OneBill Telecom and now CARS DCA are grinding me down...

[BlandyYorks]

Hi there.

I'm new to this site so I hope this explains m situation

- I am getting very worn down and stressed by my previous telecoms provider

and now they have a debt collection company chasing me.

 

I took out a 2 year contract with OneBill Telecom and this contract came to an end in September 2015.

Now, they have a few hoops to jump through when cancelling the contract which includes 90 days written notice and you must complete the full 2 year contract.

If their steps aren't complied by there is a £300 termination fee!!!!

 

 

Well, I carried out ALL the steps they requested

- gave them over 90 days written notice,

kept the contract for 2 years and always paid by DD on time.

 

 

So, when I got a final bill with £300 added to it I thought it was some kind of mistake!

- having read the reviews of the company I can see it is something they regularly do.

 

I spoke to someone at OneBill on the phone and all I can say is that they were aggresive, rude and very arrogant

as to why I shouldn't leave them as the other company are not as good etc etc..

 

 

. Needless to say all my other communication with them was done via email

- I say communication

- I sent them a number of emails over a month and not a single one was replied to

, I just kept getting a final bill, then a threat of passing it on to a collection company.

 

Whilst all of this has been going on I have been in touch with the Ombudsman

(as I needed to wait nearly 3 months from the first complaint to OneBill if they didn't get back to me for the ombudsman to look into the case)

and I am waiting for them currently to look at my case and get back to me.

 

However, whilst waiting for the Ombudsman to get back to me

I have had my first threatening letter (and an automated call which I hung up) from CARS debt collection

saying I owe them £347 or they will take further more severe action!?!?

 

I am now a bit lost and stressed as to what to do.

I am positive the Ombudsman will turn in my favour as I have tried to contact the telecom company

stating the facts of why they can't charge me this fee yet they haven't replied directly to me once etc.

 

 

...BUT

I am afraid that this debt collection company will try and take action before a decision from the Ombudsman

and will not listen to my end of the story which is the true one!

 

 

I know people on here have said their (CARS) bark is worse than their bite,

but when you are a sole trader on your own it is very intimidating having to deal with this

when I just want to get on with running my business.

 

I have seen some threads similar to this with links to templates etc, but I am unsure as to which ones to print out and send etc.

ANY help/advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated and I need to try and resolve this as soon as I can....

 

Thanks in advance!

[Bazooka Boo]

Hello welcome to CAG.

 

You're correct, a powerless tin pots DCA's bark is 100% worse than their bite, they can do NOTHING! They are not bailiffs.

 

This is Onebill's attempt at intimidating you into paying up, and needs to be reported to the ombudsman and the CMA.

 

It is classic intimidation and harassment, the latter being a criminal offence, so keep a diary of events and ensure you only ever deal with this matter in writing OR email, never EVER discuss this over the phone to them, unless you can record your calls?

 

So was this a business account you had with the telecomms provider?

Have you lodged a formal complaint to Ofcom and Otelo about them?

 

https://www.onebilltelecom.co.uk/code-of-practice.aspx#complaints

[BlandyYorks]

Hey Bazooka Boo - thanks for the quick response and I feel a bit more at ease already. I thought it was the case that they couldn't act like bailiffs as I am positive IF this did go to court it would get thrown out - but I dont want the expense.

 

I have reported it and lodges a complaint to the Ombudsman Services for Communications as I thought they were the best to deal with cases like this. Would you recommend reporting it to anyone else?? (excuse my ignorance, but what does CMA stand for) - I just didn't want to be dealing with too many companies as wires could get crossed??

 

In my favour on this, I have only spoke on the phone about this once and it was very short - I have email records of ALL my communications with them - even going back to 2013 when the contract started - This is why I am so stressed as to why they are pursuing this case as I have done EVERYTHING they want with regards to terminating a contract!

[Bazooka Boo]

Excellent on the evidence front, if only everyone was so meticulous in keeping records then it would make things so much easier!

 

You're right that these powerless tin pot DCA's are NOT bailiffs, nor will they ever be, their puerile missives are computer generated and spat out by the thousands, and they're sole intent is psychological rather than actual, once this is realised then their letters cease to have any effect or credibility.

 

On the link I posted above, I see that they are governed by Otelo so if you've complained to them, then fine, let the ombudsman do their job.

 

You might also want to tip of BBC Watchdog, and tell them your story, yours might just be the one that they decide to investigate this outfit?

 

It will never go to court, they may threaten it, but in true bully boy willy waving fashion, they'll blink first and run to their mummies apron strings!

 

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/complain/

[BlandyYorks]

I am feeling a bit more relieved, but can't wait till the matter is resolved. I did get in touch with Watchdog, but I think it might be worth getting in touch again as it hadn't gone this far when I contacted them.

 

Thanks again for the advice and help - i'll keep this thread going with what happens in this debacle!

[citizenB]

Have you let both One Bill and the DCA know that you have made a complaint to the Ombudsman ? It is my understanding that whilst there is a dispute in place with the Ombudsman the company should back off.. this includes their rottweilers.

 

You should be keeping a note of the number of calls they make - if at all possible, record them.

[BlandyYorks]

The Ombudsman actually contacted OneBill to let them know about the complaint and that they should hold off on any kind of recovery action until the case is closed/settled.....but have they listened? Nope!!

 

However, it seems the Ombudsman dont have a legal footing on telling them to back off as they state in their most recent email to me:

 

"We are currently in the process of assigning your case to an investigation officer. Once this has been done, they will be back in contact with you to discuss your case.

 

In the meantime we have asked OneBill Telecom to put a hold on any debt recovery action whilst the account is under dispute. We must advise you that our request is not binding upon OneBill Telecom.

 

We trust this provides clarity in the matter. "

 

I will be emailing CARS to tell them of the case in hand, but I very much doubt they will listen either - BUT at least I will have evidence that I have tried to contact them on the matter.

[ericsbrother]

Can you block their number? As BB said, they arent going to want to take you to court because they will lose for at least 3 reasons and may well have to pay you good money for being naughty. They hope you will be scared or ground down and pay them just to go away. I would leave the phone off the receiver when they phone again rather than hanging up, it will block their line for at least 5 minutes and cost them for the pleasure of not being able to harass someone else. Do it often enough and they will give up. Recording them will also help if you wish to complain about their behaviour.

[BlandyYorks]

I'll wait to see if they call again this week ericsbrother - I didn't do a 1471 on their number, but thats a great idea, thanks.