SAR request

[DuckyDaffodil]

Hypothetically speaking, say someone pays a company for a service every month, and has done so for 10+ years. After many years, that company changes the terms and conditions of the agreement in such a way that it no longer works for the customer, so said customer requests to cancel the contract, as the company can no longer deliver the service required. The company say no, claim they'll need to charge an early termination fee. Customer asks for a copy of the original terms and conditions, and also a copy of data the company holds on the customer. The company ignores the customer, and only responds 7 weeks later when the customer escalates the matter higher, telling the customer "that they cannot supply any of the information requested because they do not hold any information at all".

Hypothetically speaking, the customer thinks they're at it, the company manages to bill the customer £500+ per month without issue, yet claims they hold no data?

I'm unsure how to proceed on this? Anyone have any suggestions?

If they can't prove that you agreed to an early termination fee, then they can't hold you to it, surely?

Terms and conditions form part of the legal contract between you and the supplier. They can be varied but usually not unilaterally unless the original contract specifies this. Even if they can be varied in this way, there is a code of practice which includes giving the customer the opportunity to withdraw if the new Ts & Cs render the agreement unfair or unuseable. On the information given, it's hard to see how they can enforce a contract they can't prove. Your local authority should have a trading standards team who can help you with this and even take action against the supplier if appropriate. As as far as your data request is concerned then you can refer to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk). If you can find your original copy of the agreement it should help clarify but their notice to you informing you of the change should contain all the pertinent information too.

I would go to the ICO about the company not giving the customer their data, there is a phone number you can call for advice

Did you sign the new terms and conditions? How can they say its an early termination fee after ten years?

Thanks everyone, confirmed what I suspected.

The contract may specify the notice period required for cessation of supply of the services which is longer than the notice given by the customer when the terms changed, so it's possible to be early termination even if the contract has been in force for a long time. After all, the supply may depend on other contractual arrangements the supplier has entered into. However, if the terms changed sufficiently to fundamentally alter the purpose and intent of the contract then I don't think that argument would stand up.