Shebang mobile

[ch114275]

Hello Caggers!

 

I have recently had dealings with SHEBANG mobile in relation to a mobile phone contract that I took out.

 

After several wasted days complaining to them about numerous things that they were not sticking to their own terms and conditions about, I finally decided to take the matter further and report them to their regulator.

 

On their website they state that they are members of CISAS.

 

However, on contacting CISAS I have been informed that SHEBANG mobile are not members. I thought that this surely must be a mistake, so I asked for this in writing and received an e-mail detailing the fact that they were indeed not members of CISAS.

 

According to OFCOM regulations any telecommunications provider must be a member of a regulatory body. However, to date I am unable to find any regulatory body that this company is a member of.

 

I have mentioned this several times in numerous e-mails to their operations manager, Matthew Hogsden but in every reply he completely avoids answering the question about regulatory membership.

 

Can anybody at all clarify what the rules are for mobile phone providers and regulatory membership?

 

Are SHEBANG possibly being naughty by not being registered? Is there a body that oversees all of this that I can take my complaint to, regardless of whether they are members or not?

 

I note from my bank that they set up two separate Direct Debits on my bank account, one to Shebang Technologies and the other to Shebang Distribution. On checking Companies House I discovered that Shebang Distribution are in fact in liquidation. Can anyone offer any advice about this, as I am certain that when a company is liquidated that they must by law advise anybody dealing with them that they are in liquidation, particularly when it comes to taking payments from the paying customers.

 

I have now cancelled my contract and moved to another mobile provider. However, they placed my account on suspended service during my contract period despite telling me verbally that they would re-instate my service within 2 hours. I was then informed that although my service had been suspended, it had not been terminated. However, I was unable to make outgoing calls, had some incoming calls stopped and ALL texts, inbound and outbound completely stopped. Does anyone know if this is fair, given that their own terms and conditions state quite clearly that they will only suspend service after persistent failure of direct debits?

 

My direct debit had only failed once, due to me visiting the bank and the bank advising me to cancel one of the two direct debits that they had set up - the one to the liquidated company.

 

Although they have now written off the whole account, am I entitled to compensation for being wrongly advised and the undue anxiety and duress that this put me under waiting for them to re-connect me for 7 days only to find after persistent e-mails that they had in fact disconnected my service.

 

I have also sent them ten e-mails, only one of which has been replied to by their operations manager. I will copy his response, along with some of my previous messages below:

 

Response from Operations Mananger:

 

Dear Mr Daniel Harford-Lyons

 

The service will be ‘ended’ if issues are not resolved within 7 days. A failed payment will lead to an immediate suspension on your account to limit our liability in the event of non-payment and to ensure customers with payment difficulties do not run up unmanageable bills which could lead to personal financial difficulties. The service was still being provided; it was just limiting your access to chargeable outgoing services to prevent incurring a further debt following the Direct Debit failure.

 

We aim to respond to all emails within 2 working days. You emailed on the 7thMarch and received a reply on the 9thMarch. You then sent emails on the 9th, 11thand 13thand are receiving a response on the 14thMarch. The delay is because your message was escalated for my attention. This should have been advised to you by reply on the 10thand 12thof March so apologies that operatives have not kept you informed. Our terms and conditions do state that that we will attempt to resolve written complaints to the Operations Manager within two weeks.

 

Your account will be closed with immediate effect following the comments in your email on the 13thMarch including that you have cancelled your direct debit. I note that there were also difficulties on a previous account that you held with us. For this reason I regret we will be unable to open a further account for you in the future due to unsettled account balances which I have written off today as a gesture of goodwill only due to the delay in responding to you.

 

Kind Regards

 

Matt Hogsden

Operations Manager

 

If you have any questions or queries please see our frequently asked questions at ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES*** or you can contact our dedicated team either via email on ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES*** or by calling ‘500’ free of charge from your handset. Alternatively you can also contact us on 0844 324 7161 from any landline (charges will apply). Our Sales team can be contacted on 08081 680138 or via ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES***

 

Kind Regards

Shebang Customer Services Team

 

 

My original message that prompted the response, along with one of the incorrect names that they have used for me:

 

13/03/2013 01:30 - holker wrote:

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

 

Dear Shebang,

 

I am STILL waiting for a response from you but given the fact that you are currently fighting off HMRC then I guess you have more pressing matters to worry about.

 

I have today cancelled all Direct Debits that you have set up on my account through the various companies that you have, including the one to a currently liquidated company.

 

Despite numerous previous attempts to contact your company by e-mail over the last week, I have only received one reply. Your customer service is by far the most dreadful and appalling that I have ever encountered in my 37 years of life on this planet.

