TELEWEST £10 late payment charge**WON**Now round 2- V.Media

[MARTIN3030]

Anyone any experience of claiming/planning to claim for this ?

They automatically add this monthly charge to non dd customers who pay late.

In addition they now charge a 4.00 non direct debit admin fee to monthly bills.

Potentially therefore could cost you 14.00 per month !!

Thoughts please.

[Bookworm]

My thoughts are that it doesn't cost them £10 when you're late paying. Especially considering they charge you £4 for not paying by d/d, which seems to me already covers their costs in case you don't pay exactly on time.

If they can't/won't supply a breakdown of their costs, it seems to me it would be reclaimable.

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[MARTIN3030]

Well I am going to try and find out.
I will send them a Data Protection Act request and ask them for that information.
I am prepared to forfeit a tenner if they can show me its reasonable/accountable.
If they cannot then I may be gaining a tenner...............or several to be correct !!!

I Have seen on another site that someone is challenging the same points with BT.

Will of course keep everyone informed here of any results.

[Mumofthreeboys]

What a great idea Martin3030. I too am having trouble with Telewest.

We've had a broadband problem for a long time (i've posted it in my own thread) and have constantly asked them to rectify the problem. Anyway, they couldn't, so we are now with BT.

But our final bill came in from Telewst for £137 and after reading many threads on these forums I felt brave and decided to write to them quoting the Sale of Goods Act. That it should be of satisfactory quality (it never was), fit for purpose (broadband is meant to be constant, we were always off line), as described (it clearly wasn't).

I gave them the option of offering me a suitable settlement figure for this bill (put the ball back in their court) or I would go back through every single bill I received from them and work out how much we've been charged for a service we never received and include all charges and bill them.

Got a letter Saturday morning from some load of debt collectors!!!!! Not even so much as a letter back from Telewest - straight to DCA's!!!

[MARTIN3030]

Go get em Mum.

My Data Protection Act went off today to Telewest.
Been looking at regulatory bodies for telecoms it ised to be oftel but now its ofcom.

Wasnt really impressed at reading their site .....dont look as good as Energy watch !!

All the same..............forward we go.

Not seen any one yet claiming off these so will be interesting.
Do know of claims going in for penalty charges with Bt tho............if they are successful then i dont see why telewest cant be accountable too.

Will keep you informed

PS good luck with your other claims too..................

[Mumofthreeboys]

Thanks for your reply.

Do you think I should approach it as two separate matters then?

One for the final bill settlement and another for the late charges applied, send the Data Protection Act so that at least I've given them the chance to explain their charges?

Or maybe I should do what I threatened to do in my letter and hit them with a lump sum (now I'm thinking out loud)!!

I know I don't have to deal with the DCA's, so they can just do one ...........

This site gets better and better at ways to claim back your money - I love it!!!

Good luck and keep us posted xx

[MARTIN3030]

Mum I am not too clear as to whats the best course for you,I am claiming for the penalty 10.00 late charges so mines pretty straightforward.

I am sure you have a case for both your complaints but unsure as to which legislation you need to use.

This is an area one of the mods here maybe can answer more clearly.

Over to Dave,Bankfodder or Bookworm ..............??

[Bookworm]

I feel they're 2 different things, and it probably is a good idea to keep them separate so as not to confuse the issues.

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[Mumofthreeboys]

Thank you Bookworm, I think you're right (as usual)!!!

[Mumofthreeboys]

Incidentally, what if the Data Protection Act information is incorrect - does this mean it would get thrown out if it ended up in court?

[sam1]

Dear Martin3030,

The £10.00 late payment levied by Telewest is a penalty charge and is legally unenforceable. I am absolutely certain that they will not/cannot provide you with a breakdown of what the charge includes.This is unfair and unlawful and is not representative of the costs incurred by Telewest because your payment was late.There is even a question mark over the validity of the charge applied to non dd customers. You should claim compensation from them also, as they have been "unjustly enriched" by taking money from you that they were legally not entitled to! They would soon dispense with these charges if everyone who had had them applied to their account, claimed compensation from them as well as the original charge! That would put a sizeable dent in their profits!

I hope this is helpful, let me know if I can help you further.

Kind regards,

Samantha.

[sam1]

Dear Mumofthreeboys,

From what you have said, you did not receive the service/product they agreed to provide you with. They are therefore in breach of contract. You absolutely MUST go through all of your statements and work out the total you have paid to the company. They have to pay you compensation for their failure to provide the service you contracted for. A further aggravating factor in your favour is their rush to call in the heavies! So you are claiming back the monies you have paid to date, compensation for the breach and any harassment you suffer from the DCA, as they have been instructed on a false basis.

Incidentally, if they have put information on your account as a result of the problems you have had with them, stating you are a bad payer, for example or something else equally derogatory, you may have a further claim against them. The info they keep on you must be factually correct. If it isn't and there are comments on your account that have besmerched your character or they have reported inaccurate facts to a credit reference agency, you can report the matter to the Information Commissioner stating a breach of the Data Protection Act 1988.

I think I have addressed all the issues you have raised. If I've forgotten anything let me know and I'll do my best to help.

Best wishes,

Sam.

[MARTIN3030]

Yes Sam you are correct in what you say and the charges are CLEARLY unfair penalties.

On the odd occassion I have challenged them on the phone as to the validity of the late payment charge and on at least 2 of them have been refunded with it.
It seems if you challenge it they do refund.
Another thing they will say is that the late charge will be waived if you sign up to their dd scheme.
Quite clearly they are discriminating against customers who pay by DD and those who dont.
The 4.00 non dd admin charge is something I am expecting them to challenge this is a much lower penalty than any of the others so my guess is they have set this low in the knowledge that it may be challenged in a court.

[Mumofthreeboys]

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