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Should I Pay for Internet Service When Internet is Down?

By: Chris Nickson - Updated: 1 Oct 2016 | comments*Discuss
 
Should I Pay For Internet Service When Internet Is Down?

Q.

I have an agreement with one of the internet providers. There has been no internet for last 3 weeks. I have not been informed how long can it take to sort the issue. According to the agreement I can terminate it but have to pay for another 30 days.

Do I have to pay for the service that is not provided? The break in the service is quite long. Has the company not already retracted from the contract?

(Miss Karolina Szewczyk, 21 September 2008)

A.

The break in service would seem to be ridiculously long. A break of a few hours, or even a few days due to technical problems seems understandable and allowable, and it’s the nature of the beast – no service is perfect. But beyond that it becomes more than just an inconvenience.

But there is something on your side – the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Under that, a seller – in this case your ISP – has to supply their service with both reasonable care and skill, and resolve problems within a reasonable time.

Under that, they’ve actually contravened the Act on two levels – by failing to supply their service properly, and definitely not bringing about a resolution within a reasonable time. You didn’t indicate as to whether they’ve offered an explanation for your lack of service.

You might well want to talk to someone at Consumer Direct about your legal position (they do have legal experts on hand) before taking action.

What you might consider is sending them a notice stating that they have 14 days to restore your service or you’ll take legal action against them (however, talk to a lawyer first). If they restore for connection, that’s all well and good – you didn’t mention previous problems with them – and you’re back where you need to be, online, and you should be able to negotiate with them so you don’t have to pay for the time you weren’t able to connect (any reasonable business will write off the charges in the interest of customer relations) If not, then you should be in a position to cancel your contract without any penalty as well as reclaim what you’ve paid for the time you couldn’t get online in small claims court.

It would be advisable to have records of all your communications with your ISP, whether it’s copies of letters and e-mails or records of phone conversations. That way you have evidence to present in court if necessary. The more you can provide, the greater your chance of winning, if it comes to that.

The odds are, however, that the ISP will be happy to resolve things before it comes to that.

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Will - Your Question:
I purchased a television from Aldi. Just over two months later the television went `bang`and would not restart. I returned to Aldi asking for a replacement on the guarantee.Aldi siad that their warranty lasted 60 days and as I had returned it at 62 days they werenot liable, telling me to contact the manufacturers to claim on the three year warranty. The manager referred me to the print on the back of my receipt showing the 60 dayguarantee. Prior to payment, I was told that it came with a three year guarantee, no mention was made of the 60 day rule. I became aware of this after the receipt was issued, which came after payment was made. Am I right in thinking that the contractbetween myself and Aldi is complete when payment is made and other conditionscannot be included afterwards (when a receipt is issued)?
Our Response:
Regardless of the warranty, your consumer rights are here to protect you in instances like this. (If a fault is discovered after 30 days but within the first 6 months from delivery, it is presumed to have been there from the time of delivery. It is for the retailer to prove that this was not the case. You do not have to prove that it was. You can choose for the retailer to either: Repair the product, or Replace the product. See more informationhere
ConsumerRightsExpert - 3-Oct-16 @ 12:51 PM
I purchased a television from Aldi. Just over two months later the television went `bang` and would not restart.I returned to Aldi asking for a replacement on the guarantee. Aldi siad that their warranty lasted 60 days and as I had returned it at 62 days they were not liable, telling me to contact the manufacturers to claim on the three year warranty. The manager referred me to the print on the back of my receipt showing the 60 day guarantee. Prior to payment, I was told that it came with a three year guarantee, no mention was made of the 60 day rule.I became aware of this after the receipt was issued, which came after payment was made. Am I right in thinking that the contract between myself and Aldi is complete when payment is made and other conditions cannot be included afterwards (when a receipt is issued)?
Will - 1-Oct-16 @ 8:17 PM
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