BT Complaints - Please post here

Sponge Bob

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=56183484&postcount=8

This applies if you have calls going through them outside their bundles .

Its not in their T&Cs anywhere.

Hi,

I have plain phone service with BT and phone line rental with Eircom.

On the last bills from BT I have detected a "Call Balance Charge"
(my bill of 20 Euro for 2 month + 5 Euro "Call Balance Charge" + VAT = 31 Euro).

I called BT today and BT customer services claims this is due to "not enough spending". Their terms and conditions don't mention a "Talk Balance Charge" or in fact any kind of minimum charge.

I requested termination of my service with BT.

Did anyone else encounter this "Call Balance Charge"? Can this be legal?

Best,

semantics

after gnashing of teeth with 'customer care' .

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=56272897&postcount=17

Meanwhile we had a phone conversation with a person from BT Ireland.

He indeed confirmed that from now on all accounts which do not reach a certain minimum amount will be slapped with the addtional "Call Balance Charge".

We argued that this is not mentioned in our contract and in the terms and conditions, and that we did not agree to any change to the terms and conditions. His answer was that BT acceps our termination and then he hung up on us.

I find it most interesting that quite a reputable company like British Telecom is falling back to these kind of business practices, and effectivey is getting away with it.

Since my contract is terminated I guess there is no reason anymore to go to Comreg - would have been fun (although time consuming) to fight this through, maybe even go to the small claims court. Maybe the small claims court is still an option.

Our assumption is that they simply count on most people not even noticing this "Call Balance Charge".

Anyway, an interesting lesson about business practices and business ethics and how to screw consumers.

The question really is how to make these business practices more widely known to warn consumers about them.

As for our calls, maybe we should rely on VOIP calls even more :-)
BT Ireland does not deserve our money.

Full thread here .

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055106377

Anti

Crazy..

zefer

Just got my bill today and I was overcharged €120 as well as not getting the usual line rental&broadband discount that I usually get.

Seems there was an "issue" since I was upgraded from 3mb to 8mb.
They wont issue a new bill but have said they will refund it in my next bill..

So my bill is now over €280 instead of €110 :mad:

dub45

zefer wrote: »

Just got my bill today and I was overcharged €120 as well as not getting the usual line rental&broadband discount that I usually get.

Seems there was an "issue" since I was upgraded from 3mb to 8mb.
They wont issue a new bill but have said they will refund it in my next bill..

So my bill is now over €280 instead of €110 :mad:

Do you pay by direct debit by any chance? If so you should be aware that under the terms of the direct debit scheme disputed amounts should not be charged!

• Originators must put in place reliable systems and which will ensure:

that disputed amounts are not debited

If you have already been debited you should approach your bank and ask them to do a charge back. BT have absolutey no right to overbill you and refuse a refund. This should also apply to any credit card debits.

Ring IPSO (www.ipso.ie) they are always boasting how wonderful the direct debit system is.

Full rules of dd scheme: http://www.ipso.ie/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=158&mosmsg=You+must+login+and+be+authorized+to+access+documents.

zefer

yep, I do pay by DD.
I actually rang them back yesterday as I had thought about it and decided I wasnt going to wait for 2 months to get my money back.

I was originally told "I dont think they'll allow that" but when I persisted I was put on hold for a minute and then the customer rep came back to say "not a problem, it will be back in your bank account in 10 days or so"

So I await to see the outcome

dub45

zefer wrote: »

yep, I do pay by DD.
I actually rang them back yesterday as I had thought about it and decided I wasnt going to wait for 2 months to get my money back.

I was originally told "I dont think they'll allow that" but when I persisted I was put on hold for a minute and then the customer rep came back to say "not a problem, it will be back in your bank account in 10 days or so"

So I await to see the outcome

I will be more than surprised if you do not go on waiting!

There is absolutely no reason for it to take 10 days. There are regular reports here of them overcharging people and refusing to give refunds and supposedly giving credit next month which never materialises.

As a matter of interest did you bring this to their attention before they debited you. Please please ring IPSO and report them!!!

Blindpew

It would seem all that all the foreign companies in Ireland, in every sector, have the same ethos. They're Irish, lets overcharge them. I don't know what they'll do in coming years when everyone here is broke. Maybe Bertie will give them a dig out.

m8

God you were lucky
I'm phoning them since 2006 to resolve an over charging issue and was given credit on my next bill but that’s no good when I'm overcharged on that bill as well and have been since 2006.

