Help regarding phone bill

andykiko

Hello,

I recently cancelled my phone bill, in March 2009 which they confirmed and requested a PAC code. The lady on the phone told me that I had 30 days to use it before it expired. So I was shocked today when I had a two month contract bill for the phone which I had cancelled.

Okay, the guy on the phone said I should have been told that if I didn't use the PAC code my contract would carry on. I wasn't told this information. He also said I was sent a letter, again I wasn't sent a letter. He also said I should have been told a "auto disclaimer", again no auto disclaimer was told.

I have no intention of paying this bill as they failed to tell me the vital information that the bill would roll on! So what can I do? Do I have a legal footing?

They even tried ringing me to get a new contract so they knew I was cancelling the thing. I can't cancel the current contract until I pay the "remaining balance".

Any advice would be fantastic.

Andy.

Jon_01

The info you've been given is correct. If you don't use your pac the contract carries on.
The network would argue that you could have changed your mind about leaving. Also some people ask for a pac as part of the upgrade process (to try to get a better deal), with no intention of ever using it.

You'll need to get on to CS and get a team leader to listen to the call, they'll then sort it out for you...

andykiko

Was there not obligation for them to tell me that the contract would roll on?

They never told me this once.

I was on the phone for ages and the guy refused pretty much to put me through to the manager.Try again?

Jon_01

Well yes, there's a script they're supposed to read out. Which is why you need to get a TL to listen to the call and confirm that you didn't get that read out to you.

The best why to get to a TL is just not get off the phone, that plays havoc with the agents call stat's (and there nothing worse than that in a call centre !).

Best bet, call in between 9 and 5 weekdays, there are more TL in then. In the evenings and weekends there can 1 between a number of teams, if he's on the phone already you could be there hours !

andykiko

Cheers Jon. I'm going to ring first thing tomorrow and do what you said.

Thanks very much.

Jon_01

Let us know how you get on and which network it was. Good Luck.

andykiko

Rightio, I said I wanted the team leader to listen to the call, he decided instead to just waive the two months and the 30 day notice for the cancellation. So all in all it looks like everything is sorted out.

Thanks for the advice again Jon, it really helped.

andykiko

Update:

So operator 1 says "yes, okay, we'll waive the £52 but you'll have to pay a month for the notice to cancel"

I say "no I'm not happy. I wasn't told about the charge on the PAC code"

He then goes to talk to the manager who says "Okay, we can waive the £52 and the £25 on the final month"

I said "So I don't have to pay anything and can cancel?"

He says "yes"

I ask him to put me through to cancellation and I go through the same thing. He waives the £52 but suddenly the £25 for the final month isn't waived. So basically operator 1 was lying to me. I ask to speak to the manager who then says he can't listen to the call but the original operator who gave me the PAC apparently said that she had put it in the system as she had told me about the charge. Now she never did but according to them the system can't be wrong.

It means I have to pay £28 for nothing unless I can do something. Has anyone got any advice? I want to send an email to a CEO of the company explaining my disgust. I was basically lied to and then treated as a liar. I'm fuming.

andykiko

Sorry for the double post. I sent an angry email to the ceo office of Three who sent me an email to look into my dispute.

Anyway, I got a call from one of the original operatives who I spoke to who said that my account was now credited and I would not need to pay the £59 quid or a final bill. And he also said that he saw I had esculated the matter!!

Finally, I think I can safely say it is sorted.

Lesson: Never ask for a PAC code.

macman

A PAC is essentially an 'option to cancel' within 30 days. If not used within that period then it expires and the contract continues.