HELP! BT have stolen 500 quid and can't find my details on their system!

missuniverse69

Hi there fellow MoneySavers - I have a problem I hope someone can advise me on.

I recently returned from NZ for a quick visit to the family - I emigrated there about 2 and a half years ago. On my return to the UK, I discovered a credit card that I believed my mother had cancelled for me has been getting charged around 16 quid EVERY MONTH by BT Yahoo for some unknown service that they are obviously not providing, and that I have not been billed for nor contacted about.

On calling them (and predictably reaching their Indian call centre) I was asked for my old phone number or BT email address/username for identification. I managed to find the old phone number, but neither that nor any combination of my full name, old address, postcode, existing email address or the credit card details that they are charging would allow them to locate me on their 'system'.

Really - what kind of organisation are they running??!! And what sort of 'database' doesn't allow them to find customers with any of the above details??!! They then asked me to call Barclaycard back to get further details of the payee account from them. Of course, Barclaycard told me that it doesn't work like that - it's a credit card - they don't have a 'payee account'. BT Yahoo simply request payment and they make it.

So I have now been told by BT that I must wait 15 working days for them to find me 'manually' - which I assume means sifting through mounds of archived paperwork? And following that, I must wait another 21 days for the money to be returned to me, IF they find that I have been charged wrongly (which I clearly have!)

Does anyone know how I might be able to speed up this process? Perhaps reach someone from BT in the UK who actually gives a ****?

And would I be entitled to claim for the obvious interest charges I have accrued on my Barclarcard as a result of BT effectively stealing my money for the past two and a half years???

Please help me, I'm desperate! I'm returning to NZ in two days and really don't want to be sorting this out with the added frustration of being 12,000 miles and +12 hours away!

Thanks MoneySavers.

savemoney

There is a BT rep on here that may help

Online now why not PM them

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/member.php?u=687371

Thought bt call centres were going to be UK based now

Browntoa

you may run into problems if they find you never cancelled said service , looks like probably for Broadband ??

somethingcorporate

What was the service you were being billed for?

Your post doesn't actually say so it could be quite important. You may find that you failed to cancel a service and you actually owe the money so you may need to be a bit polite in your dealings because getting your money back may not be as straightforward as if they were billing you for something incorrectly.

missuniverse69

Thanks for your replies folks, I'll definitely try the BT rep.

I'm afraid I have no idea what service they're billing me for, but the one thing I am sure of is that I meticulously cancelled ALL services before I left the country (which, interestingly enough, didn't stop Tiscali from continuing to bill me for internet long after they had disconnetcted me).

And besides, if BT are billing me monthly for a service, shouldn't I have some sort of bill or statement sent to me, either by post or email? I have had neither.

missuniverse69

OK, just tried to PM the BT rep but they don't accept PMs. Any ideas?

JokerDurden

Keep saying BT are s##t, BT are S##t and one will be along shortly.

baza52

missuniverse69 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies folks, I'll definitely try the BT rep.

I'm afraid I have no idea what service they're billing me for, but the one thing I am sure of is that I meticulously cancelled ALL services before I left the country (which, interestingly enough, didn't stop Tiscali from continuing to bill me for internet long after they had disconnetcted me).

And besides, if BT are billing me monthly for a service, shouldn't I have some sort of bill or statement sent to me, either by post or email? I have had neither.

you say you dont know what service your being billed for then say Tiscali are billing you for internet and then BT are billing you.

Is it Tiscali or BT?

missuniverse69

I think you misread me Baza52 - the bit about Tiscali was an interesting aside, to illustrate that regardless of whether you cancel a service or not, some companies seem to think it is acceptable to keep charging you!

LilacPixie

I was reading it like the OP cc number was being debited by BT Yahoo for an unknown service. Before the OP left the UK their ISP was Tiscali and they had an issue with tiscalis billing after disconection as well which is now resolved.

missuniverse69

Precisely, LilacPixie. Some peole have all the luck.