Shocking way to treat loyal customer.

[MOgilby]

I have just realised I am paying nearly full price on my kids' mobiles despite their contracts finishing last August. The handsets have been paid off. EE is ripping me off and still charging me virtually the full price £28 per phone. A comparable SIM only deal is £10 per month. That amounts to over £350 overpayment in the last 10 months. Shocking way to treat customers. I've also just found out the reminder that their contracts were coming to an end, was sent to THEIR phones and being kids they of course didn't know the significance. I have complained too EE, but they don't seem to want to accept any responsibility. I intend to go to the Financial Ombudsman.

[XRaySpeX]

@MOgilby : These mobile contracts don't just end, just the min. term expires. They are not fixed term contracts. After the min. term they just carry on at the same price on a rolling 30-days' notice basis until you explicitly cancel, upgrade or port your no. away. There will however be a 10% discount after 3 months.

EE's contracts have no concept of paying off the handset. You agreed to pay the same price for the full duration of the contract. You may always choose to upgrade your contract to a cheaper SIM-Only contract from the last 45 days of your contract term.

[bristolian]

Contractually this is all covered in the T&C which the account holder agreed to, the account holder is ultimately responsible for all phones in their name.

It also underlines the importance of checking your bills on a regular basis.

[Chris_B]

@MOgilby  EE don’t sell contracts to under 18s you choose to give your kids a contract device so you take responsibility for it.    And message sent to these devices about the contract being up or being able to upgrade isn’t EEs fault they don’t  show it to you as they don’t know you choose to give the devices to under 18s who then failed to inform you of this.   Plus the fact if you look at your online account you can see the status of these contact terms.    

[MOgilby]

Of course strictly speaking, you are correct, but other companies' contracts are not set up thus way and EE know fine rightly that this will catch people out. This is bad business practice and puts ALL responsibility on the customer to monitor the contract. Yes, I took  my eye off the ball and legally EE don't have to to take responsibility, but that doesn't stop EE from acting in bad faith. Making your cutomers 'fair game' is bad business. 

[bristolian]

Some operators split their contracts into separate airtime & device ones, but not all do. The contractual structure of EE's offer is no secret, and equally customers are free to choose the correct package for your individual needs.

Anyone who's not checking their bills for a 10month period is opening up themselves to problems sooner or later.

[MOgilby]

‎29-06-2023 12:11 PM

I have recently realised I am paying nearly full price on my kids' mobiles despite their contracts finishing last August. The handsets have been paid off. EE is still charging me virtually the full price £28 per phone. A comparable SIM only deal is £10 per month. That amounts to over £350 overpayment in the last 10 months. I've also just found out the reminder that their contracts were coming to an end, was sent to THEIR phones and being kids they of course didn't know the significance. I have complained too EE, but they don't seem to want to accept any responsibility whatsoever. Is this an oversight on my part? Yes, of course, but I don't expect a company to take advantage of it and completely shaft me. There are numerous articles online acknowledging this is a problem. But expect the self righteous on here to give you zero sympathy.

[XRaySpeX]

Is there any point in this repetition? Again!

You can make a formal complaint to EE & if you don't get satisfaction after 8 weeks you can take it to EE's ADR provider. See Complaints code of practice and here is the Complaints Form at the foot of the page.

[MOgilby]

I have complained & haven't had a satisfactory response. Are you a moderator?

[MOgilby]

https://www.ft.com/content/4f36944d-8420-4248-992f-4b87a5809d7b