Cant pay now!! Re the Magnificent British Tellecommunications

Spursboy_2

After another exhausting conversation with B.T on the phone this morning ive decided to come on here for some advice and help!.....
On the run up to Christmas my B.T bill was getting a bit out of control, i was being charged for extra GB i was using on the internet and i was overusing my phone. Anyway in November i received an interum bill and had to set up a payment plan. This plan was that i was to pay £140 pm by DD. This was due to commence on the 15th December, However on the 15th November B.T applied to my bank for payment which was denied and incurred me bank charges! I rang B.T and after being passed from pillar to post i was finally told by someone who'll remain nameless that "i was miss-informed and that the payment were actually scheduled to start from November"
I argued this untill i was blue in the face and finally conceeded to pay the charges myself.
Now to this month......... i went into my bank on the 18th and noticed that B.T had not taken thier payment from the 15th and so asked the clerk if it had been applied for and i was told that it hadn't been applied for because the DD was cancelled by B.T on the 11th January!!!!! I have been on to B.T for the past couple of days who confirm that it was cancelled but do not admit it was them, in fact they totally denie that it was them!! I offered payment there and then on the phone by my card but was told that this would not be acceptable and that i would have to immediatley pay my full debt. After more frustration and arguing i have now got it down to £400pm!!!!! i can no way afford this! Does anyone know wether i should be put back onto the origanal payment plan??
All comments would be appreciated...... thanks

Spursboy

macman

BT cannot cancel a DD on your account. Only you can do that. They can certainly fail to apply to take the DD payment, but only you can create or cancel a DD.
So I suggest you have a further conversation with your bank.

Mark_In_Hampshire

1. Do everything with BT in writing. That way, you won't have conversations where all knowledge is denied. Actually this is good practice regardless of who the supplier is whether they're noted for billing errors or not.

2. I think it used to be the case that your Bank can actually cancel a direct debit mandate (e.g. you repeatedly have a DD reversed from the same payee because they're incompetent). I find it hard to believe a Bank would do themselves out of fees by protecting their customers these days, however.

Jemma-T

Sounds like you are with the wrong company if you are being charged for extra Internet and are 'overusing' your phone.

Pick another supplier https://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php

Phone BT and ask for your MAC and leave. Clear your BT debt too of course at a reasonable amount to you. Manual payments may be best.

BT_company_representative

Hello Spursboy,

I am so sorry to hear of all the problems you have had trying to pay the BT bill. I will be more than happy to look into this for you. Please can you email your order number to me with your username and contact number to reach you on. You can find our contact details on our profile.

Thanks

Fionnuala

Spursboy_2

Thx all for your replies.. in answer to Macman ive returned to the bank who insist they have not cancelled anything and have promised to conduct a detailed investigation as to how it was!
In reply to mark , i have tried a few times to get B.T to answer e-mails thus having a record as asking for anything in writing over the phone is a joke! ..... NO e-mails have ever been answered!
In reply to Jemma... i changed to the top package in Dec after major rows with B.T as they stated that i had downloaded 80GB in a week!!!! Never have i been given an explanation allthough i did have a call from someone who knew nothing about computers , broadband how it works, internet speeds e.t.c e.t.c All i was told was that B.T recieve data to say how much youve downloaded but not a breakdown!!!
Anyway on to the B.T company representative......... in the morning i will arrange to contact you allthough i would prefer e-mails as im sick of talking to countless staff who give me countless different answers and solutions only for the next member to deny anything has been done!! im also unsure what your asking for when you ask for my "order no."-- i havent ordered anything!


Once again thx for all your answers
Spursboy

Jemma-T

You are still with the wrong company.

See what else is out there.

Spursboy_2

Well B.T decided to cut me off yesterday Jemma , and after online chats with them this morn everything is now cancelled. So can u suggest anything?

Jemma-T

What's available https://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php

macman

Spursboy wrote: »

Well B.T decided to cut me off yesterday Jemma , and after online chats with them this morn everything is now cancelled. So can u suggest anything?

Not much point in anyone suggesting any alternatives, as you don't have any until you have a working landline again.

JasX

macman wrote: »

Not much point in anyone suggesting any alternatives, as you don't have any until you have a working landline again.

My understanding was virgin media didn;t require a BT line, also heard a rumor certain Tiscali services might not need one if you pay line rental to Tiscali but not certain