Pipex Tiscali stole money from my bank account

davetheWave

...and they refuse to pay me back.


A long time ago I signed up with Pipex broadband. Pipex had great customer service. If you had a problem you could pick up the phone and an intelligent person answered and you could talk to them and they would help you.

...and then Tiscali bought the company. I jumped ship to a new local provider. One who answers the phone and says How can I help you?

..and all should have been well, but pipex, one month after I'd left took £163.21 from my account. There now follows a brief history of the last 12 months.

April 2008
Me: Oi, you've pinched money from my account.


May 2008
Me: Are you going to pay me back then?
Pipex: Please be informed that I have checked your account and found out that we have requested a Direct debit refund for the amount of £163.21 reference no.: XXXXXXX. Rest assured that this will reflect on your statement within 14 days from now.


July 2008
Me: Not in my account is it?
Pipex: I can confirm that your Pipex account has been credited with the amount of £163.21, however, due to difficulties involved with refunding the amount to your registered payment method, the refund has not happened.
Please call our Customer Care Team on the number provided below to discuss on how you want this amount to be refunded to you.

Me: Calling 0871 number and after 1 hour etc:
Pipex: Our system won't allow us to credit your account so we'll send you a cheque.


Feb 2009
Me: Have you gone bust? Where is my cheque?
Pipex : From checking your account on our system I can confirm that the refund of 163.21 was applied to your bank account on the 8th of December 2008. If you have not received this please inform us of this, and we will investigate the issue further.

March 2009
Me: I have checked my bank account. You did not send me any money in December.
Pipex: I have been advised that the direct debit refund provisioned, most likely was returned to your credit card, the origin of the payment. Records denote your card as ending in the digits 22. In order that this matter is finalised, we would request you peruse your credit card records for a refund in December. We would require you forward these records to us, at which point we may then investigate further.

Me: I don't have a card/bank account etc that has digits ending in 22. I can't send you bank statments for something I don't have. PAY ME MY MONEY BACK.

Pipex: Silence

macman

Is this on a recurring debit/credit card payment or a direct debit? Assuming that you cancelled the DD (if it was on DD) after you closed the account I don't follow how they can have done this? What does your bank say about it?
I feel your pain, as I've just had my phone account compulsorily migrated from Toucan to Pipex and have already experienced the intricate mysteries of their call centre system...

mandi

If it was a DD, and you didnt know about it , you can claim a Full & immediate refund from your bank, under the DD guarantee.

P.s Tiscali customer service :mad:

davetheWave

It was a recurring debit from my Halifax BS current account. At the time I raised it with Halifax but they said it was not a credit card so they were not liable.

davetheWave

Pipex have just called me to say that they aknowledge that I do not have a bank card ending in digits 22, are very sorry and will be passing to their finance department to pay out.

I can expect a response in 72 hours.

I make that lunchtime Friday then.

We shall see.

davetheWave

...for the record.

Dear Mr. Hurst,

Thank you for your email, the contents of which have been noted.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience which you have experienced while requesting your refund.

As advised on the phone I have advised our Finance Department of your previous correspondence regarding your refund and requested that they investigate this matter immediately so that you may receive your refund without any further delay.

I wish to thank you for your continued patience and understanding regarding this matter.
Kind regards,

Garry Rafferty
Pipex Customer Relations

Our Customer Care Department is available on 0871 663 3300. Calls are charged at 5p/min from a Pipex line or at 10p/min from a BT line. Calls from mobiles and other providers may vary. Lines are open 8am-9pm seven days a week

macman

Don't forget to ask them for interest and compensation-say 2 months free service?

davetheWave

Get an email today from pipex saying they now consider the case closed.

I emailed them back saying I didn't as I still haven't been paid.

They responed with this.


Thank you for contacting Pipex Business Customer Care.
I can confirm my colleague has requested the credit of 163.21 including VAT to be refunded to you via cheque to you at the next available opportunity.
Cheque refunds need to be verified by our head office and can take up to 4 weeks to be issued and sent out to the customer.
I have put a notification in my personal calendar to check the progress of the request on Friday 17th April 2009 and will contact you via e-mail with regards to the outcome.
I have set this ticket to auto-close.
I hope this information helps.
If you need any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards,
Customer Care
Pipex Business




This is a different story from the phone conversation I had with Garry Rafferty on Tuesday who said I should expect the cheque within 3 days.

I am really begiing to think Pipex has gone bust and has no money.


I shall of course reply.