[rainbow_clouds]

I've got a question. Does a contract have to be written and signed for it to be in affect? How about if one party doesn't know the fees involved?<br><br><br><br>
I ask because my boyfriend got DSL through a company that asks for a year commitment before signing up. They don't tell you about all the misc fees they are going to charge you, and now he's going to be paying $70 a month for DSL.<br><br><br><br>
Here is the story- this company started a few months ago requiring NEW DSL customer to have a minumin phone line installed. I have this company's DSL "service" (more like a disservice) and I don't need a phone line. He figured he'd be paying about $30/mo for DSL with $13 for phone then maybe $10 bucks for the misc fees, which would be $53.<br><br><br><br>
His bill comes and there is a ton of misc charges adding up to $70 a month. Charges he was never told about (like leasing the modem - I don't pay for that!) and minium call charge (even though he didn't make any calls)<br><br><br><br>
Obviously he wants out, and now he doesn't think he can get out because they have a disclaimer here:<br><br><br><br>
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS PURSUANT TO WHICH FRONTIER WILL PROVIDE ITS CUSTOMERS WITH HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICE ("High-Speed Internet Service" or "Service"). BY USING -company name- HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICES OR EQUIPMENT, YOU ARE AGREEING TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.<br><br><br><br>
The terms and conditions basically say "we can charge you whatever and you'll have to pay it for a year unless you pay $200 cancelation fee"<br><br><br><br>
Anyways, I'm just wondering if he is "stuck" with this crappy dis-service, I mean can they really put you under contract without telling you the fees involved? He never signed anything.

 

[Daral]

Well, legally speaking, there are written contracts and there are verbal contracts. If he agreed to either, then he's legally bound to it. You seem to be implying that he never signed the contract. However, if he signed anything that referenced the contract without reading it, that would be his fault.<br><br><br><br>
If there literally isn't any signature he put on paper anywhere, then chances are good he isn't bound to anything and can simply not pay them. If he verbally agreed to the contract, then technically he's bound to it, but it would be potentially very difficult to prove so you could just lie about it.<br><br><br><br>
It's not exactly clear what the situation is though, so I hope that answered it.<br><br><br><br>
Edit: errr.... I am not a lawyer, disclaimer disclaimer, I cannot be sued for bad legal advice, etc. If you want to really know, get a lawyer. If you want an intelligent but non-professional opinion, read above.

 

[bstutzma]

Sometimes by hitting an "enroll" button on a computer, you are agreeing to the contract/terms of service. How did he sign up?

 

[rainbow_clouds]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>bstutzma</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
Sometimes by hitting an "enroll" button on a computer, you are agreeing to the contract/terms of service. How did he sign up?</div>
</div>
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He called and said "I am interested in your DSL service" THey said "it's $30 a month plus $13 a month for a phone line. He knew there was a few misc fees because I have the same service and I told him that. My fees are anywhere from $3-8 a month extra. He though, ok I can do that. He didn't know it was going to be over $20 a month in fees.<br><br><br><br>
They don't tell you the misc fees when you sign up. They just say it is going to be $___ a month for service. They don't say "We are also going to charge you fees for everything." They don't mention it at all.<br><br><br><br>
For me after I signed up and gave her all my information (she was rude, btw) she said "Oh, btw we ask for a 1 year comitment" and I said "ok, that's fine." She could have fogotten to tell me and I could enter a "contract" without knowing it, since the disclaimer said "By using this service you are agreeing to terms" When the DSL modem came, it didn't tell me any term of use. In fact the only way to get them is from their website which ironically requires internet.<br><br><br><br>
This doesn't sound legal.<br><br><br><br>
There is no written contract, they just say "By using this service you are agreeing to pay for it for a year or pay a $200 cancellation fee"

 

[karenlovessnow]

I had this happen to me with cell phone service. I say give it a shot and try to fight it...nothing ventured, nothing gained. I hate it when I feel like I've been ripped off!

 

[rainbow_clouds]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>karenlovessnow</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
I had this happen to me with cell phone service. I say give it a shot and try to fight it...nothing ventured, nothing gained. I hate it when I feel like I've been ripped off!</div>
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With cell phone service, don't you have to sign a contract though?

 

[Tesseract]

I don't know the ins and outs of how the internet may complicate the legal issues, and things vary from state to state, but basically, yeah, if they pop up a legal notice and you click "I agree," you just agreed to it. The idea is for you to read it first an know what you're agreeing to. But he may still have a decent argument that they misrepresented the service to him verbally by either not warning him about the fees, or misleading him as to what the total impact of the fees would be. Unless the thing he clicked on actually laid out what the fees would be, I think he might be able to get somewhere with the argument that he only agreed to pay what they told him, not all these ridiculous fees. Also, just looking at it from a customer service/goodwill angle, if he throws his weight around enough, they may do right by him just to avoid having an angry ex-customer out there trashing them all over town.<br><br><br><br>
Hey, it's worth a shot.<br><br><br><br>
PS: I AM a lawyer, but I can't give legal advice over the internet, because I'm only licensed in Texas. No practicing law in other states! So this is not a legal opinon. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/tongue3.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="">