I was told by one of the reps on the phone that the only way I could have my money back was to cancel so I moved back to Eircom and they still charged me for another 4 months until I'd seen my back account. I then instructed my bank not to allow BT take any more money but that was last January and have been on the phone day in day out since September last year and still have no refund.

They claimed to have lodged the money in my account but I got bank statements and no money, then they said they posted it to me but I never got it.

I then sent a letter claiming a copy of all the data they had on me with the data protection act which cost me €6 but I found out that they have given my details to a third party not connected to me or my account and sent the cheque to them and now refuse to pay me until they recover this cheque.

This can't be legal can it as I did not give them those details and never gave them another address? Now I’m worried that someone has all my details and will use them for identity theft including a detailed letter from BT with my details.

Where do I stand with this?

Should I go the legal route, as the phoning them is a waist of time?

dub45 wrote: »

I will be more than surprised if you do not go on waiting!

There is absolutely no reason for it to take 10 days. There are regular reports here of them overcharging people and refusing to give refunds and supposedly giving credit next month which never materialises.

As a matter of interest did you bring this to their attention before they debited you. Please please ring IPSO and report them!!!

What is the IPSO and whats their number?

Is there anywhere else I can complain and anyone got any advice on how to proceed with this?

Is there any other websites I can post to make other people aware of this so they don't fall into the same trap with BT Ireland?
( I want to shout this from the roof-tops now)

dub45

Full details at www.ipso.ie they are the body in charge of the various debit systems. They are forever claiming that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the direct debt system whereas I believe that one of the central weaknesses of the system is that there is no proper complaints procedure so there is no way a persistent offender (to put it mildly in the case of BT) are sanctioned. Believe or not to make a complaint under the dd system you have to complain to your own bank and then depend on them to complain to the supporting bank of the offender. Now as the supporting bank has a commercial relationship with the offending bank there are hardly going to do anything bad to them! (By the way a company has to have a 'supporting' bank to participate in the dd scheme.)

Anyways back to the problem in hands. If the money was deducted under the dd system you should contact ipso. You should also contact comreg. In view of the transfer of information I would contact the data protection people as well.

However I would also write to the BT chief executive (and copy the letter to the Joe Duffy show) giving him a week to sort out this mess or you will report the matter to your local gardai. Now I know the gardai will not welcome this sort of stuff but still it is simply theft at this stage both of your money and your time.

However your most productive route will probably the small claims court.

If it was me I would go down and put a picket on their offices for however long it took.

If this was any sort of a proper country they would have been shut down long ago.

m8

TBH this is only a small part of how I was treated but anyway do you have an email address for the BT chief execcutive?

I have mailed the IPSO and the Data protection people. I wil also mail comreg.

dub45

m8 wrote: »

TBH this is only a small part of how I was treated but anyway do you have an email address for the BT chief execcutive?

I have mailed the IPSO and the Data protection people. I wil also mail comreg.

By the way here is more ammunition for you: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055040773

the ceo seems to be Chris Clark

And the address:

Address

BT Communications Ireland Limited
Head Office
Grand Canal Plaza
Upper Grand Canal St.
Dublin 4

If I was you I would register the letter. I strongly suspect that any email will just be a waste of time.

Imagine that they actually have this on their website:

BT is committed to providing you with the best telecommunications service in the world. Despite our endeavours, things do go wrong, and when they do, we want to know so that we can put them right as quickly as possible.

They may not have integrity but they do have a wry sense of humour!:rolleyes:

Finally your best bet may the small claims court:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/justice/courts-system/small_claims_court

dub45

Just as an aside has anyone ever wondered about the integrity of BT Ireland. And I am being serious here:)

For years they had an appalling billing system causing people no end of trouble (and incidentally must have cost themselves a fortune in wasted employee time dealing mostly incompetently with complaints)

Their internal audit people must have been aware of this and certified it year after year.

They introduced a deposit system that even the worst shyster would have been embarrassed to try to foist on people. Again presumably their internal audit people had to approve this as it involved the holding of money belonging to other people and 'accounting' for it in some standard way.

They now apparently are seeking to impose a charge when people dont make enough telephone calls again apparently without notification or provision for such things in terms and conditions.

If it is true as per m8's claim above that they have for some reason passed information to a third party then this is a new departure. Their reps have serially lied to m8.

