Another bt nightmare of nightmares!!!!

The_Saverman

I’m having the nightmare of nightmares with BT.
I don’t know where to turn and I’m totally shocked and dismayed by the way I’ve been treated by the callous BT.
Here are the facts…………..
I was rushed to hospital on 26/04/08 with a serious illness and was kept in an induced coma for several days. I remained an inpatient for several months under close observation.
On 13/05/08 I received a final demand letter from BT for £30.00.
On discharge from hospital I was advised to stay with relatives as I lived alone. Therefore, I did not return home to deal with my post and other matters.
When I returned to my home in July, I wrote to BT explaining why the bill was unpaid and giving them details of my unexpected hospitalization and serious illness.
In that letter, I made an offer of payment of £15 per month until the debt is cleared. I also asked BT to reinstate the line so that I had an immediate means of communication to my GP and surgeon at the hospital.
My Phone line had been disconnected and the debt passed on to a debt collector. The debt of £30 had increased to £85 and I was threatened with court action with court costs of £100.
I received a response from BT a few weeks later informing me that they had referred the matter to debt collectors therefore I should contact them.
I pay British Telecom for line rental and I get my phone calls via Talk Talk and my Broadband services are via AOL. To date I am still paying AOL £14.99 per month for Broadband services I cannot access due to the current situation with BT.
I even got the CAB (Citizen’s Advice Bureau) involved on my behalf. The CAB wrote a few letters of complaint and seemed to be getting somewhere initially. Somehow, BT cleverly managed to frustrate the CAB by passing the matter to various supervisors. The CAB was not able to speak to the same person during various stages of discussions. There were times when progress was being made but unfortunately the CAB were not able to speak to the same BT staff who were dealing with the matter at hand.
I wrote to the Debt Collectors explaining the situation. Fortunately, they were more sympathetic and they informed me that they had handed the matter back to BT. The CAB became so frustrated at the lack of progress that they gave up. The CAB advisor stated this was one of the worst cases she had ever dealt with. The CAB advisor was surprised by BT’s handling of the situation and the time it had taken to deal with the matter for which BT had still not given any written reply or explanation.
To date, the situation remains the same and I have not made any progress with this matter.
I would like to get my phone line reinstated and my broadband reconnected. I’m still paying £14 per month to AOL for broadband; I have no landline to access this service.
A friend has advised me to contact the telecommunications Ombudsman (OTELO) and pass my complaint to them.
What is best way to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion?

Heinz

Clearly, an issue which BT Company Representative will want to take control of as a matter of urgency.

DUTR

The_Saverman wrote: »

I’m having the nightmare of nightmares with BT.
I don’t know where to turn and I’m totally shocked and dismayed by the way I’ve been treated by the callous BT.
Here are the facts…………..
I was rushed to hospital on 26/04/08 with a serious illness and was kept in an induced coma for several days. I remained an inpatient for several months under close observation.
On 13/05/08 I received a final demand letter from BT for £30.00.
On discharge from hospital I was advised to stay with relatives as I lived alone. Therefore, I did not return home to deal with my post and other matters.
When I returned to my home in July, I wrote to BT explaining why the bill was unpaid and giving them details of my unexpected hospitalization and serious illness.
In that letter, I made an offer of payment of £15 per month until the debt is cleared. I also asked BT to reinstate the line so that I had an immediate means of communication to my GP and surgeon at the hospital.
My Phone line had been disconnected and the debt passed on to a debt collector. The debt of £30 had increased to £85 and I was threatened with court action with court costs of £100.
I received a response from BT a few weeks later informing me that they had referred the matter to debt collectors therefore I should contact them.
I pay British Telecom for line rental and I get my phone calls via Talk Talk and my Broadband services are via AOL. To date I am still paying AOL £14.99 per month for Broadband services I cannot access due to the current situation with BT.
I even got the CAB (Citizen’s Advice Bureau) involved on my behalf. The CAB wrote a few letters of complaint and seemed to be getting somewhere initially. Somehow, BT cleverly managed to frustrate the CAB by passing the matter to various supervisors. The CAB was not able to speak to the same person during various stages of discussions. There were times when progress was being made but unfortunately the CAB were not able to speak to the same BT staff who were dealing with the matter at hand.
I wrote to the Debt Collectors explaining the situation. Fortunately, they were more sympathetic and they informed me that they had handed the matter back to BT. The CAB became so frustrated at the lack of progress that they gave up. The CAB advisor stated this was one of the worst cases she had ever dealt with. The CAB advisor was surprised by BT’s handling of the situation and the time it had taken to deal with the matter for which BT had still not given any written reply or explanation.
To date, the situation remains the same and I have not made any progress with this matter.
I would like to get my phone line reinstated and my broadband reconnected. I’m still paying £14 per month to AOL for broadband; I have no landline to access this service.
A friend has advised me to contact the telecommunications Ombudsman (OTELO) and pass my complaint to them.
What is best way to bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion?

