Vodafone sues Ofcom to reclaim 'overpaid' mobe spectrum fees Vodafone has taken UK comms watchdog Ofcom to the High Court in England to reclaim overpaid spectrum access charges imposed by the telecoms regulator in 2015. The early stages of Voda’s claim against the regulator are, The Register understands, based on the victory scored by BT-EE late last year. Back in 2015 Ofcom decided to …
That, sir, will never happen.
Except that it already has. If you look at the average SIM only pricing in the UK ("standalone mobile contracts" in Ofcom speak), they've progressively come down year on year eg Table 5 in Ofcom's "Pricing trends for communications services in the UK", May 2018. My personal experience reflects this as well, but that's not evidence.
I'd agree it doesn't feel cheaper for those who still choose to buy handset inclusive contracts, but that's largely because the premium handset costs have been rocketing. And even in the handset inclusive segments the bundle allowances have mostly been rising.
I'd happily pay more if they got rid of or vastly increased the stupid data limits.
But you can't really argue with £20-something a month for 40Gb plus several data-not-measured services (Netflix etc.) via Three, or even £30-something for 50Gb and LOTS of data-not-measured services via Vodafone (with their pass things that exclude everything from Amazon Prime to Netflix to Spotify to Whatsapp from your data usage).
Bear in mind that I *only* have a 4G Internet connection and no landline, and it's actually cheaper for me that way. Sure, if I had a big family I'd want more but I'd also pay more too. Cheapest broadband I can get from any kind of decent name (i.e. not TalkTalk) is £20-something plus £20-something line rental, plus install, plus a 2-year-contract, plus buying a better router, etc. etc. etc.
> Cheapest broadband I can get from any kind of decent name (i.e. not TalkTalk) is £20-something plus £20-something line rental
Look at Plusnet, Vodafone, Sky: all are now doing 40/10 FTTC for <£25 including line rental, and 80/20 for <£30.
But maybe the reason you're on 4G is because you're a long way from FTTC anyway.
Vodafone I have severe problems with.
I couldn't order the above SIM via their website because apparently I've "already ordered one" and it's impossible to complete sign-up. I've tried four times on four different emails / set of details.
Today, their website (despite promising what you say) won't let me continue to the checkout as there are no provisioning dates (and literally the page breaks and you can't continue because of that). I'm not even doing anything unusual - fresh Chrome browser, tried 3 times, it takes my address and then you can't proceed because it says "We'll inform you of your start date" but won't let you continue until you select a start date... of which there are non.
Their online services are all like this every time I used one. It worries me that simple things that are GIVING them business are broken like this and have been for a while now (the SIM thing is still broken after a year).
That aside, those deals do exist for FTTC areas, which I'm supposed to be, but that's an 18-month contract. In theory I could get 35Mbps if I paid £30 a month. But... I already get that on 4G. Easily. And I can take that 4G box everywhere I go.
Plusnet: I won't touch with a bargepole (always bottom of the awards, along with TalkTalk, despite being my go-to for over a decade back before they were BT-owned).
Sky: £25 "and then £38.99", 12 or 18 month minimum term. Guarantee of 25Mbps.
I'd rather pay more for 4G on a monthly-rolling contract.
> Plusnet: I won't touch with a bargepole (always bottom of the awards, along with TalkTalk
I have Plusnet and am happy with them. And they come top of some awards:
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2018/03/plusnet-vodafone-and-virgin-media-win-2018-broadband-isp-survey.html
BBC: Millions overcharged for mobile contracts
"About four million people have been charged for mobile phones they already own, spending £500m extra on contracts, according to Citizens Advice.Three of Britain's biggest mobile networks, EE, Three and Vodafone, continue to charge for handsets even after the cost has been paid off.
Many customers have no idea they are being charged for phones after their contracts have ended."
I've been telling various people, who don't immediately upgrade and/or go SIM only once their contract has expired, this for years; if your contract costs you (e.g.) £45 p/m and your networks SIM only deal is £20 p/m what do you think the difference in cost is?
V/MNO's have been very sly at convincing people that handsets are "free" if you have them with a contract (I'm sure some even still advertise the phones as such) and take advantage by charging full whack (phone + network allowance/usage), even though the customer has completely paid for the phone once the contract has expired.
V/MNO's should, at the very least, be forced, by law, to explicitly and clearly state in-store/on-screen and in paperwork that the phone is completely paid for by the end of the contract to make people aware that they will be paying over the odds - continually paying for a phone they've already paid for - if they let the "contract" run. Or, preferably, should be forced, by law, upon the expiration of a contract to only charge what they would charge for a SIM only deal.
Or, preferably, should be forced, by law, upon the expiration of a contract to only charge what they would charge for a SIM only deal.
But that would require a regulator who acted in consumer interests. Instead we have the inept clowns of Ofcom.
There is a live consultation ending on 9 October here, so make sure you have your say. Note that it isn't just mobile - it includes TV, broadband and other time limited contract telecoms.
All Ofcom are proposing (in a 95 page consultation document) is a single one off notification to customers approaching the end of their contract, or to those who are already out of contract. They've no intention of stopping the MNOs from continuing to charge a handset inclusive price out of contract.
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