Onecom and Vodafone contracts
Discussion
I'm possibly in a situation where I may have signed a contract in circumstances that shouldn't have arisen. This is all based around Vodafone, who I've been with for 20 years or so.
My previous contract ran out with Vodafone at the end of last year. I was happy with the phone, so didn't upgrade and went sim only. This was done in the Vodafone shop and I signed the contract there.
Yesterday I received a letter from a company called Onecom, who I now understand bought out a company called Evolve, who, in the dim and distant past I had dealings with every couple of years when my contract was due for renewal. In short, they've informed me that my monthly tariff is set to rise from £13.80 ( unlimited talk and texts, 6GB ) to £30. Until yesterday, I had no idea this company existed, or that they had any influence over my Vodafone contract.
One of my options is to accept this, in which case they will upgrade me to 16GB and subsidise the bill to cover the difference. So, in effect, other than the extra data, which I won't use and don't need, nothing changes.
Another option is to do nothing, in which case the tariff will remain the same but the cost will rise to £30 and not be subsided. Obviously the least appealing prospect, and one which won't be happening.
The next option is to accept their offer of an upgrade that sees me with a phone not especially suited to my needs, again for £30 a month. My current phone recently developed minor touchscreen issues, and I'm sure the need will arise for a replacement at some stage not too far in the future. However, I'd like a replacement to be of my choosing, not theirs.
My final option is to cancel altogether. I have a month from the date of the letter to inform them of my decision, otherwise the deal defaults to the worst option ( £30 per month with no benefits ). I've chosen to cancel altogether, which supposedly leaves me dealing with Vodafone only. Which, until yesterday, is what I feel I was led to believe was happening anyway. By Vodafone themselves, back in November, when I renewed.
I'm puzzled by the situation, as I dealt with Vodafone face to face, and signed a contract ostensibly only with them. Having spoken to Onecom, they say they were the brokers of the deal! I've been back to the Vodafone shop today and spoken to someone senior. It transpires that the staff member I dealt with in November should not have allowed a direct contract to be signed with them as technically Onecom are actually somehow still involved. It also transpires that , having been told that the contract would become flexible after 3 months, and could be altered should I decide to change the phone or go elsewhere, this is not actually the case, and I can only do certain things with regard to changing phones and tariffs. It appears I can't just leave and be free to start again from scratch.
In some respects I expect to be shown to have been naive here, which is possibly a fair accusation. I don't really know what I don't know in this situation, and am still finding out the full ramifications of the position I'm in. In my defence, I've not been one to shop around, as Vodafone, it seems, have generally better coverage than many, and having the best phone/most data, etc, has never been a priority. So, in the past, not knowing hasn't been of any particular consequence.
Sorry for the length of what is, quite frankly, a tedious post on a dull subject, but I felt some background was required.
My question is, given the fact that Vodafone themselves have admitted that they shouldn't have allowed me to sign the contract I'm currently in, how can they reasonably prevent me from terminating it? Which, they've stated today, I can't do.
If you've bothered to read this far, thanks, it can't have been easy!
I suppose I'm also interested to see if any of the goings on I've related have been experienced by others and what the outcome was.
My previous contract ran out with Vodafone at the end of last year. I was happy with the phone, so didn't upgrade and went sim only. This was done in the Vodafone shop and I signed the contract there.
Yesterday I received a letter from a company called Onecom, who I now understand bought out a company called Evolve, who, in the dim and distant past I had dealings with every couple of years when my contract was due for renewal. In short, they've informed me that my monthly tariff is set to rise from £13.80 ( unlimited talk and texts, 6GB ) to £30. Until yesterday, I had no idea this company existed, or that they had any influence over my Vodafone contract.
One of my options is to accept this, in which case they will upgrade me to 16GB and subsidise the bill to cover the difference. So, in effect, other than the extra data, which I won't use and don't need, nothing changes.
Another option is to do nothing, in which case the tariff will remain the same but the cost will rise to £30 and not be subsided. Obviously the least appealing prospect, and one which won't be happening.
