Telewest broadband contract question

[rumpelstiltskin]

I had Broadband with Telewest last year and i had a lot of connection problems so i had the modem taken away and everything finished up with them,i recently(2 months ago)decided to give them another try,but,just as a precaution i didn't sign the contract and return it incase i had any other problems.So surprise,surprise im having the same problems plus the internet seems to have changed a lot in as far as the amount of Spam now received,hacking problems,viruses etc,etc.I have firewall,antivirus etc but the little monkeys wherever they are still seem to balls up my PC,the whople internet experience i just find depressing now(except this forum obviously)Anyway i called Telewest to disconnect,they told me ive entered into contract and i have to pay them the 10 months of the contract left?£250!Surely if i didn't sign the contract im not under contract with them?Or am i missing summit?Any help appreciated!:-)
P.S,Never,ever,ever buy anything from Ebuyer.com
Two weeks so far to dispatch something(hard drive) they had in stock,avoid them like the plague,Customer service dont answer you calls just to add to the fun.

>>> Edited by rumpelstiltskin on Monday 18th August 10:38

[NEvin]

There are all sorts of issues here with implied and verbal contracts which I don't have the strength to go into just now.

However, my best suggestion for these sort of circumstances would be to cancel the service, stop paying them and if they moan about ask them for a copy of the contract you signed which stated these terms (i.e that you must take it for a minimum of a year). IF that doesn't work then write to the directors expressing your disgust. These things usually go away after that.

If you want more specific examples of what to do then let me know and I can email you.

[uriel]

I'm with Blueyonder/Telewest and I did the same. When they sent the contract I never signed it or sent it off. They kept pestering me to do it, but I'm a lazy a*se and couln't be bothered.

After a while (a couple of months) they sent me a latter saying that I hadn't signed the contract and that until I did there was no formal agreement between us, they will continue to provide me with the service and charge me, but I can't hold them to the word of the contract. I thought this was a very odd letter to get from a company, but was happy enough since I figured that it means that I'm not bound by the T*C either. Still have the letter round somewhere...

[zebedee]

Waking up a long dead thread here.

Moving to an area that doesn't have cable, still have 4-5 months left on TW contract - they say I have to pay it, it is never waived, circumstances don't matter.

Short of cancelling the d.d. (but they would want their box back?) and complaining to them, is there anything else I can do - surely there is a regulatory body that might not like this kind of thing - OFCOM?

Has anyone wangled their way out of this situation before?

[Graham]

not much help i know but i always recomment zenadsl

www.zenadsl.co.uk

they are not the cheapest but offer a good service and more importantly A ONE MONTH CONTRACT...


G

[zebedee]

the third customer service bloke I spoke to actually offered to downgrade all of the services to minimum (seeing as I won't be getting them anymore!) so that at least saves £13.50 a month over what it looked like we would have to pay.