were missed.

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You might like to telephone the court and see if you can get a copy of the judgement in this case.

 

There may be other judgements under variations of their formal registered name.

 

If you able to get some clue as to the identity of the claimant, you might be able to contact them and find out what it was about.

afff6bf9-d923-410d-b836-e809e8568ead_Redacted.pdf

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Firstly, just as I thought, Sitting Duck! But I am most definitely up for making both their lives pretty uncomfortable.

 

So, they think they're on to a winner here. Well, let's see how long it lasts. Everything so far has panned out just as I expected it to. From the moment I put the phone down on 4th Dec 18. Predictable if nothing else. All the negative reviews relate to the same issue. Reel in customers and keep all the commission to themselves. Hire staff to pay lip service, making promises they have no intentions of keeping.

 

The court papers are very interesting!! Surprised there's only one action not satisfied! Or do others just accept it meekly?? Surely not. I am in touch with one other person so far (mentioned earlier) who is not taking it lying down. Will the court release information to me? Is it public?

 

I can't thank you enough, BF! What may seem like a trivial matter on the surface has undercurrents!

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Please can you address the questions I asked you in post 33.

 

As I said, I can imagine that there are other outstanding judgements but they may be actions which have been started against the same claimant but in a different name. Technically speaking that would not be possible – but it does actually happen quite a lot.

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The judgement should be a public document although the court may be reluctant to let you have it – but you should press for it – gently and politely.

 

You say that you know somebody else who is having problems with this company and he was taking it lying down. Why don't you bring them here because it will be very helpful if we can start to get an accumulation of people with similar complaints.

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The money is not much yet. I have paid 2 DD's to O2, another due this month. No cashback so far. FC promised O2 and myself that on 1st Feb I would get the cashback (2 x £18 +VAT), one month's free bill to compensate my complaints (no idea how that'll work since it's O2 who take my money!) and the termination fee of £156 to be paid in March. I had expected the termination fee within a few days. No. FC say it can take 180 days!! Gets longer by the minute!

 

Absolutely predictable. Nothing. This will just go on and on like a game. That is why I am trying to plan some sort of action for the future now.

 

OK, I've texted the guy who is also having problems (but not accepting any of it). He has successfully taken them to court several times. Hopefully, he'll join us here. There are obviously 000's more out there!

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Well I suggest that you begin now. I suggest that you send them a letter before action giving them 14 days to pay the money they are you so far or else you will start legal action and without any further notice.

 

Just send them that short note and see what happens. On day 15 issue the claim. Register with the money claim online website and have a look and get used to it. It's very easy. We will help you draft the particulars. It will be very short.

 

Every time they accept exceed the due payment date by a single day, send them a letter before action.

 

If you're lucky you will be able to get a few cases started against them and each time you will recover your money plus your court fees.

 

Either they will learn a lesson in your case and stop paying you properly – or else eventually you may attempt to invoke paragraph 5.2.1 of the terms and conditions:

 

5.2 Either party shall be entitled forthwith to suspend and/or terminate this

Agreement by giving written notice to the other if:

5.2.1 the other commits a continuing or material breach of this

Agreement and, if the breach is capable of remedy, fails to remedy

it within 14 days (but 7 days in the case of failure by the Customer

to pay the Charges) after receipt of a written notice giving full

particulars of the breach and requiring it to be remedied;

 

http://future-comms.co.uk/terms.pdf

 

Which I'm sure you would have to do by means of a court action – but if you start to have a pattern of non-payment and payment only on the issue of court papers together with other evidence that you can get from abound the Internet and particularly if you can get other people to write you statements as to their own experience, then I think that you may able to make some headway.

 

I see no reason why you should have to tolerate any further delays with the company with this kind of record. Issue the claim and see what happens. When the date falls for the payment of the termination fee, if that is exceeded then do exactly the same thing. Be relentless

 

Does that interest you?

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I suggest that you send them this tomorrow morning.

 

Just send it by all email. Get a certificate of posting.

 

Dear Sir/Mdm

 

 

As you know you are contracted (reference number) to return a "cashback" payment to me every month in respect of my contract with the O2 mobile telephone services company.

 

You have now missed two payments which were due on XXX date and XXX date. It is clear from a mere cursory research of the Internet that these kind of delays are part of your business model.

 

If you do not let me have the payments due to me within 14 days I will issue a county court claim against you for the outstanding sums, interest, and court fees and without any further notice.

 

Yours faithfully

 

I suggest that you send this in respect of the two missing payments so far. When the date for the third payment is exceeded by a single day, send another letter before action – et cetera.

 

Threaten and begin an action in respect of each delayed payment if they failed to respond in a timely fashion to your letter of claim.

 

Start accumulating screenshots of people with similar complaints around the Internet. Make sure you get a good collection of these.

 

Do your best to contact other people in the same boat. Bring them here.

 

Don't announce yet that you are beginning a legal action – but if they don't pay up and you do issue the papers – then announce it everywhere you can and tell people to come here.

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Yessss! I feared it might be too early yet. But, no, there's no time like the present and I am getting pretty annoyed by their tactics.

 

I'm going to familiarise myself with the proceedings after sending the letter tomorrow. I am still collecting everything I can find about them and already have a case folder. Also, at least 50 screenshots from other reviews. Good to know I will have some leverage against them.

