verbal phone contracts??

balaftuna

just got a call from Newtel, another cheaper phone rates company.

the weird thing was that they said that now all the agreements are done over the phone - the call is recorded and this is a valid document.

i asked for a written agreement before i make ANY obligation, but they said that the Irish government have decided to have this phone agreements instead in order to save time, so a written agreement is not a possibility (they will send me a summary of the agreement and i can cancel it when i want).

this whole thing seems very weird to me, and i was wondering.. is it just me, or .. is this (no paper, only phone) WEIRD ?

Thanks.

Shay.

Victor

balaftuna wrote:

i asked for a written agreement before i make ANY obligation, but they said that the Irish government have decided to have this phone agreements instead in order to save time

Since when does the government decide things like this? How about *you* record the phonecall? And then have a chat with consumer affairs.

Ask can you see their Terms and Conditions and rates on their website. Ooooh, look [strike]some[/strike] most of their rates are outrageous.

http://www.newtel.ie/Calling%20Plans.htm
http://www.newtel.ie/NEW%20Residential%20Rate%20Sheet%20500.pdf

Paying by direct debit would appear to be cheaper, although getting behind in you bill mean you pay €5 extra the first month, €10 extra the second month, €15 extra the third, €20 extra the fourth month, €25 extra the fifth month .....

balaftuna

Thanks Victor for putting things into perspective.
Much appreciated.
Shay.

balaftuna

Victor, the 5 accumulating euros is just if your payment is late. i actually think their deal is OK except for the ridiculous phone signing thing.
cheers.


"NewTel shall charge a late fee of €5.00 per month every
month there is a past-due balance.
suspend, restrict, or cancel the Services without advance"

ThreadKiller

If it sounds like bull****, it's probably bull****...

antoinolachtnai

Well, you can make an agreement over the phone, no problem. That's always been the case.

The real question is whether it is wise to. For something as complicated as phone service, I would err on the side of seeing everything in writing.