It’s just happened again. A small organisation being ripped off by a rogue trader through terms & conditions not clearly explained. And in this case actually hidden.

We’ve been helping a small business get to the bottom of their telephone contract. And it’s turned up a right bag of worms. The poor customer has had the wool pulled right over their eyes.

Aside from paying for a number of phone lines that are not in use and getting charged a massive amount of money. The customer thought they had just come to the end of the original contract & were free to do what they wanted.

But no. It just wasn’t that simple…

As soon as they tried to leave, their current telephone provider pointed out that there is a 2nd set of terms & conditions. And on the 1st set of terms & conditions (which the customer had) within the termination clause (in very small print) it says ‘for further details ask to see a copy of the extra termination terms & conditions’.

I’m not kidding you, this is really the case. The customer has never ever received or even seen this extra set of termination terms & conditions. But their current telephone provider is holding them accountable to them.

And guess what? Yes that’s right. Their current provider are saying they can’t leave. But it’s more amazing than just ‘you can’t leave’. Get this…

Within this extra set of HIDDEN terms & conditions it states ‘the customer has a 90 day window to terminate the original contract (in writing). But if they fail to do so. The contract rolls over for another 2 years’. Can you believe it, getting ripped off for another 2 years. We certainly can’t.

And the only way out. Is to give their current telephone provider written termination notice in the 90 day period just before the 2 year extension has ended (that’s if you remember to do it). Or pay them (immediately) the remaining 2 years of the extended contract (averaged over the last 12 months of bills).

It’s really infuriating these rogue traders prey on small organisations in this way. Yes there is no doubt that this small organisation will never deal with this telephone provider ever again. But this rogue trader appears to have no morals. And seems happy to take their cash for a full 5 years and then go find another small organisation to rip off.

In this case we are hoping that there may be a legal way to terminate the 2 year extension. At this stage we are not quite sure though. The customer is saying they have never been provided with these extra terms & conditions. But their provider is saying the details are in the terms & conditions & it’s not their fault nobody has asked to see them.

We see similar situations consistently happening and not just with telephone providers. We’ve spotted rogue traders supplying photocopiers, managed print services, stationery & IT support too. But the devil is in the detail and you must make sure you check & double check your terms & conditions.

If you are not happy with part of the terms & conditions (before you sign) ask your provider to change them. And if they refuse without just cause our advice is to stay well clear. Because they could well be a rogue trader too.