Hi all,
In March 2020, I had my electricity with Amaysim, they then offered me a promotion, that I would get a free 200GB month Sim card, on condition I stay with Amaysim energy with no expiry. In a chat they said ‘yes you can have the promo to your number as long as your energy service is active with Amaysim.’ late last year Amaysim sold their energy customers to AGL, and I received an email the other day saying the promo would now expire Feb 28. My plan with AGL is the same as it was when I was with Amaysim, I have not changed anything.
Questio: what are my rights??
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I expect that they will say that you are no longer with Amaysim for your electricity and they will undoubtedly have something in their T & C’s covering this type of scenario.
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First thing to do is whip out your contract and have a look at what you agreed to. As @Fred123 has said, there is probably something in there that gives them the right to do this.
The good news is that it would seem that since 2 Oct 2020, AGL is Amaysim’s energy provider, and you appear to remain an Amaysim client (https://www.amaysim.com.au/changes-to-energy) for both energy and mobile plans, and nothing has changed except the name of the energy provider.
What is your issue with the change?
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It could be this…
Will my amaysim mobile service be impacted?
If you have a bundled mobile and energy plan, we will be in touch to discuss how this change may impact you.
It appears the impact is…
200GB per month no longer will be offered with a Amaysim energy account as Amaysim energy no longer exists…as it has been rolled back/acquired by AGL.
I agree with @Fred123, that the T&Cs associated with the offer will have termination clauses such as as decided by Amaysim with possible notification period or in the event that Amaysim no longer provides energy services.
@Bluemoose will need to look at the original T&Cs with the offer to see what it says.
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Thanks for your reply, the issue is: when electricity was with Amaysim, they offered me a free simcard (, normally $40 pm) no expiry, the only condition I keep my electricity with Amaysim, now that my electricity is with AGL, Amaysim are withdrawing the discount. I would have thought perhaps the onus is now on AGL to honour the incentive?
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No, your original agreement was with Amaysim and not AGL…do you have the T&Cs associated with the original Amaysim offer?
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They also would’ve known that they were selling in March, if the transaction was announced in August
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Not necessarily.
I was once a manager for a branch of a company listed on the ASX some decades ago when another ASX listed company who had a large shareholding in it announced a surprise takeover bid on a Tuesday, and by Thursday, it was all over.
That’s the promo page, do you have the promotion T&Cs outlined on this page?
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I’ll ask them for it.
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Looking at other (can’t find the SIM 200GB one) Amaysim promotion T&Cs, they all have the following clause…
Promotion subject to change without notice and may be withdrawn at amaysim’s discretion.
I suspect that the 200GB promotion T&Cs will have the same and if you accepted the offer, you also accepted it based on this clause. This jeahs Amaysim can withdraw the offer anytime it choses…which it appears they have now done.
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I suspect you’re right
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I don’t think that would annul the rights of the person who had already signed up on a contract. A Company has a right to withdraw an offer (promotion) before you sign but once signed they are bound by the contract they made. So this definetly needs the T&Cs of the contract to see when a right is expunged, I would assume that the sale of the business to another would void that contract.
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It would if the 200GB sim promotion contains the same clause in its terms and conditions. Accepting the promotional offer means that one accepts the T&Cs associated with the promotion. This is why it is important to see what these T&Cs indicate if and when they are received by @Bluemoose. As outlined above, the clause seems to be a standard inclusion to other promotion T&Cs prepared by Amaysim. It is highly likely that the 200GB sim promotion will have the same clause.
Such clauses are valid otherwise a business would be locked infinitum into something which in the longer term may not be practicable to deliver or honour.
Most contracts without time limits have such clauses which allow the contract to be terminated/cancelled.
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I think we may be talking to cross purposes.
A promotion to buy an item is one that offers something if you buy that item. This promotion could be lifted at any time by the promoter before a person purchases the item. If the promotion is terminated then purchasers who purchase after the termination don’t have a contract.
