Page 15 - Computeractive - January 2, 2018 UK

Contact u s s o w e c an investigate y our c ase
Email: consumeractive@computeractive.co.uk
Please include both y our p hone number and a ddress.

W e stand u p f or your legal r ightse s
W

C
Can I g et a P A Y G r efund f romI t P A Y G V odafone?

Q I h ad a p ay-as-you-go PAYG services, w hich w e specific rules covering i n £10
think
arooned
(PA Y G) account with
s hould be made clearer.
unused money m
Talkmobile. W hen i t Y o u m ay remember that in an account that closes (an a rea
ceased p roviding t his s ervice 2014 Ofcom t old V odafone t o of law t hat n eeds tightening in
in August (after it was b ought refund customers who h ad a our v iew). This m eans V o dafone
by V o dafone) Talkmobile PAYG dongle, after the doesn’t h ave t o r efund
refused t o r efund m y c redit o f company c hanged how o ften customers unhappy a bout
£9.61, suggesting I t ake o ut a it had t o b e u sed f rom e very moving from Talkmobile. B ut
V o dafone P A Y G d eal a nd get 180 days to every 3 0. Ofcom perhaps s ensing a P R d isaster,
£10 c redit. What are m y r ights said this broke t he rules on the c ompany did r efund
here? changing terms mid-contract. Aileen, a s w ell a s G eoffrey
Aileen Dunnett As such, moving customers Squires w hose case we
to a n ew service w hen t he covered i n I ssue 507.
Both were owed less t han
A That’s a q uestion and previous one c loses breaks £10, which p robably m ade i t taking the c ompany
o ne that’s
a h alf, and
Ofcom’s r ules only
i f t he
been a sked by several contract changes u nfairly . This easier for V odafone t o a gree to the O mbudsman
Computeractive readers w ho isn’t t he case with V o dafone to a r efund. It was m ore Services:
feel cheated b y T alkmobile. transferring Talkmobile reluctant t o r efund r eader Communications
Untangling i t m eant digging customers. David Holden, who g ot back (www.snipca.
deep into Ofcom’s r ules about However, there a re no his £ 45 credit o nly a fter com/26296).
CASE UPDATE CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE

YOU T ELL U S W HEN C OMP A NIES G ET IT RIGHT
Happy B T o utcomes
bring festive c heer
I r eceived a l etter s aying m y
Two Computeractive readers w ill h ave a l ittle Virgin Media b roadband bill
extra m oney t o s pend this C hristmas after was g oing up by a c ouple o f
receiving good outcomes f rom B T. quid a m onth. T ime f or a
In Issue 513, we reported t hat Edmund H obby w anted t o haggle, I t hought. So I r ang
cancel his b roadband contract after BT moved h im on to a m ore them on 0345 454 1111 and fair tactic seemed to work.
expensive deal without telling h im. T his b roke one of Ofcom’s played hard to get. I t old The sales rep w as very
golden rules, introduced in 2012, t hat providers h ave t o w arn them that other p roviders helpful, offering m e a p rice
customers i f t hey a re to be moved t o a n ew deal. Y ou are g iven could offer me fast speeds in reduction and a £ 50 credit
a 1 4-day c ooling-off period to cancel without a p enalty. my area (which i s t rue), and on my next bill. I r ealise
Also, p roviders m ust g ive y ou 30 days’ n otice o f a ny price that I w as willing t o s hop that all p roviders are o pen
increase. T hey c an charge y ou should you d ecide to cancel your around. I q uoted s ome to haggling, so Virgin’s
contract early, but not i f t he price r ise i s a bove the r ate o f i nflation specific rival d eals, w hich behaviour is hardly
(which stands at 2.8 per cent: www.snipca.com/26298). were cheaper, albeit a b it exceptional. B ut I w as
Even if the r ise i s b elow this r ate, you c an take y our c ase t o slower. impressed b y h ow matter-
an ombudsman i f y ou believe the i ncrease will be ‘materially I d angled the c arrot of-fact t hey w ere. There was
detrimental’ t o y ou. This doesn’t j ust m ean y ou’ll be worse off; it though by saying that I’d no reading f rom a s cript
specifically means y ou won’t b e a ble t o a fford n ecessities, such like t o s tay w ith V irgin – o r i f s o, it sounded v ery
as rent, mortgage, utilities a nd food. because i t h ad been a g ood natural. They s eem t o
After a pproaching B T w ith t his i nformation, Edmund e mailed service s o f ar. Th is firm-but- appreciate t he new r eality
us to say: “Within a v ery short t ime I r eceived a n o ffer of a v ery of business, w hich i s t hat
good deal. I s hould like to say t hank you t o C onsumeractive”. CONTACT V IRGIN M EDIA everything is negotiable!
In the o ther case (see Issue 509) reader David Harrison • T e l: 0345 454 1111 Paul Dickson
wanted to cancel his B T T V c ontract because t he set-top box • Online chat: www
was f aulty. B T l et him do this, and a lso s aid h e c ould keep the virginmedia.com/ Has a c ompany impressed
you w ith i ts customer
box t o a ccess other channels, s paring him from having to buy contact-us.html service? Please let u s k now:
another one. editor@computeractive.co.uk

20 December 2017 – 2 J anuary 2018 15