 

Thank you!!

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Find a way to publicise and bring people to this forum so that we can encourage them to bring their own actions as well.

 

However, don't publicise that you are bringing an action until you have issued the papers. It will be much better for you if you can actually get round to beginning the action before they understand that this is serious and it really will happen.

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Get him to post on the Facebook group as well. I'm a bit surprised that no one else has joined yet.

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The DD instruction form came up on my phone screen, showing my bank code, a/c, 02 etc. Just the standard form, same as any. I signed, authorising 02 to take the monthly amount, declaring I was over 18 and legally allowed to sign on 'behalf of the company' and, interestingly, for a minimum of 12 months. (On the contract part it says a minimum of 36 months). My signature was on my phone screen with my finger (like the postman with his signature screen).

 

On examining the 'signatures' they are identical. No way could I have written my name the same 4 times!! I am not technical enough to understand how that works - it was new to me. Quite a revelation! To my detriment I retrospectively conclude.

 

It all happened so fast and I was being hurried through the process. When I later read bad reviews on Trustpilot, someone else said that the other forms 'flashed up' and were gone before he read them.....I think that happened to me, which is why I was so sure I hadn't read any details of a 'contract'.

 

I know that my experience doesn't involve a huge amount of money but others who have been duped in the same way are 000's out of pocket. One firm reported that he hadn't had the refunds promised and it was meaning he couldn't pay weekly wages.

 

Had a reply from Trading Standards this morning saying I have to go through CACS first. They have read it as a consumer issue! Which validates my point that I'm a sole trader (therefore covered same as consumers) and not a ltd business. Any findings will be reported back to them.

 

I can scan the forms, without personal details, given a day or two if that'll help?

 

If you use your mobile for both personal and business use it's likely you should still receive the protection of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations.

 

The legislation provides that a contract must have been provided (either pre-contract or at the point of sale) in a durable medium (ie in actual writing in a lasting format). From what you've said it doesn't sound like you were provided with it.

 

Read the guidance at section G. It's a nifty piece of legislation.

bis-13-1368-consumer-contracts-information-cancellation-and-additional-payments-regulations-guid.pdf

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Thank you. Interesting. I think I came across it earlier which made me hopeful I could exercise my 14 day cooling off period.

However, when I tried to cancel, on day 3 of the contract starting I was told by FC that they don't offer it and because I'm a 'business' have none of the same rights (as a consumer).

 

As far as the contract being in durable form, FC argued that they HAD shown it to me at the time of me signing. That's where I said if they did, 'it flashed up and I must have blinked' !! like I said. They are a crafty bunch and have their backs covered every which way. They did email it to me after I'd signed.

 

Yes, I do use the phone for both personal and business. I deduct the personal bits. It could easily be the other way round. But it isn't, sadly, in this case.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am in the very same shoes... an idiot falling for BS--- exactly the mirror of the situation my fees are 39.60 as well signing up very beginning of December and I tried to cancel within a few days as well

the terms are a joke there is for example a reference for a point 5.3 when there is no 5.3

I was rushed as well and feel completely conned. I still can't believe I fell for it as generally I am not this type of person like at all.

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I am in the very same shoes... an idiot falling for BS--- exactly the mirror of the situation my fees are 39.60 as well signing up very beginning of December and I tried to cancel within a few days as well

the terms are a joke there is for example a reference for a point 5.3 when there is no 5.3

I was rushed as well and feel completely conned. I still can't believe I fell for it as generally I am not this type of person like at all.

 

Welcome to the forum. Please will you start a new thread of your own.

 

It will be less confusing for people who want to help you and also it will make it clearer to Google and to anyone else that there are problems with this company Future Comms

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Yes, Reedy17, do start your own thread and I will follow it.

Firstly, commiserations! Secondly, don't give up.

 

Update from me: On the very day I was sending them a letter before action I had a call from FC promising to pay the last 2 months cashback. I argued it should include VAT, they argued back they hadn't agreed to that. Meaning that if I wasn't VAT registered I'd be paying an extra £3.60/pm.

 

I was passed to a more senior (if there are such things) member of staff who seemed to want to pacify me. He agreed to the addition of VAT. They did pay me £36 (without VAT!) that was owed and promised a standing order had now been set up to pay me each month.

 

Being suspicious of why I got a call I contacted O2. After my complaint at the end of January, they 'assumed' FC had paid me and closed the complaint. Meanwhile I had emailed O2 a few days before to inform them the payment hadn't been paid. It must have got picked up and acted on that day. However, despite all this I was told by O2 we had 'deadlock'. Basically, they had exhausted their 'powers' and they sent me a 'final letter' so I could go to the Ombudsman.

 

A few weeks earlier I had asked both FC and O2 to explain the 'contract'. Who wielded the power and who's t&c's did I follow? After pushing both I had a reply from each one. Neither answering my questions properly. O2 said my financial contract is with FC but the service is through them (well, well!)…...yet it's O2 who take my money.

 

FC insisted they use O2's t&c's on the contract (when I questioned it closely) 'because they are almost the same'!!!!! Obviously not, because O2 always give a 14 day cooling off period to ALL customers.

 

At which point I was drained!! So, to sum up I have O2 washing their hands of me and FC making (probably false) promises.

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