Problem with !!!Carphone Warehouse!!! please help

newnoo2

Hello,
I'm hoping someone can help me with a ridiculous situation i am in with the Carphone Warehouse. A few years back i had a contract with the Carphone Warehouse and nearing the end, say about 3 months left, i took out a new contract with Vodaphone who bought out the remainder of my contract (it was an O2 contract btw). When i phoned to cancel my O2 contract the guy i spoke too seemed very helpful and said that instead of canceling my contract outright he could put credit on my account and put me on the lowest tarrif so that next year he could phone me to offer me a good deal on a new contract, it sounded to me like a dormant account kinda thing. As this would not cost me anything i agreed and since that point i have heard nothing from them. I thought it was worth leaving my account with them open as you often get better deals if you are an existing customer, and this was the impression i was given from the Carphone Warehouse.
However, i just received a letter to my home address saying that i now owe them £42.61. Basically the credit they placed on my account for the year has run out and they have carried on charging me. I do not have a phone from them, nor have i been offered a phone with them and i do not use the number linked to the account since i phoned with the intention of canceling.
I feel that they have used this technique as a way of keeping me tied in to a contract that i don't want. I would find this totally acceptable if they had sent me a letter to say that my credit was running out and would i like to carry on with the contract for longer but i have heard nothing from them up until this letter. I might add that the letter is very aggressive with threats of selling my debt on to a credit agency and affecting my credit rating which i feel is unfair. They can see that i never use the number linked to the account and should have the practices in place to confirm whether the customer would like to still pay for the line rental for something they don't use!!!
I hope someone can advise me of the best way for me to handle this situation. I have already asked for details of the original phone call but they told me that would cost me £10 to get so don't know if it's worth it.
I understand that their excuse is that it is a rolling contract, however, the reason they gave me for doing this was so that they could phone me and offer me a new contract the following year so i don't see why i would want a rolling contract if this was the point of having a dormant like account with them. I have not received a phone call from them because i DON'T use that phone number that's the whole point!!
Please if anyone has any ideas i would be very grateful. I'm even open to paying it and then trying to claim back the money through the small claims court because i really have had a horrible experience with the Carphone Warehouse, i feel that they are bullies in the way they handle their affairs.
Many thanks for reading, sorry if i waffled on :-)
Neil

DarkConvict

If you are 3 months in arrears the letters will be threatening to send it to a debt collection agency, its standard policy.

The £10 for details is a SAR, and as this was done over the phone i am unsure what useful info the SAR would get you.

Problem is, you admit to not closing the account but signing up to credit so in hence a free phone for a year. The account is open and as such is billable. If it is not cancelled you incur charges that need to be paid. All you can argue is that they did not call 12 months later as promised to deal with this account before this problem arose. You could try consumer direct too, they give advice on your rights.

But in all honestly, my harsh personal opinion is tell them to cancel and pay up the ~£50. The contract was still active and it is your responsibility to look after it.