I'm truly sorry but I am unsure what I didn't make clear in my reply to yours last night.
I am not going to rush the issue but having it look in to more deeply and I will come back to you as I have promised. It's only fair to you, as well it is to us.
However, as is clear and part of our terms which you've clearly read, refunds are processed within 30 days and much to the DSRs which you are making claim to, also reference the same 30 days period.
A little bit of a patience whilst I look in to this matter is appreciated, but as I have already explained to you, this will be via your ticket. TBB is not the correct way to get support.
Matt
It is difficult to reconcile your statements with your actions. You state that this forum is not the correct place to get support. I am not seeking support from you on the forum, I am seeking support from you via your ticket system and your company email. In the last 24 hours you have made 3 replies on this forum and 0 replies via tickets or company email. I do however note your request for more time to investigate this issue.
Your company via an employee stated on the telephone on Monday 11 March 2013 that broadband suppliers were exempt from the distance selling regulations. I know you have the facility to record calls as you have made a reference here to investigating the "egg timing" call made by a TBB member who complained of poor quality of service from your sales team. I would think that ensuring that staff do not give incorrect or misleading information about customers statutory rights would be a priority for any business, and it is most surprising that you have not commented on this.
I was unable to confirm with the OFT that an exemption for broadband providers exists. Indeed the first 9 ADSL providers I found via an Internet search include the DSRs in their standard terms.* This evidence suggests that I received incorrect information from your firm. When I tried to migrate away from BE Unlimited after the Sky takeover was confirmed, one member of their retentions team told me that the deal might not be going through in order to retain my business, and during another call my request to cancel was denied on the basis that I was locked into a contract with them, despite having been with BE for several years and therefore outside their 12 month contract period. I had to escalate matters to a supervisor to have the account cancelled. Without wishing to be cynical, it is my unfortunate experience that when a business gives misleading information the mistake typically favours the business, perhaps with a reliance on the consumer not knowing or not appropriate asserting their rights.
It is quite in order for me to seek advice and input from other broadband suppliers and users regarding whether DSRs apply to broadband and other relevant issues. So far as your company is concerned, I have acted promptly to remove a copy of a correspondence which you considered was confidential, and I have been careful to avoid any subjective judgements of your firm or the quality of service which has been provided. Instead I am referring to the facts of the case (dates, times, and content of correspondences), the legislation which I believe to apply to the matter, the OFT guidance, and the practices of other broadband suppliers in an attempt to determine what would be reasonable to expect from a supplier.
It is quite in order for you to request more time to resolve an issue, as it is equally in order for me to take note of other customers who have reported difficulties in contacting you to arrange refunds. You are free to communicate with me about my account via the email address I gave you for this purpose and your ticket system. If you do wish to participate in these forums then perhaps you could address points which concern current and prospective Xilo/Uno customers rather than simply reminding me to use your ticket system. I appreciate that you thought my posting here was unfair, and I'm sorry to differ with you on this point, but you could also see this as an opportunity to improve the clarity of your terms and conditions and to communicate more effectively with current and prospective customers. We all have a legitimate interest in accessing as much information as possible to ensure we make the best possible purchasing decisions - so long as everyone is polite and refrains from inappropriate or libellous comments I do not see why there is anything to fear from the free and open exchange of ideas.
I've just had a look on their web sites T&C's and it does say that you will incur a fee if the order had been accepted onto wholesale network, which you would have agreed to on the order. So to me it looks like uno are charged for your order so i think it's a bit unfair for them to be out of pocket because you changed your mind.
I can understand you being miffed if they incurred no charge for your order but it's looks like they do. How the distance selling act works for broadband services though I've no idea
Hopefully you can see from the DSRs, the guidance published by the OFT which I have quoted, and the terms and conditions of the following suppliers the support for my argument that it is only fair to prevent a consumer from exercising their cancellation rights when you have clearly told them in advance that this will happen. My argument has always been that Xilo/Uno did not tell me that they would begin providing a service at any time before the activation date of the 14th and therefore I did not know they had incurred costs prior to my request to cancel. I agree it is unfair that a supplier should incur costs for a consumer changing their mind, but the position seems to be clear that the consumer should be notified of this. The Xilo terms only refer to "orders cancelled after acceptance by the broadband network" - they did not tell me (and I assume also do not tell their other customers) when this takes place or how it affects cancellation rights. Therefore your surmise that I agreed to this is incorrect as I was not told when this work would begin. Finally, the regulations appear to require that this information be provided in a durable form (ie in the confirmation email sent when the contract is concluded). In my case this information was not furbished.
* - I have read in full the following T&Cs from medium-large broadband providers and believe that they all provide the appropriate information under the DSRs.
Andrews and Arnold (AAISP) Ltd
Entanet Broadband
O2
Sky Broadband
BT Broadband
TalkTalk Broadband
Small World Cable
Waitrose Broadband
The Co Op Phone and Broadband
Hopefully I have provided some lasting value to the TBB community through my in depth exploration of the DSRs and broadband. I hope this assists consumers to know their rights and suppliers in ensuring that information is clearly communicated to customers. I have satisfied my curiosity through this research but regrettably I do not have more time to contribute here.
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