 

You can't even get my name right, you have mis-informed me of my rights and obligations, you have failed in your duty of care to your customers in relation to the service that you provide, you have mistakenly set up Direct Debits on my bank account and now you choose to ignore my messages.

 

Well let me tell you Shebang, Mr Humphrey and anybody else who reads this message that I smiled ever so slightly when I read of your recent dealings with HMRC. Concentrate on making a success of your MVNO, I hear them say in order to survive. Well, in my humble opinion you are doing a pretty good job of ignoring your customers when all you have to do is interact with them.

 

I have signed up with another provider and will never have anything to do with your company again. Moreover, I will vigorously defend any action taken against me in relation to this matter.

 

I will also be forarding a copy of this message to Northants Trading Standards, as I firmly believe that your company is in breach of the Trades Descriptions Act and the Telecommunications Act by quoting membership of a regulatory body on your website when in fact your company are not members of this regulatory body.

 

Regards,

 

Mr Daniel Harford-Lyons

 

Their original response to my 6th complaint is as follows:

 

 

Subject: Re: [Ticket#2016526] Problems with Your Sheba [...]

Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2013 14:34:26 +0000

To: ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES***

From: ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES***

 

Dear David,

 

Your account is suspended due to non payment of DD, no payments have been taken or made at this time and moment, although your DD details were retaken it has not raised an DD yet to take payment, this would go onto your next bill, unless payment received sooner for missed DD/last bill. Your account will be closed on 2nd April as requested which will generate the final bill. To have your services resumed we will need a payment first for last months billing.

 

 

If you have any questions or queries please see our frequently asked questions at ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES*** or you can contact our dedicated team either via email on ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES*** or by calling ‘500’ free of charge from your handset. Alternatively you can also contact us on 0844 324 7161 from any landline (charges will apply). Our Sales team can be contacted on 08081 680138 or via ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES***

 

Kind Regards

Shebang Customer Services Team

 

Mr original response to my 5th complaint is as follows:

 

08/03/2013 18:02 - holker wrote:

This has resolved nothing! Your customer support is very poor!

 

Please resolve this issue and provide me with the service that you are in breach of providing!

 

 

Subject: [Ticket#2016526] RE: Problems with Your Sheba [...]

Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2013 20:22:27 +0000

To: ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES***

From: ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES***

 

Dear Colin Holker,

 

Thank you for your recent email. Our system has attempted to identify your query and provided you with some useful information to assist you. If this has not enabled you to reach a resolution please let us know by replying to this message and a member of our customer care team will respond within 2 working days.

 

You should already have received an email containing login details to your account. If these have not arrived please contact us. By logging on at ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES*** you will be able to access all of your billing and account information, make payments, change your personal details and amend your password to something more memorable.

 

If you have any questions or queries please see our frequently asked questions at ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES*** or you can contact our dedicated team either via email on ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES*** or by calling ‘500’ free of charge from your handset. Alternatively you can also contact us on 0844 324 7161 from any landline (charges will apply). Our Sales team can be contacted on 08081 680138 or via ***LINK REMOVED FOR CAG COMPLIANCE PURPOSES***

 

Kind Regards

Shebang Customer Services Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any help at all would be appreciated in this matter!

[IdaInFife]

So you have cancelled your contract - they have accepted this cancellation and cleared any balances.

 

What exactly do you want help with ?

[ch114275]

Mobile phone regulations!

 

I'm sorry if this isn't clear, IdaInFife but I have mentioned it several times in my post!

[BazzaS]

Mobile phone regulations!

 

I'm sorry if this isn't clear, IdaInFife but I have mentioned it several times in my post!

 

Do you feel this response will make it more likely or less likely that people will spend their (freely given) time answering?.

 

I was going to research what I'd hoped would be a pertinent query that could have contributed. However, looking at the sort of response I might expect from you : it isn't worth me doing so, I'll not risk wasting my time, and I'll use it seeing if I can help a CAG'ger who is more likely to be receptive to help.

[ch114275]

And there was me thinking that this forum was a friendly place where people could help to support each other and resolve issues?

 

BazzaS please don't waste your time researching what you think is an impertinent post! It's quite obvious to me that you have little understanding of the term "Poor customer service" if you feel that my post is impertinent.

 

By the forums own description, a gesture of good will is something that companies do when they know they are wrong and want to silence people.

 

WE are the ones who should be showing them goodwill, as we are the customers.

 

I am not looking for help to resolve this issue, as it has obviously already been resolved on their part.

 

However, I am not willing to let this lie as I feel as though they have ridden roughshod not only over the terms and conditions that I agreed to but also the regulations that apply to this industry. The latter is something that I am uncertain of and it is this that I am seeking help and friendly support with, so I can do without your attempted martyrdom, thank you all the same.

