Admin Charge of 3.71 on Bill

[Hilz]

Hi, my last 2 bills have a new charge of 3.71e (admin charge), I spent 3 hours on 3 chat trying to find out what it is... I was told because I don't have a payment method set up with them. I told them I am with three over 30 years and for over 15 of them I have allways paid my account by Direct Debit. I have tried 1913 to actually speak to a 'human' and there is no option to hold to speak to an operater. Looking for advice

[LauraH]

@Hilz Hi there 👋 I'm happy to take a look at this for you. Have you switched off your direct debit recently? Or had one returned to us by the bank? Let me know and we'll go from there 😃 

[Hilz]

Hi Laura,

Yes my march March direct debit was returned unpaid.

The reason I am so annoyed over this is, normally when this happens, I get
a text from three, I ring and clear the arrears with my debit card!

Three also have a statement when you ring 1913 to say if you fall into
arrears we will contact you.

I have being trying to contact someone in 3 for 6 weeks regarding this and
other issues for weeks as my contract is ending on the 11th of June and I
wanted to discuss my options, but it has been impossible. The chatline is
impossible to get any consistent information from.

I am 35 years with three.

Thanks


Hilary Weir

#- Please type your reply above this line -##

[Belliott]

email privacy@three.ie

i was not able to view any bill as with a group plan and tryed CHAT twice and waited days to get email regarding bills. had to email the above and got a responce next day . 

hope this helps 

[LauraH]

@Hilz when a direct debit is returned we'll switch off future direct debits to avoid further returns and back out charges to our customers. You can set it up again on the Manage Direct Debit screen in My3. I want to look into the other queries you have also, pop me a PM with your full name, address and date of birth so I can gain access to your account. 

[Neil87]

I have just checked my billing history and discovered that I have been charged this extra 3.71 per month for the entirety of my contract. I never went direct debit. I pay via the app every month. There is no evidence of this on my contract. I would really like to know why I have been overcharged just for not using a particular method of payment.
Thank you

[Three_Deborah]

@Neil87 Good morning to you. The admin fee of €3.71 or €4.57 inc VAT is a non-direct debit fee. This is applied to all Billpay plans which aren't set up on direct debit. Have a look at our 3MadeEasy blog click here where we call out this fee. You can also see the price guide on our website here. The info about the charge is on page 7 👍

[Neil87]

I had a look through there. I’m sorry but these extra charges that are not stated in the contract signed, are unlawful and the reason I wouldn’t sign up for a direct debit. An extra charge for using any other payment method than direct debit? Really?
I have been looking over options to switch and found out that three are the only company doing this.

The blog also states that you save this amount by using direct debit. That tells people that they are saving money from what they are already paying not being informed of an extra charge for no reason.
This extra charge is actually against the law. The language it is explained in also is misleading people to believe with a direct debit they’re saving money when really if you don’t use a direct debit it’s an extra charge that is not clearly stated on the price list or contract.

[Shocking]

This is Ireland. Anyone can charge you anything even if it's against the law. And they will, because they have effectively a monopoly on rural internet. I get charged this fee every month.