Who in BT Ireland is responsible for integrity and corporate governance?

Valentia

I know that it's a sad reflection on this glorious nation of ours but the only regulatory authority worth contacting is The Joe Duffy Show. It seems to be the only thing that corporate Ireland responds to.

Sponge Bob

Been a while since Joe covered BT Billing , it must be that time again

also contact the CAI who are old fans of BT

http://www.consumers.ie/contact.html

Stick to teh absolute facts , dates etc , when contacting the CAI, the utterly ****ed nature of the DD system itself and of IPSO is probably worth broaching with them too.

jor el

zefer wrote: »

yep, I do pay by DD.
I actually rang them back yesterday as I had thought about it and decided I wasnt going to wait for 2 months to get my money back.

I was originally told "I dont think they'll allow that" but when I persisted I was put on hold for a minute and then the customer rep came back to say "not a problem, it will be back in your bank account in 10 days or so"

So I await to see the outcome

If that money hasn't come out yet, cancel the direct debit right now (with the bank). Pay the correct amount using Billpay at the post office, but do no reinstate the direct debit until they issue you with a correct bill. There is no reason why they should be taking €170 of your money when you've already informed them of the billing error. This is laziness and ineptitude on their part. I can guarantee you, you will not have that money back in 10 days, and you'll be lucky to see it deducted on your next bill. The only way you'll get BT's attention is by not paying.

dub45 wrote:

Just as an aside has anyone ever wondered about the integrity of BT Ireland.

I would say they have none, or very little at most. I'm currently starting proceedings against their debt collection agency in the UK with the Information Commissioner's Office. When I'm done with them, it's all guns blazing for BT for me. I must put everything I have into a Blog at some stage, but want to get everything sorted first.

dub45

People should be concerned about many aspects of the dd system as we are being propelled increasingly towards electronic billing. Notice the number of businesses no longer accepting cheques.

I wrote to IPSO at the end of April asking what if any requirements in relation to the confidential storage of bank related information on customers there were for companies participating in the dd system.

In particular I pointed out the danger of people signing up over the phone and giving their bank details to god knows who! I also pointed out that there appeared to be no provision for the removal of banking information when a dd was cancelled or a customer moved elsewhere. Needless to say I am still waiting on a reply. However I did send them a reminder by registered post.

I was also appalled to see that you now can verify that an account number is legitimate on the ipso site. Great service for potential thieves and fraudsters!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Sponge Bob

dub45 wrote: »

Great service for potential thieves and fraudsters!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Great service for Transnational potential thieves and fraudsters , do you actually know where your recycling bin contents end up by any chance ?!?????

m8

I know that it's a sad reflection on this glorious nation of ours but the only regulatory authority worth contacting is The Joe Duffy Show. It seems to be the only thing that corporate Ireland responds to.

I have mailed Joe Duffy and maybe anyone else who feels up to it might do the same?

yankinlk

Just saw this thread - didnt realize BT was still causing other people grief.

It's now one year since I canceled my BT service and Im still being billed every 2 months for a service i no longer have.

The funny part is that the reason I canceled was that for 1 full year from the date I started I never got a correct bill. As soon as I canceled they started sending bills like clockwork! It was 6 months before I got my first bill (albeit totally wrong). I thought the service was great - it was just the billing that put me off. They've stopped sending debt collectors, but still sending bills.

I have given up trying to get this sorted - I assume they have little or no power to do anything about my account...it just grows and grows year by year.

dub45

yankinlk wrote: »

Just saw this thread - didnt realize BT was still causing other people grief.

It's now one year since I canceled my BT service and Im still being billed every 2 months for a service i no longer have.

The funny part is that the reason I canceled was that for 1 full year from the date I started I never got a correct bill. As soon as I canceled they started sending bills like clockwork! It was 6 months before I got my first bill (albeit totally wrong). I thought the service was great - it was just the billing that put me off. They've stopped sending debt collectors, but still sending bills.

I have given up trying to get this sorted - I assume they have little or no power to do anything about my account...it just grows and grows year by year.

If I was you I would try and get them to stop. God knows when the debt collectors may turn up again!

m8

yankinlk wrote: »

Just saw this thread - didnt realize BT was still causing other people grief.

It's now one year since I canceled my BT service and Im still being billed every 2 months for a service i no longer have.

