O2 removed my insurance without informing me thereof

[Anonymous]

I have been an O2 customer for many years. Now I feel outraged and I want to warn other O2 customers. My phone was badly damaged last Saturday and as I had signed up for insurance for my very expensive handset, I tried to make a claim. To my shock, I was told that my insurance had been cancelled by O2 without my having been informed thereof. Apparently this happens automatically when one pays one's bill late. I faced a £201 bill in February which led to my phone having been disconnected for a mere two hours! In spite of my having settled this bill within a few hours, O2 removed my insurance without letting me know! One of your insurance supervisors told me that this was completely in line with your terms and conditions. I believe this is outrageous. My bill amounts are very irregular, and often exceed £100, so I never noticed that I was not paying insurance since February. I think that your customers should be made aware of such shoddy business practice. I will take legal action should this matter not be resolved, but also want to inform other customers - be warned that this company thinks it can act with impunity and that the terms and conditions contain hidden clauses which can be seriously detrimental to the customer.

[Anonymous]

not sure if anything can be done if it's in the t's & c's however i agree it should have been clear.

i'm sure 99% of us don't read and absorb every sentence of the t's & c's

[perksie]

I doubt you will get anywhere with this, non-payment or late payment of the bill gives them the right to cancel your policy, many businesses would do the same.

You also agreed in the terms to pay by direct debit which you have obviously stopped breaking those condtions.

[Bambino]

If it's part of the Terms & Conditions it's not a hidden clause. It's not O2's responsibility if you didn't notice on your bill that you weren't being charged for your insurance premium. Sorry to say, but you don't have a case to take legal action. You'll be wasting your time.

[Anonymous]

If you missed a payment then it's not O2 fault thst this has happened, next time set up a direct debit then you womt be disconnected

[Anonymous]

Edit won't have this issue again

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your feedback

[Anonymous]

This O2 facility is obviously skewed in favour of the company as I have to reply to every single comment instead of being able to write a new post in the thread. This is unusual practice for internet forums. Interestingly, the only other choice than starting a new thread is the option which asks you whether you accept a post as a type of 'solution'.

Hence, I am adressing this post primarily to perksie, bambino, lovemyphone. The amount of posts in some of the stats of those who replied makes me wonder whether you are not employed by O2. Who on earth would spend time in an O2 forum for fun and post to such an extent. Yet, I may be wrong, but let a judge decide upon.

I can assure you that I am not a greenhorn when it comes to litigation. I have sued Abbey National plc. (now Santander) as well as British Gas plc. Both claims were settled out of court to my complete satisfaction and both claims are a matter of public record. Companies are afraid of setting a legal precedent, which could lead to an avalanche of claims. Judges in the UK are generally reasonable and see through such deterrents.

You lack faith, in my opinion, in the British judiciary. Most judges are fair and reasonable. The Unfair Terms In Consumer Contracts Regulation 1999 clearly stipulate that a consumer should not have to look through finely detailed small print to discover obiously unfair clauses. There is a reason it is not called the 'Hidden Terms In Consumer Contracts Regulation'.

Accordingly, I should have been informed of the cancellation of my insurance policy. Those of you who say that this was my fault are, in my opinion, in error. I agree that O2 was entitled to cancel my policy according to the terms and conditions, but I insist that they should have informed me thereof and O2 should have allowed me the opportunity to renew.  

Furthermore, to those who say that a lot of businesses would act in this manner, I believe you lack business experience. I paid £101.05 in November, £171.82 in December, £159.98 in January, and £201.26 in February alone. I continued paying, but decreased my bills for March and Arpil. Every other business would consider me a stellar customer and grant me leeway and would provide me with perks and volume discounts. By the standards of an average mobile phone bill, my business should be considered as high volume.

Either way, I shall pursue this and continue to have faith in the British judiciary and I am sincere in my desire to point out this pitfall to other customers, who may find themselves in a similar detrimental position.

Best wishes

[Cleoriff]

Good morning @Anonymous 

Thanks for posting again. Firstly can I assure you that no-one who posted on your thread is employed by O2. We are all customers like yourself. Whilst I agree totally that you have every right to be aggrieved about this issue, (I would have been furious had it happened to me) the people who posted on here were simply informing you of the facts based on their knowledge of O2..... and the reality of what has happened to other members.

Add to that they have a great deal of experience of O2 policies. practices and indeed the legal system. I wont be pedantic and quote terms and conditions and the importance of reading them...we all know that. Few of us actually do read them fully....Those who do, would be hard pushed to remember them word for word 

In legal terms though, this is where any company gets the upper hand over us poor customers

I do wish you well with all of this... but would tell you that your first step if you want to get anywhere, is to make an official complaint. Until you take that step, you wont progress further in my opinion. Best of luck

http://www.o2.co.uk/how-to-complain

[perksie]

What she said^^^^^^^^^:smileyhappy: