want to leave but o2 have renewed contract without my consent?

[alvinbkr]

Hi new to the forum so I hope its ok to jump straight in and ask a question.

I've been with o2 on the same contract since 2015, wishing to switch to plusnet for their cheaper rolling contract which I can opt out of with 30 days notice.

The problem is that when I paid my monthly bill to o2 on the 23/4/18 they renewed my contract for a further 12 months, I didn't sign anything nor speak to anyone just paid my bill by card over the automated system, which also didn't alert me to saying paying for that month would bind me for another 12 months.

Is this right do I have to pay for the next 11.5 months to escape my contract?

(have my own handset on a sim only deal with o2)

Thanks for any help

[MI5]

All correct @Anonymous except @alvinbkr has stated a number of times that they haven't recontracted to their knowledge.

[Anonymous]

So don't the 12 SIM only contracts roll like the 30 day ones...? 

Mostly people are hyper vigilant of when their contract is due to expire so they can upgrade or port out or whatever .  @alvinbkr has been on a rolling 12 month contract, with no handset plan  for three years enjoying the benefits of the lower rates that 12 month contracts enable. If they didn't roll after 12 month 02 would need to contact people to ask if they wanted to re-contract which doesn't happen. or else put people on 30 day plans and have howls of protest when the much more expensive monthly bill arrived. 

[MI5]

They don't change your plan.
Your tariff stays the same (price + allowances) but the commitment is only for 30 days. They are not related to the 30 day or 12 month tariffs offered to customers otherwise.

[jonsie]

Although any 'bonus' data allowance is for the minimum period. That stops after the contract rolls on each month.

[Anonymous]

Thanks @both 🙂 guess then the $64k question is has @alvinbkr''s tarrif changed from a couple of months ago to his latest (post contract expiry) bill? 

[alvinbkr]

ok thanks for the replies people, after talking to o2 it seems that my contract is actually with AERIAL a subsidiary of O2 which I didnt remember from when I signed up in person in the O2 shop in 2013.
So the question is now am I tied into a 12 month contract with AERIAL even though I havent consented in any way other than paying that monthly bill using the automated payment system.
Are their terms different from o2 policy?
Again thanks for any thoughts on the subject.

[MI5]

You didn’t sign up with Aerial in an o2 store. They would have called you and conned you into recontracting with them.
Lots on the forum about these sharks unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Don’t know how you managed to sign up to those sharks in store. Are you sure that Aerial didn’t phone you because that’s how they play their con

[alvinbkr · Accepted solution]

Update I had a call from AERIAL DIRECT this morning saying they had made a mistake and will cancel my contract at midnight tonight, so lets see what the final bill will say.
This started because I requested a transcript or recording of the call where I renewed my contract with them this year.
I was building a case against them just incase this went further, I started studying their terms and conditions and realised they had sold me a business contract which has different rules to a consumer contract, but my case would have started that they had miss-sold me a business contract as I'm 67 years old and retired thus have no business, surely that would have been enough to get them to drop proceedings ?

Thanks again to everyone who has taken time to read this and share their experiences together we can make it better for everyone to get contracts that suit their purposes.

[MI5]

That’s what they usually do.
Glad you got sorted out.