Something broadband

rhsm99

newsgeek wrote: »

rhsm99, Something Corp are owned by the same people at Satcover and the recently deceased Satellite Direct UK Ltd which has gone down owing about 26 million. According to my google searching, Documetric are just a company that processes Direct Debits for different companies. They are probably responsible for taking your money although it was on the say-so of Something Corp. They should be more careful who they get associated with. Did you not get a letter from either of them to tell you about the new Direct Debit? It's in the rules that you should (ha-ha). What exactly does it say on your bank statement? Does it just say 'Something Corp' or does it have the name of 'Documetric' on there too?

I got the money back the same day as I log in to my bank every day & I did not recognise the Drect Debit so it was cancelled immediately.

'Documetric' is the Direct Debit processing company but the Direct Debit was in the name of 'Something Corp'

I would just advise anyone who has a Direct Debit set up with 'Something Corp' to thoroughly check out the source & keep an eye out on their bank account as once the money has gone, you will have a job getting it back.

My bank now has on record that the originator reference for 'Satcover Ltd' & 'Something Corp' plus anything that relates back to 'Documetric' is not to be applied to my account. My bank said that only by me requesting that they do this, am I protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee. This tells me that the bank will automatically assume that you have authorised a Direct Debit to your account by these people if they take your money.

newsgeek

From the sound of rhsm's first post, there was no customer contract at all, just a fraudulent direct debit with no notification letter. But then Satellite Direct seemed to be masters at that, and they are owned and run by the same people at the same trading address and the same registered address and with the same phone number.

You are right about going to Something Corp in the first instance, all I'm saying is that if you get no joy there (like all those people with Satellite Direct) then you can go to Documetric because they are ultimately responsible for the money - although not necessarily the fraud.

newsgeek

Hmm again. It seems that the posts of that other user have been deleted, so most of this thread doesn't make sense anymore. I think he must have worked for either the Something Corp or Documetric anyway.

rhsm99

If the post was by someone whom works at 'Something Corp' or 'Documetric', I think we can all say that we have genuinely touched a nerve. It's just a shame that they were quicker at removing their post then they would be at refunding your money.

minesapint57

Avoid Something Corporation at all costs! Experienced nothing but problems during the short time I had the misfortune of being a customer. I still recieve bills from them even though I left them 5 months ago. I never recieved any reply from my numerous recorded letter I was forced to send to them.

andy222_2

I am also unfortunately a Something Communications customer. I joined in feb thinking it sounded a good deal but had a succession of problems including them losing my phone number for 2 weeks and poor quality phone lines as it uses the net to connect. Today the phone and broadband came back on after being off for a week. There has been no answer from any of the customer services lines ('temporarily suspended') so I can only assume they have gone bust. Which is good because that should terminate the contract. I phoned BT to pick it up, they said ok for the phone but they would need a mac code for broadband. Virgin have said should be ok so looking forward to a decent phone and broadband next week. Fingers crossed, will believe it when I see it! Having seen the other posts about direct debits worried me, so have cut them off, and my bank will let me know if any requests come through. Have to find a use for the aluminium pole on the side of my house now (one of the something conditions is that they put an aerial on your house to share the broadband signal with others)

newsgeek

Here is a snippet from the BACS website. Might be useful for anyone having trouble getting direct debit money back: "Bacs is owned by the leading banks and building societies in the UK. It is responsible for the scheme behind the clearing and settlement of Direct Debits in the UK. Whilst Bacs doesn’t have a direct relationship with consumers, it has a role in ensuring that the scheme operates effectively and that originators/service users maintain standards and so can act as a facilitator to settle disputes.Contact Bacs via the Helpline number: 0870 049 2717 (please note that this is a national rate number and calls will be charged at standard operator tariffs, the Helpline is available 9.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays)"

trenwith59

rhsm99 wrote: »

I got the money back the same day as I log in to my bank every day & I did not recognise the Drect Debit so it was cancelled immediately.

'Documetric' is the Direct Debit processing company but the Direct Debit was in the name of 'Something Corp'

I would just advise anyone who has a Direct Debit set up with 'Something Corp' to thoroughly check out the source & keep an eye out on their bank account as once the money has gone, you will have a job getting it back.

My bank now has on record that the originator reference for 'Satcover Ltd' & 'Something Corp' plus anything that relates back to 'Documetric' is not to be applied to my account. My bank said that only by me requesting that they do this, am I protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee. This tells me that the bank will automatically assume that you have authorised a Direct Debit to your account by these people if they take your money.

