Vodafone email users in dark on rights

Vodafone customers are in the dark over whether they can terminate their fixed-term broadband contracts when the company turns off its email service at the end of November.

Neither Vodafone nor the country’s competition watchdog, the Commerce Commission, have been able to provide definitive advice on customers’ rights, with the commission saying the issue was ‘‘not black and white’’.

Vodafone will turn off its email service, which is regularly used by about 250,000 of its customers, at the end of November.

It has suggested customers set up a free email account with either Google Gmail or Microsoft Outlook, and has promised to automatically forward email free-of-charge to their new address.

However, Google has so far been unable to confirm that the forwarding of mail couldn’t be impacted by the high levels of spam some Vodafone customers have been receiving.

Several Vodafone customers have said their email address was the major reason for them sticking with Vodafone and have questioned whether the withdrawal of the service gives them the right to switch to a different broadband supplier.

Vodafone customers can be on contracts with fixed terms of either one or two years.

Vodafone would not say if it considered the withdrawal of the email service entitled customers to exit their fixed-term broadband contracts early.

‘‘We are encouraging customers to call us to talk through any concerns they have with their service,’’ spokeswoman Elissa Downey said.

The Commerce Commission also did not provide a clear response on consumers’ rights.

‘‘We advise customers to look into their contract to see under which circumstances they can terminate early at no cost,’’ a spokeswoman said.

‘‘If consumers feel the removal of the email service will cause them detriment, they should contact Vodafone to discuss their options in the first instance.’’

However, the commission appeared to hint that it thought customers who wanted to leave without penalty might have a case, sending a link to a ‘‘fact sheet’’ that discusses unfair contract terms.

One of the questions the fact sheet suggests customers ask themselves is whether businesses can change ‘‘important terms of the contract without your permission, or without letting you cancel the contract’’.

Consumer NZ chief executive Sue Chetwin said the question of whether Vodafone customers had the right to walk away from their broadband contracts had come up for discussion at the consumer body and it was still wrestling with the issues, she said.

‘‘You would think that Vodafone would have to fall on the side of helping consumers out.’’

But it was ‘‘a tricky one’’ because Vodafone was probably right to be getting out of providing email, she said.