firstly I'm glad you recovered and able to tell the tale.
What confuses me, is had you not been in hospital, would you have paid the bill outright on reciept? I thought once the debt was sold on, it could not be passed back, how did you manage to continue paying talk talk?
I don't think it is fair to solely blame the line rental company as it doesn't seem like you acted in a way to resolve the matter a s swiftly as possible.

macman

A similar thing happened when my mother sudddenly went into hospital for a 6 weeks. Luckily I managed to get the final bill in time. I then put all her utilities onto direct debit so that such a situation could not arise again.

Jemma-T

Why don't you get someone else to install a new line? Plenty of companies will do it for 'free' if you sign up for 12-18 months etc.

This will solve your immediate problem with lack of phone line. As for BT, well, since nobody was looking after your business the account has run into problems. BT isn't your relative, nurse or babysitter -they are a private company. I realise you have extremely good reasons for your telling of the situation but that's not got much to do with the fact that you ignored their bills, phone calls and reminders. We know it's is directly related but BT didn't have a crystal ball.

BT should help you now though since they have the full facts. Saying that they aren't going to do you any favours and even if they do it could drain your mental resources further so maybe you could move your line and forget it. BT has reps here and I'm sure they'll help (they helped we and were very useful).

The_Saverman

DUTR wrote: »

firstly I'm glad you recovered and able to tell the tale.
What confuses me, is had you not been in hospital, would you have paid the bill outright on reciept? I thought once the debt was sold on, it could not be passed back, how did you manage to continue paying talk talk?
I don't think it is fair to solely blame the line rental company as it doesn't seem like you acted in a way to resolve the matter a s swiftly as possible.

Correct...........I would have paid the bill immediately had I not taken ill suddenly......I have an excellent payment record.

The bill was for £30......not £300 !!!!

I wrote to the debt collectors directly....with just the same info I sent BT. I detailed the suddeness/severity of my illness, my lenghty stay in hospital and including Medical certificates, doctor/hospital correspondence, and my hospital discharge form.

I also told them that I had consulted the CAB for advice and that they were dealing with the matter on my behalf. They were surprised by BT's actions and handed the debt back to BT..without further action/charges.

How can I react swiftly when I've suddenly been taken seriously ill and rushed to hospital and put into an induced coma?......nearly died btw!!

The_Saverman

DUTR wrote: »

firstly I'm glad you recovered and able to tell the tale.
What confuses me, is had you not been in hospital, would you have paid the bill outright on reciept? I thought once the debt was sold on, it could not be passed back, how did you manage to continue paying talk talk?
I don't think it is fair to solely blame the line rental company as it doesn't seem like you acted in a way to resolve the matter a s swiftly as possible.

Nearly forgot.........Talk Talk ..........were being paid by Direct Debit.
The same applies to AOL!!!

I'm still paying for AOL for a service I do not use.
I don't know what penalties/charges I would incur if I cancelled AOL.

Talk Talk don't sent me any further bills as I am not using their service!!!

BT_company_representative

Hi Saverman,

Sounds like you have had a bad time of it recently, I hope that you are on the mend. I will be able to look into your account and see what we can do for you on this matter. This is not something that I can answer over the forum as I will need account specific details from you. I have sent you a PM with my contact details. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers
Sean
BT Support

The_Saverman

BT_company_representative wrote: »

Hi Saverman,

Sounds like you have had a bad time of it recently, I hope that you are on the mend. I will be able to look into your account and see what we can do for you on this matter. This is not something that I can answer over the forum as I will need account specific details from you. I have sent you a PM with my contact details. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers
Sean
BT Support

Thanks for your help!!

A relative contacted OTELO yesterday on my behalf and they gave me some helpful information.

I'm really fed up with the whole situation, but I really hope you can help.

I've sent you a Private message with the info you requested

I will await your advice before I respond to OTELO.

Many Thanks
The Saverman