Issue with BT

Phat Cat

I cancelled my BT account by post back at the start of December 09 because they were no longer providing a broadband service (Vodafone took over there service) to move to Vodafone directly to get a cheaper package. I also cancelled my direct debt the day before it was due to come out of my account (useally the 14th of the month) because they would have taken money for two months in advance.

I never heard anything from them, but since it was nearly Christmas I thought their response wouldn't arrive until the New Year (post being slow and all) and I was going away so hoped it would be sorted.

Anyway, I got back from my holiday on the 4th of January and noticed that I had been disconnected from my BT line, great, they got my letter and cancelled my account...........I foolishly thought! Then I received a letter on January the 11th claiming that I owe BT €134 for 2 months of there service (14th of December 09 until 14th of February 10). They also said I had 7 days to pay them or the service would be cut off.........even though it seems I had been cut off since the end of December.

On the letter they provided an email address and phone number to contact them so I sent an email explaining everything and tried to call numerous times but kept being bounced around departments and being put on hold for long periods......when I did get to talk to someone they said they would call me back but never did.

In the mean time my Vodafone account had been setup.

This morning I received a final demand letter from BT saying that if I don't pay them €134 then they will hand over my bill to a debt collection agency!!!

I tried to call but same crap.........so I wrote a letter saying that I will not pay for a service that I has NOT been provided and CANNOT be provided by BT as Vodafone now provide BT's old service.

Can they legally claim money off me for not paying for a service that they didn't provide and don't provide anymore???

dudara

What was the required period of cancellation .i.e. was it 30 days from Dec 9th?

freelancerTax

i dont think it matters what the notice period is, if they are not providing a service they cannot charge the op. typical bt.

Cabaal

freelancerTax wrote: »

i dont think it matters what the notice period is, if they are not providing a service they cannot charge the op. typical bt.

It may matter,
The OP said he wasn't getting a service but doesn't state if this was due to a line fault, if it was due to the likes of a line fault they did the OP give BT a chance to attempt to resiolve the issue?

If he didn't and simple asked BT to cancel the account then any 30 day period that applied would certainly matter.

Also charges would depend on when the customers billing date is, so say if the billing date is the 9th of each month and he went to Vodafone on the 14th then obviously he would have been charged on the 9th December and 9th January

Don't just assume that BT are in the wrong,

OP can you post more specific details?

Phat Cat

Sorry, I didn't cancel on December the 9th (I put December 09 as in 2009), it was more like the 2nd of December that I cancelled. As far as I am aware the cancellation period with BT is 14 days and it needs to be in writing.........but that's not my point.

But my whole point is that surely my contract with BT is null and void because they no long provide the service that was agreed on the contract and have sold this section of their operations to a competitor company.

So I basically wavered my rights and cut all ties with BT and moved straight to Vodafone for a similar but cheaper package.

Also, to answer your question Cabaal, my line had been fine for 6 months and my next door neighbour who is also a BT customer (or former customer, now that Vodafone took over) and his line was fine even mine went down so I was obviously cut off. It was actually down for nearly 3 weeks in January until Vodafone switched it back on to provide me with their package.

So do you think it is fair to be charged for a service that was never provided from a company who no longer provide that said service even though I tried to contact them in advance (and sent follow up emails/calls) yet was completely ignored?

I think it's complete B$ and I do not appreciate getting threatening letters from them either!

whiterebel

Took me months to get my money back off them after I had cancelled correctly, but yet they billed me for another 6 months. Bloody terrible company

Phat Cat

Okay so I received another bill from BT this morning for €137........what the hell are they playing at???? :mad:

BT don't even provide a fixed broadband service anymore yet they are sending me bills even though I cancelled from their old service back in December and my phone line was disconnected at the end of December!

They are taking the pi$$ here!

Raekwon

If BT sold their operation to another company and no longer provide the service that you signed up for then surely your contract with them is null and void and you can waver the right to cancel this contract as it was breached by the company?

I was going to suggest bringing this to the attention of consumer rights but in my personal experience they are about as useful as tits on a bull and will most likely stick up for the company and lecture you on contract law :rolleyes:

Best of luck anyway, I hear BT have a reputation of being very difficult to deal with.

antoinolachtnai

BT are almost certainly within their rights to assign their rights under their contract with you to Vodafone. BT wrote to everyone and told them that their service would continue.

I think that Vodafone will sort this all out for you and credit you for what you're due if you explain the whole thing to them.

babo9

Any ex BT customer who was transferred to Vodafone remains on the BT contract and under the BT terms and services.
Vodafones minimum notice to cancel is 30 days BUT BT's is 14, so unless you signed a new contract the minimum written notice you must provide is 14 days.

