Tiscali not claimed DD for over a year, and never informed me...

Pete*G_4

I have an interesting conundrum, hopefully I've posted this in the right place - I did think that the "Budgeting and Bank Accounts" section was correct but I'm not sure so here it is. Apologies for the probable essay in advance, too.

All my DD's come out of one account, kept separate to my current account for "day to day living". Each week when I'm paid, a s/order transfers an amount into the account that will cover all my bills. I also put a lump sum in when creating this setup, so there is money to cover in the event of a payday falling after a bill is due. Basically, the set-up is self sufficient.

Having had this all in place for best part of 2 years, I cancelled my monthly paper statements and signed up to online banking, but in all honesty I don't use it as the whole shebang sorts itself out and ticks over nicely (the only time it's accessed is if I need to put a lump sum in to cover the first bill of a new phone contract for example).

This morning when the postie arrived, I had an interesting letter from an agency called C.A.R.S. claiming I owed £247.30 for an unpaid account with Tiscali. Now, please excuse the approximate maths but it works out at 15 months worth of internet, give or take. I have never had a letter from Tiscali, nor have they said anything when I've spoken to them on the phone (I recently changed to BT, and had several conversations as there was an issue with my MAC code following BT issuing me with a new telephone number). Having looked at the last two 60 days statements from my "bills" account online, it would appear the DD wasn't claimed - despite the fact the direct debit instruction is still in place with Barclays. My account section on Tiscali's own site also stats the DDI is still in place, confusingly.

The money's still in my account so paying it isn't a problem, but before I do so I thought I'd ask the masses here for an opinion - surely if the company doesn't claim a perfectly good direct debit, there is an element of responsibility on their part and thus all or part of it should be waived?

I work in the fitness industry, and when we've failed to setup a DD before the cut-off for the month, or when we've failed to claim a month's DD at all, we've never persued it as we're under the impression it's our fault, so our loss. Is this the case and thus the "debt" should be written off?

in the mean time too, I've spoken to CARS and told them there is a dispute with it, so they are putting any/all actions (of which there won't be yet anyway :rolleyes:) "on hold",

pramsay13

Legally I don't think there will be any recourse (although I'm no expert) but you might get lucky.
I had a look at the financial ombudsman site and they would reject a case where you had ample opportunity to check what was happening. They would say that you had monthly statements (albeit online) and that you should have checked.

Pete*G_4

I'm aware the ombudsman probably won't want to know, and I guess I'm not overly worried as the funds are there in the account where they've just not been claimed - I'm just wondering if there is any kind of legal responsibility on Tiscali's part, not to allow an account to go over a year unpaid without contacting the accountholder (aside from monthly statements/bills). You'd have thought they'd have cut off the connection after a few months at the very least!

If the money weren't sat there in the account, I'd be seriously worried about not being able to afford to pay it, so on an ethical ground I'd expect a company in this situation to have some sort of policy or there to be a legal position on the matter. After all, it's their screw-up so why should they get away with it?

mrJ_5

Perhaps phone up and offer to pay half - who should really check your bills to make sure that you paid them.

I think such a bill rule exists, though I believe it is that if the bill is more than 5 years old, then they cannot bill you....

Pete*G_4

mrJ wrote: »

who should really check your bills to make sure that you paid them.

I figured someone would throw that into the mix, but according to the ombudsman, there is no legal obligation on my part to do so.

see the first line of the very first case study here - http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/38/standing-orders-direct-debits-38.htm


I'm not disputing the fact it's not been paid, and the money is there to pay it if need be, I'm just curious that a company can basically say "sorry we haven't billed you for the last year, but we want it all paid now up front thank you very much".

kwikbreaks

I agree with your initial thoughts that maybe this isn't the correct section of MSE to post this. OK the guilty party is an ISP but would you have posted the question here if it was your council tax?

FWIW I think they are being unreasonable passing this to a debt collection agency (which I presume it is) without ever contacting you quite apart from their screwup in not drawing against the DD. That said I imagine they are still legally entitled to the charges but not any penalty charges as the problem was their own.

macman

Pete*G wrote: »

I'm aware the ombudsman probably won't want to know, and I guess I'm not overly worried as the funds are there in the account where they've just not been claimed - I'm just wondering if there is any kind of legal responsibility on Tiscali's part, not to allow an account to go over a year unpaid without contacting the accountholder (aside from monthly statements/bills). You'd have thought they'd have cut off the connection after a few months at the very least!

If the money weren't sat there in the account, I'd be seriously worried about not being able to afford to pay it, so on an ethical ground I'd expect a company in this situation to have some sort of policy or there to be a legal position on the matter. After all, it's their screw-up so why should they get away with it?

Legally they can pursue the debt for up to 6 years. Moral/ethical considerations are another topic entirely...
I don't understand why you think they are 'getting away with it'? You've had 15 months of free internet with zero interest. You are the beneficiary!

Pete*G_4

i'm not saying they're "getting away" with anything other than demanding full payment now, for a service that they should have been debitting monthly and it is through no fault of my own that they have failed to honour their side of the contract..

As I said, we've tried unsuccessfully in the past to persue missed DDebit payments from clients at work - the outcome has always been that the onus is on us to claim the DD if the DDI is in tact both ends.

macman

Then offer them half now and the balance over an agreed period, say 6 months? No one would dispute that this is their error, but the debt remains yours.

ger_ryan22

I would never in a million years go back to Tiscali, even if they offered me broadband for free. They are the most useless company I have ever known. It took me 4 months and 18 seperate phone calls to cancel my BB sub a couple of years back. Absolute tripe.