UPC have increased their standalone broadband charge without notification

zynaps

Sorry to drag an old thread up but I have to object to this nonsense from ComReg:

dazzymc wrote: »

I actually brought this up with ComReg and they said that unfortunately, advertising a change of terms in the national papers does release them from having to notify in writing. How stupid. I buy a newspaper to read about current affirs so would rarely take notice of "advertisements" like this.

That makes no sense at all. They could put a tiny note in the Clare Herald "notifying" us that the charge will increase to €10,000 per month. There's a good chance that the first you might hear of it is that a direct debit for that amount is issued against you, and apparently there'd be nothing you could do about it?

Is there some way we can get this ridiculous travesty of justice loophole fixed? Publishing a small note in the "national papers" leading up to Christmas is not notifying me or any other customer in writing. Most people do not read any newspapers at all and they should not be considered the official communication channel with customers.
If it was, why do I get other letters from UPC? Why not just make all communication happen through newspapers? Because obviously they do this to minimise the number of customers who are actually aware of the changes - effectively using newspapers as a (pseudo?)legal loophole and purposely do a disservice to their customers! When they want me to know something, I get a letter every month asking if I want Digital+, but if they don't want me to know something, they publish it in a newspaper.

Imagine if I printed a small note in a newspaper saying that UPC would be forced to pay me €100 every month, rather than me paying them. If they don't "respond" or cancel the contract, can I then take them to court for not fulfilling the contract whose terms I changed and "notified" them about 30 days in advance, in the same way they "notify" us? If it's legal for them, it's legal for us.

But I suspect that what they're doing is not legal, and they persist because nobody is going to take them to court or otherwise legally challenge them (and Comreg is just rolling over for them like a well-trained dog). Can you imagine modifying a contract you had with someone and, rather than informing them, publishing the changes in a newspaper and then claiming later that they were notified? They'd laugh in your face!

vibe666

well, it didn't work for o2 when they did the same thing with their iphone customers without notification.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055941844

i have several mates (not to mention the hundreds of boardsies) who have managed to get out of their iphone contracts with them over this.

Under Regulation 17 of the European Communities (electronic communications networks and services)(Universal Service and Users’ rights) regulations 2003 an operator shall not shall not less than one month prior to the date of implementation of any proposed modification, notify its subscribers to that service of the proposed modification in the conditions of the contract for that service, and their right to withdraw without penalty from such contract if they do not accept the modification. If you wish to exercise your right under Regulation 17 please contact O2. The continued use of O2 services after the effective date of the change is deemed acceptance of the change.

unfortunately, other than (theoretically) allowing you to get out of the contract without penalties, there's not much you can do about it and unless you want to change broadband providers and are still in the locked part of your contract with UPC.

that said, the change happened in January, so you're a bit late in the game to actually kick up a fuss about it now.

IrishTonyO

This was dealt with at the time and after phoning Comreg they said that you could leave the contract if you wished within 30 days and UPC agreed that you could leave the contract with no fee.

This thread should be really closed by now

zynaps

vibe666 wrote: »

that said, the change happened in January, so you're a bit late in the game to actually kick up a fuss about it now.

It doesn't affect me, since I'm getting TV from them anyway - I'm just shocked that they're allowed to get away with contract alterations without directly notifying the customer first. Obviously they will continue to do this in future. If they had increased the charge by say €1,000, and the first you knew of it was when it appeared on your direct debit, could you refuse to pay on the grounds that they didn't actually notify you? Hopefully that won't ever happen - it would cause an mass-exodus of customers and probably a legal challenge.

Anyway yes, close the thread, I was just very curious as to how they can get away with making changes to contracts with customers, without notifying the customers (publishing it in a newspaper really doesn't cut it, especially when they can and do send us letters all the time!)

jor el

Since the info being contested is out of date, this should end here.