Settled.... O2 have set the dogs on me... Shock!!!

[Mr $quandaŁot]

Re: O2 have set the dogs on me... Shock!!!

Let's start singing: 'It's my O2, 2, 2, too good be true, true true' and see if they like it!

[bigbigproblems]

Re: O2 have set the dogs on me... Shock!!!

Awww We'll be your friend, @LegalBEAGLES

Well done on actually managing to get somewhere, Twitter is quite good for getting complaints dealt with. It sounds quite hopeful.

I'm already following you .

The main thing is - it's great. I think they can block me, but they can't stop me still posting it to everyone else who is complaining. Ultimately it's very powerful tool. I do think it's a shame that you have to resort to that to get them to actually listen and be willing to engage.

I'd be devastated on a personal and professional level if I couldn't resolve differences with a person or an organisation without them having to take to the internet to shame me into doing it.

That said - I'm also a bit shocked and disgusted that they are now admitting they "made a mistake" and told complete lies when responding to my court claim. These arn't even small little technical things - unless someone decided to do a bit of creative writing then they couldn't just make up that stuff. How was I able to present my case, when I was basing it around the information they supplied?

Overall I hope anyone reading this can find it useful with any problems they have. my advice would be: complain to ceo, ombudsman and twitter. Everything else doesn't seem to matter to big companies.

Oh and they have admitted that they never did send out the deadlock letter they promised twice. I'm told I can't use it now I've started a small claim, but the blatant lying I'm uncovering makes it obvious that I've not been paranoid and they really have put me through this on and off for the last 3 years since I first complained.

As my claim was for Ł1k, I am tempted to offer to let them pay a fair bit more to a charity of my choice to write it off. Apart from the time (I estimate hundreds of hours) and some court fee's, and my credit rating I've not lost out. I think I'd feel pretty chuffed if I was able to help out one of my favourite charities and it might make them see that I'm not just out to make a quick buck. As that was never my intention - I just wanted them to sort it. I've affectively done that as I now have a perfect credit report again (not even a single late payment ever, and they think I'd get 3 defaults for phones I don't need whilst I was earning a fairly good wage). But I'll have to wait and see.

[bigbigproblems]

Re: O2 have set the dogs on me... Shock!!!

Right small update - I've now spoken to their "legal department". When pressed he is a "trainee solicitor". That's fair enough - I won't mention his name as overall I got the impression he is a decent bloke trying to do his job. I looked up his Linkdin and he isn't an idiot.

First thing I was asked is what I was looking for to settle this. That seemed odd since apparently my claim was worthless... When pressed apparently it's common practise to get a barrister to write a defence for a low value claim! Complete rubbish.

However I explained to him my position as follows: I never wanted money, I wanted it sorting. They failed to do that putting me in this position. So now I want Ł10k and not Ł1k.

I was told this wasn't really possible. I am going to have a go at using Rico's case. It's not about the money at all. It's about the principle and winning. If I accept Ł1k they win - as it will cost them more than that to send the barrister to court.

I am planning on amending my claim to be for general damages, as per Rico's advice. Any hint on how I need to do this?

Oh and I have official mediation on friday. I'm hoping it will go well and I can put all of this behind me. I've got a number in my head I'll take. I will then take off my costs (court costs) and give the rest to charity.

[bigbigproblems]

Re: O2 have set the dogs on me... Shock!!!

Oh and so far I can prove they have mislead the court on these counts:

1) Claim I opened account with Carphone Warehouse - SAR to them proved I'd never done such a thing. They then said another company name - another SAR proves no one in my name has opened an account. So proven lies.

2) Claim they have gone to my bank. Official letter from my bank stating no information have been given about my account to any third parties. They are now backtracking saying that this information was from CIFAS. They is contrary to what is said in their defence.

3) As said before their "barrister" has made up laws! When I asked what act of statute was required to give my info to third parties I was told DPA! When I asked what section they have admitted that their defence contains incorrect legal information!

Overall they are cowboys.

[bluebottle]

Re: O2 have set the dogs on me... Shock!!!

BBP,

You say you have evidence of O2 misleading or attempting to mislead the court. I also note you have mediation on Friday. This indicates to me the court is trying to resolve this matter without going to a full hearing. One comment I would make is that where a legal professional misleads or attempts to mislead a court, especially if it occurs during a hearing, it is serious professional misconduct and taken very seriously as legal professionals are officers of the court. In other words, their conduct should be beyond reproach and they should know better. I would also make the comment it is an offence under the Legal Services Act 2007 to impersonate a barrister.

[bigbigproblems]

Re: O2 have set the dogs on me... Shock!!!

Right - some form of a conclusion.

O2 settled out of court - I needed to move on with my life. Overall I was happy with the result. I fancied the fight but the offer was too good for me to just ignore. It also released a lot of pressure off my shoulders.

Note - they did raise some arguments about Rico's case, but generally it was what forced their arm into settling. I ended up speaking to a few of their Lawyers and they were clearly not that comfortable about proceeding when their is a Supreme court judgement in the plaintiffs favour. The argument will go on forever about whether it is binding or not - but at least one big company are not keen on finding out. Ultimately until people start trying to use it in court no one will know... I feel partly that the reason why it isn't known is because companies are settling rather than risking letting people know.

What I will say is that I have had to agree not to disclose the amount and a few other things. That might be standard procedure, but to me does seem to fly in the face of justice having to be done, and be seen to be done. I agreed so thats probably the coward in me.

I've had a rough 6 months and have decided to sod it and use the money to have a nice holiday.

[Amethyst]

Re: O2 have set the dogs on me... Shock!!!

Ahh good news for you, and yes, say sod it and have a break, you deserve it after all this. Thank you for coming back and letting us know you succeeded in a settlement you were happy with, it will serve to help others xx

[bigbigproblems]

Re: O2 have set the dogs on me... Shock!!!

Ahh good news for you, and yes, say sod it and have a break, you deserve it after all this. Thank you for coming back and letting us know you succeeded in a settlement you were happy with, it will serve to help others xx

Thanks Amethyst. I made a massive mistake with my case - I let it become part of my life. I think that's partly natural but I should have stepped back from it.

However anyone else who has a wrongful default that they won't remove should do what I did, and just avoid my mistake. The companies do have a legal obligation to put things right. I went from a smart arse on a phone telling me she didn't think the debt was mine but I should pay it anyway, to having a nice lump of cash in the bank!

I've gone from have a truly terrible credit rating due to the 3 defaults, to now been given a credit card with a Ł8k limit interested free for 14 months! Not that I'm planning on using it all - but it will fund the final modules of my OU degree.

Thanks to everyone that helped on here. One other piece of advice to anyone who was as naive as me when I started - never accept their first couple of offers of settlement and make them come begging!

[Amethyst]

Re: Settled.... O2 have set the dogs on me... Shock!!!

Sadly, we do see it a lot, and its very hard to ask people to step back and look at it objectively when it has effectively consumed them for such a long time. All we can do is offer support, and guidance.

Go careful with that credit card and best of luck with the OU degree. I had to give mine up for lack of funding so get how big a deal It is to be able to carry on with it.