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Aaaagh! Tiscali nightmare - any tips for my complaint welcomed
dk67
Posts: 132 Forumite
in Phones & TV
Hi
I have been a Tiscali customer for broadband only for around a year now - in May this year we decided to also take their line rental and calls option (Max Unlimited)
We cancelled our DD with BT once we received confirmation by post and email that our account with Tiscali was activated.
We have been paper-free with biling for quite a time now so as we had been told about the changeover, we happily used our free calls etc, unsuspecting what would happen next ...!
In August, we found one day that we couldnt dial out on our phone and our call was diverted to BT!
They claimed no knowlwdge of any changeover and I think they thought we were trying to pull a fast one!!
When we eventually got through to Tiscali, they responded that they had 'forgotten' to let us know that there had been a technical problem setting up our line :mad:
After much discussion, they emailed me back offering to pay for any calls that would have been free under the Tiscali scheme had it been set up correctly.
Do you think this is fair enough? We have had to endure a lot of stress, and were without a line for several days until we could pay BT enough to reinstate it (there is some money still owing). We have 3 children with disabilities, so being without a phone was very difficult. plus BT have charged extra for late payment. plus Tiscali were boasting their mobile calls are cheaper so should I be asking for payment towards those too.
We are talking about a quarterly bill of £120 (about 60% of these calls would have been covered by Tiscali although the mobile calls are debatable I guess)
sorry this is so long - any advice as to what to do next would be appreciated ...
I have been a Tiscali customer for broadband only for around a year now - in May this year we decided to also take their line rental and calls option (Max Unlimited)
We cancelled our DD with BT once we received confirmation by post and email that our account with Tiscali was activated.
We have been paper-free with biling for quite a time now so as we had been told about the changeover, we happily used our free calls etc, unsuspecting what would happen next ...!
In August, we found one day that we couldnt dial out on our phone and our call was diverted to BT!
They claimed no knowlwdge of any changeover and I think they thought we were trying to pull a fast one!!
When we eventually got through to Tiscali, they responded that they had 'forgotten' to let us know that there had been a technical problem setting up our line :mad:
After much discussion, they emailed me back offering to pay for any calls that would have been free under the Tiscali scheme had it been set up correctly.
Do you think this is fair enough? We have had to endure a lot of stress, and were without a line for several days until we could pay BT enough to reinstate it (there is some money still owing). We have 3 children with disabilities, so being without a phone was very difficult. plus BT have charged extra for late payment. plus Tiscali were boasting their mobile calls are cheaper so should I be asking for payment towards those too.
We are talking about a quarterly bill of £120 (about 60% of these calls would have been covered by Tiscali although the mobile calls are debatable I guess)
sorry this is so long - any advice as to what to do next would be appreciated ...
0
Comments
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Tiscali should be accountable for all costs incurred. Its their fault the changeover didnt happen as they said it would.
Give Ofcom a ring & see what their thoughts are; 0207 981 30400 -
great suggestion - calling them now ...0
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what a great service - Ofcom answered straight away and were very helpful.
they agree that Tiscali should be accountable for all charges incurred!!
told to write to Head Office demanding they settle - however Ofcom felt that I may need to pay BT in the meantime as it isnt their fault that money is owed.
just phoned BT and read Tiscali's emails to them and explained about Ofcom's involvement and they have agree to freeze our account until November 1st so Tiscali can settle!!!
Thanks so much Normanmark - you spurred me into action - your quick and practical tip is just why i love this site...0 -
no probs, heres hoping Tiscali pick up responsibility!0
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ho ho...
cant believe i am having to add to this post months later!
finally got £73 back from Tiscali after 3 letters to complaints dept. refused point blank to pay any more than this. they did however, after a 4th letter agree to give me 1 months free broadband.
i cashed the cheque (made out to my husband). ...then the next months bill said ' your payment of £73 has failed'
they then began to say i was £73 in debit!!
I have never owed them a penny, they have alwasys taken direct debit in full each month.
since then, they have stopped attempting to take money for the DD each month, and are instead adding £17.99 to the bill! As my husband works away a lot, I have been calling and writing, but Tiscali will NOT tell me anything, even though we have provided written and verbal consent for me to discuss the account on 3 occasions!
It gets worse...sorry for this rant...after the initial cheque had been received, I again, through Tiscali website attempted to upgrade my account to receive free calls as per the original complaint, but.................................................................................
THE SAME DAMN THING HAS HAPPENED AGAIN:mad: :mad: :mad:
tiscali sent us an email saying our account has been upgraded and the line rental and free calls are with them. BUT BT are still billing me, have had no communication from Tiscali and calls are clocking up again. I cant believe this has happened again. I thought the Tiscali deal was a good one!!
Again Tiscali are not acknowledging complaints and I seem to have exhausted things with them. Will call Ofcom again but wondered if anyone has any experience of this or further advice...
I am really quite a calm person usually...:o0 -
Strangely when I had a problems with Tiscali over billing I emailed them and they didn't respond at all. When I asked on the telephone the customer service operator just said they don't reply to emails about customer accounts and refused to give me a reason. (I was expecting her to say some rubbish about security so I had all my answers prepared. )
I then wrote a letter to Tiscali as they didn't sort it out on the telephone and they sorted the issue out. I had proof that it has been sent to them because it had a cheque in it which they cashed.
On the second occassion I sent a letter to Tiscali via recorded delivery. In the letter I stated the current issue and that due to the problem steming from the previous issue if it was not sorted out within 14 days I would be referring them to the regulator. They sorted the issue out within 7 days.
In your case I would go straight to OFCOM as it's clear that Tiscali are not aware of the provisions in the Data Protection Act that allow someone to give permission for their account to be discussed with someone else. (And thanks I'm not moving my phone line to Tiscali.)I'm not cynical I'm realistic
(If a link I give opens pop ups I won't know I don't use windows)0 -
Hi olly,
the emails I have sent to Tiscali complaints have all bounced back! the operator gave me the incorrect email, then i got another from ofcom, this also didnt work.
Ofcom suggested ISPA and hve made a complaint via them , also ISCAS? . Have sent them the relevent details too.
Tiscali are, I am afraid, an absolute joke. And their crappiness elsewhere is laughable when they are so earnestly trying to save my husband from his wife knowing the details of his Tiscali broadband account:rotfl: Security breech alert!!
btw - nice tip about including a cheque with the complaints letter, proof it was received. clever0
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