Mobile Phone Upgrade Contract

[dtlyn]

Hi there,

Hope this is the right forum for this question.

I have recently requested that my mobile phone, billpay, be cancelled.

My contract was signed in 2006 ( April ) and thus expired 12 months later in April 2007. During this time ( Feburary ) I contacted the mobile phone provider and expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of service, in particular when texting internationally. About 1 week later I received a phone call apologising for these problems and offering me an upgraded handset. I took the offer and received a new phone.

Today I rang the mobile phone provider to cancel my bill and the customer care representitive insists that upgrade was given on condition of a further 12 month contract and I would have to pay penalties of €190 to exit this contract.

However, I was under the impression that the upgrade was a compensation or solution for/to the problems I'd been having with my service. The customer care representitive says according to his notes I was

a) Advised of the further 12 months
b) Sent a new phone
c) Sent a prepay sim card for my old phone.

However I am fairly sure that I

a) Wasn't advised of this and furthermore, NEVER signed any new contract
c) Never received a prepay sim card.

Can anybody tell me what entitlements I have in terms of cancelling here. In particular...

1. If I never signed a new contract, or an upgrade contract for that matter, surely I couldn't be bound to a further 12 month contract?

2. If, on the off-chance, they pull out a recording of me saying "yeah, whatever, do that" to the question "further 12 months....." is a voice recording bounding as a verbal agreement?

3. Is spinning a bound upgrade contract as a solution to a problem of service quality, which the phone provider is bound to deliver, misrepresentation of a product?


Fairly long winded question there, apologies.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[amtc]

yep, voice contract is legal and binding, plus i have never heard of a situation where upgrade was given without contract

 

[dtlyn]

yep, voice contract is legal and binding, plus i have never heard of a situation where upgrade was given without contract

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. Thats valuable input.

I was under the impression that the phone was to fix/compensate me for my service problems, and it was presented as such. Had I have been informed clearly that I was required to agree to a further 12 month contract, I wouldn't have taken the offered phone.

Therefore, is a voice contract agreed upon under misrepresented or not fully stated conditions legally binding?

 

[RainyDay]

Ask them if they have a recording of your call? Or even put in a formal Data Protection request for this.

 

[addob]

once you've accepted the phone, this binds you into the contract, networks do it all the time when processing normal upgrades over the phone, they prob wont have record of your voice recording as they only use recorded voice calls for training purposes. the fact that you didnt understand that you were entering into a new contract is like signing a contract you havn't read unless your network agrees to cancel without penalties your stuck with it i'm afraid!

 

[lightup]

I would say what happened here was you were offered an 'early upgrade' due to the service issues you experienced as you would not have been due an upgrade so early in your contract.

Whether or not this was explained correctly to you is your word against the customer service rep, I doubt they have a recording. The operator will more than likely maintain that there was some paperwork included with the new phone indicating the extended contract and so by keeping the phone you agreed to this.

I'd say the best way to get out of this is to go higher up. Go on the operator's website and find the name of the customer service director or similar and write to them explaining that you never agreed to a further 12 months. They may allow you to terminate the contract without penalties to save hassle.

 

[purpeller]

Having upgraded several times, I have always had to sign something. Are you sure you didn't sign anything - even if it wasn't clearly marked as a new contract?

 

[dtlyn]

fact that you didnt understand that you were entering into a new contract is like signing a contract you havn't read

I disagree here. Its more like signing a contract whereby it is not clearly specified in an ascertainable fashion anywhere on the document that this document is, in fact, a contract.

Having upgraded several times, I have always had to sign something. Are you sure you didn't sign anything - even if it wasn't clearly marked as a new contract?

I signed the delivery docket? It was a printed out list of delivery addresses around my area, no contract. Other than that, I signed nothing for sure.

I'd say the best way to get out of this is to go higher up. Go on the operator's website and find the name of the customer service director or similar and write to them explaining that you never agreed to a further 12 months. They may allow you to terminate the contract without penalties to save hassle.

I might try this alright. Thanks

Customer Care at the phone company seem understanding though, they've gone off to see what they can do for me.