Bulldog/Pipex cancellation help required pls.

[louishoward]

Hi,

 

We were a customer of Bulldog/Pipex for just over a year until it all went wrong.

The broadband failed to work for weeks at a time and after three long months of trying to get them to fix it we decided to cancel and go elsewhere. However these things are never as simple as they should be and we've now been told on two different occasions that our cancellation has failed and that we're still a paying customer. They have no record of our phone calls or notes on the system.

 

We have phone records for the second cancellation as we were with our new provider but as we were still customers when we cancelled the first time we have no evidence that these calls took place on a specific date.

 

My question is, can I demand that they send me phone records for the past six months in the post and that I can have them sent within a reasonable time frame? (10 working days)

 

If I can, what would be the basis for this request. Are there any specific UK laws that say I'm entitled to this personal information.

 

I think I can ask for this but I'm not sure so would appriciate any help.

 

Many Thanks

 

Louis

[BankFodder]

Yes you are entitled to disclosure of personal data but they have 40 days to respond. Read up on this forum about data protection and SAR s

[louishoward]

Hi, thanks for the quick response. I will ask for this information and within 40 days

[louishoward]

Hello again,

 

I've just had a phone call from Pipex (8.20am) informing me I have to pay £10 to obtain copys of my bills. Is it correct that I have to pay to get something that I've already paid for within my line and broadband rental?

 

It was a very unusual phone call as they have never contacted me by phone before even when I've requested a call by email. The first thing the person said was that they are recording the call and was it ok for them to do this. Also bear in mind that I only sent the email last night at 10.30pm and it usually takes 48 hours for Pipex to respond.

 

Many Thanks

[locutus]

£10 is the maximum that they can charge for a subject access request. Some companies do it for free. I'd be sending a postal order / cheque off with a letter saying that you feel it's disgusting that they charge this.

 

Also tell them the reason you request this information, ask them to resolve all your issues (tell them what you want the desired outcome to be) or send you a DEADLOCK letter so you can escalate the complaint.

 

Be clear with what is wrong at the moment, what you require for it to be resolved satisfactorily and if not you Require a DEADLOCK letter to escalate the complaint to CISAS. Ask for a response within 10 working days.

[louishoward]

£10 is the maximum that they can charge for a subject access request. Some companies do it for free. I'd be sending a postal order / cheque off with a letter saying that you feel it's disgusting that they charge this.

 

Also tell them the reason you request this information, ask them to resolve all your issues (tell them what you want the desired outcome to be) or send you a DEADLOCK letter so you can escalate the complaint.

 

Be clear with what is wrong at the moment, what you require for it to be resolved satisfactorily and if not you Require a DEADLOCK letter to escalate the complaint to CISAS. Ask for a response within 10 working days.

 

Hi, thanks for the response. We have just sent them an email basically telling them what you said above. We will also be sending them a written letter as well.

 

The whole situation has gotten out of hand now, all we wanted to do was cancel our account, pay what we may owe them and move on.

 

They have recieved all our proof this morning via Recorded Delivery. However they will not be informing us of the out come until at least the 03 September 2009 and that we also have to send them an email requesting said update.

 

Considering they owe us £46 which has been credited to our account and the amount in dispute is £38 it seems totally pointless. Why can't they just cancel and send us the difference.

 

The more I think about this the more angry I get.... I'm going to have to go for a walk to calm down.

 

Many Thanks for all your help.

[louishoward]

Ok, so I've just had a reply from the email that I sent this morning. You have to understand that these emails have been going back and forth for the last few days.

 

What I sent this morning.

 

Hi,

 

You should now have all the proof needed to see that our new phone service started on the 08 July 2009 and the new broadband service went live on the 16 July 2009. You will also see that the request for a new phone service was initiated on the 02 July 2009, the same time we cancelled with Pipex which we have said all along.

 

If you goto the website address I have provided below and enter Tracking number BR677958537GB you can verify for yourself that a letter was sent as promised and that you have received it today.

 

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/personal?pageId=tab_track_rm&catId=500185&mediaId=83900761

 

I might also point out that Pipex representative Martin Hynes has also sent us an email supporting our claim.

 

Quotes from his email:

 

"Your account is currently in the process of cancellation; due to a system error the account remained active."

 

"A customer can cancel there account by contacting our Cancellations Department 0871 222 6367, unfortunately, a system error occurred when cancelling your account."

 

As you can see he quite clearly admits not once but twice it was a system error on your part.

 

I hope you can resolve this issue asap and that we can receive a letter in the post to confirm our cancellation and an email as an intermediate response.

 

We haven't decided if we want to spend another £10 requesting old billing information at the moment but I have been informed that this is the maximum amount that you can charge and that it is highly inappropriate to charge this amount as most reputable companies would do this for free.

 

If this matter isn't resolved within the next 10 working days we will be requesting a DEADLOCK letter so we can escalate this to CISAS.

 

Regards

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

And here's the reply that I recieved a moment ago.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Thank you for your email, the contents of which have been noted.

