Talk Talk & admin charge

[Baby boy Jasper]

Last year I was sweet talked at my doorstep into leaving BT & using Talk Talk as my phone providor.
They promised it would be cheaper than BT.
Well frankly not. It worked out that i was paying more to Talk Talk per month than it cost a quarter to BT. (They don't tell this!)
So I deceided to go back to BT.
Now Talk Talk have sent me a letter wanting a final bill of £47.00 paying.
I haven't received a bill & got a call from their debt collection agents saying that it needs paying.
I asked what the original bill was for & was quoted £37.00 so it has gone up by £10.00.
Why? I asked, & was told it is an admin charge & it goes up £5.00 for every bill/invoice sent out & failed direct debit.
Now this happened twice before with them where I had to pay an extra £5.00 for late payment / direct debit failure at the bank.

1. Is this lawful?
2. Can I challange them & not pay the extra 'admin' charge?
3. Basically where do I stand on this?

Please help!

[buzby]

1) Not an appropriate term - is it 'moral'? No.
2) If you specifically agreed to these charges by way of accepting their T&Cs - and you don;t have to sign anything to do this, they may hold you accepted them. If you dispute this, it may cost them more if you pursue them and they may simply fold - BUT wreck your credit record in the process.
3) For a quiet life, pay up. Challenge their cost claims, (as being good value) and state you do not agree to these punitive fines, so you'll not be paying them. Don't buy anything at the door.

[kamadhenu]

Originally Posted by buzby

1) Not an appropriate term - is it 'moral'? No.
2) If you specifically agreed to these charges by way of accepting their T&Cs - and you don;t have to sign anything to do this, they may hold you accepted them. If you dispute this, it may cost them more if you pursue them and they may simply fold - BUT wreck your credit record in the process.
3) For a quiet life, pay up. Challenge their cost claims, (as being good value) and state you do not agree to these punitive fines, so you'll not be paying them. Don't buy anything at the door.

Do not pay them! Challenge them and sue them for damages. I am a 68-year-old retiree and have twice survived a heart attack and am now in the process of sueing them for damages. They are perhaps the worst phone bucket shop and try to intimidate their customers instead of rewarding them for migrating from BT. If everybody acquiesces in the interest of a quiet life, that's all these sharks trying to get rich quick want.

[kamadhenu]

That's precisely what they do - poach BT customers by false promises, trap them to a long term contract and milk them as if they were the mythical cow.The whole thing is a scam and can be challenged. I think the contract law says that a contract is invalid if it was obtained by falsehood and misrepresentation.

[buzby]

Originally Posted by kamadhenu

Do not pay them! Challenge them and sue them for damages. I am a 68-year-old retiree and have twice survived a heart attack and am now in the process of sueing them for damages. They are perhaps the worst phone bucket shop and try to intimidate their customers instead of rewarding them for migrating from BT. If everybody acquiesces in the interest of a quiet life, that's all these sharks trying to get rich quick want.

I'm afraid you activated a VERY old thread (9 months old in fact). However 'suing them for damages' isn;t something you can do in the small claims track - so I'm unsure why you are taking such a risk at your own behest.

[kamadhenu]

See www.moneyclaimonline.gov.uk furnished by the Government with the laudable intention of making the law more accessible to ordinary citizens.

[kamadhenu]

We are not exactly living in a mafia dominated country! English courts are very very fair; I do not know why people are so reluctant to take sharks like mTalkTalk to court!