BT malpractice

[dazz1]

My contract with BT ended on the 30th of march.

 

i reluctantly and under quite a bit of duress agreed on the phone to a new contract on the 30th of march.

 

on the 31st of march i called them up to say i wanted to cancel the new contract as i felt coerced and intimidated to accept it, (i am on benefits for extreme depression anxiety and acute sciatica) i agreed to pay the last month of my previous contract of £25 and any calls i made, (it was free antime calls anyway)

 

i explained this to [the person ] of BT CS over various emails, and he said he would make sure i was not charged cancellation fee, just the last months rental which was £25 per month.

 

they sent me a bill for £61 which i know i dont owe, and i have since emailed [the person ] who is now just ignoring my emails, i now have threatening letters and 10 days to pay before they pass it over to debt collectors, i cant get through to BT and frankly they are not interested in the overcharge....

 

i now have a debt collection agency threatening me with court and they have tripled my debt, would it be wise to call them and explain that i was told various times by [the person ] of bt that i would not be charged a cancellation fee, plus bt are now saying i have to pay a "line cease fee" which was NEVER explained to me when i joined..

 

Also can someone please tell me what circumstances they can "legally" send a bailiff to my home?

 

please help..

 

thanks dazz

Edited July 12, 2012 by ims21

[Conniff]

They can only send a bailiff if they take it to court and they win and then after the 28 days you are given to pay, you refuse/fail to do so.

 

Don't be intimidated by court threats, write to them recorded, (never ever speak to them on the phone, they say things they would never dare put in writing), and ask what it's all about and a statement to show what it's all about. You don't really need to explain to the dca that you had assurance there would be no bill from BT, it is BT that has passed this amount on to the dca.

[dazz1]

You don't really need to explain to the dca that you had assurance there would be no bill from BT

 

i have the assurances from BTCS on email, i kept them for reference.., but i assure you i dont owe more than £30 for my final month which i was happy to pay, until BT got nasty and started piling up the charges.

 

Not quite sure what i should put in the letter, my first instinct is to blank them, i certainly dont owe the dca anything...

[Conniff]

If you agree you owe £30, then personally I would send a cheque to BT by recorded delivery for that amount saying as agreed with Mr xx in full and final settlement of the account.

[dazz1]

BT billed me for £61 before handing it over to the dca, now the dca say it's £77....

[dazz1]

Can someone please tell me how i should sign the letter to them and if theres a template anywhere?

 

pleeeeeease...

 

thanks so much.

[Crow from the Crows Nest]

Can someone please tell me how i should sign the letter to them and if theres a template anywhere?

 

pleeeeeease...

 

thanks so much.

 

I had a similar problem which I will explain in due course. First write to the DCA and inform them that this is a dispute not a debt and that they have no juristriction under English law (assuming you live in England?) to get involved in any disputes. Keep your answer simple and do not bother to go into details. Write to BT and suggest that they re-examine your account also inform them that you dispute their alleged debt and that if it is forwarded to another DCA that you will take your complaint against them to anyone who will listen which could include CAG and BBC Watchdog.

Edited July 17, 2012 by Crow from the Crows Nest
clarification

[Crow from the Crows Nest]

Briefly BT billed me for 6 weeks service at the same figure for 12 weeks service as the final bill demanding £140 which I disputed in writing and in emails all to no avail. They refused to see their mistake and in came a DCA who duely responded to my suggestion to back off. I spoke in person to one mindless BT operator who told me that had I paid the final bill I would now be in credit...my answer is best left to your imagination... Eventually I spoke on the phone to someone who could count and when BT realised its mistake I received an invoice for £77.00 no apology though.

 

Then I received a letter telling me that I would soon return to BT then came a couple of phone calls and I exploded with rage when one dimwit asked for an explanation as to why I wasn't interested. Then mail slots kept dropping through my letter box so I wrote a letter of complaint to BT and demanded that they remove me from their list. Then I got a phone call from someone claiming to be from BT she had a Durham accent which I recognised. Funnily enough the BT office which denied being responsible for the marketing call is also based in Durham though I had not specified anything about Durham in my complaint to TPS coincidence eh?

[dazz1]

I have already written a full letter of explanation and explained to about 10 different people over the phone, im sick to my guts of them, they have mindlessly thrown the debt over to the DAC because dealing with customer disputes is too much for BT... i just want to tell the DCA to f**k off

[Crow from the Crows Nest]

Yes that's understandable and very easily achieved.

 

My response in writing was "this is a dispute not a debt so I strongly advise you to back of as you have no right to be involved in any dispute and neither can you offer to mediate which is illegal activity as you very well know."

 

(Some DCA's will verbally offer to mediate which is basically just a ruse to get more money out of the unsuspecting)

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Make formal complaint to the CEO of BT.