T mobile chasing old debt

[queeniebuttercup]

Hi

My dad had a t mobile contract (think it was one2one aty the time) back around 1994. He cancelled the contract in 1998 and never recieved any more bills. 1995 (Stupidly he doesnt check bank statements and realised a dd had been going out to them for the past 7 years). He called them explained he had cancelled, they said no you didnt. The phone had never been used in this time which they confirmed but refused to do anything. He thought that was the end of it but has just recieved a debt collector letter stationg he owes £90. What can we do?

[Conniff]

He could send an S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) request (£10) and get back everything they hold on him and also threaten a teaparty with a judge.

Ignore the dca, this has nothing to do with them, it's between T and your father.

[queeniebuttercup]

Thanks for the reply, T mobile are stating he owes the money and will not back down, would it be to late to take them to court and reclaim the money that he paid?

[Conniff]

It's never too late. That is why you need to send them an S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) first to get everything on paper.

1. Data Protection Act, Subject Access Request letter - List of charges

Change any references to banks and banking to suit your circumstances.

[buzby]

What confuses me is if he's been paying out for 7 years and not using the handset - how come he's being chased for money now?

[queeniebuttercup]

Hi

In 2005 he realised it was still coming out of his account, he contacted t mobile and they say he never cancelled, they confirmed that there were no call made or recieved in the last 7 years but would not refund. They then said the account had been cancelled but never sent anything in writing, hence debt collectors now contacting him. Also He never recieved a bill in that 7 years as he moved into a new house but I still live here but never recieved anything, any more advice or comments are appreciated.

[buzby]

In a situation like this it is imperative to get things on a formal footing (in writing!) rather than simply speaking to call centres. There is no real argument to get T-Mobile to repay for the period he wasn't using the service - he bears the responsibility for not cancelling the contract, and as you have seen Direct Debit and its pointless 'guarantee' mean a lot of corners can be cut, as the responsibility for the accuracy of the payments taken lie with the customer.

That said, we've still not got to the bottom of this problem, as if he never made calls or took an upgrade on the handset, there is no minimum contract period left to serve, so if T-Mobile took action to cancel the account, there still couldn't be a a charge added to the account UNLESS they cancelled the DDM immediately and the outstanding amount accrued for the 30-day notice period. I would have expected this to be waived in view of the earlier call record, so you need to get T-Mobile to explain what the charges are.

As for the Debt Collectors, just tell them the account is in dispute and you'll not be dealing with them. (Why deal with the monkey when you can speak to the organ grinder!).

[queeniebuttercup]

Hi

As far as my dad was concerned the account was cancelled in 1998, as he never recieved another bill we thought all was fine. When contacting them they refused to offer any money back and they said there was not bills sent out as no calls had been made. I will follow your advice and write to them and see what this money is for, If they are not willing to write this £90 off would it be worth takling them to court to try and recover some of the money that was paid or is it too long ago.

[buzby]

No - it's not that it is too long ago, just that if your dad cannot prove he terminated, then the amounts taken would be due (on the basis that only after he cancelled would he have the right to recover money taken AFTER the contract was terminated). You might be lucky and get some refund, so don't be stroppy - thry might just be a little sympathetic.

[locutus]

Another little point here is that the direct debit guarantee states that a company must inform you a minimum of 10 days before taking an amount from a bank account, they seem to have failed in doing this.

[buzby]

Unfortunatley this bit of 'protection' is just a bit of fluff - if they say they DID advice of the debit to their last known address, proving a negative is very difficult. Also there will be a limit on how far back a claim using this would be entertained, certainly not more than 6 month, as the customer would be expected to notice and complain in a timeous manner

[locutus]

Fair point, I still worth mentioning it in correspondance to T Mobile as leverage. I think the main aim by QBC is to get the account removed and not have to pay any more... I agree the "bit of 'protection' is just a bit of fluff " but the peon at T Mobile that deals with this may not know this