Three.ie refuse to close my account. Can they do that?

Howdy ... !!

My 12 month contract with Three.ie finished on the 25th November 2011.

I sent them a letter on the 21st November, asking them to start the 30-day notification period and then close my account. I received no response from them (unlike the previous time, 10 months earlier, when they immediately responded with "Oh no, you don't ... we will not close your account until the 12 month contract is finished!").

As a precaution, I cancelled my Direct Debit on the 15th January so that they would not continue to take payment for the account which I now considered to be closed.

It is now February 2012 and I have received a letter stating that I owe them the January payment and that they will not accept any request to close my account until I pay them the January bill and start a new 30 day notification period.

They claim they did not receive my letter requesting to close the account in November. They also acknowledge that I have not used their service since November 2011.

They also say that until I pay up, they will call me every day and continue issuing bills until I eventually do pay.

Is this a violation of consumer rights? Does anyone have a suggestion on how to deal with them? I don't want to pay for January, February and part of March because I feel that I endured their awful service for the year, always paid on time, and I sent them a letter after 12 months asking them to terminate my account. This seems unfair!

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciate ... !!
Thanks,

Rob.

rodoherty1 said:

They claim they did not receive my letter requesting to close the account in November.

Rob.

Click to expand...

Have you a copy of the letter sent in November? What did it say? To whom was it addressed?

Hi ...

This is a snippet of the letter I sent them. I know I sent it to the right address becaus when I attempted to cancel my contract after 2 months (due to unreliable service), they wasted no time in telling me that they would cancel if I paid them a cancellation fee of €186). I backed down and stuck with the service until the 12 months had passed.

<snippet>
Customer Services
Hutchinson 3G Ireland Ltd
PO Box 333
Dublin 2

Account Number: **********
Mobile Broadband Number: 083 *** ****

Dear Sir/Madam,

I wish to cancel my 12 contract which started on November 25th 2010 and I kindly request that you cancel my Direct Debit (ref: **/***************).

Yours faithfully,
</snippet>

Write a letter of "formal complaint" to three. Include a copy of the original letter. Copy (cc) the formal complaint and the original letter to comreg.

Make sure you have your correct account details on the letters.

Just stick to the facts and avoid rants or side issues.

Definitely give comreg a shout..

http://www.comreg.ie/

Contact details here - http://www.comreg.ie/contact_us/comreg_contact_details.141.contact.html

Thanks Guys. Sound advice!
And thanks for taking the time to read through my original post.

Rob.

Three on Twitter are always sending people to chat to their reps on boards.ie. You could also try posting there to see if they will help..

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1367

Oh, the hated Three! My contract for broadband mobile and mobile broadband expires on 22nd March. They tell me I will get my last bill at the end of Feb. I sent them an email telling them to cancel both contracts on 22nd March......44 days notice. They wrote back saying I had to give them 30 days notice and ring them back on 22nd Feb. Surely it must be a MINIMUM of 30 days notice? I can't find it in their T's and C's. Anyone advise me? I am so not paying this useless network another penny after my contracts expire.

Mabel..

As per [broken link removed]

[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]

Hi Guys,

Just thought I'd post the result of my little drama.

I mailed Comreg and asked for suggestions on how to talk to Three. They suggested that I email customer.services.ie@3mail.com and, if I don't hear anything within 10 days, then I should refer my email to Comreg.

I emailed customer.services.ie@3mail.com and also sent them a registered letter (in the hope that it demonstrated some level of sincerity)

I have just received a call from three informing me that they will close my account, clear the outstanding (and disputed) balance and stop calling me.

Result .

Thanks to you all for your suggestions. Hope this thread helps someone else who runs into a similar spot of bother!

Rob.

Nice one, Rob

Three.ie have the worst customer service I have ever dealt with - based on thirty years of business experience where I've seen some pretty bad ones.

I'm currently trying to close my broadband account (which has slowed to a snail's pace) but to date they have ignored my five emails and phone calls. I've even written to Robert Finnegan their CEO to no avail. I will now have to cancel my DD which means I have to go to the trouble of moving my mobile phone as well.

.. to finish my story (see previous post) in the interest of fairness. I was contacted be a pleasant and apologetic lady from Three who took the trouble to explain the mix-up that had occurred at their end. Even though I'd moved provider they still sent me a cheque for the disputed amount plus a months rental.