Charged for contract past its end date

[HannahErskine99]

Has anyone had the same issue of Three continuing to charge for a contract past its official end date?

My mother has been charged around £1,800 since our contract ended with Three in August 2024. We have been advised that they are unwilling to offer any refund or goodwill gesture in respect of the charges incurred after the contract ended in 2024. They state that an email was sent to my mother in August 2024 advising that she needed to respond in order for the charges to cease.

Three also state that a further reminder email was sent approximately one year later. This highlights a significant lack of effective communication. A single email notification, followed by a reminder a year later, is insufficient—particularly when continued charges were being applied.

The contract was agreed to end in the summer of 2024. In total, my mother has been paying for an iPhone 13 since July 2022, with minimum monthly charges of £46, amounting to at least £1,886. Three made only a single attempt in 2024 to notify her of the contract ending and then continued charging the same monthly amount after the contract had concluded.

Once a signed contract comes to its end date I have always been under the impression the contract is now longer live.

Surely this can’t be allowed?

[clivejo]

Not sure what you were you got that idea?  I have never seen Three refer to an end date, any contracts I've had with Three have "minium" contract lengths (before which you will incur early termination fees).  Once you approach the end of the minium term, they send an email explaining that the contract will continue on a rolling monthly contract (to which you have to give 30days notice of termination).  Also, if your contract involves a 5G router as part of the contract, that must be returned otherwise they will charge for it.  

[Paddiewack]

Three like other providers say in the Ts and Cs that when your minimum term ends,your service will continue on a monthly basis until you give notice of its desired cessation. I suppose you could argue that  two emails from Three is hardly mass communication but given the onus is clearly on the customer then however much I may sympathise with you they are well within their rights.