BT Billing Errors - Cancel Direct Debit?

sapper

I've been with BT for about a year now and while I am happy with the product they provide me (line rental and 3MB broadband), they seem to have a billing department run by trained monkeys.

Their billing is pretty much haphazard anyway with a "ah sure, it'll work out in the end" approach - I have rarely gotten the same monthly charge twice for one reason or another.

Every month I get my bill I have to call them up, wait for hours on the phone, and when I finally get through they go off the line for 5 minutes, come back and say, "yes, we've made an error and we'll give you a credit on your next bill"

This means that even though they have discovered an error before they have taken the money from my account, they still take the money anyway and give it back two months later.

This month my bill has a mistake to the tune of EUR175 - it should be EUR113 but I'm getting charged EUR287 - probably caused by the fact that I moved house recently.

Why the f&%k should I pay over EUR175 to them a week after Christmas becuase of a mistake they made?

Is it possible to cancel my direct debit and just pay them every month? That way I could only pay them over the correct amount each month and leave the overcharges sitting in "amounts owed" until they are cleared two months later...

Sponge Bob

sapper wrote:

I've been with BT for about a year now and while I am happy with the product they provide me (line rental and 3MB broadband), they seem to have a billing department run by trained monkeys.

Not very well trained monkeys at that

Their billing is pretty much haphazard anyway with a "ah sure, it'll work out in the end" approach - I have rarely gotten the same monthly charge twice for one reason or another.

we know that soooooo well around here.

Every month I get my bill I have to call them up, wait for hours on the phone, and when I finally get through they go off the line for 5 minutes, come back and say, "yes, we've made an error and we'll give you a credit on your next bill"

sounds typical of their front line. Have you escalated your complaint to their escalations team instead of telling us all this.

complaints@btireland.ie

normally you get a response within 24 hours and something is done within a few days. If they FAIL to respond in 24 hours tell us.

Why the f&%k should I pay over EUR175 to them a week after Christmas becuase of a mistake they made?

because they have a direct debit that you gave them so they can if they want

Is it possible to cancel my direct debit and just pay them every month? That way I could only pay them over the correct amount each month and leave the overcharges sitting in "amounts owed" until they are cleared two months later...

absolutely, you must write to the Customer Care Manager, BT Ireland , (registered post NOW!) and to your bank branch , make sure the DD is killed stone dead in the bank as well.

register with billpay.ie right now (tales a few days) and pay them monthly or bimonthly through billpay.ie by manual dd as it were. Lots of BT customers have had to do this owing to advanced muppettry.

sapper

Thanks Sponge Bob - I'm on it. You wouldn't happen to know what "account number" I give to Billpay.ie? I'm trying to input my alphanumeric "customer number" but it won't accept it....

Sponge Bob

you must register as a new customer and give them your normal bank and sort code details

billpay send a password and pin by post or as a reminder within a few days , unlike many sites you have 3 things to remember but the money comes out of your normal bank account when you pay something

sapper

Ta - just got my callback from the billing guy in BT. In fairness to him he did advise me to cancel my direct debit asap so that I didn't pay the overcharge....He says I don't need to write them, just pay them the correct amount over the phone with the credit card....

Sponge Bob

don't do it :eek:

they will dd off your credit card then.

use billpay from now on and contact complaints for a long term fix to the problem .

if they send you 3 correct bills on the trot you can maybe risk a dd again.

surveys

Sponge Bob wrote:

don't do it :eek:

they will dd off your credit card then.

use billpay from now on and contact complaints for a long term fix to the problem .

if they send you 3 correct bills on the trot you can maybe risk a dd again.

A long term fix ? Impossible. A long term 'co**up' maybe. !
And don't EVER sign again for a DD, even if you get 3 years of correct bills. !

Richard Dower

CANCEL that DD, ask to speak with Sharon Norton, she's the head chick at customer complaints. Explain your situation, go into your bank and sign the form cancelling the DD.

Then setup internet banking and add BT to your bill pay option, then query your bill and go through all the figures, don't accept what BT say you owe.

Then send what you know you owe to BT and tell them that from now on you'll only pay them manually and what you know you owe, not what they say you do.

I was overbilled for a year, promising credits on my next bill crap...the problem was from bill to bill the errors accumulate as does the credits due.

As such you need to have online BT billing and check every single bill, do your own math and then bounce your figures to Sharon Norton until both parties agree.

Richard Dower

surveys wrote:

A long term fix ? Impossible. A long term 'co**up' maybe. !
And don't EVER sign again for a DD, even if you get 3 years of correct bills. !

Agree!...i can't understand why DD is nesscary anyways, i mean bill pay is just as easy. If BT have screwed up their figures they have permission to take ANY amount from your account.

It's like open season to them, they could take every penny and you could do nothing about it...and trying to get it back? LOL!

First off they won't lodge back to your account, they'll only send you a cheque...a year later.

It would all work fine if their billing Dept. worked, but they suck...thus customers are forced to protect themselves from overbilling.

If they threaten to cut you off, tell 'em go ahead...Eircon would welcome my money.

Krusty_Clown

Hi Sapper, I could've written your first post, word for word, as it exactly mirrors my own experience with BT. Ten months on, and I still need to get my bill adjusted every 2 months. They seem to have a big issue with billing and the combined Broadband/Line rental options.

dub45

Krusty_Clown wrote:

Hi Sapper, I could've written your first post, word for word, as it exactly mirrors my own experience with BT. Ten months on, and I still need to get my bill adjusted every 2 months.
They seem to have a big issue with billing and the combined Broadband/Line rental options.

Now that's news to us all! Imagine a big multinational that cannot run a billing department?:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: