Devices long paid off

[atomicsushi]

I have an Apple Watch and a mobile wifi. Both devices paid off 25 months ago.  Since then EE has continued to bill me every month for the device not the sim or the connection.  I figure I have paid over £1000 that I was unaware of.   Has anyone else had this problem?

[Chris_B]

@atomicsushi  that’s because you’re contracts change to a 30 day rolling contract at the minimum term until you call and give 30 days notice to terminate or you upgrade.

   Contracts don’t just stop at the minimum term date as you’ll be cut off even if you was abroad 

[XRaySpeX]

EE's contracts have no concept of paying off the device. You agreed to pay the same price for the full duration of the contract. There will however be a 10% discount 3 months after the end of min. term. You may always choose to upgrade your contract to a cheaper SIM-Only contract from the last 45 days of your contract term.

[atomicsushi]

I upgraded my contract at least once  since  the 25 months that my devices were paid off.   I have been with EE over 11 years and with Orange before they were bought out by EE and have made many upgrades to contracts and phones.  But previously the devices would have a term of payments and then once paid in full,  the payment would end and new payments for new devices, data, calls  etc would start.  Now it seems unless terminating payment for a device no longer in use only can happen if you mandate it.  This seems extremely unfair.  

It's as though I bought a £10,000 car with financing by the seller, to be paid for (with interest) over a term of, say, three years, and after three years the loan was fully paid off but the seller continued to charge me the same monthly payments I had been making for the past three years.  It's clearly unreasonable.  The reason given to me when I spoke to someone at EE on the phone was that they can't stop charging the same amount without violating privacy laws.  That makes no sense.

[Leanne_T]

Morning @atomicsushi 

Thanks for coming here. 

The contract would continue if you do not get in touch with us to change plans, upgrade or cancel. 

If you would like to make changes please call us on 150 and the team will help you further. 

Leanne.

[atomicsushi]

Sorry,  but turns out that EE has been accused many times before of these sorts of sharp practices to the point that  intervention has been called

 for from Ofcom.  Citizens Advice has said that EE was guilty of charging customers extra for their handsets after they had been paid off.   The providers did not clearly separate the device and the service charges in the monthly bill.  I'm out of pocket by over a thousand quid.  The elderly were especially targeted.  

[Chris_B]

@atomicsushi    Your contact doesn’t change to a lower tariff once that contract reaches its minimum term that’s down to you to upgrade to a lower tariff it’s in the contract T&Cs that you agreed too.     And EE do offer contacts where the device and tariff are separate should you wish to have that sort of tariff.   You’ll just pay the device over a longer period of time.    It’s down to you to decide on what you wanted to do at the minimum term date.   You decided not to do anything about it and just let it continue.   If you had of upgraded then your old tariff would ceased as its an upgrade,  if it wasn’t an upgrade but a new contract you’d would’ve have been paying for the old and new contract.    EE never ceased a contract at the minimum term date unless you give notice to terminate.  

[atomicsushi]

I have always, faithfully, over the 11 years gone in to renew my contract and upgrade the phone with the assumption that the old devices (paid off in full) would then cease to be charged.  The problem is that there is no way to separate the payment of the device and the payment of the calls.  According to Citizen's Advice Bureau more than 6,000,000 people were still being charged for mobile phones they had paid for.  EE can rollover  charges  for calls/data but should stop at charging for a phone that they know is long paid off.  But the worst is being gaslit by EE saying that the reason it doesn't stop the charges is  because of  privacy issues.  The issue bears looking into.  It's an elegant  scam. simple and effective. 

[Chris_B]

@atomicsushi  if you upgrade, even to a Sim only your current contract will cease that includes the device so that contract is paid off.    You will then only have payment for your new contract and there is no payment for the previous contract/device as that contract has been fulfilled.   You are not charged for the device from the previous contract once you change to a new contract. 

You have ignored what I have said that if you want a contract and a device on separate payments you can.     

It’s not a scam if you actually read your contract T&Cs and don’t assume that at the minimum term the price will change on its own.    It’ll only change when you do something about it.  That’s why you read the T&Cs of a contract 

[WarrenB68]

Yes I’ve just discovered £1100 extra paid for phone over 18 months since my contract finished and went rolling from May 22.