View Full Version : Misleading Pricing
I upgraded my broadband service from 750k to 1.5mb via the Go Faster link on ntl's website on 24th August. The upgrade was advertised at £34.99 a month for existing customers only. I have print-outs of the appropriate webpages stating that I have signed up for 1.5mb broadband at £35.99 a month.
On receiving my bill, I noticed I was to be charged £37.99, plus an added partial charge of £11.
After waiting 15 minutes for a call centre advisor, I was told ntl had made a mistake - I would be charged £37.99 but they could give me the first month free to compensate for the inconvenience. I signed up for the upgrade because I could just afford it & had to cancel it because I couldn't afford the higher rate.
At the end of the 35 minute phone call I decided to revert to 750k but apparently the so-called compensation doesn't apply at that speed. I have still been inconvenienced, not to say misled. I am distinctly unchuffed.
paulyoung666
10-09-2004, 17:26
hi and :welcome: to the site , i reckon if you have documented proof then i reckon ofcom (http://www.ofcom.org.uk/) might be interested :)
Hi & :welcome: to the site from me too. :)
I'm afraid what you have described can be very typical of dealings with ntl (left hand/right hand etc)
Having said that, you will be paying £3.00 per month more than you signed up to. If you multiply that by 12 (months), then it's an extra £36.00 per year. :td:, but seeing as they have offered you your first month free to make up for their cock up (£37.99 ), that evens things up doesn't it? :tu:
Enjoy the site. :)
paulyoung666
10-09-2004, 17:29
Hi & :welcome: to the site. :)
I'm afraid what you have described can be very typical of dealings with ntl (left hand/right hand etc)
Having said that, you will be paying £3.00 per month more than you signed up to. If you multiply that by 12 (months), then it's an extra £36.00 per year. :td:, but seeing as they have offered you your first month free to make up for their cock up (£37.99 ), that evens things up doesn't it? :tu:
Enjoy the site. :)
nice maths until you enter the second year :erm: , mind you by then i hope the price will have come down :erm: :erm: :erm:
Yes. Thanks for your replies. I did consider a small claims court but I reckon that would be more bother than it's worth. The bit that bothers me is that ntl 1mb or 1.5 mb has never been priced at £34.99 - this was supposed to have been an offer for existing customers, but turns out to have been nothing of the sort. Why do they bother?
The free month offer is irrelevant anyway, since I can't budget for £37.99 and so couldn't afford the not-free months thereafter.
The whole affair smells of Muppetry.
paulyoung666
10-09-2004, 22:24
Yes. Thanks for your replies. I did consider a small claims court but I reckon that would be more bother than it's worth. The bit that bothers me is that ntl 1mb or 1.5 mb has never been priced at £34.99 - this was supposed to have been an offer for existing customers, but turns out to have been nothing of the sort. Why do they bother?
The free month offer is irrelevant anyway, since I can't budget for £37.99 and so couldn't afford the not-free months thereafter.
The whole affair smells of Muppetry.
1 / 1.5 mb has been priced at £34.99 , it is only recently that it has gone up , sorry for this but if you are so worried about £3 / month then you should be on a lower tier altogether impo :angel:
swoop101
10-09-2004, 22:28
When I rang up last week to arrange my upgrade, I was also told that the price was £34.99.
I wish that they would get their act together.
scrotnig
11-09-2004, 10:51
1 / 1.5 mb has been priced at £34.99 , it is only recently that it has gone up , sorry for this but if you are so worried about £3 / month then you should be on a lower tier altogether impo :angel:
I don't think it's that the poster is worried about the £3, he was sold the service at that price due an error which is frankly inexcusable.
I'm a stickler for billing accuracy, as my colleagues will testify.
scrotnig
11-09-2004, 10:56
Yes. Thanks for your replies. I did consider a small claims court but I reckon that would be more bother than it's worth. The bit that bothers me is that ntl 1mb or 1.5 mb has never been priced at £34.99 - this was supposed to have been an offer for existing customers, but turns out to have been nothing of the sort. Why do they bother?
The free month offer is irrelevant anyway, since I can't budget for £37.99 and so couldn't afford the not-free months thereafter.
The whole affair smells of Muppetry.Small claims court...forget it. This is the litigious side of Britain coming in.
A shop can actually refuse to sell you an item at an advertised price and simply advise you of the new price at any time. Not good practice, but the courts would not be even slightly interested. The ASA might have something to say if false advertising was involved, but this rarely falls into a breach of the law, only a breach of codes of practice.
Nonetheless, you've been utterly shafted. I'd be suggesting first month free as a goodwill gesture for the problems, then honour the quoted price for a period of time, say 6 months, after which you can then decide to continue at the higher price or move back down. This is pretty fair, after all, prices CAN increase, as they did earlier in the year, and many customers legitimately signed up at 34.99 back then only to see it increase a couple of months later.
That'd be my take on it...fair to both sides, and showing that the company can acknowledge and put right a mistake (since all companies make mistakes) in a professional way.
ian@huth
11-09-2004, 11:06
Yes. Thanks for your replies. I did consider a small claims court but I reckon that would be more bother than it's worth. The bit that bothers me is that ntl 1mb or 1.5 mb has never been priced at £34.99 - this was supposed to have been an offer for existing customers, but turns out to have been nothing of the sort. Why do they bother?
The free month offer is irrelevant anyway, since I can't budget for £37.99 and so couldn't afford the not-free months thereafter.
The whole affair smells of Muppetry.
If your budget is so tight and you are good at keeping within your budget then the offer of a free month is relevant, as Neil said.
The first month you get free so save the £34.99 out of which you take £3 to cover the extra for the second month, leaving £34.99 and so on throughout the year.
You can drop down a tier when this saving runs out, or before if you feel like it.
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