Two year contract at an end. Why am I still paying for the phone.

[Penelope2]

Why am I still being charged the full amount as my contract has ended.

[Benj8]

So I've delved into this and found that EE are using a legal loophole for this type of contract. You are not paying for the handset despite EE clearly seeking more money for different styles of handset. Now, once the contract ends, you own the phone, but will continue to be charged the same contract tarriff. In my case a continued charge of £45 p/m for a Samsung galaxy S22. You do NOT need to continue paying this after contract has ended, a clause in your contract will mean EE have an obligation to continue this without your consent as this was gathered in the original signing of the contract. You are entitled to a refund if the premis of the contract stated handset + SIM. In my case, I have renegotated a SIM only plan for £10 although it took a lot of hassle. Many people forget to check when contracts end, EE and suppliers know this and take advantage. Don't be taken advantage of.

[XRaySpeX]

@Benj8 : 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.

[Ericboxer05]

This is so wrong from EE. I have a contract ending 22nd Feb 24. I will make sure I cancel by 22nd Jan 24. They are trying to get me to upgrade my phone. However I did look at sim only deal because I'm happy with my S23 Ultra. They want £30 per month sim only on a 2 year deal. This is for unlimited data, calls and texts. Lebrara are doing the same deal for £10pm. I won't be renewing with EE. Lebrara sim deal is month to month,  not a 2 year contract with price increases every year. When my other contract is up in June I will be canceling that too.

[bristolian]

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@Benj8 wrote:

Many people forget to check when contracts end, EE and suppliers know this and take advantage.

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Current regulations require operators to send text message notifications when the minimum term date is approaching, clearly outlining the options available. I received one on both of the phones for which I'm responsible, a few months back.

Many of the budget providers are making pricing issues part of their advertising at the moment, which is an understandable strategy given that the major operators tend to focus on network quality more.

[Chris_B]

@Ericboxer05   How is Ee trying to get you to upgrade your device?   They might show you an offer but that’s not trying to get you to upgrade that’s your choice. 

[Ericboxer05]

They have reduced my upgrade fee from £168 to £0. Also tried calling me with offers to upgrade. Which I won't be doing.

[Girlileo]

There is a loyalty penalty claim team that has 4.8 million members.  The team are working on the all the big mobile companies who help themselves to the same amount of money after our contract ends. You need to be in the UK and have signed into a contract between 2007 and 2023 to be eligible.  You don’t need to opt in, but you will need to claim should they be successful. I’ve just subscribed to them and they will email me as they progress. I found the details through the Martin Lewis website.

Like many of us on here, I have been over charged for two contracts, spent hours on the phone to EE and waited for empty promises to ring me back. 
I’m  hopping mad and am not going to give up on this. It was never pointed out to me that I was singing a contract that was for minimum 2 years, and they would continue helping themselves to the price of my two contracts after this time.

[mjhr]

I could not agree more.  Once the phone is paid off, the fees should automatically drop to SIM-only and not require the customers to pro-actively 'downgrade' .   It is profiteering on behalf of EE and shows total disdain for customers.  The EE community answers in this thread regarding the combined and supposedly 'inseperable' nature of the handset/data costs is a nonsense.  The cost of the phone is amortised over the period of the initial contract.   Please do better EE.

[Chris_B]

@mjhr   And what does it say in the contract that you agreed too.   it was sold to you as one package tariff and device 
Only the newer flex tariffs work in the in this way as it’s two separate bills one for the tariff the other for the device.  The older tariffs are one bill so it requires you to do something about it.  

[mjhr]

Thanks for your response. My point is that the contract should not have been worded/working this way. It puts the onus on the customer to stop EE continually charging for a phone that has already been paid off. It serves to maximise EE revenues exploiting the fact that many customers do not routinely check the term of their contract.