B.T trying to charge £125 advice please

[Labtec81]

I have received my latest B.T bill and am disputing an engineer charge of £125 which I didn't agree to as I wasn't advised of the charge, could someone please give me some advice on this as I've already contacted Ofcom regarding this and obtained a reference number, I just wondered if anyone else had any issues with absurd charges by B.T which weren't agreed to in advance, B.T say the charge is because I reported a fault which I did and it's because they had to send an engineer out, but B.T nor the engineer mentioned any charges.

 

The total bill is for £160.21, £35.21 in line rental charges and £125.00 for the engineer visit.

 

Now here's an E-Mail I sent to B.T yesterday and the reason I'm posting it here is because I believe it will make more sense for people to read exactly what it is i'm disputing with B.T so hopefully they can offer some more advice.

 

Also the installation was brand new (which cost me £122.50 back in early July 2009) because the house I moved into had no phoneline/socket.

 

Here is the E-Mail I've sent to B.T,

 

"I reported a fault on the 4th of December last year and I've just checked my online account and it says there are outstanding charges of £160.21, now my partner spoke to someone at B.T regarding these charges after I gave permission for them to speak to him on my behalf.

 

Now they told him that the charges broke down as follows, £35.21 for usage/line rental charges from 11th of October 2009 to the 10th of January 2010 and £125.00 for an engineer call out charge!!

 

I did not agree to any engineer call out charge of £125.00 as I would never have agreed to such an absurd charge for a fault which I didn't create, I pay for my line rental and if there is a fault then I don't expect to be charged for it as obviously any fault or faults on the line are not and cannot be created by myself.

 

In no correspondence those being letter/E-Mail and phone calls was there any mention of any charges for an engineer to come out and if there had been then I would not have agreed to the charges and most definitely not such an absurd charge as £125.00, you record telephone conversations so refer back to the telephone call in question and you will know without a shadow of a doubt that I did not agree to any charges whatsoever and only now whilst looking through your help and support pages online have I found these 2 pieces of information.

 

1) Why have I been charged for an engineer's visit?

 

You have to pay charges if an engineer visits for repair work not covered by the terms of your service contract. This is a flat fee.

 

2) Do I have to pay for an engineer's visit?

 

In some cases there will be charges. We'll explain and agree these with you in advance.

 

Now with regards to both those pieces of information I wasn't told there would be any fees via telephone or otherwise as already stated, nor was I told or informed of any flat fees or that I would be charged a flat fee, and I was not told of any charges regarding the engineers visit and none were explained or agreed with me in advance as like I have said I would definitely not have agreed to such absurd charges as I pay for my line rental and if there is a problem then it's up to you to fix it as I'm renting the line from you and any faults are nothing to do with me.

 

Please rectify my bill as soon as you have verified via the recording of the conversation that I 100% categorically did NOT agree to any charges and I would swear to that in court as there is no evidence to show that I agreed to any charges because I did not."

 

So hopefully someone on here can give me some more constructive advice in my battle with B.T

 

Thank you

[Mark_Blackpool]

Do you know what the fault was?

 

Did an engineer actually visit your house? If they did: what did they do while they were there?

[PGH7447]

was the fault within your property or outside, if in then that is the standard charge, if out then no charge

[Labtec81]

@ Mark Blackpool

 

Yes an engineer did call at the house but I don't know what he did because I wasn't in at the time he called, so unfortunately I have no idea what he did but he was here for 20 minutes apparently just checking things.

 

@ PGH7447

 

I have no idea where the fault was, whether it was inside or out?

 

And the point is whether it's a standard charge or not, if I wasn't informed of the charge or agreed to the charge then surely it doesn't stand up does it? Which means I shouldn't have to pay it as I didn't even know anything about the charge and it clearly states on B.T's website that ALL charges are agreed before an engineer is sent out and that wasn't the case this time as no way would I pay £125 for an engineer to come out.

[ellenana]

I have received my latest B.T bill and am disputing an engineer charge of £125 which I didn't agree to as I wasn't advised of the charge, could someone please give me some advice on this as I've already contacted Ofcom regarding this and obtained a reference number, I just wondered if anyone else had any issues with absurd charges by B.T which weren't agreed to in advance, B.T say the charge is because I reported a fault which I did and it's because they had to send an engineer out, but B.T nor the engineer mentioned any charges.

 

The total bill is for £160.21, £35.21 in line rental charges and £125.00 for the engineer visit.

 

Now here's an E-Mail I sent to B.T yesterday and the reason I'm posting it here is because I believe it will make more sense for people to read exactly what it is i'm disputing with B.T so hopefully they can offer some more advice.

 

Also the installation was brand new (which cost me £122.50 back in early July 2009) because the house I moved into had no phoneline/socket.

