Phone/Broadband Contracts

liam650

Hi, can someone please explain to me how companies such as 02, Vodafone, 3 etc can make out these 12, 18 month contracts? like if you were to back out of a phone plan 2 months into one of these contracts you could be charged the whole lot without even getting the service but yet still get charged, lets say a 40 euro a month bill x 18 months = 720 and they can threaten you to pay this even if you decide you do not want it anymore, life is day to day, how can something be pre planned so far out in advance, I think it is an absolute scam and is just typical of this country but then again ive heard they can't really make anyone pay

D3PO

if you feel life is day to day then a pre paid phone is for you.

Contracts are defined if you cant live by the terms your signing up to then you dont sign it.

What a scam is not the contract its somebody signing up to a contract and getting a heavily subsidised / free phone then deciding they are going to back out of the deal.

Nody

liam650 wrote: »

Hi, can someone please explain to me how companies such as 02, Vodafone, 3 etc can make out these 12, 18 month contracts? like if you were to back out of a phone plan 2 months into one of these contracts you could be charged the whole lot without even getting the service but yet still get charged, lets say a 40 euro a month bill x 18 months = 720 and they can threaten you to pay this even if you decide you do not want it anymore, life is day to day, how can something be pre planned so far out in advance, I think it is an absolute scam and is just typical of this country but then again ive heard they can't really make anyone pay

Good thing you're never going to apply for a loan for a house, a car or anything else as well then...

Sonics2k

liam650 wrote: »

Hi, can someone please explain to me how companies such as 02, Vodafone, 3 etc can make out these 12, 18 month contracts? like if you were to back out of a phone plan 2 months into one of these contracts you could be charged the whole lot without even getting the service but yet still get charged, lets say a 40 euro a month bill x 18 months = 720 and they can threaten you to pay this even if you decide you do not want it anymore, life is day to day, how can something be pre planned so far out in advance, I think it is an absolute scam and is just typical of this country but then again ive heard they can't really make anyone pay

"This country"
You mean l countries surely? And its a contract. You agree to certain terms, eg paying for a service which the network provides, plus a phone at a discounted rate, and in turn you pay the bill you agree to.

How is this hard to understand?

Cabaal

liam650, contracts aren't a scam.
They are agreements, legally binding agreements that adults enter into for goods, services and finance.
If you can't meet your side of the agreement then its best you don't sign up to any such contracts.

In this case you should stick to PAYG phones as clearly a billpay commitment is not for you.

dudara

It's a contract - by it's very nature, a contact is intended to provide clarity and definition for an arrangement. If you don't think you can live by the terms of a contract, then don't sign up for one.

In the case that you do have to break a contract (let's say for genuine reasons), it's always worth asking the provider politely if they can release you or provide some alternatives. But you have to be prepared to the accept the fact that you could be potentially faced with penalty fees.

liam650

its the case though that there is no other alternative if you want broadband especially, if you go pre pay in broadband it costs a fortune, things can and do change in 12 or 18 months, if i have UPC and I decide im not getting value here then i should be able to switch to SKY etc once i give some form of notice and pay the last month that was due but then for them to turn around and say were charging you for content and services that you aren't going to receive but yet you still have to pay, bottom line is the customer is treated like crap and it is the customer who should always be able to do what they wish within reason, of course its a scam to get a free phone then back out

Cabaal

liam650 wrote: »

its the case though that there is no other alternative if you want broadband especially, if you go pre pay in broadband it costs a fortune, things can and do change in 12 or 18 months, if i have UPC and I decide im not getting value here then i should be able to switch to SKY etc once

You appear to not understand how operators work.

Providers put people in contracts to ensure they stay with them in order to get back the initial outlay of setup.

For example:

ADSL Broadband
To provision a ADSL line costs money, to cease/cancel a ADSL line costs money. To provide modems/routers it costs money etc. Yet no providers charge setup fee's when customer's initially sign up, instead the costs are factored into the contract length.

The same for upc, it costs money to send engineers out to install cable connections and configure cabinets on the street etc. These costs are made back over the lifetime of the contract.

its just extra work for providers to have to create packages that would have setup fee's which could range from 50e plus that would only attract customer's like you, customer's who are already catered for by PAYG packages.

bottom line is the customer is treated like crap and it is the customer who should always be able to do what they wish within reason, of course its a scam to get a free phone then back out

nonsense,
While you might personally have had a bad customer experience at the end of the day providers know people won't stay with them when contracts end if they provide poor customer service to customer that enter contracts.

Clearly your theory is flawed as we know hundreds of thousands of customer's stay with providers year on year and they choose to renew contracts.

I've had services with BT Ireland, UTV, Three, Meteor, E-Mobile, upc, Sky over the years using providers for everything from business adsl, mobile packages, cable connections, tv services etc and I've only ever had two issues. Both of which got resolved to my satisfaction, neither of which were actual service issues.

Perhaps its down to your ability to communicate with the provider when you have a problem that is the problem here...rather then all the providers that are (in your view) providing sub-standard services to contract customers.

ben.schlomo

liam650 wrote: »

its the case though that there is no other alternative if you want broadband especially, if you go pre pay in broadband it costs a fortune, things can and do change in 12 or 18 months, if i have UPC and I decide im not getting value here then i should be able to switch to SKY etc once i give some form of notice and pay the last month that was due but then for them to turn around and say were charging you for content and services that you aren't going to receive but yet you still have to pay, bottom line is the customer is treated like crap and it is the customer who should always be able to do what they wish within reason, of course its a scam to get a free phone then back out

Bitter...........that is all.

liam650

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Bitter...........that is all.

I don't get this mentality of sucking up to the big scammer businesses, why does most the country want to support these companies that are ripping us as a nation off

former legend

liam650 wrote: »

it is the customer who should always be able to do what they wish within reason

Quote of the year. Jesus.

liam650

former legend wrote: »

Quote of the year. Jesus.

without the customer these companies wouldnt last, customer is king

former legend

liam650 wrote: »

without the customer these companies wouldnt last, customer is king

Yeah. How long would they last if the customers refuse to pay their bills?

Honestly Liam. I presume you're young enough? It's time to grow up.

dudara

Posters - Let's stay on topic. Plus I dont want any further discussion on "big greedy corporates". Continue on this vein and I will lock the thread.

dudara