topic Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract? in Business Customers

Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

django90 — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 14:15:08 GMT

I have seen muliple posts about Aerial Direct the 'trusted' business partners of 02 on this forum and online. Has anyone been able to sucessfully get out of their contract? I dont need to be told about the business ethics of this company, I have seen the previous posts and have been fooled for a while!

Any advice please?

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

MI5 — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 14:18:02 GMT

Previous community managers have helped other customers.
Maybe @MercedesS can help you too?

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

MercedesS — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 14:30:22 GMT

Hello @django90, welcome to the O2 community!

What’s your actual issue with them? That would be useful to know

I'll drop you a Private Message to get more info just in case there's something we can do to help out.

Thanks @MI5 for flagging this!

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

django90 — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 14:41:44 GMT

My issue with them is a little more complex than the rest, they originally called me in 2012 ouf the blue...I was very skeptical at first but when they said that they were a partner of 02 and after checking this out. I was ok with it, claimed to be offering a better deal etc and I ended up agreeing to a deal etc and tbh I hadnt had any issues with them..took out another deal in 2015 for an iPhone 6....

...then we come to this year, I was called as I was up for renewal this year...said I wanted to upgrade to an iPhone7, but the salesman gave me the usual speil of a better deal and I ended up getting a £5 discount (guess you have heard this before right) this wasnt for an iPhone7 this was for an iPhone6 my existing handset. As they had been decent (or so I thought) so agreed over the phone. When I called about upgrading the tariffs and contract lengths were not good deals so I asked why I couldnt have one of the 2 year deals that 02 have on their website, I was told that I couldnt due to where I was in my contract stage. Looked back and found myslef in a 33 month contract and was stunned!!! Wanted to cancel immediately but was told I would need to pay over £1000....

Then I went digging and looked for reviews and other cases which led me here. Oh and yes, its a business contract and I am not a business the usual. I have had other minor issues this year too but they were sorted by 02. As I say, I never realised that this company had so many issues until this year.

I am more disappointed that anything that 02 would partner with a company who are misleading consumer into long, expensive deals...the only reason I didnt hang up in 2012 was because I believed them to be 02.

Little stuck here, want to get out of this contract...or have it reduced dramatically...any help:?

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

jonsie — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 14:50:45 GMT

Unfortunately I think you may need to take legal advice about this. The Citizens Advice Bureau would be a good place to start. You have very limited options with business contracts. This company is quite possibly the worst example of a trusted partner. What they do should be illegal if it isn't already.

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

django90 — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 15:01:47 GMT

Thanks, I have contracted Citizens Advice, they said I may have a claim but it would be up to me to prove that I was misled. I mentioned this in my complaint email too them and the company said that they reviewed the call and that I accepted all when called, admittedly I was a little foolish here in trusting the company and didnt really know what I was getting into...they have offered other resolutions apart from cancelling/shortening the contract but knowing what I know now...I dont want anymore ties to this company.

I logged an official complaint with 02 who just said the same thing...

After scrawling through this forum, online reviews, comments on twitter and countless other bad reviews, seems like I am not alone, but paying £1000+ to cancel a 'business' contract just seems absurd.

Really suprised that a company on the scale of 02 would partner themselves with Aerial. As I say if they had never mentioned 02 in the orignal sales call I would never been in this situation.

I hope other people see the comments and dont make the same mistake I did.

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

django90 — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 15:09:28 GMT

Hi @MercedesS yes a private message would be great!

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

MercedesS — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 15:53:04 GMT

Thanks for sharing your experience @django90! Waiting for your PM!

Hopefully we can all help you with this one

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

django90 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 10:17:56 GMT

So...I emailed back requesting a copy of the call after they said all the regulatory info was stated over the phone..since then I have had no reply..emailed them back on Tuesday asking them to reply and stating how bad their customer service was that they have taken over two weeks to respond to my email and are now essentially ignoring me....still nothing.

They did offer to add another handset on at this stage in their orginal reply email said the contract length would not be altered...hmmm...

