Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

[MrsGem]

On the 2nd July I received a phonecall from my phone company to renew my phone contract which I did, as the cost was different I asked for a new copy of the T&C's to be sent to me. I never received them.

On the 9th July I moved house and phoned my phone company to port my number to the new address. They refused as apparently BT "won't let them". Seeing as I was within the usual 7 day 'cooling off' I then said I wanted to cancel my contract and was put through to the cancellation team and cancelled my contract.

I have since received 2 bills with a cancellation fee on them. When I argued the 'cooling off' period they have said it doesn't count. I also argued I never received the new T&C's they told me they don't have to send them.

Now a DCA called Buchanen Clark and Well's have started to email me.

I have asked the phone company to 'prove' I owe this debt and they won't.

what can I do?

Gem

[MrsGem]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

bump

Can anyone help?

[Caspar]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

Yep! Write to Buchanan, Clark and Wells sending the prove it letter below:

Dear Sir/Madam

You have contacted me/us regarding the account with the above reference number, which you claim is owed by myself/ourselves.

I/we would point out that I/we have no knowledge of any such debt being owed to (insert company name).

I am/we are familiar with the Office of Fair Trading Debt Collection Guidance which states that it unfair to send demands for payment to an individual when it is uncertain that they are the debtor in question.

I/we would also point out that the OFT say under the Guidance that it is unfair to pursue third parties for payment when they are not liable. In not ceasing collection activity whilst investigating a reasonably queried or disputed debt you are using deceptive/and or unfair methods.

Furthermore ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment amounts to physical/psychological harassment.

I/we would ask that no further contact be made concerning the above account unless you can provide evidence as to my/our liability for the debt in question.

I/we await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a complaint to the trading standards department and consider informing the OFT of your actions.

I/we look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully


No need to send it recorded, but make sure you get and keep proof of posting. Next wait and see what, if anything, happens - the ball is in their court, then post back again.

[MrsGem]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

I know what debt they are chasing though.

My phone company have a 'contract breakage fee' on my final bill with them which is the thing I dispute. I have asked the phone compant to prove that I owe them a contract breakage fee and thus far they haven't.

All that BCW will do is produce the final bill that the phone company sent, won't they?

Gem

[Caspar]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

Send it and see how they respond. Again I stress state everything from now on must be in writing. Better to take one step at a time than try to guess what they're going to do. Each step allows them to mess things up for themselves.

Up to you at the end of the day, but that's what I'd do.

If you read through loads of the threads on here (or read Curlyben's guide)

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ad.php?t=13980

I think you'll find this is the common advice. At the end of the day there's a load of issues here - you didn't receive requested terms and conditions, has the debt been correctly assigned to BCW? etc... etc....

[MrsGem]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

I sent the above letter to BCW.

They have replied by sending me a copy of the bill from Talk Talk with the total on it *DOH*

I printed out all the correspondence between myself and Talk Talk regarding this 'contract breakage fee' and sent it to BCW with a letter that stated the reasons I disputed the fee.

I have received a telephone call today, despite saying I will ONLY respond in writing basically saying the bill is £328.76 (even though talk talk are still sending me bills for £308.76) and talk talk say I didn't cancel the contract till the 26th July so when will I pay them......

I have telephone bills proving my calls on the 9th July and the 20th July the first call being to cancel, they even have notes on the system saying as much, the latter call to confirm the cancellation.

I am stuck as to what to do now.

I know I should have received terms and conditions with it being a new contract but how do I sort this?

[Caspar]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

This is taken direct from their website:

Code of Practice




At TalkTalk we adhere to codes of practice that protect the rights of the consumer. We aim to be clear, accurate and fair in everything we do and say, which is why every advert, customer letter or bill is always scrupulously checked.
When customers sign up they get a clear written contract with a summary of our terms and conditions. Unlike some of our competitors we also advise on the likely speed of your connection when you sign-up online and offer a 30-day cooling off period where you can cancel the contract without any penalties.
TalkTalk is registered under the Data Protection Act and we take all reasonable steps to ensure there’s no unauthorised access to customers’ personal data.

You clearly did not receive this service.


This may also be a useful link for you:
http://www.talktalkmembers.com/forum...hp/t-9592.html

And finally:
Charles.Dunstone@talktalkgroup.com

This is thedirect e-mail address of the Chief Executive Officer of Talk Talk.

[WendyB]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

HI Mrs Gem. Send a SAR with the £10 fee to Talk Talk. This will get all data they hold on you, which should inlude the info regarding the phone calls and notes on their system. This will then prove that you did in fact cancel within the 7 day period. Once you have this information you an then deal with BCW accordingly.
In the meantime, DO NOT speak to them by telephone. If they call again, refuse to speak to them. Don't answer the security questions, simply ask for the name of the person on the other end of the phone and tell them to refer to your previous correspondence, tell them you will not be discussing the matter except in writing. No doubt they will rabbit on but don't be conned into talking to them just say "Thanks so much for calling, I'm glad we've got that cleared up" or something similar, and put the phone down. Also write to them reiterating that you dispute the debt and enclose a copy of your previous letter. Tell them that any further phone calls will be classed as harassment and treated as such.

There's a template on here somewhere, I'll see if I can find the link for you.

[WendyB]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

Here you are

Dealing with DCA's - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

have a rummage round in here, there's not an exact letter for your situation, but you'll get the general gist. Something along the lines of

Dear BCW

I refer to your letter of xxx, the contents of which are noted. As previously advised, this debt is disputed with Talk Talk. Until this dispute is resolved I will not be making any payments whatseover. May I refer you to OFT Guideline 664
part of which states (put in the relevant but from 664 here, the bit about chasing debts when in dispute, phoning people etc),a copy of which is attached for your ease of reference.

Please be advised that any from now on I will only communicate with you in writing. As such, I insist that my telephone number be removed from your records immediately. Any further telephone calls will be construed as harassment and treated as such.

I expect to receive your written confirmation of the above within 7 days.


Edit to suit accordingly, but remember that telephone bills are not covered by CCA so don't get carried away with sending a CCA request

[MrsGem]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

Big thank you to Casper for the email address.

I have just received a call from Mr Charles Dunstone himself apologising to me. He has agreed with me that the charge should not have been applied and has removed it from the account and I am now in credit with them.

He is also adding a discretionary payment for my inconvenience.

Thank you!!!!

[Angry Cat]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

Good News that the matter has now been resolved.

These telecommunication companies cause so many problems for the general consumer;

About time they got their act together!!!

[Caspar]

Re: Company trying to charge me for contract breakage

Big thank you to Casper for the email address.

I have just received a call from Mr Charles Dunstone himself apologising to me. He has agreed with me that the charge should not have been applied and has removed it from the account and I am now in credit with them.

He is also adding a discretionary payment for my inconvenience.

Thank you!!!!

Not a problem - that's what this site is all about!