topic Re: Flex pay Arrrgh! in Contracts & Billing

Flex pay Arrrgh!

RedS1lence — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:07:37 GMT

Afternoon all..
A word to the wise.
I have 6 SIMS, for me and my family, and I decided to go for a new phone on mine and was offered flex play on the assumption I could make regular extra contributions to the loan balance and therefore pay it off as soon as possible.
That's where all the fun began.
The payments attempted (via all channels and departments at EE including the executive complaints department) either failed, but would debit from my account, sometimes not and sometimes coming off my airtime instead.
A proper mess.
After my 1st payment through direct debit went through we attempted a token contribution of £10 which worked.
We then tried £20 and it failed.
My complaints and issues are ongoing with the executive complaints department whom I can't fault to be fair, we're all perplexed.
I have 2 theories I'd like some help with?
1. The system is only allowing me to make 1 Extra voluntary contribution in the same month as my Direct debit payment?
2. The amount I'm attempting to pay is more than the £15 a month direct debit (£20 ) and it's failing because it's more than the direct debit?
All parties agree based on the flex pay terms and conditions that I can make extra payments, but clearly I can't and nobody can seem to get to the bottom of it all.
They have agreed I have a right to leave without penalty should it continue to not work, but I'm happy with my airtime plan.
Advice, solutions and suggestions gratefully received..
Yours sincerely
Chris

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

Chris_B — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:13:59 GMT

@RedS1lence Perhaps just try one payment of £20 instead of trying to make 2 over payments. You say £10 worked but £20 didn’t was this straight after the first payment? The issue could simply be with 2 payments on the same date.

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

RedS1lence — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:30:48 GMT

Hello

Thanks for the reply.

£10 went through last week no problem.

You're correct £20 on the same day didn't go through So..

Then this morning a person from the executive office called me and we attempted the £20 again with a week's difference and it failed. They don't know why.

So either it's because it won't accept 2 extra payments in a month or it's because I'm attempting an amount (£20) that's more than my loan repayment (£15).

If it's the latter - which I hope it isn't - it would mean I could never make a sizable contribution to my overall loan amount.

And that's simply not fair.

I would hope the system is thinking "not twice in one month sunshine" so when the advisor calls me back in May we are going to attempt £20 payment then as it'll be a new month.

I hope I'm making sense.

But either way- it's not acceptable - and not what I was sold.

Thankyou

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

Chris_B — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:46:38 GMT

@RedS1lence I’m on a flex tariff also so please come back and keep us updated on this. I was told you can pay anything to reduce the over all monthly payments so this is of interest to me also.

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

RedS1lence — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:57:49 GMT

Sure thing.

If anyone out there who has a flex plan and has payed an amount more than their commitment monthly direct debit then please let us know so I can narrow down the reasons to take back to the executive office.

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

PaulH14 — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 15:46:20 GMT

I have the same issue with Flex pay. I wanted to pay the phone off sooner than the 2yr contract. I managed to pay £70 off over the phone with EE but for some reason it was treated like a payment on the account and no direct debits were taken after this. I now cannot make over payments as my account is in credit. I have gone through the EE complaints and they have confirmed it is a known issue. 8 weeks on and they have written to me again saying that it is taking longer than expected to sort out. They will get there eventually I guess. All they say is that it is a known issue!

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

RedS1lence — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 17:04:15 GMT

It never rains it pours..

EE haven't taken my direct debit device payment because they now say any additional payment takes it away from the minimum payment..

Hence I had no device payment direct debit this month because I'd already voluntarily paid in £20.

It's a bloody mess. And it's really getting me down now.

There is an issue (another one) on the ways the payments are made and distributed to the accounts and they're directly affecting direct debit payments.

This has been nothing but trouble since I started and they don't do anything about it. It just goes on to the next advisor to try and fix it.

It's not what I was promised, it's not what Flex pay is meant to be and if the tables were turned I'd be in breach of contract so this is very unfair indeed.

Avoid.

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

Christopher_G — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 14:43:00 GMT

Hi @RedS1lence

How did you make the payments? Any manual payments for the device must be made by calling our Mobile Care team on 150 who process the payment on a separate system to the airtime account.

Chris

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

RedS1lence — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:05:31 GMT

Hi Chris

Yes I'm aware of this. It's precisely the reason monies have been going into the airtime or even negating the monthly direct debit because the advisors are selecting the wing payments option.

But there's also a current glitch where any payment made takes it away from your monthly minimum device payment and stops your direct debit because it believes you're in credit.

It's a total mess. It's been escalated twice, and nobody knows how to work or properly fix it.

They should contribute to my loan arrangement for all the bother it's causing because it's not what was advertised or agreed upon when I took out a flex agreement - if the tables were turned EE would be claiming against me for sure.

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

Leanne_T — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 16:10:31 GMT

Hi @RedS1lence

I am sorry to hear this, as this has been escalated to the relevant team to be looked into once they have an update they will be in touch to let you know.

Leanne.

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

RedS1lence — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 16:15:26 GMT

Thankyou Leanne

But that's just it..

It was escalated and closed off twice but new problems occurred since then which means Flex payment is still currently broken and I have no outstanding investigation into it on my behalf outstanding.

Therefore if you could escalate this again on my behalf I would be sincerely grateful and I would like to discuss my contractual obligations because it's still not been fixed 3 months down the line.

Yours sincerely

Chris B

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

Leanne_T — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 16:44:32 GMT

Hi @RedS1lence

I am very sorry we have no account access on the community to raise this and get your discuss your contract. Please get back in touch with our mobile guides to get this looked into further.

You can also submit a complaint using our Make a complaint (ee.co.uk) form and the team will get back to you.

Leanne.

Re: Flex pay Arrrgh!

Boy1 — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 11:06:00 GMT

Be very careful. I took out a new handset with the flex contract and was sent the message that I had extended warranty on it.
I paid extra and just owed £20 with more than a year left on my contract. However the handset is faulty but they state they cannot replicate the problem when they took the phone away for repair. However when I spoke to them the problem is evident and they keep saying that they cannot hear me.
Then I stupidly spoke to them and advised I was having problems paying off the £20 I wanted to pay. The advisor just kept offering a new airtime contract as I had nearly come to the end of it but not the phone contract. I said no as I was worried that this would cancel my extended warranty. They assured me it would not be the case and when I asked about paying off the handset they messaged me to confirm that my extended warranty would roll over.
someone in complaints called me and took the payment.
fast forward to last week when I again complained about the fault to be told that my warranty had ended as I have paid off the handset. I have now had to ask for all the call recordings and notes as I have to go to the ombudsman.