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On 18th July 2003 I signed up to the "Pipex Xtreme Solo Service" after a very unhappy year spent with NTL broadband. I chose Pipex as, at the time, they had a very good reputation for customer services and came highly recommended. As I work in IT, these endorsements did not come lightly and I was happy I have made the right choice.
However, as time went on, things started to change at Pipex. At first I noticed that my download speeds where not as fast as I had expected them to be and I did get the occasional line dropout, but customer services were always helpful and matters got resolved quickly. However, what I didn't know then was that these glitches where the first signs of things to come.
The first big problem came in January 2006. We had a catastrophic flood in our home that forced us to move into temporary accommodation whilst work was carried out to repair the damage. I called Pipex to cancel my broadband contract but was told that I would have to pay the rest of my 12 month contract if I were to leave. I was not happy with this situation, but in the end I kept the broadband contract running for 6 months whilst our home was being repaired.
Unfortunately, BT screwed up and lost our original home number. This meant that I had to take out a new contract with Pipex when we moved back into our home. I did not think this was a big problem at the time, but I quickly came to realise that it was.
About 6 months after the flood, one week before Christmas 2006, Pipex decided to debit £276.99 from my bank account – No warning, they just decided to take it. However, being one week before Christmas there was virtually no money in my account so the direct debit bounced an I got charged £34 by my bank.
I was furious, so I contacted Pipex who told me that due to a computer error they had not be taking my direct debits every month, so they just decided to take it all out without any warning one week before Christmas. Furthermore, I had changed my account package to the then new "Pipex Max" 8mb package in November 2006 and, due to problems with the switchover I spoke to the Pipex call centre on 5 separate occasions but not one member of staff informed me that there was a billing problem on my account. I made a formal complaint and contested this action heavily as I felt and still feel) that it broke the Direct Debit Guarantee. I explained that I would pay it back if it were broken into six monthly chunks, effectively doubling my bill for the rest of my contract period.
Pipex refused this offer and instead demanded payment in one lump sum, even though they admitted it was their error. In the end, after countless emails and phone calls they offered the possibility of paying it over two months, but I stood my ground, despite them being rude and unhelpful throughout the whole process. In the end, I involved my local consumer affairs officer and, as far as I was aware the matter was resolved. Pipex stopped pursuing me for the money.
In January 2007 I informed Pipex that we were moving house but was told I would have to buy myself out of the 12 month contract I was now in (the one they made me take out after the flood). Again I was not happy, but after much negotiation they told me they would waive the buy out fee if I opened a new Pipex broadband account at my new address, which I duly did.
Unfortunately, during this time Pipex changed their Terms & Conditions and introduced something called "packet shaping" or "port throttling" this meant that for a lot the things I use the Internet for, as an IT professional, my Internet connection was incredibly slow, and I really mean slow, like dial-up speed slow. Eventually I could take no more and I made another formal complaint.
My complaint centred around the fact that the service they were providing was no longer fit for purpose and the only reason I was still with Pipex was because of their aggressive policy of locking customers into 12 months contracts, even if they have given continuous custom. To be fair to Pipex, this time they agreed to let me out of my contract and supplied me with my MAC code so I could sign up with a new broadband provider.
Unfortunately, things are never that easy with Pipex. Sure enough, a week or two later they tried to take just over £175 from my bank account. I complained again and got an apology this time – They had accidentally forgotten to remove the buy out fees from my account. They also agreed to pay my bank charges that resulted from this error, something that they did not agree to in 2006.
But, it doesn't end there. Just when I thought it was all over, I got an email from the Pipex collections team informing me that I owed them £521. So, even more complaints to their overworked customer care department. However, it turns out that this bill is for an outstanding amount of £276.99 (look familiar? Yep, that's the disputed bill from December 2006) and a further £237.07 worth of cancellation fees. That'll be the cancellation fees I was told I wouldn't have to pay in January – Great.