 

I am always receptive to help and greatly appreciate some of the help that has been provided to me by CAG over the years, without the need for me to even post a word on a forum. I simply feel as though IdaInFife has missed my point and maybe has failed to understand that this company appears to be flouting the law in my case by not holding current membership of a regulatory body.

 

This is the matter that I would like clarified if possible but if you are too busy to research and help then I completely understand. I have not asked for that. I am simply asking if anybody knows whether a mobile phone company must by law be a member of a regulatory body and if so, what steps can I take if that company is NOT a member.

 

Jeez, tough crowd today!

[BazzaS]

And there was me thinking that this forum was a friendly place where people could help to support each other and resolve issues?

 

BazzaS please don't waste your time researching what you think is an impertinent post! It's quite obvious to me that you have little understanding of the term "Poor customer service" if you feel that my post is impertinent.

 

By the forums own description, a gesture of good will is something that companies do when they know they are wrong and want to silence people.

 

WE are the ones who should be showing them goodwill, as we are the customers.

 

I am not looking for help to resolve this issue, as it has obviously already been resolved on their part.

 

However, I am not willing to let this lie as I feel as though they have ridden roughshod not only over the terms and conditions that I agreed to but also the regulations that apply to this industry. The latter is something that I am uncertain of and it is this that I am seeking help and friendly support with, so I can do without your attempted martyrdom, thank you all the same.

 

I am always receptive to help and greatly appreciate some of the help that has been provided to me by CAG over the years, without the need for me to even post a word on a forum. I simply feel as though IdaInFife has missed my point and maybe has failed to understand that this company appears to be flouting the law in my case by not holding current membership of a regulatory body.

 

This is the matter that I would like clarified if possible but if you are too busy to research and help then I completely understand. I have not asked for that. I am simply asking if anybody knows whether a mobile phone company must by law be a member of a regulatory body and if so, what steps can I take if that company is NOT a member.

 

Jeez, tough crowd today!

 

I did a Wikipedia search on "passive aggressive" : it directed me to your post as an ideal example.

 

You have changed the query I thought was "pertinent" to a description of "impertinent". I still think it is pertinent, though it isn't anything I'm willing to spend time on. I've not said it was "an impertinent post" : just that your reply (now replies) might put people off replying.

 

Again, look at your replies (or even better - ask a third party you trust for their opinion) : do you think replies that superficially thank respondents but then proceed to "look down" on them make other people more or less likely to answer?

 

As for "I am always receptive to help" : it appears not.

As for " I simply feel as though IdaInFife has missed my point and maybe has failed to understand" : I don't think there was a lack of understanding, and as for the "point being missed" - perhaps the "point" was obscured by your generalised ranting?

 

" I am simply asking if anybody knows whether a mobile phone company must by law be a member of a regulatory body and if so, what steps can I take if that company is NOT a member." : So, why did you not just "simply " post this, minus the rant and bad attitude to anyone who doesn't give you exactly what you appear to require?

[i hate bailiffs]

I did a Wikipedia search on "passive aggressive" : it directed me to your post as an ideal example.

 

You have changed the query I thought was "pertinent" to a description of "impertinent". I still think it is pertinent, though it isn't anything I'm willing to spend time on. I've not said it was "an impertinent post" : just that your reply (now replies) might put people off replying.

 

Again, look at your replies (or even better - ask a third party you trust for their opinion) : do you think replies that superficially thank respondents but then proceed to "look down" on them make other people more or less likely to answer?

 

As for "I am always receptive to help" : it appears not.

As for " I simply feel as though IdaInFife has missed my point and maybe has failed to understand" : I don't think there was a lack of understanding, and as for the "point being missed" - perhaps the "point" was obscured by your generalised ranting?

 

" I am simply asking if anybody knows whether a mobile phone company must by law be a member of a regulatory body and if so, what steps can I take if that company is NOT a member." : So, why did you not just "simply " post this, minus the rant and bad attitude to anyone who doesn't give you exactly what you appear to require?

 

:first:

[ch114275]

Ah, I see! The penny has dropped.

 

I wasn't aware that you were a qualified Psychologist with the ability to diagnose over the internet, let alone stick my nose in where it's not wanted.

 

I'll just go and ask the cat if I'm being passive-aggressive on this one eh? I'm sure his response will be a firm yes as well.

[dx100uk]

simple ans to a simple question....

 

no they do not.

 

dx

[locutus]

They don't have to have membership to one of the ADRs. Personally I'd inform CISAS that they're advertising that they are members and then leave it at that.