See clause 8.3 in the following http://www.btireland.ie/home/terms.shtml

You should contact COMREG, they should be able to sort it out for you, at the very least they are aware of the situation so if it escalates you can refer to you contacting them.

jor el

Having been through this with BT myself, you can pretty safely ignore their bill and threats, but you should pay what you owe, if you owe anything. Since their notification period is 14 days, and assuming you canceled on the 1st of Dec, then you wouldn't have owed anything on the 14th.

If this is the case, put it all in writing and send it to BT, by registered post, and addressed for attention of the CEO (I think it's still Chris Clark). Tell him you gave the required notice, you paid for that notice period, and you owe them no more. Tell them if they make any move to pass your information off to a 3rd party (they did with me) that you'll report it as a data protection issue (which I did).

They will back down, as they haven't a leg to stand on. This is all contingent on you not actually owing them any money. Check and make sure you don't.

Phat Cat

Thanks for the reply guys!

I think I will take your advise and contact COMREG then send a registered letter to BT outlining my situation and the points that were made in the last post by jor el.

My main gripe is being totally ignored by BT. I sent a cancellation letter (not registered unfortunately) to their accounts department, emailed them & even phoned them yet they have brushed that aside and sent me two bills and a threatening letter over a service that they didn't provide.

On the issue of me owing them money, the bill that the initially sent me was for December 14th until February 14th and the service was not used from after December 14th but from January the 4th it was definitely disconnected. So if push comes to shove they can bill me from December 14th until whenever they cut off my connection to their service (as I said above I noticed being disconnected on the 4th of January) which would be one quarter of a bill which would amount to approximately €34.

I have a feeling that they are going to be really stubborn about this

amtc

ComReg will not entertain a contract issue

antoinolachtnai

Why don't you try to get this sorted out from the vodafone side? BT's accounts division is about to get shut down and a bunch of people will probably be made redundant. They are never going to be the most helpful people in the world.

On the other side, it is no big deal for vodafone to give you some credit, or whatever, to sort this out.

RangeR

Phat Cat wrote: »

I have a feeling that they are going to be really stubborn about this

* Formal letter of complaint sent by registered post to BT, giving them 10 business days [2 weeks to you and me] to respond.
* If still no suitable response, you can try the ComReg rout or
* Go through the small claims court route. Can be done online and only costs €15.

Keep a not of all correspondence.

Greyfox

Phat Cat wrote: »

I cancelled my BT account by post back at the start of December 09 because they were no longer providing a broadband service (Vodafone took over there service) to move to Vodafone directly to get a cheaper package. I also cancelled my direct debt the day before it was due to come out of my account (useally the 14th of the month) because they would have taken money for two months in advance.

The contract would not be void, if you cancelled befor you were due to move to Vodaphone then you were still under contract with BT who were still providing you with a service and this contract would definitely mean a cancellation period. The only way to avoid a cancellation period is to move providers and let the new provider cancel with the old provider for you.

Phat Cat

I got home from work early today and was greeted by a letter from Stubbs Gazette saying they are acting on behalf of BT and I have 60 days to pay my debt or they will pursue legal proceedings and will publish my name in their publication as a bad debtor.

I called BT and they told me once an account has been passed onto a debt collection agency then there is nothing they can do and it cannot be called back. I told her that I am with Vodafone now and have cancelled my BT account 3 months ago but she insisted that it is out of their hands now. I asked her why my calls, emails & letters were not responded too and she said she would check the records and call me back.

I've already sent a registered letter to BT last week but I haven't got a response yet, I haven't gone down the ComReg route but I think it has got to the stage where I think I'll have to.

RangeR

Phat Cat wrote: »

I've already sent a registered letter to BT last week but I haven't got a response yet, I haven't gone down the ComReg route but I think it has got to the stage where I think I'll have to.

Ok, this is THE main reason you sent the letter by registered post. Call An Post and ask them who signed for the letter and when [date and time]. Remember, Give BT 10 working days [2 weeks] from date of receipt.

Next step, get ready to go to Comreg or SCC. Don't put it off too long.

josh59

Phat Cat wrote: »

I got home from work early today and was greeted by a letter from Stubbs Gazette saying they are acting on behalf of BT and I have 60 days to pay my debt or they will pursue legal proceedings and will publish my name in their publication as a bad debtor.

I called BT and they told me once an account has been passed onto a debt collection agency then there is nothing they can do and it cannot be called back. I told her that I am with Vodafone now and have cancelled my BT account 3 months ago but she insisted that it is out of their hands now. I asked her why my calls, emails & letters were not responded too and she said she would check the records and call me back.

I've already sent a registered letter to BT last week but I haven't got a response yet, I haven't gone down the ComReg route but I think it has got to the stage where I think I'll have to.

The collection agency who wrote to you have been using the threat of publication for years - note they cannot publish your name in Stubbs Gazette unless they take you to court and get a judgement against you which is then registered.

Hope you sort out your problems with BT - got rid of them before Christmas - left me without any broadband and after they had sent a git from Eircom to try and sort the problem the land-line went as well :mad: