Mobile Industry Review - Latest Comments in Should an operator charge you VAT on your contract pay off?

Re: Should an operator charge you VAT on your contract pay off?

SteveRowlands — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:16:07 -0000

Thanks Jonathon.

I am still waiting for my final bill, which has still not arrived in the post, but I will be sure to send you an email if it arrives with VAT included. I'm presuming it will do, as that is the information I was told over the phone.

Thanks

Steve

Re: Should an operator charge you VAT on your contract pay off?

smstextnews — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:11:27 -0000

Thanks for that Jonathan

2008/9/1 Disqus <>

Re: Should an operator charge you VAT on your contract pay off?

Jonathan — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:31:41 -0000

Hi there,

I work for Orange and have checked this for you, and you should not be paying VAT on your final figure.

If you want to drop me an email with your contact details I will give you a call. Send the email to 'customer.services@orange.co.uk' with the subject 'Jonathon Orange Response' and your details should be passed to me.

Thanks,

Jonathon

Orange Response

Re: Should an operator charge you VAT on your contract pay off?

barryjon — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:22:29 -0000

Orange didn't charge me VAT when I cancelled my contract early - that was about three years ago now though.

Re: Should an operator charge you VAT on your contract pay off?

nacho — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:20:47 -0000

Good but how you transfer ownership of the contract? Tried with O2 but gave up because it was a pain in the butt. For the record, I hate o2!

Re: Should an operator charge you VAT on your contract pay off?

smstextnews — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:00:22 -0000

approve

2008/8/28 Disqus <>

Re: Should an operator charge you VAT on your contract pay off?

Burak — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:56:16 -0000

I'm not an expert either, but I have had some minor dealings with VAT before. The general rule of thumb is that if you are handing over money to a company in the UK, you've got to pay VAT. There are only a few obscure exceptions that I know of and they don't apply here. It's Gordon Brown's lot that are to blame, Orange don't really have much say in the matter. A couple of suggestions:

a) you could try paying minus the vat and see what happens. The worst they can do is insist you pay the VAT so in the end you won't end up any worse off.

b) is there a cheaper tariff you can down-grade to before canceling the contract?

c) why not keep the contract running until the end of the contract? You're better off paying £20 a month than £200 in one go (inflation is your friend here).

d) Why don't you sell the contract on to a friend or family? Split the £200 50-50 and you both end up better off. Don't forget to cancel the contract when the 10 months are up.

Re: Should an operator charge you VAT on your contract pay off?

SteveRowlands — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:15:08 -0000

Well..... I was kind of hoping that one of your readership may have already had this battle with l'Orange already.

I am by no way a VAT expert, hence I was just posing the question.

My 'final bill' has not yet arrived in the post, but am expecting it any day now.

A friend of a friend is an accountant, so I may well ask them for their opinion.

I'm minded to just send a cheque, minus the VAT to Orange, along with a letter explaining that, and see how they react........

When I challenged the young lady on the phone about it, she just told me that I would need to contact the Orange Legal Team...... she didn't know their phone number.... typical.

I suspect she was just trying to intimidate me by mentioning the word 'legal'..... kinda backfired on her though, when I asked to speak to them, and she didn't know their contact details.

Re: Should an operator charge you VAT on your contract pay off?

phoneboy — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:08:51 -0000

On this side of the pond, you don't buy out your contract, you pay an Early Termination Fee, which is either a flat fee (around $200) or a sliding fee depending on the carrier and when you want to "opt out" of your contract. Seems much more civilized. And, as far as I know, it's not taxed.