eMobile not fulfilling statutory obligations

Tragedy

Sorry to have not updated in so long!

After advice from Trinity FLAC/NCA, I ended up sending them a letter by registered post stating that I was rejecting the goods and rescinding the contract under Sale of Goods etc Act. They never replied or acknowledged the letter so I sent the phone back 3 weeks later by registered post with a copy of the original registered letter.

I received a letter back acknowledging receipt of phone, restating the same position they've been stating since the beginning...and nothing else.

So last week I finally bit the bullet, contacted the Visa department of PTSB, sent in all documentary evidence and asked for a chargeback due to the reasons already hashed over in this thread.

On 15/03 the chargeback for the up front purchase price of the phone was processed and I'm now quits with eMobile. They're still sending me out monthly bills but I've long since informed them that the contract has been rescinded and that if they feel that I owe them money, I more than welcome them bringing me to court over it.

198321

Tragedy wrote: »

Sorry to have not updated in so long!

After advice from Trinity FLAC/NCA, I ended up sending them a letter by registered post stating that I was rejecting the goods and rescinding the contract under Sale of Goods etc Act. They never replied or acknowledged the letter so I sent the phone back 3 weeks later by registered post with a copy of the original registered letter.

I received a letter back acknowledging receipt of phone, restating the same position they've been stating since the beginning...and nothing else.

So last week I finally bit the bullet, contacted the Visa department of PTSB, sent in all documentary evidence and asked for a chargeback due to the reasons already hashed over in this thread.

On 15/03 the chargeback for the up front purchase price of the phone was processed and I'm now quits with eMobile. They're still sending me out monthly bills but I've long since informed them that the contract has been rescinded and that if they feel that I owe them money, I more than welcome them bringing me to court over it.

Good for you, finally you solved it, although not the way you hoped for I guess ..

Anyway, was it worth it? I see your first post was on 8/1/ and you got chargeback on 15/3/. That is over 2 months (or longer since it was ongoing on 8/1/) of dealing with them? Sometimes it is better to take easier way and suffer for a while (10-15 days?) and wait for repair. I am not saying eMobile T&C are right (I am with eMobile but haven't red it), but instead of waiting around 15 days for repair you waited over 2 months for chargeback, seems like hours and hours spent dealing with this issue and at the end you are still getting bills from eMobile...

In my opinion the point of this post is rather discourage people doing what you have done as it doesn't make much sense ... Although I think you are right, it is not the best solution to fight for your rights all the time. It's like if a car won't let me cross a road on zebra crossing - and they should - I am not going to start throwing stones on it ...

Not to mention, where will you go now? Vodafone, O2? You said it is hard to get such a good deal as eMobile gave you .. so you will more likely end up paying more for same service you had with eMobile.

Sorry to say that - but to me it seems like huge waste of time with very poor outcome ..

Tragedy

198321 wrote: »

Good for you, finally you solved it, although not the way you hoped for I guess ..

Anyway, was it worth it? I see your first post was on 8/1/ and you got chargeback on 15/3/. That is over 2 months (or longer since it was ongoing on 8/1/) of dealing with them? Sometimes it is better to take easier way and suffer for a while (10-15 days?) and wait for repair. I am not saying eMobile T&C are right (I am with eMobile but haven't red it), but instead of waiting around 15 days for repair you waited over 2 months for chargeback, seems like hours and hours spent dealing with this issue and at the end you are still getting bills from eMobile...

In my opinion the point of this post is rather discourage people doing what you have done as it doesn't make much sense ... Although I think you are right, it is not the best solution to fight for your rights all the time. It's like if a car won't let me cross a road on zebra crossing - and they should - I am not going to start throwing stones on it ...

Not to mention, where will you go now? Vodafone, O2? You said it is hard to get such a good deal as eMobile gave you .. so you will more likely end up paying more for same service you had with eMobile.

Sorry to say that - but to me it seems like huge waste of time with very poor outcome ..

I 100% agree with everything in your post, but surprising as it sounds in this day and age, I am an incredibly principled person and I will live and die by them. It's always easier to not rock the boat and will usually have a better outcome, but I've never once taken the easy route.

I could relay an anecdote about being bullied by a Garda last August and being threatened with a court summons for dangerous driving (mandatory driving ban and potential prison time) where 6 Gardaí would stand up in court and testify that I was driving as such - unless I 'admitted' to him that I was speeding, but that's going a bit off topic

(I refused to admit such, asked for his badge number, penned a draft letter to his Superintendent stating the exact circumstances of the night and waited for a court summons, 7 months later and I've yet to hear anything - 99% of people would have just admitted speeding even when they were innocent of such).

P.S.: Bought a Google Nexus 4 for €331 delivered and am on a €20 per month prepay with 3 which over 18 months works out as being €38 per month as compared to €45 with emobile, but the emobile plan was superior and I did get better reception and speeds with it.

