Please help with three phone bill

[lababy]

Hiya,

 

I have recently found myself in some sever financial hardship due to my son needing surgery and have fallen behind with my phone bill.

 

Today a guy from three collections found me and was very aggressive and told me that I needed to pay to day.

 

I don't have money until the end of jan and explained that I have just come out of hospital with my son and there was nothing I could do.

 

He told me that the services were suspended and that they are at risk of being cancelled. ~This is my son's phone who has autism and epilepsy and needs it for emergencies.

 

The guy then went on to tell me that I could get friends or family members to pay the bill and until they receive the money I would be getting phone calls several times a day!

 

Can they say these kind of things?

My son is still suffering complications from the surgery and they are not willing to accept any lower payment.

 

I am a mess with anxiety and just don't know what to do for the best..

we had a rubbish christmas and then to be hit with this is just sending me into panic

If there is anyone who can offer some advice I would be very grateful.

 

Many thanks

Vix

[BankFodder]

I've just tweeted this for you

 

@ThreeUKSupport pretty heartless treatment of a vulnerable autistic young man by Three cag.tw/1vof

 

I suggest that you retweet it and get your friends to retweet it as well.

 

Even though Three happy about it, they are not entitled to prevent you reducing the debt. This is unlawful and unfair behaviour and warrants at the very least a complaint to the communication ombudsman. I suggest that you do this immediately. You will have to begin a complaint through Three.

 

I suggest also that you write a factual bullet pointed letter to Three making a formal complaint and outlining everything that has happened. Tell them that you object to this kind of bullying and harassing treatment and that this will also form part of your complaint to the communications regulator. Give them formal notice that you do not wish to receive phone calls from them or further visits and that they should conduct all further communications in writing because their attitude so far is stressing you and your autistic son who clearly is a vulnerable person.

 

Read our customer services guide and implement the advice there so that you are recording all calls. If they do carry out their threat of harassing you with phone calls then make sure you record everything and also keep a log detailing all the calls that you received – time states et cetera. You should include these as part of your eventual complaint to the communications ombudsman.

 

Have a look at Threes website and also at the website of the communications regulator and also the communications ombudsman and see if they have anything there about the treatment of people who have fallen behind with their bills and in particular with their treatment of vulnerable customers.

 

Did you get the name or any identity of the person who visited you? You should always get full details and don't be hurried – write them down carefully on a piece of paper in front of them. Don't worry about being polite. If you do this in a careful and obvious way you will easily dominate them and you will gain the upper hand. Also, if you receive any further visits you should record everything and if possible video it. You could let your visitor know that they are being recorded. If the object then you should explain to them that you have already written to 3 and tell them that you have told them that you don't want any visits and that if they don't like being recorded and they should leave and not come back again.

 

Do everything you can to reduce the debt by paying off in instalments that you can afford. Presumably you have some bank details and you can do this directly with a reference number without needing permission from Three

[dx100uk]

Was this a visit to your door?

If so it wasnt 3 but a lying dca

 

I would guess it was on the phone!

[lababy]

Sorry, it was a phone call.. I am sorry I didn't make that clear, my head is all over the place at the moment . I suffer from severe anxiety and this has just put me in a bit of a panic

[lababy]

also I didn't get the guys name, he was very poor english and shouted over everything I was trying to say

[fkofilee]

Hi Lababy

 

Sorry I missed this. I think they may have not realised you were vulnerable at that point and should have been treated better.

You can complain to H3G. If you wish too, let me know .

[lababy]

Hiya sorry we had a family emergency and I have not been online. I need to make a complaint to 3 regarding this, spoke to them yesterday and canceled the contract, was advised it was up in may and I would have to pay a fee, they would take this as my final bill in march.

Today I have a just recieved a call from a very aggressive man who demanded that "I do my job and pay my bill". This has upset me and caused even more stress and anxiety which I really dont need at the moment . My son who has the phone was assaulted on sunday and ended up in hospital having a seizure, it was just lucky that he wasnt too far from home! Fuming isn't the word.

[dx100uk]

Put the phone down

Was it 3 or a powerless dca??