pay up front for life cancelled by o2!!

[Anonymous]

I have had a "pay up front for life" contract for many years. Without notice or regret, O2 have changed it to a £35 per month contract. The reason given is a change to a new computer system causing it to "lose" some or all of the Pay up front contracts!!
Can they legally breach the contract?
Has anyone else suffered this?

[jonsie]

I remember this but didn't know that it still existed (but from what you say it now doesn't) I think you had to pay upfront £200 and you got a Nokia 3110 (?) and a choice 50 anytime minutes, 200 off peak minutes (minutes were to o2 or land line only), 50 texts or a mix of texts and minutes (20 texts and 100 off peak mins I think).Don't know anything about the terms & conditions of this tariff. Do you have a copy? There might be a clause in the present T&C that covers this tariff.

[Anonymous]

I have not spoken to O2 yet but noticed that my monthly tariff has changed to £30 a month and now on net 100. I have been on the net 50 (pay upfront for life) for years. I will be phoning them tomorrow but I can't see how they can do this as they have breached the contract and I didn't sign a new contract.

[Anonymous]

Steve
Re the original paperwork....
No, I have had it so long that the paperwork has disappeared. I don't believe I will need the originals as "up front for life" speaks for itself.
I await a reply from my local O2 shop regarding changing it back to what I had. They have blocked the £35 direct debit for April until a decision is made.

[Anonymous]

I googled 'O2 PUFFL 2009' to find Mr Heath's post as I too am affected. There must be many thousands in the same situation. It is important not to just accept whatever they offer you as it could weaken everyone else's bargaining power. We need to force them to accept the status quo and reinstate everyone back to pre Feb 2008. It is not a billing system problem but simply an attempt by Telfonica to terminate all BT Cellnet's PUFFL contracts!

[Anonymous]

I too have had my taffiff changed without any notification
I contacted o2 who have refused to reinstate my "Pay upfront for life" which I find strange as my 2nd account is still Net 50 upfront for life?
I have contacted Ofcom and will be updating them with the news of 02's refusal
Has anyone contacted "Watchdog" yet as I am sure they would be interested

[Anonymous]

t&c's paragrapgh 9.1 & 9.2

[Anonymous]

This happened a few years ago to some O2 puffl customers. When they complained they were offered £50 compensation. This was not acceptable and they protested. Oftel I beleive were involved and they kept their puffl contracts.
So please dont give in. O2 are really desperate to loose this contract and will try to put you on another. If you do, you can never go back. Watchdog would seem a good option.

[Anonymous]

If you contact O2 it is best to write to their Complaints Review Service Dept who are based in Leeds but have a correspondence address in Dunstable. Send the letter recorded delivery and keep a copy of everything in a safe place including your bills. Among the thousands of people out there who are affected, there must be someone with access to free legal advice e.g. an aggrieved former PUFFL contract holder with a relative or friend who is an expert in contract law?
Please continue to post to this forum otherwise it will lose its momentum.

[Anonymous]

Possibly related, but Orange did a similar thing on Pay As You Go once. It was called Orange Out Here, where you paid £19.99 for a topup voucher, and it entitled you to 5 free texts a day for life.

A couple of years back, they tried reducing it to 3 texts a day. People kicked off. Orange reinstated 5.

Then, they tried telling people the benefit would end at the end of the year. People kicked off again. Orange went back on it.

It shows that persistence in complaining can work.