# U.tv Broadband "Cancelation Charge"



## velma (15 May 2007)

Hello, 
I'm new to this board but it seemed like a good place to discuss this. I recently left UTV Broadband as it wasn't good value at €29.99 Always On. I was with them for 3 years and in no way was in breach of any contract. They charged me a Cancellation Charge of €29.99 when I closed my account. When I queried this I was basically told "Tough Its in your contract". I checked and on page 999 of the small print it says "UTV reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee on closing the account". I think this is an unfair and unjusitifed charge as all the expense on closing the account fell to me..posting the modem back etc. I think this hidden charge is very unfair and is in no way a reasonable or justified charge but UTV have ignored my emails. Do any other Broadband Companies charge this so called Cancellation Double Charge??

Thanks.
Velma


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## leex (15 May 2007)

That must be an old product. I'm paying 21.99euro pm for 2mb always on. It's quite competitive.


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## Killter (15 May 2007)

dont think ntl charged me for cancelling. id have told them where to go if they tried too!


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## ClubMan (15 May 2007)

Perhaps it was a full month's charge for the partial month in which you cancelled?


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## ninsaga (15 May 2007)

I was charged also when I cancelled - I knew there was a cancellation charge though beforehand


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## aircobra19 (16 May 2007)

Maybe write to the advertisting standards with a complaint. When they advertise their prices they should include the cancellation fee.


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## CCOVICH (16 May 2007)

The ads include a 'terms and conditions apply' so UTV are covered on that score.

I have to say I have always been aware of their cancellation charge as well-but I don't know what it is supposed to cover.

As far as I know, it is charged on a sliding scale, i.e. the longer you stay, the less the charge.


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## aircobra19 (16 May 2007)

Thats if you break the contract. I'm guessing you can't say a services costs  X month and then say a different amount in the T & C. Which if they charge a cancellation free even when not in breach, is effectively part of the price. Its unavoidable.


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## CCOVICH (16 May 2007)

A _condition_ of the service is that you will pay a charge if you cancel the service. The charge is avoidable-by staying with UTV!


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## wannanoall (16 May 2007)

If you sign a contract that clearly states there is a cancellation charge I would be unsure as to why people would have an issue in paying this when they cancel the contract. If the cancellation charge is on page 999  or on page 1 it is still in the contract.


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## aircobra19 (16 May 2007)

On the website if you rummage around you can find in very small print

[FONT=arial, verdana, helvetica]"A one off administration charge of €29.99 may apply if you cancel the service"

I would suggest ringing the sales line as if signing up for a new account, and ask them wheat exactly is meant by "may apply". What are the conditions for this? 

I have an issue if its buried in the contract in small print. The only purpose of that is to obsure it from the customer. What if this fee was €1000?
[/FONT]


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## CCOVICH (16 May 2007)

aircobra19 said:


> [FONT=arial, verdana, helvetica] What if this fee was €1000?[/FONT]


 

You would be mad to sign up!


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## wannanoall (16 May 2007)

If it is buried in small print it is still in the contract that you sign, how can something that is typed in a contract in small/large print be trying to obscure a customer. My advice would be to simply pay the fee as it is what custmores signed initially. When looking for a provider read the whole of the contract, by doing this it eliminates any issues.


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## aircobra19 (16 May 2007)

Hiding charges in the small print IMO is usually referred to as hidden charges. 

I think a consumer should consider why a company would wish to put a regular charge in the small print.


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## ClubMan (16 May 2007)

aircobra19 said:


> Hiding charges in the small print IMO is usually referred to as hidden charges.


I disagree. Many services are provided on a contractual basis and the customer needs to read the contract to make sure that it suits their needs before signing up. If they don't and then get burnt by so called "hidden" charges then that is their own fault.


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## wannanoall (16 May 2007)

I totally agree with the last comment, I do not understand why someone who signs a contract would have a grievence with something within that contract. If the contract stated in small print that 29.99 would be refunded to the customer when the line is cancelled would we be having this discussion or is it a case of this new Irish attitude that no one wants to part with money?


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## Ash (16 May 2007)

I finally found out on their website that it takes five working days to cancel BT's dial-up service BUT there's a 60 day cancellation period which you have to pay for anyway although you can still use the service during that time.
Bad time to find that out when just signed up for broadband with another supplier!
In a way, that's a cancellation charge like the OP outlined, by another route.  However, in this case, there's no modem or any other equipment to return.


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## dotsman (16 May 2007)

ClubMan said:


> I disagree. Many services are provided on a contractual basis and the customer needs to read the contract to make sure that it suits their needs before signing up. If they don't and then get burnt by so called "hidden" charges then that is their own fault.



I disagree slightly. Yes, the customer should of course read the contract before signing, but not all terms and conditions are clear! Also, all charges should be highlighted and not in small print. In the financial services, all contracts are now covered by the Consumer Protection Code, which means that they must be customer friendly (or put another way, the customer should know everything they need to know without having to read the small print). *The onus is on the Bank* (and not the customer) to make the customer aware of all charges/penalties/risks.

UTV only put that charge in the small print because they hoped that as many customers as possible would not notice it. To me that reads that they are trying to deceive their customers!

I'm speaking from experience here! As a normally intelligent/smart guy, I naively (and unknowingly) signed an NTL contract a few years back that I regretted. I requested Standard Cable to be installed. Sales rep offered me 6 months free "no-obligation" digital tv trial, which I was reluctant about but she assured me it was "no-obligation". Upon installation, the installation guy gave me a crumpled up piece of green paper detailing that he had installed the equipment and everything was working and told me that "this was just to confirm that everythign has been set up correctly". I signed without paying too much notice because everything WAS working fine. 6 months later, I go to NTL to cancel the digital package (which was terrible!) and am told that I have to pay €100 cancellation fee!. The sales rep explained that the "no-obligation" was true, because I am not paying to cancel the digital, merely to change my subscription to Basic Cable! When I tried to argue this, I was reverted back to the green piece of paper, where on the back of the installation docket, in font-size 3 about a hundred lines into the T&C was a mention that I would have to pay a penalty to change my subscription.

Now, it is clear that NTL deceived me (and lost a custmer for life in the process!). But legally, I had no grounds for complaint. Nowadays, I am much more cynical, but that still doesn't mean that there are plenty of other people out there who, like the OP, enter into a contract in good faith.

This charge is wrong on 2 ethical grounds:
First, because it is only there to try to penalise you from going to the competition.
Secondly, because the OP like some/many customers will have signed up without realising that the charge exists, because UTV have done their best to prevent the customer from finding out.

 .


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## aircobra19 (16 May 2007)

ClubMan said:


> I disagree. Many services are provided on a contractual basis and the customer needs to read the contract to make sure that it suits their needs before signing up. If they don't and then get burnt by so called "hidden" charges then that is their own fault.





wannanoall said:


> I totally agree with the last comment, I do not understand why someone who signs a contract would have a grievence with something within that contract. If the contract stated in small print that 29.99 would be refunded to the customer when the line is cancelled would we be having this discussion or is it a case of this new Irish attitude that no one wants to part with money?



I fail to grasp the point you are making. You think its fair practise to make the customer dig as deep as  possible to find out the normal basic charges in a contract? Sharp practise IMO.


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## ClubMan (16 May 2007)

aircobra19 said:


> I fail to grasp the point you are making.


OK - concentrate ... people should read a contractual agreement before signing it. Is that any clearer?


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## wannanoall (16 May 2007)

I have just checked u.tv's web site, I checked the price plans available to Irish customers. I proceeded to request a connection and clicked on the terms and conditions. Point "3"!!!! states that a cancellation charge of 29.99 is required. Point "3" is hardly on page 999 of any document, it is in the same font as the entire document i.e not in small print. I do not think that anyone could or should have a grievence with this. I do not condone a 29.99 cancellation charge but I would support u.tv on this one as they clearly state the charge. Reading the terms and conditions before signing a contract alleviates many problems.


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## aircobra19 (16 May 2007)

ClubMan said:


> OK - concentrate ... people should read a contractual agreement before signing it. Is that any clearer?



No because I was asking why a company would bury basic charges in small print.

I think it should be included where they advertise the basic costs
[broken link removed]
Its not in these T & C's
[broken link removed]



> 16.7 In the event that UTV Internet agrees to you cancelling the service after the Minimum Term you must pay all the Charges due for the service as per the Price List and including the cancellation fee.


Its not in the FAQs
[broken link removed]

I found it here
http://u.tv/talk/tariffs.asp?loc=ie

Dunno where you found it. Maybe its more obvious when you are signing up.


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## ClubMan (16 May 2007)

As per the post above - this charge is hardly buried in the small print.


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## velma (16 May 2007)

wannanoall said:


> I have just checked u.tv's web site, I checked the price plans available to Irish customers. I proceeded to request a connection and clicked on the terms and conditions. Point "3"!!!! states that a cancellation charge of 29.99 is required. Point "3" is hardly on page 999 of any document, it is in the same font as the entire document i.e not in small print. I do not think that anyone could or should have a grievence with this. I do not condone a 29.99 cancellation charge but I would support u.tv on this one as they clearly state the charge. Reading the terms and conditions before signing a contract alleviates many problems.


 

This was not the case when I signed up in 2003. It wasn't obvious in my contract and it took me ages to find it in the contract I signed. Obviously thats an improvement on my experience. I wasn't aware of the cancellation charge until after I cancelled. This is UTV's way of making sure your slow to cancel, IMHO.


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