Bt issues. Payment not taken for 12 months

[tr79]

My son in law sent me this ....after some advice 

 

our Internet got turned off today (19th January)

I rang up and said hi can I make a payment and find out why it hasn't been taken out of my bank,

 

he said are you aware you haven't made a payment since February 2019.

I said no that can't be right,

 

I upgraded my package just over a month ago and they never said a word about owing money and just let me upgrade,

I haven't received any letter or indication that I owed any money let alone a years worth of bills!

 

I asked why no one had let me know sooner

he said we're not obliged to tell you that but said I had a valid point,

 

I asked if there's a way we can sort this out

he said best he can do is give me a good will gesture and take 1 month off,

 

I said I wasn't happy with that and we could pay half the amount owed now £380 and they would match the other £380 and wipe it off as long as I don't miss a payment for the next 6 months,

 

I accepted this offer even though I'm still unhappy purely because I need the Internet as self employed. 

 

They had cancelled the DD back in Feb,

I seriously had no communication from them and even upgraded a month ago.

 

They wanted nearly £800 

[dx100uk]

£800 for one year??

what planet are you on?

 

i will guess this is residential Broadband not a business A/C?

 

however i do find it a bit strange that a self employer person does know when or not money is going out of your A/C

one month maybe, but to not spot 12mts of not seeing a BB bill smacks of poor financial awareness..

 

 

[tr79]

It is residential.

Not long been self employed, and in between been employed.

 

Everything was set up by dd.

BT even let them upgrade the Internet 2 months ago, but did not refuse on basis bill not paid.

No letters, nothing and normally would cut you off after not paying for a month.

 

Yes they should check outgoings, but young couple, and everything by DD. 

They obviously realised they made a mistake by halfing it. Just wanted advice really 

 

I would also like to point out they are very financially aware, he earns good money, just didn't spot it wasn't coming out, nothing alerted him to the fact it wasn't 

[dx100uk]

 

44 minutes ago, tr79 said:

They had cancelled the DD back in Feb,

I seriously had no communication from them and even upgraded a month ago.

 

i'd be sending them an sar get all the details and see if his bank has proof of BT cancelling the DD too.

then p'haps we can make a complaint......

 

£800/12 is about £67pcm - thats an expensive deal if this is for BB only and not phone as well & at what speed - i'd expect >70MPS for that deal...was it.?

 

the issue here is if it is for phone as well BT won't release the line till the debt is cleared if he wanted & should switch - to say vodafone at <£30PCM for the same deal.

[45002]

£800 pound WOW we

 

I find it hard to believe ruthless BT didn't ask for any monies for over a year and did not disconnect the line for a whole year, let the OP upgrade too !

 

Sounds like they could have signed up for paperless billing and not checked there Emails ?

 

dx100uk  is right OP will not get any more BB/phone services from another ISP until this is All paid up ...

 

"tag on the line"   https://tinyurl.com/y4tme6l4

 

 

 

....

Edited January 20, 2021 by 45002
url as ever

[tr79]

Hi, 

Thanks for responses.

they wiped the other amount if the 380 was paid, now nothing owing.

Emails, everything been checked, no demands for money.

 

Typical after 6 months they would send demanding letters.

They had tv and Internet and during this period services were not cut off at any point.

 

Also credit report shows payments made on time and son In law checked this all the time to be vigilant on credit score and nothing alerted on there.

 

They have a decent income for a young couple so set up dd and did not feel the need to check .

He is a carpenter and only 25.

At no point were the alerted that it wasn't being paid 

 

[dx100uk]

ok so coming out of this

the service is now restored and working ok and everything is good?

sorry if i've miss interpreted the outcome wrong..

[tr79]

Yes. But it was the face they wanted 380 upfront before restoring any services even though it is clear it was their fault. My son in law was in a position to pay, but others may not have been and this could have really impacted on them

[dx100uk]

well use the sar info if you see anything and p'haps demand compo, though you say the bill was reduced anyway?

 

dx

[tr79]

So bit of an update

 

Below is email sent to BT. The issue is now not the money but the impact on them reporting to credit references unpaid since Feb

This was not showing on credit karma or experian,  who he has been with for a while,  but checked clear score tonight and it is on there as missed payments. I can honestly say they had no communication from BT. 

 

 

Please accept this as a formal complaint in regards to my account. I expect a quick response considering the impact this has caused.

 

I have been a customer with BT for a while. I upgraded my broadband around November 2020 time. At no point was I informed that there was an unpaid balance on my account.  My services were recently stopped and I called to determine the issue. 

 

I was informed that no payment to my account had been made since February 2019,  and the balance was £800. You can imagine my shock

 

I have had no service restrictions, no correspondence, no telephone calls or emails to alert me to an unpaid balance. 

 

When I called I had to pay £380 to get my services reinstated. At the time I felt I had no choice as a self employed worker who needed the Internet for work. I also experienced poor communication and had to call several times for money to be taken

 

Tonight I have checked credit report and BT have reported missed payments since Feb 2019 which has had an adverse impact on my credit, when everything else is up to date. This will impact on my business and ability to secure credit and I want this resolved as soon as possible. 

 

If this is not resolved to my satisfaction, with compensation for the distress this has caused me,   you can be assured I will take this to the ombudsman.