 

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

 

In accordance with Data Protection laws, we require three of the following pieces of information to allow us to access your account and advise you on your query:

 

- Your Pipex Account number

 

- Your full name

 

- Your date of birth (please confirm)

 

- Your address

 

- Your postal code

 

- Your contact telephone number

 

- Your method of payment

 

 

If you have any further requests or queries, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Care Department on the number below.

 

Kind regards,

 

Leeane Lim

Pipex Customer Relations

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I'm now sitting at my desk shaking with anger, is it just me but are they really this stupid?

 

They have all the details for the account, they can even scroll down and read the details for themselves from previous emails.

 

We have been corresponding with Pipex for over five months now (including the faulty BB issue time frame) and this is a typical response. We just go round and round in circles.

 

This is costing myself and my partner allot of personal time to sort out not to mention the cost of phone calls at a premium rate and written letter cost's.

 

I just don't know what to do next. I have replied in big bold letters telling them our personal details for the 100th time....

 

[locutus]

Keep as calm as you can. Hopefully this will all be sorted soon.

[louishoward]

Thought I'd post where we're upto today, a week after my last rant about Bulldog/Pipex.

 

After being promised the account would be cancelled by Thursday 3rd September (yesterday) we recieved another bill today. So I sent them an email and it now appears that the second cancellation has been lost or forgeten about and we now have to start the cancellation process all over again, for the third time.

 

Does anyone know of an address for upper management within Pipex? Other than the PO Box, or even an email address? I feel the need to send a snotty letter.....getting very angry again.....you wont like me when I'm angry

 

Many Thanks

[locutus]

Found this here Legal - Customer Complaints - Code of practice

 

Complaints Procedure

Contact our Customer Care team by calling 0871 222 5550. We will always try to resolve the matter during your first telephone call but if we can't; we will give you an approximate timescale and return your call.

If you're not satisfied with the way we've handled your complaint, please ask to speak to the manager of the customer services team.

If you feel your complaint has not been resolved and you remain unhappy you can ask to speak to our Customer Relations Department who will review your case and provide you with a unique reference number to quote in all your contacts.

 

Although we would prefer to resolve your issue at the earliest opportunity you can also contact us by:

• Emailing us at [email protected]
  
• Writing to us quoting your account number and a summary of the issues you have experienced at the following address:
  Customer Relations
  Pipex Internet Ltd
  4 Falcon Gate
  Shire Park
  Welwyn Garden City
  Hertfordshire
  AL7 1TW
  

 

In your letter, say what you want (ie disconnection from their service), if they have cost you extra money tell them how much, and say you want it compensating ask for a DEADLOCK letter from them if they are unwilling to comply, as you've had enough and you will escalate the complaint to CISAS.

[louishoward]

Found this here Legal - Customer Complaints - Code of practice

 

 

 

In your letter, say what you want (ie disconnection from their service), if they have cost you extra money tell them how much, and say you want it compensating ask for a DEADLOCK letter from them if they are unwilling to comply, as you've had enough and you will escalate the complaint to CISAS.

 

 

Thanks for finding that, I'll sit down with my partner tonight and write a strong letter and send it to the above address. You really can't believe that a company of this size can screw up a simple process so many times. In fact at the begining of the week they insisted we actually cancelled on the 14 June 2009, which is complete b*ll*cks as we cancelled on the 2 July 2009. They then said they needed a months notice to cancel the account and that cancellation would occur FROM 14 July 2009. So in effect we have had to give them 2 months notice to cancel the account.

 

Anyway thankyou for the help, its much appricated

[locutus]

You're very welcome. Put all this in your letter, include how much extra they have cost you. Be clear on what you want from them (I'd be saying "I require a refund of all money paid for your services since 2nd july when you were supposed to be cancelled from, and to be cancelled from your service as soon as possible. If you cannot do this please reply with your reasons why and a DEADLOCK letter so I may escalate this to CISAS")

 

CISAS is an an independent dispute resolution service for communications providers and their customers. It would cost PIPEX money for your complaint to go to them (even if CISAS found for PIPEX which I cannot see!) so they will be more likely to try to sort it fast.

 

Keep us informed, hope this is sorted for you fast.

[louishoward]

You're very welcome. Put all this in your letter, include how much extra they have cost you. Be clear on what you want from them (I'd be saying "I require a refund of all money paid for your services since 2nd july when you were supposed to be cancelled from, and to be cancelled from your service as soon as possible. If you cannot do this please reply with your reasons why and a DEADLOCK letter so I may escalate this to CISAS")

 

CISAS is an an independent dispute resolution service for communications providers and their customers. It would cost PIPEX money for your complaint to go to them (even if CISAS found for PIPEX which I cannot see!) so they will be more likely to try to sort it fast.

 

Keep us informed, hope this is sorted for you fast.

 

Just out of curiosity, can I ask for compensation for the amount of time I've spent trying to sort this out? At a rough guess I'd say we've spent a good five hours writing letters, emails and making phone calls. That doesn't include the time we spent trying to get the broadband fixed for almost three months.

[locutus]

You can ask . Small claims court can compensate £9 odd an hour so add an extra £45 if you like, it's your complaint!

[louishoward]

Oki, Thanks. I'll post again once we know anything more.

 

Cheers