Cancelling mobile phone contract possible?

Drukk · 29 Jun 2012 at 22:44

Am half way through a mobile phone contract and have one year to go. About 3 months ago I could n't get proper network coverage at work. Have been going through the companies technical support for last 2 months and they have finally told me that the problem is an oversubscribed area and it will not be fixed. This was not the case when I first took the contract out with them but has occoured and got worse over the last 5 months.

This area is in a London airport so there should be no problems with coverage, Its not like its in the middle of nowhere! Its also not a signal problem but the fact they dont have adequate masts to cope with the demand and will not put anymore up or improve the service.

They have basically told me the best they can do is cancel my contract if I return the phone and pay 150 pounds!

Why should I have to pay to cancel my contract just because they can not provide the service I am paying them for!

Anyway, just looking for any advice on this. I am also looking in to what my options are and will be complaining to the ombudsman services.

Russinating · 29 Jun 2012 at 22:51

I always cancel my contract early but that's irrelevant of service. The cost is always just £PM x Month's remaining.

Robbo · 29 Jun 2012 at 22:54

You'll have to pay it off (usually the remainder minus 5%~).

You can keep the phone, they won't want that back.

thep02 · 29 Jun 2012 at 23:09

Tbh from what you've said you probably have a reasonable case for leaving the contract but unless you're a lawyer with spare time on your hands you won't be able to win the case in a cost effective manner.

****y, I know but what will it cost you to pay it off and get yourself a sim only deal with cash back for the duration, it's the stress free option, plus you can laugh at their pettiness and rubbish them on forums whenever you get the chance

, it's just the same as buying a case of wine and dropping it on the way to the car, bummer but not the end of the world.

Drukk · 29 Jun 2012 at 23:22

thep02 said:
Tbh from what you've said you probably have a reasonable case for leaving the contract but unless you're a lawyer with spare time on your hands you won't be able to win the case in a cost effective manner.

****y, I know but what will it cost you to pay it off and get yourself a sim only deal with cash back for the duration, it's the stress free option, plus you can laugh at their pettiness and rubbish them on forums whenever you get the chance, it's just the same as buying a case of wine and dropping it on the way to the car, bummer but not the end of the world.

To cancel they want the phone back (galaxy s2) and for me to pay 150ish pounds. The point is why should I pay. I don't see why I should pay as its them who can not provide the service they are contracted to provide. If the service worked I would n't need to have to cancel and switch to another provider.

thep02 · 29 Jun 2012 at 23:34

Drukk said:
To cancel they want the phone back (galaxy s2) and for me to pay 150ish pounds. The point is why should I pay. I don't see why I should pay as its them who can not provide the service they are contracted to provide. If the service worked I would n't need to have to cancel and switch to another provider.

Too right, though iiwy I'd just put a sim only sim in from another provider and pay it all off monthly as normal just not use the original sim, if you can be bothered, with no stress to yourself you could keep up a long battle with them via mail all the while knowing that it was costing them more to process and deal with than the cashbacked sim was costing you, revenge, a dish best served by mail :cool:

Danny091 · 29 Jun 2012 at 23:46

What company are you with?

I was on O2 they demolished the mast that provided the signal in my area, and thus i didn't get a signal. I complained a couple of times eventually I got higher up in the complaints department and they let me out of my contract and give me my code to transfer my number to another provider. Didn't have to pay anything and kept the phone, think there was about 7-8 months left on the contract.

Worth keep trying them.

Drukk · 2 Jul 2012 at 23:20

Danny091 said:
What company are you with?

I was on O2 they demolished the mast that provided the signal in my area, and thus i didn't get a signal. I complained a couple of times eventually I got higher up in the complaints department and they let me out of my contract and give me my code to transfer my number to another provider. Didn't have to pay anything and kept the phone, think there was about 7-8 months left on the contract.

Worth keep trying them.

This is with 3, I shall give them this week to contact me, as they said they are apparently going to do, after I refused their ridiculous offer of paying a "reduced" 150 pounds to get out of my contract. If / when they don't bother contacting me I shall send in a complaint to the Ombudsman services and see what happens from there.

Haggisman · 3 Jul 2012 at 10:45

thep02 said:
Tbh from what you've said you probably have a reasonable case for leaving the contract but unless you're a lawyer with spare time on your hands you won't be able to win the case in a cost effective manner.

****y, I know but what will it cost you to pay it off and get yourself a sim only deal with cash back for the duration, it's the stress free option, plus you can laugh at their pettiness and rubbish them on forums whenever you get the chance, it's just the same as buying a case of wine and dropping it on the way to the car, bummer but not the end of the world.

Actually it's more like buying a case of wine and the shop assistant shoulder barging you on the way back to the car so you drop it.

I'd keep fighting it - they're failing to provide the service advertised, so keep on pushing them till they give in.

manveruppd · 3 Jul 2012 at 11:51

I like Haggisman's analogy!

But yeah, you have a VERY good case for being let off the contract without having to pay the remainder of your monthly sub, but you'll have to keep nagging them and threaten to go to Ofcom or the Citizen's Advice Bureau. The bottom line is that, yes, they're not obliged to provide perfect reception everywhere you go, but you're entitled to expect a reasonable minimum and, especially if the service in your area deteriorated since you first took out the contract (so that it was working fine during your 7 days' buyer's remorse period in which you could've cancelled if you were unhappy), non-compliance of that reasonable minimum quality of service on their part entitles you to consider them as being in breach of the contract and to simply stop paying them.

Oh and whether you do pay the remainder or not you shouldn't have to return the phone! Whatever customer service monkey told you that is an idiot! The phone is a separate purchase from your contract (if you got it for free with the contract you should see it listed as a separate item costing £0.00 on the receipt that came with it - the actual contract will be listed separately), so if you stop the contract you don't have to return it, whether you have to pay off the remainder or not! This is indisputable, and any line manager in customer services will know this, so if you get to talk to one you should try to use this fact to your advantage: mention that their employee said you'd have to return the phone when you know this to be untrue, and suggest that this was a deliberate lie to discourage you from cancelling as you're legitimately entitled, ie. that you consider it an attempt at fraud, and that you'd tell the regulator if you complained about them. Might give you a bit of extra leverage.
If you get to a line manager and they still say no then stop calling them: write down your complaint in detail in a letter and send it with proof of delivery, saying that they have 2 weeks to respond before you complain to the regulators. Should get more attention than a customer service rep trying to get rid of you cause they have a quota of cases to get through per hour.

Richy888 · 3 Jul 2012 at 13:00

Erm..... It is Three we're are talking about here.

thep02 · 3 Jul 2012 at 13:08

manveruppd said:
I like Haggisman's analogy!

So Do I, much more apt!

Drukk · 3 Jul 2012 at 14:36

The latest is they phoned me up earlier and have agreed to cancel my contract for nothing but still want the phone. I'm just going to do that, I'll get a new contract with phone included anyway. I don't think its worth the time and hassle to push for a better outcome.

thep02 · 3 Jul 2012 at 16:27

Drukk said:
The latest is they phoned me up earlier and have agreed to cancel my contract for nothing but still want the phone. I'm just going to do that, I'll get a new contract with phone included anyway. I don't think its worth the time and hassle to push for a better outcome.

Decent result.