The question is, what do I do now? I have informed Pipex that I am not happy with any of this and that I am quite prepared to take the matter to court if need be. I have simply had it with them now, I really have. Can they still pursue me for the original disputed bill of £276.99? Where do I stand?
However, as time went on, things started to change at Pipex. At first I noticed that my download speeds where not as fast as I had expected them to be and I did get the occasional line dropout, but customer services were always helpful and matters got resolved quickly. However, what I didn't know then was that these glitches where the first signs of things to come.
The first big problem came in January 2006. We had a catastrophic flood in our home that forced us to move into temporary accommodation whilst work was carried out to repair the damage. I called Pipex to cancel my broadband contract but was told that I would have to pay the rest of my 12 month contract if I were to leave. I was not happy with this situation, but in the end I kept the broadband contract running for 6 months whilst our home was being repaired.
Unfortunately, BT screwed up and lost our original home number. This meant that I had to take out a new contract with Pipex when we moved back into our home. I did not think this was a big problem at the time, but I quickly came to realise that it was.
About 6 months after the flood, one week before Christmas 2006, Pipex decided to debit £276.99 from my bank account – No warning, they just decided to take it. However, being one week before Christmas there was virtually no money in my account so the direct debit bounced an I got charged £34 by my bank.
I was furious, so I contacted Pipex who told me that due to a computer error they had not be taking my direct debits every month, so they just decided to take it all out without any warning one week before Christmas. Furthermore, I had changed my account package to the then new "Pipex Max" 8mb package in November 2006 and, due to problems with the switchover I spoke to the Pipex call centre on 5 separate occasions but not one member of staff informed me that there was a billing problem on my account. I made a formal complaint and contested this action heavily as I felt and still feel) that it broke the Direct Debit Guarantee. I explained that I would pay it back if it were broken into six monthly chunks, effectively doubling my bill for the rest of my contract period.
Pipex refused this offer and instead demanded payment in one lump sum, even though they admitted it was their error. In the end, after countless emails and phone calls they offered the possibility of paying it over two months, but I stood my ground, despite them being rude and unhelpful throughout the whole process. In the end, I involved my local consumer affairs officer and, as far as I was aware the matter was resolved. Pipex stopped pursuing me for the money.
In January 2007 I informed Pipex that we were moving house but was told I would have to buy myself out of the 12 month contract I was now in (the one they made me take out after the flood). Again I was not happy, but after much negotiation they told me they would waive the buy out fee if I opened a new Pipex broadband account at my new address, which I duly did.
Unfortunately, during this time Pipex changed their Terms & Conditions and introduced something called "packet shaping" or "port throttling" this meant that for a lot the things I use the Internet for, as an IT professional, my Internet connection was incredibly slow, and I really mean slow, like dial-up speed slow. Eventually I could take no more and I made another formal complaint.
My complaint centred around the fact that the service they were providing was no longer fit for purpose and the only reason I was still with Pipex was because of their aggressive policy of locking customers into 12 months contracts, even if they have given continuous custom. To be fair to Pipex, this time they agreed to let me out of my contract and supplied me with my MAC code so I could sign up with a new broadband provider.
Unfortunately, things are never that easy with Pipex. Sure enough, a week or two later they tried to take just over £175 from my bank account. I complained again and got an apology this time – They had accidentally forgotten to remove the buy out fees from my account. They also agreed to pay my bank charges that resulted from this error, something that they did not agree to in 2006.
But, it doesn't end there. Just when I thought it was all over, I got an email from the Pipex collections team informing me that I owed them £521. So, even more complaints to their overworked customer care department. However, it turns out that this bill is for an outstanding amount of £276.99 (look familiar? Yep, that's the disputed bill from December 2006) and a further £237.07 worth of cancellation fees. That'll be the cancellation fees I was told I wouldn't have to pay in January – Great.
The question is, what do I do now? I have informed Pipex that I am not happy with any of this and that I am quite prepared to take the matter to court if need be. I have simply had it with them now, I really have. Can they still pursue me for the original disputed bill of £276.99? Where do I stand?
xx
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