 

Here is the E-Mail I've sent to B.T,

 

"I reported a fault on the 4th of December last year and I've just checked my online account and it says there are outstanding charges of £160.21, now my partner spoke to someone at B.T regarding these charges after I gave permission for them to speak to him on my behalf.

 

Now they told him that the charges broke down as follows, £35.21 for usage/line rental charges from 11th of October 2009 to the 10th of January 2010 and £125.00 for an engineer call out charge!!

 

I did not agree to any engineer call out charge of £125.00 as I would never have agreed to such an absurd charge for a fault which I didn't create, I pay for my line rental and if there is a fault then I don't expect to be charged for it as obviously any fault or faults on the line are not and cannot be created by myself.

 

In no correspondence those being letter/E-Mail and phone calls was there any mention of any charges for an engineer to come out and if there had been then I would not have agreed to the charges and most definitely not such an absurd charge as £125.00, you record telephone conversations so refer back to the telephone call in question and you will know without a shadow of a doubt that I did not agree to any charges whatsoever and only now whilst looking through your help and support pages online have I found these 2 pieces of information.

 

1) Why have I been charged for an engineer's visit?

 

You have to pay charges if an engineer visits for repair work not covered by the terms of your service contract. This is a flat fee.

 

2) Do I have to pay for an engineer's visit?

 

In some cases there will be charges. We'll explain and agree these with you in advance.

 

Now with regards to both those pieces of information I wasn't told there would be any fees via telephone or otherwise as already stated, nor was I told or informed of any flat fees or that I would be charged a flat fee, and I was not told of any charges regarding the engineers visit and none were explained or agreed with me in advance as like I have said I would definitely not have agreed to such absurd charges as I pay for my line rental and if there is a problem then it's up to you to fix it as I'm renting the line from you and any faults are nothing to do with me.

 

Please rectify my bill as soon as you have verified via the recording of the conversation that I 100% categorically did NOT agree to any charges and I would swear to that in court as there is no evidence to show that I agreed to any charges because I did not."

 

So hopefully someone on here can give me some more constructive advice in my battle with B.T

 

Thank you

Oh My God! this is exactly what happended to me. Did you report your fault on BT.com? I reported a fault on BT .com in Nov 2008 as had no dialing tone. The line check was inconclusive as to where the fault lie so I diverted calls to my mobile. At no time did the website advise of charges or did I agree to any! An engineer came to my house and lied saying the fault was ours due to a faulty extension. We have never had any extensions in our property!!

3 months later in comes a bill for 213.00 for call out and 1 hours labour!(he was only in the house for 2 mins)

Action taken. complained to BT was told charges were present on website. I disagreed asked for complaint to be esculated. Later that day a customer service manager phoned me back and agreed that this often occured when faults were logged over the internet but she didnt have the authorisation to cancel the charges and would refer it tio her manager. Of course this never happened. I then sent an email to Ian Livingstone CEO, this got a response that someone would investigate and get back to me.

3 days later Dilly Dolly as I now call her phoned on a sat eve and informed us that it was completely our fault as charges were clearly stated on the website. No redress on the engineers lies either. She then refused to discuss the issue and put the complaint into deadlock!

Next step refer to OTELO for mediation. Despite sending all the evidence OTELO final conclusion has sided with BT. I agree with other posts about OTELO dont waste your time. This has now dragged on for over 1 year has caused much stress we now have no choice other than to pay. Word of warning BT said they would send the debt collectors round if we dont pay up!!

[Mark_Blackpool]

BT Openreach are responsible for repairing faults within their own network. That is - the line up to the master socket in your house.

 

Unless for instance the fault occured due to a bush/tree/plant in your garden physically damaging the cable (for which you are responsible) or was related to wiring changes made inside your home by you which caused the fault then you are not liable to pay.

 

However instances of Openreach marking jobs as chargable when they are not are well documented. They pass on the charge to the line supplier who then adds the charge to your bill.

 

What complicates this is that when you order a new line, what you get is not necessarily a new line (e.g. a physically new home installation) and so what can happen is that old wiring put in by previous tenants or home owners can fail, and you then get charged for fixing that. I'd argue a new line should be a new line.

 

Thanks to the above I would not allow an engineer into the house and if it was needed, I'd watch them very carefully.

 

You might wish to read and contribute to this page:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/10/bt.html

 

and dispute the charge insisting on the written copy of the engineer's report to see what was actually repaired. It would of course be in the line supplier's interest to supply this, since it will prove that the charge stands (or perhaps otherwise!)

[PGH7447]

Timescale charges apply to business or residential customers including any emergency home visits.

Pricing Information

 

1. Repair of Faults

 

Where a reported fault is found to be on a BT product or service which is under a service guarantee or is covered by a maintenance or rental agreement, BT will respond to repair the fault or replace the faulty equipment in accordance with the terms of the service guarantee or maintenance or rental agreement. Timescale charges as set out in the table below apply where:

-BT agrees to carry out work at specific times which are not covered within the terms of the service guarantee or maintenance or rental agreement.