The funny part is that the reason I canceled was that for 1 full year from the date I started I never got a correct bill. As soon as I canceled they started sending bills like clockwork! It was 6 months before I got my first bill (albeit totally wrong). I thought the service was great - it was just the billing that put me off. They've stopped sending debt collectors, but still sending bills.

I have given up trying to get this sorted - I assume they have little or no power to do anything about my account...it just grows and grows year by year.

Why not email Joe Duffy like me and don't give up as you could end up with a bad credit rateing from their mistakes.

I think if enough emailed him he just might take it up with them.

m8

Boy oh Boy that mail to Joe Duffy that I CC'd top BT Exec on worked a treat.

BT phoned this morning and are sending a refund by courier to me asap.

I will post back when I get it.

dub45

If it doesn't involve any personal business could you tell us more about this third party that BT gave your personal information to?

dub45

It looks increasingly as if BT have lapsed back to their old ways as regards the billing.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=56351773&postcount=42

m8

After I claimed the Data Protection act to get all they has stored on me I found another Name and address on my acount. They had sent a cheque to this person and I'm sure all my details were in the letter with the cheque.

Now I don't know anything about that person but BT claims the cheque was cashed so not the type of person I would like to have my details.

We all know too well what some people can do with a little info on you.

But BT said they would not refund me until they got the cheque back, so I was to be held resposible for their mistakes.

dub45

m8 wrote: »

After I claimed the Data Protection act to get all they has stored on me I found another Name and address on my acount. They had sent a cheque to this person and I'm sure all my details were in the letter with the cheque.

Now I don't know anything about that person but BT claims the cheque was cashed so not the type of person I would like to have my details.

We all know too well what some people can do with a little info on you.

But BT said they would not refund me until they got the cheque back, so I was to be held resposible for their mistakes.

And did you ask them for an explanation as to how this name appeared on your account? for example why did they choose that name to send the cheque to rather than yourself who after all was the person they are dealing with? the more you think about it the more extraordinary the situation becomes!!! How can a name (especially one based outside the country) be added to an account?

m8

The person was not outside the country.

They would not explain to me how the address got there. They said a person would have to answer the securuty questions to put another address or name on my account and that realy worried me. To think someone else had access to my account details and personal details as well.

All this came from the reps on the phone when I asked them about it. I later spoke to a supe/manager and she said she could see what happened and my money would be refunded without any delay so I gave her my CC details to refunf it to.

10 days later I still have not received the money so I phoned again only to be told I won't get a refund untill they get the cheque back but that's their error not mine so why should I wait another few years to get my money which was taken byt theft I might add from my bank account when my BT account was cancelled.

What they done from start to finish is shocking and should be stamped out. This will only happen when enough people complain to the right people.

dub45

m8 wrote: »

The person was not outside the country.

They would not explain to me how the address got there. They said a person would have to answer the securuty questions to put another address or name on my account and that realy worried me. To think someone else had access to my account details and personal details as well.

All this came from the reps on the phone when I asked them about it. I later spoke to a supe/manager and she said she could see what happened and my money would be refunded without any delay so I gave her my CC details to refunf it to.

10 days later I still have not received the money so I phoned again only to be told I won't get a refund untill they get the cheque back but that's their error not mine so why should I wait another few years to get my money which was taken byt theft I might add from my bank account when my BT account was cancelled.

What they done from start to finish is shocking and should be stamped out. This will only happen when enough people complain to the right people.

Unfortunately at that rate it will never be stamped out - similar has beeing going on for years - people have been complaining for years - BT are quite simply shameless and do not care. Worse still it is impossible to get anyone to do anything abouit them so it will go on and on and on..............

m8

There is one thing all these big company's are afraid of and is the media. If you can get you say about them on any media you will see how helpful they become because word of mouth is how they get most of their custoomers and when there is a story in the media they always loose and people leave them.

Blindpew

m8 wrote: »

There is one thing all these big company's are afraid of and is the media. If you can get you say about them on any media you will see how helpful they become because word of mouth is how they get most of their custoomers and when there is a story in the media they always loose and people leave them.

There's a woman on Newstalk in the mornings between 9 and 11 that rings up companies and government bodies when people can't get any satisfaction from them. She has had some success in sorting out peoples problems. As you say when they are confronted live on air things get sorted very quick. You should send her an e-mail, Brenda Power is her name.