Recently I started a new contract with a new boiler service and break down company which was cheaper than my previous one. Stupidly, I thought that if I stopped paying for the old and didn’t book a boiler service then it would just come to end (yes, I know!) I received a reminder bill, so rang to ask them to cancel. The lady on the phone said I should have cancelled in October (three months before the end of the contract!) and that I would be sent mise en demeure if I didn’t pay.
What I want to know is what do I risk, realistically, by not paying. I’ve already paid the new company so I don’t want to be paying twice. I’ve not used the services at all of the old company.
If the contract is not cancelled and you don’t pay they can chase you - not familiar with the French process but the problem with letting it run is that the amount you owe might get inflated by court and bailiff fees (certainly would in the UK). So you might be best paying twice this year and making sure it is properly cancelled going forward.
Companies can be very hot on this if you didn’t cancel at the correct time and in the correct manner. Usually by registered letter 1 or 3 months before the end of the contract.
If you don’t pay you will get fines added on most likely. And if they pass the bill to a hussier it will get an extra sum added on to.
You could phone them to see if some room for negotiation, but don’t just ignore it.
What the others said plus being reported to the Banque de France and being interdit bancaire which means not allowed to use any bank account for card or cheque transactions etc.
We’re talking about 170 euros. Maybe it’s just the English person in me but it seems daft to insist I pay for a service I haven’t used… but there we go! Thanks for advice.
But that isn’t actually the company’s fault and the French view is very much that if contracts for any sort of ongoing service are not actively terminated they automatically roll over. While this does protect people from inadvertently ending up with no cover (and I might, more cynically, observe that it protects the companies in question from losing revenue) it makes it harder to switch to a new service provider - no “ignore it and it will go away” option like in the UK.
There have been recent “improvements” in flexibility. It used to be for some contracts you couldn’t cancel during first year, but that has now generally changed. And for things like car insurance the new insurer can take on the task of cancelling the old policy - but you have to triple check that they actually do it. So since I’m a control freak I send my LRAR anyway.
The big one that non French people often overlook is that a 1 year contract for a furnished home is not actually 1 year as it automatically rolls over for another year! And strict conditions for cancelling. So some people who have happily rented out their second home fora year have had a nasty shock when the tenants decide to stay.