Another Future Comms post... - joseph Stickler

[Martingt]

Dear CAG,

 

My tale of woe is pretty typical of someone who has fallen foul of Future Comms tricks;

I signed up for a new contract in March 2018 (3 years) and was sold a second line (I didn’t want or need one and told the salesman as much, at which point I was told it was ‘free’, so I may as well give it to a family member). I also was meant to receive a new iPhone.

I signed the contract at which point it was emailed to me. At this point I could see that the second line was not free and I was to be reimbursed £30 per month.

I tried calling FC to complain but could not get through, despite hours of trying.

Anyway, I resigned myself to the deal and the new SIM card arrived the next day, but the iPhone never arrived.

I emailed FC, phoned and sent messages through their online portal. No reply.

Evrbtually I sent back the SIM card (recorded post) with a letter requesting taytvthey cancel the contract.  It was also sent via email and their online portal.

Guess what? No reply.

I called 02 who confirmed I was still signed up for the contract and FC had ignored my correspondence.

A call from 02 meant that Mr Stickler called me and told me I couldn’t cancel the contract, but he did upgrade the phone. I agreed to continue and explained that FC had the SIM card. He said he would send it to me.

Fast forward 16 months and not only have FC never sent the SIM card but I’ve never received one monthly cashback and I’m paying for a line I’ve never used and couldn’t if I wanted! I’ve spent countless hours on the phone, sent emails and letters, all to no avail. They simply ignore all correspondence or promise the world via phone and then ignore me.

On the 29th of July FC will owe me £639.92 (including VAT) Still no sign of the SIM card either.

 

So, I would like help with drafting the letter of claim and advice on how to proceed. I’m sure FC will never send the SIM card, or release me from my contract.  Should I do another claim in a few months? Or is it possible to request the contract be cancelled through the courts?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Martin

[BankFodder]

Welcome to the forum. Another future comms victim.

Have you posted reviews up on trust pilot and on Google? If not you should do. Also, have you joined the Facebook future comms problems group? You probably should do so.

I think a good start would be to send future comms an SAR. It's free and you should do that immediately. I think that you especially want to obtain the recording of the call that was made to you where the pitch was made and you apparently bought the service. According to the Facebook group, people are having difficulty getting their data disclosure is that you should try and if they failed to give you the data disclosure then you should include a claim for a breach of the data protection rules in your eventual claim.

So that we can understand the full value of your claim, you say that you were promised the second line for free and also you were promised a rebate of £30 a month. Was the £30 intended to include the entire cost of the second line? In other words would you be paying something for the second line even if you received a £30 rebate?

[Martingt]

Hi, I am a member of the FB group and will post Trustpilot/ Google reviews shortly.

pn the original sales call I was told that the line would be free.  The paperwork I got through states that I would receive a £30 refund each month. It doesn’t mention VAT.

The actual amount I’m being billed by 02 started off at £31.20 and is now £31.98 + VAT per month, due to 02’s annual increases. I suspect the £30 was intended to cover it.

I’m hoping to claim the whole amount as, thanks to FC, I can’t use the line, even if I wanted to, plus they’re in breach of their own T&C.

Should the SAR be sent via post, email, or both? 

[BankFodder]

Email should be fine – but cover yourself by sending a copy by post as well.

You say that you can't use the line – but of course that is because you returned the Sim card to them. I don't blame you for doing this and it was probably the right move under the circumstances, but I wouldn't express your position as being unable to use the service. I should stick by your position that you made it clear that this was not a service that you wanted, in any event it was offered to you free of charge and if there is any acceptance of the service then it was accepted on the basis that it would not cost you any money. Furthermore, future comms attempt to provide it is a free service by simply refunding you the money was not what was agreed.

I agree with you that you should claim the entire amount of money including VAT. However, you are in a position where you will have to provide some evidence to support what you say. I suppose like most people you don't record your calls and so you have to hope that they will supply you with the recordings you want and that those recordings contain the conversation that you are referring to. Get the SAR off straightaway.

You have calculated that they owe you £639 plus VAT. Is this based on the £30 rebate or is it based on the entire amount of money that you are paying to O2?

Once again, I wish I could see a way to tie O2 into the future comms contract so that you can see both of them and I'm afraid that so far I am at a loss on this point. If there was a way to argue some kind of tri-party legal relationship, that would be the holy Grail. That would probably be enough to galvanise O2 into action.

[Martingt]

The £639 figure includes VAT and is the total amount I have paid for the second line (including the bill I will receive on the 29th of July).  I have the invoices (the second line is billed separately) and the signed delivery from FC proving they have possession of the SIM card.

FC have consistently failed to return the SIM card, despite repeated requests. You wouldn’t expect to pay for a meal you hadn’t received. 

After 12 months I told them to cancel the contract as they were in breach of their T&C’s.  As usual I was fobbed off on the phone and subsequently ignored.

[BankFodder]

Don't imagine that I'm on the side of future comms – far from it. However, the fact that you returned the Sim card to them is slightly a complicating factor. To follow from your restaurant analogy, they serve  you a meal and then you send it back. It seems reasonable enough to ask them to return it to you – but I don't think that your action has made things as clear cut as you think.

There is no problem about you claiming back the £639 and we will help you do that. However, I'm still trying to work out a way by which you can recover that money and also tie in O2 on the basis that there was no contract for the Sim card at all. I think this will depend on what you can get from future comms as a result of your SAR. Under the rules, future comms are required to make the statutory disclosure to you within 30 days. Whether they do so or not is another matter – but I would suggest that you sent the SAR and wait a little longer. If you are impatient to get going then we will help you sue for the £639 straightaway, but you may have a little more difficulty in terms of trying to void the contract completely – which is really what you want to do – as do pretty well all of future comms customers.

There is no doubt that this company is a complete shower and the only question is whether the directors are simply incompetent or they are acting dishonestly. The evidence points equally to either possibility

[Martingt]

I’m in no hurry and will wait for the results of the SAR then update this thread.

Thankyou for your help so far.