BT Billing Problem Check Your Bill

center15

I've got charged twice this month by BT gonna go to the bank to reverse the charges and I know from personal experience BT customer care are a joke and it most likely take months to get my refund if at all. I advise everyone to check their bill as I doubt I'm the only person this has happen to this month.

bambam

me too, they told me it'd be sorted in a few days...

center15

me too, they told me it'd be sorted in a few days...

Will this be done automatically or do I need to ring BT?

oneweb

Never assume they'll do anything automatically (except for mess up your bill - they're famous for doing that).

When you call and get through to the Customer Service department, ask them nicely as soon as you get through for the Credit Control department. Any time I've dealt with them they've been very helpful and sorted any issues.

slumped

Currently on hold to BT - now at 1 hour and 34 minutes. Will post resolution here when finished - probably tomorrow week........

Sponge Bob

center15 wrote:

Will this be done automatically or do I need to ring BT?

Of course not don't be silly . This is BT billing, they say anything to get you off the phone even if you do ring them . Therefore you write to them or email them and if the problem is not fixed in 10 days you can get Comreg to do something.....maybe ???. Comreg find 'doing anything' is very stressful.

See http://telcowatch.org/forumdisplay.php?f=5 which is an entire Board dedicated to trying to get BT billing to refund people like you .

Item 1. email BT and demand a reference number for your complaint !!!!!

Item 2. Search Boards for the " Consumers Association " Thread about BT and if BT have not refunded your Bank, in full, by midnight tonight then send the CAI a copy of your complaint . The Consumers Association have a Great Interest in BT billing and were assured that it had been fixed, that was in March .

Item 3 Last BIG thread on them here see post by Sapele about half way on how he went about getting his refund . There are (of course ) many small threads.

slumped

after a long long time on he phone here is what I've been told

1. Error with AIB Bank who handle BT Ireland's direct debits
2. Been told that all accounts affected will be credited back by this evening
3. Tried to cancel my DD but they wouldn't let me. Will now instruct my bank to refuse all BT Direct Debits.
4.If not resolved by tomorrow to go through it all again!

When I switched to BT in March I e-mailed their complaints dept. about the problems which BT have in relation to billing. I got a nice e-mail back from Michelle McLaughlin who assured me that everything was set up correctly. When I asked to speak with her I am told she does not accept calls, and nobody in that department accepts calls. How strange.

Off to charge my mobile now for the next marathon session on hold with BT Ireland. Don't trust the callback system. Have missed them on a few times!

S

Tweaky

Thanks for the heads up on this. Just checked my account and I have been charged twice as well. The irony of it is that this months bill was low as i received a credit for an error in my last bill. So they give me the money back with one hand and take it away again with the other.
The real pain about this is that your Bank is going to charge you bank charges for the incorrect direct debit and once again for putting the money back in your account - the real winner in this mess - the banks !!!
I had been sceptical about people complaining about BT's billing system and said to myself that they were the exception - I'm beginning to believe that not to have problems is the exception.

Tweaky.

JackieChan

Another here. Its only a small issue but will AIB charge us the DD facility fee(20 cents I think) and the lodging of the money back to our accounts(another 20 cents).
If we are charged these fees then AIB will be getting 400 euro for every 1000 people that have been impacted.
What of people pushed further in to a OD or an unauthorized one??

Sponge Bob

JackieChan wrote:

If we are charged these fees then AIB will be getting 400 euro for every 1000 people that have been impacted.

Well as AIB are entirely at fault according to BT then the IFSRA should clarify the liability for these charges in full for y'áll if you ask them .

Simply ask the question (form down below) and the AIBs regulators , IFSRA , will get back to you with a definitive answer on the liability.

http://www.ifsra.ie/frame_main.asp?pg=cont_list.asp

If your bank then charges you then simply refer them to the answer you will get from the IFSRA . Its now up to AIB to contact all of them to sort the matter out and ensure you are not charged for something that actually NEVER happened ...in a way.

nearlyhappy

I'm sorry to hear about those of you who have been overcharged this month.

You have now entered the murky world that is BT Billing.

From now on you will make many phone calls, send many emails, recieve many assurances, but alas, nothing will be done.

The only way forward from this point is to empty your account if you can do that, and do not pay until you get a correct bill.

Should take about 6 months or so.

They cant cut you off till they get it right..

