BT Final Bill scandal - “One-off” charges - beware

macman

Is this 'very light vegetation' perhaps a tree or larger shrub? I'm assuming the BT cable is coming into the house at eaves height. So we're not talking about a patch of daffodils, are we? A small tree branch can easily abrade a cable due to wind action over the years.
Perhaps the OP could post a pic, so that we can have a better understanding of the issue.

iniltous

The OP may want to consider an e mail to BT's CEO, [EMAIL="Ian.livingstone@bt.com"]Ian.livingstone@bt.com[/EMAIL] (probably)...other people with disputes seem to have success with cutting out the lower level of fault/dispute staff and going straight to the top, emails to the CEO are dealt with by the high level disputes team and tend to get a better resolution,
I'm still confused though about the level of charge, if the £325 for the repair is correct then that presumably is 2 hours of TRC (time related charges) as well as the 'call out' fee , 2 hours TRC is a lot if the repair was effected by replacing a cable damaged by 'light vegitation', obviously if your property is served overhead ( a wire from a telegraph pole) then the cable from the house to the pole could easily be replaced in the first hour, so the repair shouldnt be more than £200 ish ( 1st hour or part hour so if it took 20 mins to replace the wire a whole hour is charged) you may want to ask even if charges are valid why 2 hours claimed.
Does the OP recall being asked to check with just a corded phone in the test socket of the master socket by BT ,as this is the same CAPC script as most chargable visits are due to the end user having thing like faulty adsl filters, if you recall BT asking you to unplug everything and try a corded phone in the test socket then they did advise of the possible charges, although in your case testing in the test jack wouldnt have proved anything as the fault would have remained, but it would indicate if they mentioned charges or not

Seans_dad

Thanks again Macman and Iniltous for the advice.

I’ll try to cover your points below as I have now spoken to my wife at length on this matter (she was there when the engineer called).She has clarified a number of issues:

Point 1

My wife was a witness to my original phone call to BT to report the fault. She insists - as well as I do - that there was no discussion of charges. BT could say that I merely replied ‘yes’ to any notification of charges, but as my wife said, I would have baulked at even a £20 charge.

So - let’s not beat around the bush here – BT have lied when saying that ‘I was informed of the charges beforehand’. My wife and I will stand up in court under oath and swear this. The onus is on BT to play me the tape recording of that phone call to prove otherwise.

Point 2

On the actual call-out to repair the BT-owned line, the only comment the engineer made to my wife about the line was: “Is it ok if I cut some of this clematis ?”. No mention at all that it was causing any damage by growing nearby. My wife is the horticulturist in our household and would swear in court that it was nigh impossible for that plant to cause the damage to that (decades-old) line. Again, the onus is on BT to provide the evidence that it did.

Point 3

My wife states the engineer’s visit was ‘about an hour’. Again she is adamant on this matter. There was no request by the engineer to check with just a corded phone in the test socket of the master socket. How BT dare charge £300 plus for an hour’s work is a disgrace in itself. As stated above, my average annual BT bill is around £200 to £220 – so you are talking about a repair bill equal to around one and a half years total charges for the landline. Shocking.

BT are trying to pass on normal wear and tear costs to their customers. They will do anything possible to maintain the fat bonuses and dividend payable to the senior management. In this case BT, I will see you in court.

I have emailed the BT CEO [EMAIL="ben.verwaayen@bt.com"]ben.verwaayen@bt.com[/EMAIL] about this matter - asking him why BT are treating long-term customers so poorly. I’ve provided a link to this thread for him to read. Like you intimate, Iniltous, you will only get stock answers from the BT company reps on here. They merely have to keep to a script and maintain the ‘wall’ to customers. I’ll let you know if I get any response at all from Verwaayen.

twinmom04

hi seans dad

we had the same issue with bt called them out 3 times for a faulty line never fixed came the 4th time and there was a break in the line. the engineer fix the line and went next bill had £200 on it, they stated when i called it was 'malicious damage' I cancelled my DD paid the bill which I should have been chharged for y calls this then continued to go on for 6 months. to get this resolved i had to go to the chairmans office and then again after to get charges on my account refunded. I'll pm the phone number for you. if i have any issues i go there directly now.

Seans_dad

Thanks for that number, Twinmom. I'll give it a call when I get the receipt from my email to BT.

Seans_dad

Iniltous, I should have taken your advice on who the current BT CEO is. Verwaayen is yesterday's man and my email came back rejected as unknown addressee.

Emailed [EMAIL="ian.livingston@bt.com"]ian.livingston@bt.com[/EMAIL] and this mail hasn’t come back as rejected yet – so fingers-crossed.

I’ll let everyone know what response I get.

ste_coxy

Seans_dad wrote: »

Iniltous, I should have taken your advice on who the current BT CEO is. Verwaayen is yesterday's man and my email came back rejected as unknown addressee.

Emailed [EMAIL="ian.livingston@bt.com"]ian.livingston@bt.com[/EMAIL] and this mail hasn’t come back as rejected yet – so fingers-crossed.

I’ll let everyone know what response I get.

It is always best to go right to the top I have found - I had major issues with 3 Mobile Broadband and after looking on here for advice I was given the CEO's email. He then passed this onto their executive office who are their top complaints dept (who the indian call centres never tell you about) and whilst they didn't resolve my complaint I felt I had got somewhere. They sent me a final offer letter and after 3 months (they want 3 months to have passed so the company can deal with your issue) I went to OTELO - http://www.otelo.org.uk/ They were extremely helpful and non judgemental. After probably no more than 5 weeks after they dealt with it I got the result I wanted - to cancel my contract because of crap service and a £75 refund to boot.

I know the circumstances are different but I just wanted to let you know not to dispair and give up!

Seans_dad

Thanks Coxy for that email address and I will certainly use it if this dispute goes further.

I think there is a level of frustration and desperation when one is facing a large faceless organisation - so any offer of support is gratefully received.

I am pleased to say there is some potential good news. I DID get a reply to my email from Mr Livingston’s office - and a lady did contact me from BT today. However the call was to my home phone no. and was picked up by my eldest daughter, as I was at work. I will contact this lady tomorrow and let you all know what happens.

aah

oh good luck with it Seansdad (i guess your daughter is not Sean?) I am horrified by this tale having come onto the site tonight to find out if I can get a better deal from another provider than bt who have been overcharging us for years....

I cannot believe that you cannot have plants in your garden overgrown or not and rent a telephone line as well.

Seans_dad

Thanks Aah for your support.

Well I can tell you BT have now responded from the ‘Chairman’s Office’ and they still refuse to rescind the charges. Here’s the real issue: they said ‘as my original call was a ringback, they do not keep a tape of the conversation’. Absolutely ridiculous.

So, they have no evidence at all that I agreed to their preposterous charges at the outset (save a ‘tick in a box’). My wife and I will stand up in court and swear under oath that we were not informed of their mind-boggling call-out rates. My hope is the onus is on BT to prove they did inform us – which, of course, they won’t be able to.

The other problem BT have is proving that ‘overgrown’ vegetation caused any damage to THEIR cable and that they could justify a charge of £325 (incl. VAT) for an hour’s repair work.

It seems BT are enforcing a zero tolerance regime at the moment to maximise their (falling) profits as people leave them in droves due to the recession. Another problem they have now is (I believe) that it will cost them to go through Otelo. I would hope they will eventually lose - and this disgraceful affair end up costing them dear. In terms of future custom from all our family and friends, they are probably down thousands. Serves them bloomin’ well right.

We’re going on our family holiday soon, but I’ll keep you all informed of my progress of the next step with Otelo.