‘See you in court’: Customer demands mobile company lower their prices despite the terms of his contract, company rep forces customer to pay double as a response

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Apr 2, 2025 7:00 AM EDT

No one reads the terms and conditions; that much is clear. We don't have time for it, it's mostly nonsense, and let's be honest, we simply don't want to. So whenever we encounter terms and conditions, we have no problem clicking on that little box that says 'I have read the terms and conditions' and completely lying as we do so. And since we are all liars, it shouldn't come as a surprise if we ever get caught in the lie. 

If we agree to the terms and conditions, even if we haven't read a word of it, we basically sign on whatever it says there, and there's not much we can do against it. There was even a Black Mirror episode about this exact problem. Companies are well aware that nobody is reading their ridiculously long contracts, and there's nothing that stops them from inserting conditions they know their customers would not be happy about, have they read it.

But who is really to blame here? The company that takes advantage of this so-called loophole, or the customer who is willingly signing a contract they never intend to read?

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  • That is exactly what the story below is all about. A mobile company decided to put in a term stating customers' bills will go up every year by a certain percentage, fully knowing people sign that contract without reading it. Then, when angry customers call to complain, the company simply points to the terms and conditions and blames the customers' laziness for not reading them.

    But in this story, one customer refused to back down, and he came to seriously regret it.

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    U O C 5 ร 0 น P 21 [ 21 ; Terp "I never read the contract, so it shouldn't apply" Website The is C ກ
    via juststock
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    "Want your contract upheld? Okay."

    About 2 years ago I had a customer complain that we had raised the price of his phone contract. I work for one of the main UK mobile phone companies here as a customer service rep.
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    I've had my fair share of terrible customers, and ridiculous requests. But this was the straw that broke my back.
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    So every year, we have a proce increase in March. It's the rate of inflation as published in november +3.9%. This is in all contracts. Has been for as
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    long as I've worked there. Every year we send a letter out in Feb to let people know. And every year we get calls asking "w" is this?". Most of the time I
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    deal woth these fairly well. I explain they agreed to it in their contract, and occasionally read the exact part of said contract. What makes it more delicious is if they've bought it in
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    store, they have a physical copy. So I ask "do you see where you signed your name in the box that says 'I have read
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    and understand the terms and conditions of the contract'? Well. Just above there the box above that says 'I understand that as of March the price will increase by the rate of cpi +3.9%'?"
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    And that normally ends those arguments. Well. One day I'd spent ALL day dealing with these calls. And I get a guy call. Let's call him Kevin. He
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    complains about the price increase. Saying how he never agreed to it in his contract. That his contract says its (let's say) £30. And thats what he agreed to. No more. No less. He
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    would never agree to something where the price was going g to change. After s The normal back and forth of explaining it, how all companies do it
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    not just us, petrol, food shops, books. Everything. But he was having none of it. Around about the time most people accept and give up he was still going
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    strong. Going in loops. repeating the same arguments I've shot down already. At one point t he says he never read it, so it shouldn't apply. I asked
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    him "Sir, if you dont read the 30mph speed limit sign and do 70mph there, you will still get stopped by the police. Just because you didn't read it. Doesn't mean it's not correct. Besides, you signed the
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    box saying that you HAD read it, so. I'm afraid you were aware of it." Now, that was prehaps me allowing my emotions to get in the way, but he did not like that at all. He said, if he doesn't get the
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    contract reverted to what he agreed, he would cancel his direct debit and "see us in court". Cue malicious compliance. I noticed earlier during the
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    conversation that his contract was ACTUALLY £60 and that his first 3 months were half price. But the agent who added the discount, added an
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    undated 50% discount. Instead of the 3mhp discount that auto removes. Well. Given the call was an hour long and I was overdue my break, I finally said.
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    "Okay sir. On this occasion. I am willing to waive the price increase for you and revert your plan to its origional, agreed upon price. Because I can't stop the
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    increase, I will add a discount of [his increase here] to the line, and as you've stated, your ant your plan to be put back to what you agreed to. So
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    the 50% discount you have has now been removed, the plan is back to £60. [He tries to talk] but don't worry sir. We won't be making you
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    repay the back dated discount from the last 12 months. That's not how it works here. So I can confirm that your plan will remain at the agreed price, of £60."
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    Cheezburger Image 10488532224
    via filadendron

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    After a stunned and silence he recovers and asks what do I mean £60? I explained that he agreed to a contract at £60 per month, with 3m half price. But that the wrong 50%
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    discount had in fact been added and had been left on longer than was Intended. He told me to leave it alone not do anything but itnwas too
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    late. He had already confirmed he wanted it. And even if he hadn't, we have a system in place to report excessive or incorrect discounts which I wpuld have been
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    reporting him on. But this was much MUCH more enjoyable. In the end it was escalated to manager, who stuck by my actions. to remove the incorrect discount, and infact, removed my discount for
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    the CPI as its policy NOT to discount these. It went above her to the Excecutive complaints team, who I followed up with and noticed he was given a letter of deadlock
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    that he could try taking to ofcom. It felt great, the guy had an incredibly poor attitude spoke to me like I was his
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    to do with as he wanted, and wanted to spit his day out in a tantrum. I claimed the victory in the name of those who work
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    in a role with direct customer interactions, when they've treat you like nothing and we're truely horrible people.
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    Evipicc If you're going to make an argument against a contract, you better be absolutely certain you know what's in it...
    via Evipicc
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    mapsedge briefly had a job where I got to say, "It's not my job to read your contract to you. You signed it."
    via mapsedge

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customer service employee job malicious compliance work customers terms and conditions reddit story workplace Reddit malicious compliance reddit funny money entitled people
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