Once you have purchased that item as offered then a contract is entered into, and if the promotion had been effective at the time then the supplier is obligated to provide the benefit. Then the post purchase contract becomes the defining of the relationship terms. The promoter could remove their promotion but the purchasers prior to this would have rights under the contract they had entered into. The terms and conditions of the contract then are what need to set out cancellation, notification, withdrawal, penalties etc. I’m sure Amaysim have terms that cover the sale of the business, withdrawal of the benefits etc in their contract, if they don’t they have very poor legal advice.
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I have seen companies that spin off subsidiaries as self standing legal entities or sell a unit to another company. They have a time ‘honoured’ way of dealing with pesky details such as passing a profitable contract to a ‘good company’ and the promotional benefits and loss making contracts and debt to a ‘bad company’ and bankrupting the bad company. The lawyers win as always.
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That’s correct. And those who sign up to the promotion and receive services under the promotion, also would not have a contract either. The easiest way to explain this is that loyalty cards with retailers are in effect promotions amongst other things (such as data collection). A consumer who decides to accept the retailer loyalty program accepts the condition of the promotion when taking up the offer. These loyalty programs allow retailers to change conditions/clauses and end the program when they see fit and the consumer has little they can do. A recent example of this is the Woolworths program in Tasmania. It until recently, has been separate to the Everyday Rewards Card and was called Frequent Shopper Club. The benefits under the FSC were different…an obvious one was one spends $1000 to get $10 off a shop, compared to $2000 for the ERC. Woolworths recently has decided to terminate the FSC and anyone who wants to be part of a Woolworths loyalty program needs to sign up to ERC. At the end of January 2021, the FSC no longer exists and cards can no longer be used. This is like Amaysim Energy where they can also terminate the program/promotion and there isn’t much a consumer can do…except shop around to see if there are better energy offers than that offered by AGL.
@Bluemoose has indicated that Amaysim Energy offered monthly 200GB sim on the basis that the offer is provided while @Bluemoose remains a customer of Amaysim Energy. The promotion is continual and monthly until such time that Amaysim decides to terminate the promotion. Their broad clause associated with other promotions (if it is the same for this program) indicates that they can chose to when ever they see fit.
Not withstanding this, if the promotion of 200GB sim was linked to a Amaysim Energy account (which from the above information it appears it is) and Amaysim Energy no longer exists (as it has been sold to AGL), then the promotion in effect would end as the relationship has expired.
AGL can chose to run its own 200GB sim for its customers, but any AGL customer (and including those who would formerly been with Amaysim) would need to agree to any new terms and conditions which AGL establishes for such promotions.
Edit: It sounds like @Bluemoose thinks that the offer was great while it lasted. It is unfortunate that Amaysim Energy has sold its electricity retail business and the offer no longer stands. At least it appears that @Bluemoose was able to use this offer for the best part of a year…which is better than no time at all.
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They do have a contract when signed up but I can’t locate it on their site as they have removed it but they do make reference to the end of the combined Mobile and Energy plan (they state they will be in contact with those members) as they switch over to AGL. “If you have a bundled mobile and energy plan, we will be in touch to discuss how this change may impact you.”
Their standard clauses include:
“We may also choose to terminate your energy plan by giving you at least 30 days’ notice
.
To the extent reasonably possible, if one or more of the above circumstances arise during the Term of this Contract, we will contact you and suggest alternative products which may suit your new circumstances.”
So they only need to give at least 30 days notice for energy plans and for Mobile plans it is again at least 30 days:
"
10.4. Termination or cancellation of this Agreement
10.4.1. Termination means that this Agreement is at an end, and only occurs once all obliga-tions under this Agreement have been met (or the party to whom an obligation is owed has consented in writing to the waiver of that obligation).
10.4.2. We may terminate your service at any time at our discretion with 30 days written cancellation notice or termination notice in the form of email and/or written letter to your service address."
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The promotion terms and conditions will sit outside any energy or mobile contract conditions. This is why trying to find the promotion T&Cs is important.
Promotion T&Cs often sit outside standard contracts like credit card, retailer etc do for their promotions. An example is the Commonwealth Bank CommBank App’ promotion:
It has its own T&Cs which are very separate to the T&Cs associated with netbanking customers.
They aren’t part of a standard contract, but a special offer for existing customers.