The next option is to accept their offer of an upgrade that sees me with a phone not especially suited to my needs, again for £30 a month. My current phone recently developed minor touchscreen issues, and I'm sure the need will arise for a replacement at some stage not too far in the future. However, I'd like a replacement to be of my choosing, not theirs.
My final option is to cancel altogether. I have a month from the date of the letter to inform them of my decision, otherwise the deal defaults to the worst option ( £30 per month with no benefits ). I've chosen to cancel altogether, which supposedly leaves me dealing with Vodafone only. Which, until yesterday, is what I feel I was led to believe was happening anyway. By Vodafone themselves, back in November, when I renewed.
I'm puzzled by the situation, as I dealt with Vodafone face to face, and signed a contract ostensibly only with them. Having spoken to Onecom, they say they were the brokers of the deal! I've been back to the Vodafone shop today and spoken to someone senior. It transpires that the staff member I dealt with in November should not have allowed a direct contract to be signed with them as technically Onecom are actually somehow still involved. It also transpires that , having been told that the contract would become flexible after 3 months, and could be altered should I decide to change the phone or go elsewhere, this is not actually the case, and I can only do certain things with regard to changing phones and tariffs. It appears I can't just leave and be free to start again from scratch.
In some respects I expect to be shown to have been naive here, which is possibly a fair accusation. I don't really know what I don't know in this situation, and am still finding out the full ramifications of the position I'm in. In my defence, I've not been one to shop around, as Vodafone, it seems, have generally better coverage than many, and having the best phone/most data, etc, has never been a priority. So, in the past, not knowing hasn't been of any particular consequence.
Sorry for the length of what is, quite frankly, a tedious post on a dull subject, but I felt some background was required.
My question is, given the fact that Vodafone themselves have admitted that they shouldn't have allowed me to sign the contract I'm currently in, how can they reasonably prevent me from terminating it? Which, they've stated today, I can't do.
If you've bothered to read this far, thanks, it can't have been easy!
I suppose I'm also interested to see if any of the goings on I've related have been experienced by others and what the outcome was. Heaveho said:
One of my options is to accept this, in which case they will upgrade me to 16GB and subsidise the bill to cover the difference. So, in effect, other than the extra data, which I won't use and don't need, nothing changes.
You get more data for the same price and the contract term is the same as when you signed?Is this a problem?
What almost certainly happened is that when you signed up 20 years ago for the first time, you signed up with Evolve, a Vodafone partner, rather than with Vodafone directly.
This was very common back then, as operators conducted much more of their business via partners than they do today. Think of it as the equivalent of buying a Vodafone contract in Carphone Warehouse rather than in a Vodafone shop.
Technically, for 20 years you’ve been, and still are, Evolve’s customer and so you shouldn’t have been able to change (or ‘upgrade’) your contract in a Vodafone direct store.
Two choices for you really. Take the offer on the table from Evolve to match the deal, and then cancel and port your number in 12/18/24m or whenever that sim only contract expires or...
If you’re within 14 days of signing up, throw your toys out of the Pram at both Evolve and Vodafone and demand to be let out of the contract. If not within 14 days, you could still escalate to Vodafone CEO complaints and I’m certain you’ve enough here to get their help in unpicking. They’ve left you in a weird situation and admitted as much.
What you definitely should NOT ever do is feel pressured to take a phone you don’t want, on a deal that you don’t want. 24 months is a long time to regret a choice made in haste.
Hope that’s helpful
This was very common back then, as operators conducted much more of their business via partners than they do today. Think of it as the equivalent of buying a Vodafone contract in Carphone Warehouse rather than in a Vodafone shop.
Technically, for 20 years you’ve been, and still are, Evolve’s customer and so you shouldn’t have been able to change (or ‘upgrade’) your contract in a Vodafone direct store.
Two choices for you really. Take the offer on the table from Evolve to match the deal, and then cancel and port your number in 12/18/24m or whenever that sim only contract expires or...