-the fault is found not to be with any BT service or equipment. In particular this covers the situation where no fault is found, or the fault is found to be on non-BT equipment, or is due to damage caused by someone at the customer's premises, or due to theft, loss or removal of equipment, or in the case of customer owned or rented equipment (but not BT's network) faults caused by damage by external or environmental factors (eg lightning, electrical surges or floods).

Residential Customers

 

Per Call Out

108.69

127.72 vat included

 

 

from their website

 

BT Price List

[ellenana]

According to the BT.com you may be liable for a call out charge of 113.85 + vat, plus 97.75 + vat each hour. Which is £211.60 + vat per call out. Well thats what i got charged and I wasnt advised or neither did I agree, as frankly who would! Its Blatant Theft

[Labtec81]

@ Mark Blackpool,

 

I will contribute to that page you linked to as I think I referred to that in my case as well.

 

@ Ellenana

 

I hope you get it sorted out very soon as it's absurd that you have been treated the way you have been.

 

@ Ellenana and Mark Blackpool

 

I only found out about this overdue amount yesterday after logging into my B.T account online as I knew a new bill was due any day now (and lo and behold it turned up today through the post) anyway I rang B.T twice this morning and spoke to someone different each time and was told it would need to be looked into and the engineers report looked through etc etc and the phone call listened to, so after getting nowhere I telephoned Ofcom and obtained a reference number from them and after roughly another 4 calls to B.T this morning and afternoon on this number 0800 2346035 which is part of the faults department and I've finally gotten somewhere.

 

Anyway I spoke to someone called Hannah and I told her I had spoken to Ofcom regarding this matter and halfway through that conversation I told her that I had been informed by Ofcom that I should do what they do and record the conversation and she said to me after listening to all of what I had to say which was basically word for word the E-Mail I sent to them which I posted earlier on today further up this thread, and she told me that she would make a note to get the charge removed and that it would be removed so I reminded her the conversation was being recorded and asked her again if the charge will definitely be removed to which she answered YES, but she said she didn't have the authority to remove it so she would pass it onto a supervisor/manager so I said okay thank you and hung up.

 

Now the charge hadn't been removed (according to my online account on B.T's website) so being a bit dubious that the charge wouldn't be removed I rang B.T back up not long ago on the number I posted in the last paragraph and spoke to someone who did have the authority to remove the charge as he explained the last advisor couldn't do it but he could and he put me on hold while he removed the charge and I've just logged onto my account on B.T's website and the charge is gone :)

 

I guess the E-Mail I originally sent and the myriad of phone calls to them and Ofcom did the trick as I only found out about the charge yesterday and today it's gone! But I was very insistent on the phone that the charge should have never been there and it had been wrongly added on and I wasn;t going to lay down and let them walk all over me and take £125 that wasn't agreed to.

 

B.T (0) Labtec81 (1)

 

:)

 

Thanks for the replies.

[ellenana]

Dont forget to add the price they also charge you by hour! 97.75! the 127.72 is just for turning up!

[SeeRed in Sidmouth]

I found a charge of £125 on my bill today 18 Jan 2010 dating from a visit in September 2009 - I've given the full details on a webpage www.seered.co.uk/bt.htm which will be loaded to the www shortly. It is imperative to make sure the fault lies with the BT network before reporting a fault - this is easy to do - and keep record of all calls and what what said. BT agreed to refund after a lengthy discussion but if I had been a less technically able person I doubt they would have done. I'll extend the page in due course as this is clearly a problem area for consumer protection.

[Labtec81]

I've had the charge waived now, but I have a question for SeeRed in Sidmouth, how is it easy to make sure the fault lies with the BT network, as you said it is easy to do, how?

[SeeRed in Sidmouth]

Do exactly as BT advise! Find your main socket - where the wires come in from the road. Take off the front panel carefully (two small screws), this will expose a BT socket BEHIND the front panel. Plug a known good ordinary phone in there and see if the problem persists (line noise etc). If it does, and it does with another good phone also, then the fault is with the BT network. Unplugging the front panel isolates everything else in the house so removing any possible causes of problems from internal wiring, extension sockets etc. When you phone 151 to report a fault do it from this good phone while still plugged into the back of the main socket, tell them the noise or whatever they can hear is from a single phone plugged into behind the main socket. They require you to do this anyway to test the line.

[Labtec81]

Thank you for the advice, I'll remember that for future use, if there are ever any more problems

[AnnoyedN8]

My phone went dead in July. I contacted BT and asked them to check the line. It was fine their end, so they suggested I try another phone and get in touch with them if it did not fix the problem. I did this and it was still not working so I called and they suggested an engineer's visit. I did stress that I was concerned about the £130 fee if my equipment was faulty, but the woman in the call centre said she thought this would be unlikely as I had followed all their advice and tested with another phone.