I also had the same experience and I informed the banks fraud department and the police. Spoke to Documentrix and they confirmed they collect for soomething corporation....I check my details every day and they are not going to get away with anything.

The_Joss

I have also been a customer since February this year. I am now trying to find a way of terminating my contract with them as the service is absolutely awful. No phone out for over a week. No acknowledgement of emails. Continually fobbed off when I do get through. All in all a totally unacceptable service. If anyone has any tips on how to get rid I'd appreciate their advice.

The_Joss

I decided to put the whole record of my experience here so that you can see how good they really are!

I was contacted in January 2009 by an unprompted tele sales call from Something Communications Ltd. During the call different services were offered which included internet and phone (VOiP) at the time I was actually looking to change my ISP and phone provider and this call came at the ideal moment.
I decided to change my provider to Something as it was an excellent deal and would have saved me around £80 pcm in real terms.
They promised to have installation completed by 28th February which was ideal as I was travelling to the USA and would return to my new service.
28th February came and went! I repeatedly contacted them and in the most part was unable to get through; the phone rang on one occasion for over and hour.
Several calls went unanswered and eventually I contacted a customer service manager who told me that there was a problem with the VOiP provider and as soon as it was resolved they would be in contact. March and April went by and I decided to terminate the agreement as they had not provided me with any service and had failed to meet their own stated deadlines.
I contacted them again and was told it was a problem with BT who where refusing to pass over my details and I would have to contact them myself. I was not a BT customer but contacted them anyway they had no knowledge of what Something were referring to but asked me if I wanted to come back! (I wish I had!!).
I again spoke with Something and was sent two electronic authorisation forms for transfer of services
I got through in early May, they were very apologetic and gave me three months free service and we agreed an installation schedule. The first date was 8th June and accordingly I took a day off work to be home for the engineer, he never arrived! I contacted Something and was informed that this date was for work at the exchange and not at home and I must have made a mistake! Somewhat bemused I confirmed the installation date convinced I had indeed made a mistake.
28th June was the installation date, I confirmed this several times with the customer service advisor entered it into my work diary and was that certain I then made arrangements to terminate my existing ISP and phone contracts fro that date.
I again took a day off work and by mid morning was concerned by the apparent lack of activity I again contacted Something. They informed me I was not on that day’s installation list. At this point I became quite angry and informed the customer service advisor politely that I would be charging my consultancy day rate of £650 to Something if my phone was not installed that day.
Half an hour later I received a telephone call from quite an aggressive woman who asked me what my problem was, I was on the installation schedule for that day and an engineer would contact me shortly. She was very rude and abrupt.
The engineer duly got in touch and made arrangements to install the equipment later that day. When he was in my home he stated that I was not on his installation schedule and he had been diverted from another job. However everything worked and my connection speed had increased so I was basically happy.
Everything was fine for about a week until my internet connection speed dropped to practically non existent. I again contacted Something, which was a mammoth task as it took at least ten calls, they were free so I wasn’t concerned. They couldn’t understand what the problem was so arranged for the Engineer to call. In the meantime I unplugged all their equipment for twenty minutes and the powered it up and reconnected to the internet Hey Presto problem resolved. The engineer contacted me and explained that should I experience any further problems I should contact him direct.
Things remained OK until the beginning of September from 3rd – 8th I had no outgoing call facility just a message telling me I had insufficient credit to make a call even though all my calls where free!. It took several attempts to contact something before I got through and I was informed it was a server upgrade that they were having problems with and my service would be available shortly, half an hour after the call my phone was back to normal.
That was until 29th September when once again I lost my outgoing phone service. I sent a long email to the technical contact from their website and received no response. I phoned and phoned and phoned and eventually got through to be told that it was a server upgrade and I would have my phone service back within the hour, this never happened. I contacted them the next day to be told it would be by 4 pm. This also never happened. I have been unable to get through by phone ever since as my mobile phone connection times out. I have sent two further detailed emails to which I have received an automated answer to the first and a curt reply from the second informing me that somehow or other 60 copies had been received.
In the detailed emails I asked for a written explanation of why the service failure had been for so long and when I could expect them to reinstate it. I also stated that I would take the necessary steps to terminate our contract due to service failure by them unless it was reinstated within 7 days, as I am still without phone this has not happened.
I believe that I have been more than reasonable and patient in my dealings with Something and the continued failure by them to provide the service they are contracted for. My question is this, is there a simple way I can legally terminate the contract between us?