We stand up for your legal rights
LEAD CASE
Can Expert Telecom nearly double my broadband bill?
Q In October my internet provider Expert Telecom (www. experttelecom.co.uk) phoned me to say it was trying to keep costs down. Within three weeks my monthly bill had gone up from £35.77 to £63.97. Can it do this?
Colin Sander
A It can increase prices, but under Ofcom rules it has to email customers with at least 30 days’ notice. This may have ended up in Colin’s spam folder, so we’ve asked him to check. If a provider doesn’t email notice of a price rise, then you can cancel without paying a fee. You’re also allowed to leave without a fee if your provider increases your bills mid-contract without stating in the terms and conditions that it might do this.
We did wonder whether Colin had reached the end of his contract and had been moved to a more expensive deal, but he’s only been with the company since the start of the year. It seems more likely that Expert Telecom has simply made a mistake. If not, and its terms really do state that it can raise bills by nearly double, then this would almost certainly be deemed unfair by the courts.
We’ve told Colin to tell Expert Telecom, which is based in Strood, Kent, that it may have broken two of Ofcom’s rules. We’ve also asked the company for more information, and contacted Ofcom which is now investigating.
If Colin can’t resolve his complaint, he should ask Expert Telecom for a deadlock letter explaining how it tried to help, then take his case to the alternative dispute resolution ombudsman, which in this case is CISAS: www.snipca.com/48425. Any ruling they make will be binding on Expert Telecom.
CASE ONGOING
Why won’t Amazon refund me?
Q I bought a Noco genius G3500 battery charger directly from Amazon (not a third-party seller) in February 2019. It has now ceased working. The warranty from Noco is for five years, but although Amazon says it has its own two-year warranty, it won’t offer a refund or replacement. Posting the charger back to Noco in the US would be expensive. Shouldn’t Amazon deal with it under the Consumer Rights Act?
Mike Rawnsley
AAmazon might have to help Mike, but because more than six months have passed since purchase he’ll have to prove the fault is inherent. This is hard to do after all this time, but he could pay for an independent inspection. If it finds an inherent fault, Amazon must refund the inspection’s cost, assuming it agrees with the examination