Tragedy

2.2 If you are a Bill Pay customer, you may not terminate this Agreement during the Minimum Period. If the Agreement is terminated by you during the Minimum Period, you are liable to a termination charge calculated as the sum of the monthly Charges which would otherwise be payable from the date of such termination by you until the end of the Minimum Period. On expiry of the Minimum Period either party may terminate this Agreement on the giving of 30 days prior written notice to the other.

Received another bill today.
€104.04 overdue

€702.04 for the current month
+
€161.47 VAT @ 23% (being illegally charged, VAT is not charged on cancellation fees).

The cancellation charge is listed as €721.9512 ex vat (so €888).

18 month contract @ €34.50 per month.
3.5 months of bill paid.
14.5 months @ €34.50 = €500.25 - less VAT = €406.7 however, apparently I owe them €967.55.

Amazing, eMobile's ability to conduct business only improves!

Part of me wishes that they would bring me to court, it would be amusing to see them attempt to explain away their litany of basic failures.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Dublinstiofán

Very interesting thread. Be nice to see where it ends with eMobile. I wonder will they chase you for the bills. I joined them in their very early days and had problems so I've been through the mill with them before and know exactly what your dealing with.

Just two small pieces of usefull information. I know iPhones aren't for everyone but Apple have the best customer service when it comes to repairs. They are the model all companies should operate on.

1) You can contact them directly to diagnose issue over the phone and set up a repair directly. A standard repair usually takes about 3-5 business days and costs you nothing.

2) If you can't be without a phone they will send you a new one first before you send back the faulty one

3) If you live near an Apple store you can walk in with a faulty handset and walk out with a new/refurbished one free of charge under warranty. Or for a set fee if out of warranty.

In saying this they are expensive and not for everyone.

I know part of your issue was wanting to terminate the contract regardless. Glad your sorted with a Nexus 4 (currently waiting on one myself) and the ordeal is over!

Tragedy

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

See Section 3.2 and 5.4 of this Revenue Notice on the matter. It's quite emphatic and clear in how VAT is to be dealt with in regards to cancellation charges, but you can view this thread to see that 8 months after being notified by customers, they've still refused to change their practices and are illegally charging VAT on cancellation charges.

If they refuse to charge the cancellation fee without VAT, simply refuse to pay it.

As I said, eMobile(Eircom/Meteor) seem to be hilariously inept at every level of their company.

Tragedy

It's been a year!

Around April or May I received a letter from an outsourced debt collection company attached to Pierse Fitzgibbon solicitors (of eflow fame).

I politely e-mailed the debt collectors, stating that there was no debt, that if they or their clients believed their to be a debt that I welcomed any and all legal action to show such a debt existed and that notwithstanding, they were to kindly refrain from contacting me again and any further contact would be regarded as harassment and reported to AGS.

It's now January, the bills still come monthly and are now up to something insane like €1200 (remember, even ignoring the VAT issue the theoretical cancellation fee would have been only €500).

I've been on 3 ever since.

whippet

So the out come is that you still owe the money and are just not paying ?

Tragedy

whippet wrote: »

So the out come is that you still owe the money and are just not paying ?

If I send you a letter stating you owe me €1,200, you now owe me the money and are just not paying?


The outcome is I still owe eMobile nada, and both they and their debt collectors have declined to show otherwise.

They still have 5 years in which to pursue the supposed debt, and as ever I look forward to them doing so and explaining among other things:
Why the receipt and written contract states 12 months instead of 18
Why multiple customer service advisors lied about eMobile not being responsible for the repair of handsets
Why eMobile refused to perform their statutory obligations under both the SOGA and S.I. No. 11/2003
Why eMobile are illegally charging VAT on cancellation fees despite guidance from the Revenue and the ECJ otherwise, and despite their being an 18 month old thread on this issue in the Eircom forum
& why they think the cancellation fee is €1200

But by all means, sneer at others through your own haze of ignorance and blithe acceptance. I believed I was right and eMobile wrong. I researched the subject thoroughly. I sought legal advice. I put my money where my mouth was.

What have you done other than show your own sad lack of insight?

dudara

Posters - Don't get personal. No need for adjectives like "sad"

dudara

whippet

Tragedy wrote: »

If I send you a letter stating you owe me €1,200, you now owe me the money and are just not paying?

likewise if you send a letter rescinding a contract / debt that does not make the debt or contract disappear.

The victory that you think you have achieved is no different to that when someone one just cancels a direct debit and refuses to pay.

Calling a spade a spade.

Do you want people to come on here and give you a big round of applause? From what I am reading you have failed to prove to me, many posters here and more importantly eMobile that what you have done is correct.

Nonoperational

At the end of the day, they offered to repair your phone and you rejected that offer. You threw your toys out of the pram and behaved in a very questionable manner. Sending back the phone etc serves only to make you feel good about yourself. You stated they weren't fulfilling their contractual requirements yet you gave them no chance to remedy the situation. I wouldn't be at all confident if they did take you to court.