If you’re within 14 days of signing up, throw your toys out of the Pram at both Evolve and Vodafone and demand to be let out of the contract. If not within 14 days, you could still escalate to Vodafone CEO complaints and I’m certain you’ve enough here to get their help in unpicking. They’ve left you in a weird situation and admitted as much.
What you definitely should NOT ever do is feel pressured to take a phone you don’t want, on a deal that you don’t want. 24 months is a long time to regret a choice made in haste.
Hope that’s helpful
Thanks for the replies, there's some very helpful stuff there.
To the poster who asked why getting the same deal with more data would be a problem, fair enough. Initially I hadn't thought about the angle of just doing that and buying my own phone to replace the current slightly faulty one. In fairness to Onecom, they haven't actually done anything wrong in this situation, the fact that their involvement caught me by surprise isn't their fault, and having been made aware of my position, they've have been been as helpful as possible.
If my phone was working properly, I'd probably have gone with their deal and not thought much about it. The fact that I've looked at the entire situation in more detail is what's made me aware that the contract with Vodafone is, in effect, invalid. Even that would be ok, but they're still trying to dictate the terms in which I upgrade or go elsewhere, which seems like a bloody liability in the circumstances.
To the poster who asked why getting the same deal with more data would be a problem, fair enough. Initially I hadn't thought about the angle of just doing that and buying my own phone to replace the current slightly faulty one. In fairness to Onecom, they haven't actually done anything wrong in this situation, the fact that their involvement caught me by surprise isn't their fault, and having been made aware of my position, they've have been been as helpful as possible.
If my phone was working properly, I'd probably have gone with their deal and not thought much about it. The fact that I've looked at the entire situation in more detail is what's made me aware that the contract with Vodafone is, in effect, invalid. Even that would be ok, but they're still trying to dictate the terms in which I upgrade or go elsewhere, which seems like a bloody liability in the circumstances.
Edited by Heaveho on Wednesday 25th April 09:55
speedking31 said:
Heaveho said:
Another option is to do nothing, in which case the tariff will remain the same but the cost will rise to £30 ...
Jimi.K. said:
It's nearly always cheaper overall to buy a phone separately from the network contract so if you do end up locked in for 24m just buy a sim free handset when you want to upgrade and you'll be saving money overall.
I agree. I'm staggered at the number of my friends who are happy to pay £60+ for a new (free!!!) phone and be locked into a 2-year contract.My situation is I can get a SIM only deal with unlimited calls, texts (who needs this anyway now) and more than enough data for £20 month and not be tied to the network.
I'm paying £1200 to buy my "free" phone! Insurance is another £13 month but now even that can be done through numerous 3rd parties for half the price...
Well, I've solved part of my problem today, and in much more of a straightforward manner than I anticipated. I found another unlocked phone locally, identical to mine ( Sony Xperia Z3 compact ) for £105 with a 2 year warranty. I've been quoted £60 to repair my existing phone through Carphone warehouse with a 1 year warranty, which I intend to do. I'll then have a working phone and a working backup. I'm sure the existing fault will rear it's head again, but at least I know what to expect and how much I'll have to spend. If the new phone and the repaired one are any good, I'll be alright with that at the money.
I've told Onecom " ahm oot ", and will deal with Vodafone when the Onecom nonsense is finalised. However, as things stand, as irritated as I am with Vodafone, I'm ultimately still only paying £13.80 a month and now have 2 phones I'm happy with for less than the cost of a new contract with a new phone ( which wouldn't be one I'd particularly want ), so I'm probably coming out of it ok.
I've told Onecom " ahm oot ", and will deal with Vodafone when the Onecom nonsense is finalised. However, as things stand, as irritated as I am with Vodafone, I'm ultimately still only paying £13.80 a month and now have 2 phones I'm happy with for less than the cost of a new contract with a new phone ( which wouldn't be one I'd particularly want ), so I'm probably coming out of it ok.
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