Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

since when are you not allowed to downgrade your price plan?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    since when are you not allowed to downgrade your price plan?

    since i just phoned vodafone and was told i have to stay on my current tarriff for the entire 18 month term apparantly!!

    really angry with them right now, currently on ?30 a month for 500 minutes and 1000 texts, barely half of either i use so obviously it makes sense for me to downgrade, i knew from previous talks a while back that i could only downgrade to the next plan down each time and not straight to the lowest plan, it makes sense for them so people don't just get an expensive phone for free and then jump straight to the lowest price plan, that i can accept but to be told after the fact that i can't at any point change my tarriff for a full 18 months really pisses me off, especially when this conveniently wasn't mentioned when i upgraded.

    is there any watchdog or independant body that i can complain about this to because to me it seems to be a really bad, if not illegal practice?

    #2
    Illegal? You agreed to an 18 month contract, if you defaulted on it then it'd be you who was breaking the law (in effect.)

    The clue is in the name, it's an 18 month contract. They didn't tell you you wouldn't be able to downgrade halfway through? Well, they didn't tell you they wouldn't give you a free goat either but I'd like to see you complain about it! Unless they specifically told you that you would be able to downgrade: unlucky.

    Basically, you agreed to have an 18 month contract, and that's what they've given you.

    Comment


      #3
      I would imagine it'll be in the terms of the contract that you signed, that you need to stay on that contract. Not sure you have much legal ground to stand on, so can only recommend making as much noise as possible in the hope that they'll give in.

      Comment


        #4
        I was told when I started a contract with Vodafone about a year and half ago that I wouldn't be able to amend my tarriff to a less expensive, only more expensive so I guess it's been going on for a while. In the past, I believe I had been allowed to after the first 6 months or so.

        Comment


          #5
          chalk up another one blinded by the shiny 'free' upgrade, gimme gimme gimme a new phone, terms & conditions, yeah yeah yeah.

          Comment


            #6
            yea stating it as illegal is going a bit far, but i do consider it bad that they don't state that you can't change tarriff, i've been able to before but feel i (and other customers in future) should've been made aware verbally that a change like this has been made, and no i'm not part of the 'free expensive phone and then go to the cheapest plan' brigade but i'm throwing money away by not using my full allowance and feel it only fair that i should be able to adjust according to my needs.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by booth83 View Post
              i'm throwing money away by not using my full allowance and feel it only fair that i should be able to adjust according to my needs.
              You can adjust, you just have to wait 18 months like you agreed to do

              Comment


                #8
                You can adjust, you just have to wait 18 months like you agreed to do
                But thats the thing, it was a quick phone call to ask about upgrading, they asked me what i wanted, i told them, they said ok, end of call, no mention of the change in policy, is it not reasonable to assume the same rules that applied before i upgraded also apply now? unless specifically stated by them, i wasn't told over the phone, the only letter i received was a generic thank you for staying with us letter, i've had no other communication by post as my account is managed online. i'm calmer about it now and in the 'accepting it, put it down to experience stage'. i've sent them an email, will see if anything comes of it, but if not, then **** happens i suppose.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I can imagine the headlines:
                  Man discovers legally binding document cannot be changed willy nilly
                  Daily Mail only subtitle: house prices unaffected

                  To be honest, there is a potential legal recourse if the practice of downgrading outside of contractual obligations was widespread enough and you had done it *enough* that it could have been taken as an implicit term of the contract. It is unlikely to be the case and if you were to try and fight the largest mobile telecoms company in the world in a case that would, if you won, would demean all of their contracts, I have a feeling they may have some clever legal people. You can give it a go though.

                  Count yourself lucky you don’t have an iphone. Owners were shocked to find (presumably whilst mincing in Starbucks) that they would not be allowed to terminate their contracts because they felt that they wanted to upgrade to a product with new functionality. Some even rolled down their roll-down collars in disgust.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    when did you get the new upgraded phone and is it a brand new model

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by saif View Post
                      Count yourself lucky you don’t have an iphone. Owners were shocked to find (presumably whilst mincing in Starbucks) that they would not be allowed to terminate their contracts because they felt that they wanted to upgrade to a product with new functionality. Some even rolled down their roll-down collars in disgust.
                      Ah, that made me laugh.

                      Once upon a time, BTcellnet (yes, going back about a decade now) would automatically change your plan month to month to give you the best value for money. That was nice.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Late Feb/early March, can't remember the exact date, it was a sony ericsson xperia x1.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          The legality of these really needs to be looked at. Yeah, we sign contracts but, as Booth says, this can be agreed over the phone without getting any actual terms or what terms have been changed. How that could possibly be legally binding is beyond me. But even with an in-person signature, they do not go through the terms of the contract with you (or at least never have when I've done it) and, as far as I'm concerned, a contract is something I have solicitors look at and they are negotiated, not just signed.

                          Without clear knowledge of exactly what is being agreed to, and we know (and phone companies know) that most people don't because how Merf put it is spot-on, I would question just how binding any of those contracts should be.

                          If nobody is reading them, that should render them meaningless and void. It should be like getting your rights read to you by a cop - if it doesn't happen, it's not admissible.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
                            If nobody is reading them, that should render them meaningless and void. It should be like getting your rights read to you by a cop - if it doesn't happen, it's not admissible.
                            No. If no one is reading them then it's their own fault. Ignorance is never an excuse.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by booth83 View Post
                              Late Feb/early March, can't remember the exact date, it was a sony ericsson xperia x1.
                              You're less than a quarter of the way into your contract, and have got a "free" fairly high end phone?

                              Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
                              The legality of these really needs to be looked at. Yeah, we sign contracts but, as Booth says, this can be agreed over the phone without getting any actual terms or what terms have been changed. How that could possibly be legally binding is beyond me. But even with an in-person signature, they do not go through the terms of the contract with you (or at least never have when I've done it) and, as far as I'm concerned, a contract is something I have solicitors look at and they are negotiated, not just signed.

                              Without clear knowledge of exactly what is being agreed to, and we know (and phone companies know) that most people don't because how Merf put it is spot-on, I would question just how binding any of those contracts should be.

                              If nobody is reading them, that should render them meaningless and void. It should be like getting your rights read to you by a cop - if it doesn't happen, it's not admissible.
                              Whenever I've upgraded my phone, I've always been sent a copy of the terms and conditions of the contract with it. Admittedly this is with o2, but surely everyone is the same? I'm fairly sure there's also a "cooling off" period so if I'm not happy with the terms then I can return the phone.

                              If people aren't reading the T+Cs, that's not the company's fault.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X