Mobile bill increased 12 months into an 18 month contract

MOH

I'm posting this here rather than in the Meteor forum as I've already taken it up with Meteor (unsuccessfully so far) and it may be something that applies across providers.

Last April (2013), I bought a new phone online from Meteor. In doing so, I signed up for an 18 month contract on the "Bill Pay Smart" plan, which was 30.50 if you signed up in store, or 25.41 if you signed up online.

Each month to date, the bill has shown the higher rate (i.e. 30.50 - VAT) with a discount applied to being it down to the lower rate (25.41 - VAT).

When my May bill came, it was higher than usual. On examination, the discount wasn't applied.

Meteor are now claiming that this discount only applies for the first 12 months, and that after that the monthly rate goes back to the original price. They also claim that this is clearly stated in their terms and conditions at signup.

I went through the signup process for a similar deal today as far as the last step and the T+Cs make no mention of this 12 month limit. I went back on archive.org to look at the T+Cs a year ago, same thing. I also spent a *lot* of time choosing a new provider back then after a nightmare with my previous one, and was sure to read all the T+Cs before I signed up. I'd definitely have noticed such a clause.
I also went back to the archive.org version of their billpay plans page at the time, which doesn't mention 12 months, but does link to a document entitled "Full bill pay pricing", which clearly states the contract term as 18 months @ €25.41 for signing up online.
And my receipt from the online store states "Bill pay smart 30" €25.41, with a "Monthly total" row underneath with the same figure.


In their last email, Meteor included a link to a page which very clearly showed that the discount only applied for a year. Except that the page style differs from both the current and 2013 version of the website, the footer date is 2010, I can't find any other page that links to it (now or in 2013), and all its outbound links just go to itself - basically, it doesn't seem to be an active page, if it ever was.

For good measure, it was only when I started querying my current bill that I discovered they've been charging me the wrong amount every month anyway - €25.50 instead of €25.41.

It's not a massive amount of money - an extra €30 over the next 6 months, but I really feel Meteor are trying to pull a fast one.

Just wonder if anyone else who signed up for a similar deal has encountered the same thing?

flyingsnail

I know this probably not what you want to hear but I signed up for a 18 month contract in April 13 and it was clear to me at the time that the lower price of 25 was only going to be a 12 month deal and then it would revert to the higher price of 30 for the remaining 6 months.

MOH

flyingsnail wrote: »

I know this probably not what you want to hear but I signed up for a 18 month contract in April 13 and it was clear to me at the time that the lower price of 25 was only going to be a 12 month deal and then it would revert to the higher price of 30 for the remaining 6 months.

Tbh, if it turns out I'm wrong I'll be happy enough to apologise and pay the extra.

Can I ask was it a SIM only plan or a plan with a new phone you got?
Digging through the T+Cs there's different ones for the SIM only plans which state 12 months.

And also was it €25/€30 as opposed to €25.41/€30.50?

flyingsnail

Mine is the smart 30 -18 months, sim + phone plan. and it was 25.41/30.50

JoeySully

I signed up about 12 months ago. I was given a similar offer of €5 off but they did tell me that it was only for 12 months. now im paying the higher tariff of €30

fiverfriday

Give the meteor loyalty department a call and just tell them out straight that you can't afford the higher tarriff. They usually offer some sort of discount.

Stokolan

You could also try argue with this link http://www.meteor.ie/terms_and_conditions/bill-pay-plans/

Meteor 2013 18mth Bill Pay plans

3. Any promotional discount applied to a Meteor 18mth Bill Pay plan is for a duration of 18 months from application of the discount.

Not sure if it is applicable to you but worth a shot.

MOH

Stokolan wrote: »

You could also try argue with this link http://www.meteor.ie/terms_and_conditions/bill-pay-plans/


Not sure if it is applicable to you but worth a shot.

Cheers, I'd come across that after I mailed them last time. Every single T+C which refers to a 12 month cutoff is talking about either Meteor - Meteor texts/calls, or about a sim only plan. All the ones referring to bill pay have the discount for the term if the contract.

Still, I'll wait and see what they come back with this time. It's more the tone of their last mail that's got me irritated at this stage

skelligs

Stokolan wrote: »

You could also try argue with this link http://www.meteor.ie/terms_and_conditions/bill-pay-plans/




Not sure if it is applicable to you but worth a shot.

OP's discount was an online discount for purchasing online and not a plan discount.

e.g. the plan price is 30.50 and still is 30.50. The €5/month online discount is a separate discount and applied for 12 months. It would be a condition of the discount, not a condition of the plan.

MOH

skelligs wrote: »

OP's discount was an online discount for purchasing online and not a plan discount.

e.g. the plan price is 30.50 and still is 30.50. The €5/month online discount is a separate discount and applied for 12 months. It would be a condition of the discount, not a condition of the plan.

The problem I have is it wasn't described anywhere as a discount to the plan. It was applied that way on the bill, but before signup it was described as the price of the plan when you order online, as opposed to when you order in a shop.
e.g., see "Bill pay smart" at the bottom of the first page here.

There's no indication of it being a limited period discount. And my receipt doesn't describe it as 30.50 a month with €5 discount, it just says monthly payment €25.41.