BT/Vodafone Switchover Contract Problem

Broadband User

Anyone who's using BT for their broadband/phone service is probably aware by now that they're in the process of switching customers over to Vodafone after a buy out.
I have serious problem with my new "contract".
I've received numerous letters to date, informing me that my contract will not change and that the switch will be as painless as possible.

This morning I received another letter, outlining the differences between BT's service and Vodafone's. I was on BT Broadband and Talk Option 3, at €56.23 per month. I will be saving a whole 23c on Vodafone's At Home Broadband Option 3 & Talk, at €56 per month. Thanks for that.

The letter goes on to highlight that my download allowance with BT was 100MB, and it will remain as such. Which would be great, but it's not true. The contract I entered into with BT gave an unlimited download limit. That's what I wish to continue paying for.

I am a VERY heavy internet user - online gaming, TV streaming, movie downloading, podcasts, you name it. Which is why I signed a contract for unlimited usage. I don't appreciate this being changed without my agreement. What I like less is the fact that Vodafone lied on this letter, stating that my previous download limit was 100MB.

I have found any reference to the download limit for BT's packages neatly wiped clean from both their Irish site and Vodafone's new site. The one place I did find reference to my package's unlimited download limit was here;

http://www.btireland.ie/home/legal.shtml

Under Fair Usage Policy it states;

5. What happens if I exceed my monthly usage allowance?
If you exceed your usage allowance your service speeds will be restricted until your measured usage returns within the package limits.There is no monthly usage allowance for Option 3 customers and you can enjoy unlimited usage for no extra charge subject to the Fair Usage Policy.


Now, what I want to know is whether I have any comeback. Surely if Vodafone purchased my contract from BT, they are obliged to honour the terms. Are they legally allowed to lie to their newly acquired customers, sending them letters insisting that what they believed about their contract was incorrect.

As I said, I am a very heavy web user, and I'd like to know whether I'm within my rights in refusing to pay for any "extra" internet usage which exceeds the limits which were not in my initial contract.

drunkmonkey

Yes you can leave Vodafone no problem and go to another provider, there at home service is rubbish compared to BT, so bad I had to use mobile broadband for over a month as the vodafone service was unusable, I'm in the process of switching providers, just don't know who to go with, probably eircom. I haven't used my xbox online since before xmas it's that bad a service, plenty of threads with unanswered questions from vodafone over on the vodafone forum. Get out quick and save yourself a headache.

Broadband User

To be honest, I wouldn't trust a Vodafone rep with this matter. They're obviously going to tell me that I'm in the wrong, or at least try to wiggle their way out of any responsibility here. What I'm looking for is advice on my consumer rights in terms of the original contract. And I don't think Vodafone cares too much about those.

JohnC.

Broadband User wrote: »

The letter goes on to highlight that my download allowance with BT was 100MB, and it will remain as such. Which would be great, but it's not true. The contract I entered into with BT gave an unlimited download limit. That's what I wish to continue paying for.

Weather you know it or not, your BT limit was 100GB. They called it "unlimited" but they actually started throttling at 100GB. I know this as I was also with BT and have personally been throttled after reaching that 2 or 3 times, as have others in the Broadband forum. The only difference is that Vodafone are putting an actual figure on it whereas BT were not, instead hiding behind "unlimited". That was the unpublished "Fair Use Policy" limit in the part of the contract you quoted.

dudara

You quoted the following

you can enjoy unlimited usage for no extra charge subject to the Fair Usage Policy

This would imply that there was always a Fair Usage Policy in place.

miftha

There is a serious change in terms and conditions here. Got the same letter and have had the run around from both companies when I brought this up - going to manager level next.

With BT LLU 24mbit it is an unlimited service. There is a 100GB fair usage policy, which when you go over you get throttled, BUT can continue to download and NO EXTRA CHARGES. Thus is unlimited downloading.

With Vodafone, it is limited to 100GB and YOU WILL be charged for going over 100GB as confirmed by customer services (Sarah).

I have only once gone over 100GB, however it is the principle that I now have to monitor my usage again to make sure I do not get near 100GB for fear of extra charges. Please dont start with what are you downloading crap, I pay for uinlimited and can download what I like with it within the law.

This flies in the face of any mail from both companies - no change to your service. IT IS A CHANGE, and one that can potenitally cost me in my pocket.

I suggest that everyone rings BT to complain or we will get nowhere.

miftha

To add, I don't think we will get anywhere with Vodafone, even though I have mails saying no change to service, there is. But they give you the option to cancel as you have no written agreement with them.

I am sure I had post from BT saying no change but cannot find it. Does anyone have literature stating this?

BurnsCarpenter

It was never going to be the case that you would have the exact same contract under Vodafone.

If you have copies of letters saying otherwise, forward them to Comreg.

billybunty

Hi
I had similar issues with changing from BT to Vodafone last Nov/Dec.
Again, Letters saying you will be on the same contract - BUT the calls and charges were more restricted and the broadband went from 3mb to 1mb speed with V/F AND they were charging €1 extra per month - so I won't go into the What I did have and What I was now getting which was supposed to be exactly the same but will tell you what I did

Emailed Vodafone Forums, emailed customer services, phoned LOTS and made sure my calls were being documented. My broadband was CRAP - this got fixed. I also did NOT want to sign a contract for 12 months as I was out of contract with BT and so I didn't want to get into contract with a product not yet tested in my mind.