Nh

Mad Mike

Just to give you a bit of hope - I have been involved in ongoing "discussions with BT since last July over a number of screw ups on their part. (Broadband being installed in someone elses house, me being charged with said installation, not getting new connection discount etc....). My experience with their customer support has been as awful as everyone else's. I have never had a reply to an email other than from an automated response system. I have spent hours on the phone queueing only for some cheerful idiot to promise to sort it all out and then promptly forget every promise they made. However - miracle of miracles finally on my April bill, long after I had given up all hope - my refund finally arrived. So hang in there that's all I can say.

center15

Went down to AIB and asked them to cancel one of the direct debits they were able to because it was the same day the 2 direct debits had been taken out of my account. They said I should ring BT to inform them but to be honest I don't see the point BT have useless customer care and they'd only end up doing something stupid like charging me again or something.
Also this month I received €50 discount for "Broadband promotion credit" even though I've have broadband from them since it came out but it's not often their mistakes go in your favour so I'm not saying anything.

jor el

nearlyhappy wrote:

The only way forward from this point is to empty your account if you can do that, and do not pay until you get a correct bill.

That's a really bad idea since you'll rack up charges for failed direct debits, or the bank will overdraw your account and charge you anyway.

The correct solution, if you're still having BT problems, is to cancel your direct debit, by writing to the bank. Then you can pay your bill manually to BT, for the correct amount. You should also inform BT, in writing, that you've cancelled the direct debit but that you will pay the bill manually. This can be done from your account online with a credit card or laser card.

Ancient1

jor el wrote:

You should also inform BT, in writing, that you've cancelled the direct debit but that you will pay the bill manually. This can be done from your account online with a credit card or laser card.

I didn't think that was possible - they told me it wasn't when i signed up so i have a direct debit on my credit card. That's a great idea though and i think i'll do just that, coz i'm sick to death of begging them to bill me on time.

Sponge Bob

and Billpay.ie is supported by BT so you need not bother giving them your details at all

https://www.billpay.ie/ViewBillsb.htm

jor el

Ancient1 wrote:

I didn't think that was possible - they told me it wasn't when i signed up so i have a direct debit on my credit card. That's a great idea though and i think i'll do just that, coz i'm sick to death of begging them to bill me on time.

When you sign up to BT they force you into a direct debit off of your current account or credit card all right. You can cancel it though, possibly over the phone, but definitely in writing. Then just pay manually. Using Billpay is a good idea as they'll never get your details.

slumped

jor el wrote:

When you sign up to BT they force you into a direct debit off of your current account or credit card all right. You can cancel it though, possibly over the phone, but definitely in writing. Then just pay manually. Using Billpay is a good idea as they'll never get your details.

I tried cancelling it and was told that it was in the terms and conditions that I couldn't. So wrote to my bank instructing them not to honour any requests from BT or related company.

Let them sing......

Sapele

slumped, I have tried many times to contact Michelle McLaughlin from complaints, but alas it was mission impossible. Like all BT complaint officers their number goes constantly to voicemail and they never return your call. I began to wonder do these people even exist at all as employees. When I leave a message on someone's voicemail and that person tells me they will contact me within two hours I tend to believe them, until I signed up for BT that is

dub45

Tweaky wrote:

Thanks for the heads up on this. Just checked my account and I have been charged twice as well. The irony of it is that this months bill was low as i received a credit for an error in my last bill. So they give me the money back with one hand and take it away again with the other.

Tweaky.

is there a more farcical Company anywhere?

I now hope that people on boards will stop recommending BT - no matter how good the actual bb product may be no Company that is so incredibly incompetent on an ongoing basis deserves any sort of recommendation.

dub45

slumped wrote:

I tried cancelling it and was told that it was in the terms and conditions that I couldn't.

So wrote to my bank instructing them not to honour any requests from BT or related company.

Let them sing......

Make sure you pay up though apparently they are not slow to resort to debt collectors no matter how wrong they themselves might be!!!!:eek:

Tweaky

Problem fixed - the second transaction no longer appears on the bank statement. If this hadn't been spotted yesterday they might have got away with it because if you look at your bank accounts now there is no record of it ever happening.

slumped

Refunded DD in my account this morning.

Got reply from Michelle Mc Laughlin. Usual crap.

S

bambam

Yep, problem solved, the money has been credited to my account.

GristlyEnd

I was debited twice as well and was credited this morning. I'm with BOI so most of the banks must have had a glitch with BT direct debits :rolleyes:

slumped

DarrenG wrote:

I was debited twice as well and was credited this morning. I'm with BOI so most of the banks must have had a glitch with BT direct debits :rolleyes:

It was BT's bank that had the problem, which happens to be AIB. So it does not matter what bank you are with.

S

jayneemac

slumped wrote:

Refunded DD in my account this morning.

Got reply from Michelle Mc Laughlin. Usual crap.

S

was this the a/c num:

030000017298220000

looks like I was refunded too