Do I have grounds to open a small claims - Hutchuinson 3G

[partyboy]

I have a DCA asking me for money I dont owe, I'll try and keep it short...

Had a contract phone with Hutchinson 3G, and after my 12 month contract period expired, I wrote to cancel my contract in June last year.

Got billed for July and August, didnt pay, sent another letter in August stating when I canceled and including a copy of the orig letter.

Then got billed for September. Spoke to customer services. They said theres nothing they can do, I am responsible that they didnt get the letter (!) they dont care, I cant speak to anyone else, cant speak to a manager.,

So sent another letter saying I dont feel respoinsible for your mistakes etc and they ignored it.

Then I got letters from a DCA, explained the situation to them, they put it on hold for ages. Snet another letter to 3 asking them to call me to resolve and they didnt. Didnt hear anything else for a while, now the DCA have passed it onto their solictors and said if I dont pay this week I will get a CCJ - they have already put a default on my record which I need to get removed, I will write to Experian after ive dealt with 3.

Do I pay the £90 to stop my credit record being damaged any more then open a small claims against 3G? Will I stand a chance of winning? All I have to go by is my letters which I stupidly didnt send recorded delivery....

Many Thankks for your help

[buzby]

This is better dealt with in the Mobile Phones forum, I'll try and get it shifted. In answer to your queestion;

Giving notice of ending your contract is important, and you should have sent this by Recorded Delivery to ensure they did not forget to terminate your service. Clearly you would have known service was still being provided because your phone was still working, so that should have alerted you that things were not right. Also a call to CS to see if they had noted your request to cancel would have similarly alerted you both. Ignoring the bills was not the answer, as you found out.

Still, the matter IS still saveable, send the letter again THIS time by 1st Class Recorded. Include a covering letter saying that you note service is still being provided despite you giving 30 days notice on XX/XX/XX. Ask them to terminate your service immediately and credit your account with the line rental billed in error. Explain that it is easy to prove you terminated the contracts as in addition to your earlier letter, there has been no usage of the phone. Further, you require them to call off the DCA and remove any adverse credit data.

Sit back, and await their response. You do not NEED to send cancellation notices by RD, but it makes it simpler. Do not deal with the DCA, let 3UK do this.

[MARTIN3030]

Thread moved.
Thanks Raymond

[partyboy]

Thanks for your reply buzby

The service was terminated after I requested for the 3rd time

I didnt ignore the bills... I was on holiday when I recieved the first bill, soon as I realised I sent another letter, which was about the same time the second bill was recieved.

I was not using the phone since before I cancelled, so I would not have known if it was still active.... as you said it hasnt been used since.

Shall I send the DCAs solicitors a letter saying it is in dispute with 3 still?

I have already done what you have advised in November and recieved no response form 3, and more calls from the DCA

Many Thanks

[buzby]

It's not uncommon for mistakes like these to continue to snowball. If you have sent a copy of your termination letter by RD, and have checked to confirm it has been signed for by them, all you need do is again write to the Glasgow office, with a covering letter noting that you hold proof that your termination notice has been received by the company (send a copy of the online receipt). Give notice that unless this matter is dealt with to your satisfaction within 28 days, you will take court action to protect your interests. Add that this can be avoided if they credit your account for the months overbilled, and reinstate your credit record. They must also call off their DCA. Failure to receive a positive response will result in your raising an action for the amount billed and costs in ensuring your credit record is unblemished.

Send a copy of this to the DCA Solicitors, stating that this information is being provided as a courtesy only, and you will not be entering into further correspondence with them on the matter, they need ro note the account is disputed and refer it back to their clients.

[partyboy]

Thanks for your time, much appreciated, thats been a great help!

[buzby]

Anytime!

[partyboy]

Just re-read your post... I did not send the original cancellation RD

Will the fact the phone has not been used at all, and also the copies I have of orginal letters be enough for me to win the dispute?

Or do you think 3G will credit my account etc instead of defending their case due to the amount of time/costs they will incur?

Many Thanks

[buzby]

There's no requirement for you to give notice of cancellation by RD, just in writing. (However it leaves the situation you're now in open to dispute). Send at least ONE of the copy letters by RD so they cannot say they never received this, and as noted earlier, in you covering letter explain here is another copy of the cancellation letter, and a look at your billing will prove you ceased to use the handset on the due date.

As to what they'll do - it is hard to say, but I think they'll credit the account and close it. Just make sure any adverse data is removed at the same time, it happens automatically and IF there's going to be an issue, it's best solved then.

[partyboy]

Buzby, Just sent a letter as you said to 3 re court action if my account is not amended, and a copy to the DCA.

I recieved a call today from 3 saying the same rubbish, that they didnt recieve the orig letter and I owe them the balance.

After getting someone to break down everything, turns out I genuinely owe them approx £40 for line rental and calls up until when I sent the original cancellation letter, inclusive of my 4 week notice period.

The only reason I havent paid is because they are requesting a total of £96 (£40 that I actually owe + two months line rental) but have agreed to knock it down to £65

I spoke to a team leader and said I will pay the £40 I believe I owe, or even the whole £65 to end it if they can amend my credit record, he said if I pay he can request that but cant guarantee they will, so I told him I will write to them again.

Should I write a letter to their credit or legal dept, sending RD, with a cover letter, and a cheque, offering £40 (or even £65) in settlement of the account ONLY if they amend my credit record?

If they refuse how do I go about legal action to get the account settled?

I am assuming I should write to Experian to amend my record once I have settled with 3, including copies of all correspondance?

Thanks in advance

[Mis-sold]

Sending recorded delivery to 3 does not work, something to do with bulk mail etc. I have sent three letters recorded delivery to 3 and when trying to trace them on the track and trace (royal mail) I get told to come back later.

I did eventually get somewhere by sending the letter by E-mail and giving them 7 days to respond.

[buzby]

I think you'll have to take this in stages. As you admit, you've not paid them what is owed, therefore they were not in error to flag the deficiency on your creidt record.

However, your notice of termination mysteriously has vanished, along with many others who find it difficult to do the same, this points to a failing more on their part than on yours, and since you were expecting a Final Bill to pay against (which ytou didn't get), it would be unfair of them to penalise you for this.

They've explained the money, and you agree they are owed £40. Pay this immediately as a gesture of goodwill and in full and final settlement. And you look forward to thier closing the account as originally requested, and removing any adverse credit data that has been erroneously been placed on your file.

This puts you in a good position to push for the slate to be cleaned if they do not do it themselves. As for writing to Experian, they do not get involved and there is little to be gained from contacting them at any stage, as they will only remove when their client (3UK) updates your file themselves.

[partyboy]

Many Thanks for your replies,

So in effect if 3UK dont dort put my credit record straight then Im stuffed and have to live with the default?

[buzby]

Sadly yes, fut it's only their 'default', not a CCJ or anything serious. However, if you've plaid it fair, and they appear to be acting unfiarly by keeping the default of your file, you can use the Small Claims procedure to compell them to remove it. Take it a step at a time though, as it may be resolved without too much hassle.