Outcome, found 2 customer services reps who were helpful and really sorted things for me.
Got them to send me a letter stating exactly what my tarriffs are and that I am NOT tied into a contract and can leave at any stage at no cost. I've the letter in the safe!!
This may help you for trying to sort it - basically blast them with mails and calls. Time consuming, Yes, but worth it.
Hope this helps.

miftha

BurnsCarpenter wrote: »

It was never going to be the case that you would have the exact same contract under Vodafone.

If you have copies of letters saying otherwise, forward them to Comreg.

From BT website, under "Q&A's regarding the BT and Vodafone Agreement "

What happens with my current contract with BT?

Your current contract will be transferred to Vodafone. There will be no material change to your terms and conditions or adverse changes to your tariffs.

Not a legal expert, but would this not be a material change? Also hearing that voicemail facility, currently free on BT, is being charged for. Having to pay to download more than 100GB is a change to my tariff. Having to pay for voicemail is also.

Comreg complaint next option.

Big J

If you were not in contract with BT then leave Vodafone and find another provider. Simple as that.

If you were in contract you still have a window in which to leave (30 days I think?)

As for unlimited download allowance - it's one of the terms and conditions of the contract. If Vodafone change these you can walk away but you can't realistically force them to honour the original BT terms and conditions. They will often back down on individual cases rather than have the hassle of dealing with a Comreg complaint but when it is something that would affect tens of thousands of customers they aren't likely to give in.

Good luck with trying to find a company that doesn't charge for voicemail - BT were about the last landline/ADSL broadband company not to.

miftha

Big J wrote: »

If you were not in contract with BT then leave Vodafone and find another provider. Simple as that.

If you were in contract you still have a window in which to leave (30 days I think?)

As for unlimited download allowance - it's one of the terms and conditions of the contract. If Vodafone change these you can walk away but you can't realistically force them to honour the original BT terms and conditions. They will often back down on individual cases rather than have the hassle of dealing with a Comreg complaint but when it is something that would affect tens of thousands of customers they aren't likely to give in.

Good luck with trying to find a company that doesn't charge for voicemail - BT were about the last landline/ADSL broadband company not to.

Man you are just typical of Irish attitude, give in! If we were all like you we would still have Eircom (no LLU) with 512kbit BB. Why are BT pulling out of residential????

I have 2 letters from Vodafone stating words to the effect of; same benefits, better cost. ComReg have advised me to open a case.

If you don't stand up, you get no where!

Sorry to be personal

Big J

miftha wrote: »

Man you are just typical of Irish attitude, give in! If we were all like you we would still have Eircom (no LLU) with 512kbit BB. Why are BT pulling out of residential????

I have 2 letters from Vodafone stating words to the effect of; same benefits, better cost. ComReg have advised me to open a case.

If you don't stand up, you get no where!

Sorry to be personal

Not taken personally.

What gets the attention of these companies is customers voting with their feet. If Vodafone start losing enough customers because what they offer isn't good enough they will improve what they offer.

Problem in the Irish market is that there isn't much of a choice. Eircom - who rely heavily on inertia and "better the devil you know". Vodafone (who also own Perlico). UPC cable - if you can get it. Or the various companies offering Wimax - not a perfect solution even if it is available.

The one thing I will say for Vodafone is that they want LLU and are pushing hard to get it widespread. Obviously it is in their interest as they want ADSL customers from Eircom. But once LLU spreads beyond a handful of exchanges in Dublin the likelihood of other companies coming into the market (TalkTalk for one - although I'm not a fan of theirs) is a lot greater.

Why BT pulled out or residential I don't know. Presumably they weren't making enough money to justify the investment required. That's why everyone else charges for stuff like voice mailboxes.

kleefarr

miftha wrote: »

Man you are just typical of Irish attitude, give in! If we were all like you we would still have Eircom (no LLU) with 512kbit BB. Why are BT pulling out of residential????

I have 2 letters from Vodafone stating words to the effect of; same benefits, better cost. ComReg have advised me to open a case.

If you don't stand up, you get no where!

Sorry to be personal

Exactly!!

I am due to be swapped over any time soon, having had both letters now.
I won't hesitate in contacting Comreg if the service is substandard, which I'm fully expecting it to be, but fingers crossed.

Anyone that suffers from substandard service should also contact Comreg. It's the best way to voice your dissatisfaction.

Greyfox

miftha wrote: »

Why are BT pulling out of residential????
(

Because they were tired of making a profit worth peanuts from Residential customers while at the same time they were making decent profits from Business customers, it made perfect sense to get rid of Res and just focus on the business side of their company

All telecom companies can't afford good customer care in residential as theirs too many companies out their and the profit margins are very small!

capta

Vodafone took over our BT homeoffice broadband .. then they came up with an offer of all-in-one office line rental, calls and broadband which seemed good value so I took it .. as soon as the switchover happened, we had two weeks of crossed lines and breaking-up calls .. everytime i phoned customer service I was told it was eircom causing the problem because the lines still belong to them (this is true but do I care who is causing the problem when I have a contract with Vodafone to provide my service??!) .. Vodafone opened and closed fault logs despite the fact the fault wasnt fixed and without ever telling me that they were closing them .. it took me hours of phone calls, emails and testing the line myself to get it resolved .. now i have a broadband speed way down on what it was .. i will be leaving these guys as soon as i can .. trouble is there is no real competition in the market .. and i doubt there ever really can be in a market the size of ireland .. i've written letters to their head of customer service and had no replies despite the fact that she sent me a 'welcome' letter when we switched telling me that she was there to help .. now all i can do is warn others