 

The engineer came, tested the line, said it was fine and that none of my home equipment was causing a fault and that I should try another phone. He also said there would be no charge for the callout.

 

Bought a new phone, which works, then got my bill. The fee had been billed to me, so I called and complained. The call centre woman said the engineer had advised me of the charge. I said this was a "barefaced lie" and told them he had said no such thing and had in fact been in the house for about 10 minutes and said the opposite. I held this line until I was "transferred" to someone in another department, who told me the fee was correct, but that on this occasion it would be waived. I specifically asked him to confirm that this meant I would only have to pay my regular line rental bill, which he did and then said a letter confirming our conversation would be sent to me within 5-7 working days.

 

That period passed on Friday and I just had a suspicion I'd been fobbed off. Checked my bank account and they had indeed taken the fee from me.

 

I'm livid, but don't want my temper to cloud my judgement. I'm also reluctant to deal with an overseas call centre again after being lied to. Is there anyway of dealing with someone immediately to resolve this, or is a letter to the complaints centre in Durham my only option (this could take two months). I really want that money back.

[locutus]

The direct debit guarantee says they can only take the amount stated, may be worth talking to your bank about this. CAG strongly advocates correspondence in writing. There have also been successes emailing the top dog. See this thread..... http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?248373-Mobile-Phone-providers-Landline-providers-Contact-details

[AnnoyedN8]

Thanks - I called BT today and got the usual call centre runaround. Constant references to "the notes on the account say the fee must be maintained". I must have heard this phrase 20 times in 30 minutes. I asked to talk to a supervisor who changed this to: "there are strong notes on the account saying the fee must be maintained". He started saying this after I reminded him that my conversation confirming the fee would not be levied and that a letter confirming this has still not arrived. When I asked him where I could take my complaint to he gave me the 0800 800 150 number - which was the one I called in the first place! I told him there was no "complaints" option on the menu (I later called it and double checked) he denied it and said there was. He also tried to fob me off to a 0800 234 6035 number which is aparently the "time related charges" department. I ended up asking him where I could take my complaint specifically and he just could not answer the question.

 

I did, however, get the date of my phone call when the bill arrived, so I think I'm just going to stop calling them and write a letter to the complaints department in Durham, demand a transcript of my conversations and then see where it leads before I start emailing the board. Any further advide would be more than welcome.

[red.ninja13]

Hi i had a dispute with BT, i wrote several letters to them, and they only replied to one (the first one after Ofcom got involved) i think it was the lack of response that gave me such a high compensation. So don't be surprised if they don't reply, and if they don't.....will defo help your case with Ofcom

 

Also i think they say they dont have copies of individual calls as they conveniently couldnt find record of a call i made where i was given an offer reducing my connection fee...

Edited August 9, 2010 by red.ninja13
.

[AnnoyedN8]

Thanks for the tip. Interestingly I did ask about recorded calls yesterday and I was told ALL calls are recorded. I might just mention that in my letter. I may post a draft of it here first.

 

Is Ofcom still the regulator, or is it now Otelo?

[locutus]

Ofcom is the regulator, Otelo is 1 of 2 independent arbitrators that all telecoms providers must sign up to (the other being CISAS). Personally to "draw a line in the sand" I put my request in to the Telecoms company and let them know what I would accept as a solution, and in the alternative I require a "DEADLOCK" letter to take the complaint further. I've only had to do it twice, but it worked for me both times. (coming up 3 times as I've made a complaint about Three )

 

If they send you a deadlock letter you can then take your complaint to Otelo without waiting 8 weeks.

[AnnoyedN8]

Ok, so I write to BT and outline my complaint and that I want my £129 pounds back, failing that I request a deadlock letter as an alternative - correct?

 

Cheers.

[loopinlouie]

Yes you need to give bt chance to reply to your complaint then deadlock letter then regulators, ofcom etc....

 

You could say that is your plan of action if they dont sort to your sattisfaction xx

[locutus]

Has worked for me in the past! A complaint to Otelo will cost BT some money. (I'm not sure how much, I've been told different amounts varying from £50 to £400) so there is a strong likelihood that BT will settle before it gets there.

[loopinlouie]

Of course ofcom will find in favor of correct party and if bt not at fault they will at least tell you why. I hope a complaint goes in my favor also, got a good case, but at least if feels like someone in authority is helping xx

[AnnoyedN8]

So I've got this clear:

 

Write to BT with my complaint and what I want in return. Then if they don't play I get a deadlock letter, then Ofcom, then Otelo. Sorry if I'm being thick, I just want to get it right.

 

Cheers, for all the help, by the way.