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

MercedesS — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 18:14:27 GMT

Hello @django90,

Please let us know if there’s anything else we can do for you

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

django90 — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 10:51:27 GMT

Hi, thanks @MercedesS

I emailed around 5 weeks ago requesting a copy of the call in which it was claimed that all regulatory info was provided over the phone in response to their orginal email. They said that they could offer another handset at this stage but they wouldnt budge on the contract length.

Since then I have been ignored, I emailed again 2-3 weeks after this chasing them up and I still havent had a response, so much for "Unparalleled Customer Service with access to some of the best telecom solutions" as stated on their website.

I see since I made my issues known that a few other people have had problems, as seen on social media and a few other sites.

So...what to do next?

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

gmarkj — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 11:09:31 GMT

You could try a complaint asking to get a copy of the recording. Resolver seems to get a satisfactory (and quick) outcome in most cases:
https://goo.gl/di2Guo
Just wanting to clarify a few things as well:
1-You mention a new deal in 2015, and that you were called this year. Did you actually agree to a new deal at this point?
2-Have you revisited Cit Advice since the last contact? What have they said re being misled or not being made aware of terms?
It might be worth going back and asking them about getting copies of the recording.

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

django90 — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 11:19:48 GMT

I have considered going to Resolver yes, heard good things in the past

In regards to your questions -

1. Contact was made at the start of this year in March, they said that this new deal would be a discount on what I was paying, however as I had been with them for a while not realising that they were a seperate entity to 02 I said yes and didnt realise at the time.

2. Citizens Advice informed me of my rights under the Consumer Protection Regs, however AD quickly claimed that all regulatory info was mentioned over the phone during a call review. Citizens Advice then said that I could try resolving via the ADR scheme, however they dont appear to be a member of this...

Judging by how the last few months, I am not getting my hopes up in regards to resolving this. Just a hard lesson learnt which will prevent this from happening again.

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

gmarkj — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 11:48:37 GMT

Ouch.

I would definitely consider it.

You could also try a subject access request (SAR) - more information here:

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/personal-information/

You would need to submit in writing what you want (a copy of the call) when it was made/received (number, time and date). They then have 40 days to reply. All details on the link (not interesting reading, but useful). They may also say that there is a fee - usually £10, but no more than £50.

Oh, and Aerial Direct ARE on the ADR log on the Ofcom website! (Alphabetical listing here: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/problems/adr-schemes)

Ultimately it depends on how far you are willing to push this.

If you want/need any more advice then post back, but also let us know how you get on so we can help others!

Edited to add - just read the first part of the Ofcom page - you need to go through complaints process first, to definitely try that.

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

django90 — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 11:59:13 GMT

Thanks @gmarkj

I must have missed their name on the ADR scheme. I have a few options to consider now on where to go which is what I was looking for, I havent yet decided if I am going to email AD once more as their silence is telling me all that I need to know.

I will see how I get on and report back.

Thanks

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

MercedesS — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 12:11:55 GMT

Hello @django90, let me check what else we can do for you, ok? Keep the faith

Thanks a lot @gmarkj for your help!

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

django90 — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 15:56:10 GMT

Thanks @MercedesS yes thats fine and thanks once again @gmarkj

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

MercedesS — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 16:41:57 GMT

Thank you @django90 for coming back and let us know!

And of course, thanks so much to the rest of the community members that helped you

We hope to see you around

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

django90 — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 16:13:42 GMT

Hi @MercedesS

Is there anything that can be done from 02's end before trying to take this further?

Regards,

Re: Aerial Direct - Has anyone managed to get out of the contract?

MercedesS — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 17:02:05 GMT

Hello @django90,

I am sorry to see that you are still having problems with them. Unfortunately, you need to be dealing directly with them on this one. Since you have already raised a complaint to O2 and have been dealing with the Aerial managers directly too... not sure what else we could do for you

I will send you a private message with some info and fingers crossed