3's Payment Method Administration Charge

Yggr of Asgard

I just got my bill (done 20 May) and it still features the 3.719 + VAT "payment method administration charge" for not paying by direct debit.

Isn't this kind of charge now not longer allowed due to the new Consumer Protection Bill which get's rid of penalties for failing to pay by direct debit?

Anybody any idea, has anybody ever complaint to 3 and got that from their bill?

Sam Vimes

Afaik it is illegal now. Give comreg a call to confirm this and if they do, lodge a formal complaint with 3. If they do nothing about it, get back onto comreg.

Unfortunately comreg dont seem to actually do anything so at that point its time for a call to joe duffy

parsi

Can they now charge your 35 per month (for example) with a discount for paying by DD ?

Sam Vimes

parsi wrote:

Can they now charge your 35 per month (for example) with a discount for paying by DD ?

charging different amounts for different payment methods is now illegal

Sam Vimes

yep, illegal
http://www.ciboard.ie/publications/relate/april07.pdf

parsi

Good link !

Sam Vimes

i'm on the phone to the drones now trying to make them understand that their company is breaking the law. should be fun

Sam Vimes

the manager was actually very helpful. i gave her that link and she thanked me for pointing it out to her and said she'd be passing the information up. i'm going to call next week if its not gone and every week from then on

Yggr of Asgard

Thanks all, I'm going to drop them an e-mail (rather than waisting my time with the drones at the Call Center) and see what they say.

The link is great, thanks "Commander Vimes".

Edser

Has anybody got this charge cancelled, or get a reply?

Fyi, I queried this with 3 today who confirmed it is a charge for not paying by Direct Debit. In fairness, they said they would cancel this month's charge and gave me their CustServ email if I wanted to escalate the issue.

I checked with Comreg who said they did not deal with this and pointed me towards the National Consumer Agency.

The National Consumer Agency person told me this act was implemented but articles 48 & 49 (I think) relating to unfair payment method charges were held back due to ambiguity with online discounts (!?) and were not yet in legislation.

Sam Vimes

Edser wrote:

The National Consumer Agency person told me this act was implemented but articles 48 & 49 (I think) relating to unfair payment method charges were held back due to ambiguity with online discounts (!?) and were not yet in legislation.

i've had this confirmed by two different agencies unfortunately but don't tell 3 that

godskitchen

"escalate" Three love using that word, it in fact means nothing.

Sam Vimes

godskitchen wrote:

"escalate" Three love using that word, it in fact means nothing.

it does mean something. it means "i don't know and i want you to go away now"

Davy

Commander Vimes wrote:

it does mean something. it means "i don't know and i want you to go away now"