What would you do?
- Thread starter Disco_P
- Start date
It's no wonder phone contracts are so ridiculously expensive, when they like to give away "free" TVs, PlayStations, £100s worth of vouchers.
We really do like to think we're getting "free gifts" when there really is no such thing
We really do like to think we're getting "free gifts" when there really is no such thing
If they were for anything but signing up then you would have to jump through "hoops" before you were given them. That and the fact they are a large multinational and the amount is relatively trivial. I'd use it.
If it was a small family/local business however is almost certainly notify them before using it.
If it was a small family/local business however is almost certainly notify them before using it.
You genuinely believe their intention is for people to be able to sign up and then cancel straight away for a free £100?
That seems awfully generous for a "big evil phone company"!
Either that or people are making excuses/trying to justify their dishonesty
I'm sure they don't intend to no, but at the same time if it was done in good faith then I don't see the problem.
If on the other hand you're signing up and cancelling soon after with the express intent of getting that £100 then that's a different matter IMO, just as whether the matter affects a large or small company.
If on the other hand you're signing up and cancelling soon after with the express intent of getting that £100 then that's a different matter IMO, just as whether the matter affects a large or small company.
Soldato
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People sign up to things to get introductory offers and cancel straightaway all the time. Businesses expect this when they run these offers.
If it was done in good faith then where's the issue in informing them of their mistake?
If you ordered something worth £100, then cancelled the order and got a full refund, would you keep the item if they still mistakenly sent it?
Introductory offers like first 3 months half price? Sure. A free £100 for literally nothing? I doubt that's part of their business plan and would imagine someone has messed up somewhere.
Good man. Enjoy !
You genuinely believe their intention is for people to be able to sign up and then cancel straight away for a free £100?
That seems awfully generous for a "big evil phone company"!
Either that or people are making excuses/trying to justify their dishonesty
Their intention isn't relevant. The contract is.
Oh I'm not disputing that, but if the contract doesn't contain something about a minimum term to be eligible for the vouchers then I would guess that's because someone screwed up, rather than because they want to give free money away.
It's "only £100" sure, but if 100 people do it (hardly a stretch given the size of the company and the number of people who were likely exposed to the offer) then that's £10k which suddenly isn't so insignificant an amount.
Anyway, it wasn't my intention to come across as preachy, but didn't really appreciate the snide comments in response to my initial post
Thanks for the responses. I just wanted to gauge people's thoughts on the morals and finances of the situation.
Had I not redeemed it out of curiosity, I'd have redeemed it anyway. If it was a much smaller company then I would have let them know but EE can definitely take the hit. Morally being a thief doesn't bother me, it's like Robin Hood - steal from the rich give tothe poor me 
At the end of the day, my current contracted phone provider sent me an email with instructions on how to get a reward for "purchasing a device/tariff with EE" and I followed those instructions.
Had I not redeemed it out of curiosity, I'd have redeemed it anyway. If it was a much smaller company then I would have let them know but EE can definitely take the hit. Morally being a thief doesn't bother me, it's like Robin Hood - steal from the rich give to
At the end of the day, my current contracted phone provider sent me an email with instructions on how to get a reward for "purchasing a device/tariff with EE" and I followed those instructions.
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I wouldn't steal £100 unless I was in an extremely bad situation and the money would resolve it. I'd steal to avoid starving, for example. I'd steal from an occupying enemy force in wartime for the resistance, if I found the courage to do so. Apart from those sorts of extreme circumstances, no. How much money the person/business has or how easy they made it to steal from them isn't enough of an excuse for me because if I steal it's about me, not about the person/business I was stealing from.
That's the key thing, really. If I do something it's about me, not about the person/business I'm doing it to. I'm responsible for my own actions.
And yes, it is theft. Taking money you know isn't yours is very clearly theft. It doesn't matter if they sent it to you by mistake or they left their jacket unattended with their wallet in it or they left their door open. What matters is whether or not you choose to take the money.
A random example...a while ago I did a bank transfer with the wrong account details, so I sent money to the wrong person. I contacted them saying I'd made a mistake and giving them my bank details, they transferred the money back. Because they're not a thief.
That's the key thing, really. If I do something it's about me, not about the person/business I'm doing it to. I'm responsible for my own actions.
And yes, it is theft. Taking money you know isn't yours is very clearly theft. It doesn't matter if they sent it to you by mistake or they left their jacket unattended with their wallet in it or they left their door open. What matters is whether or not you choose to take the money.
A random example...a while ago I did a bank transfer with the wrong account details, so I sent money to the wrong person. I contacted them saying I'd made a mistake and giving them my bank details, they transferred the money back. Because they're not a thief.
Soldato
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He did not steal anything, he was given it.
He got a contract with EE, and therefore he gets the vouchers, they know he cancelled the contract and yet they still sent him the vouchers.
Your ethical switch is set in extremist mode
Its an interesting one - in a previous job we had fairly similar offers and the terms and conditions said something like if such vouchers were used they'd be calculated into the final bill if you cancelled early (not sure on the legality) but rarely anyone could be bothered to chase it all up (the company would have only bothered to do something if a lot of people started abusing the offers and cancelling).
It doesn't entirely sit very well with me but not sure really what the legal (or moral) position is.
He was given money as part of a contract that he cancelled. He knew that he should not have the money and he took it anyway.
Your ethical switch is set in excuse mode.
If you contracted me to (for example) fix your roof and I cancelled the contract, would you be OK if I kept any money you'd paid me for the job? I wouldn't be OK with keeping it. But hey, that's just me being extremist.