Please help

pootle_2

Dear all, This is silly I know because I should have checked, However, two years ago I signed up to Demon broadband and opted to pay by monthly direct debits. I filled all the relevant forms in but the bank/Demon never set it up and because the service was being provided and I never heard otherwise I assumed everything was o.k. Now I am being landed with a bill for almost £700 that I can't pay. Demons debt department has been in touch and said that if I pay right away they will give me a 37% discount otherwise the best that they can offer is 2 years to pay back the full amount. They explained that normally when they do not receive payment they susspend the account but somehow the system has missed me and my non payment has remained undetected until now. Is there anything I can do or are these my only two options? Any and all help, advice or guidance will be greatly appreciated. P.S they have given me until this afternoon to call back or the 37% deal is off.

misspoppy

sorry i don't know what to suggest but this will bump you up a bit.

pootle_2

Hi, Thanks

I said I could afford to pay £10 a month or something but they said that this was not acceptable and the longest they would allow me to pay back over is 24 months if I cannot pay the discounted rate right away (which I can't unless I borrow it) I know I should have checked but when your finances aren't good you tend to bury your head in the sand. I do feel a little aggreived however that their system failed to detect me and it has gone on for this long. Do I have any rights here?

ByJAR

Hello,

I have a demon account, given them my DD details, get nice statments in the post telling me they will draw the money, but no they don't. I have telephoned them and even told them that they are not drawing.

I would push it back to them, its a fault at demon's end not yours.

Regards

immoral_angeluk

We had the same happen with Bt and we got sent a bill after 6 months for £150 odd. I complained and said that I'd called a couple of times about it and after looking into it they wrote it off because it was their error.
IF you've given them all the details why should YOU have to pay for their !!!! up?

vix1978_2

Sorry if I'm getting the wrong end of the stick, but were you using the Demon broadband? If so they were providing you with a service, and even if the direct debit wasn't coming out of your account in an ideal world you should have set aside the amount to pay them (I realise when you have debts this isn't the case as I've been there). But surely this means you would need to pay the money back, and if you can only afford £10 a month perhaps push them more on this and provide a copy of you SOA, if possible also saying that other creditors have accepted lower payments.

chris-t_5

beware that if you setup a DD then they can take the full amount from your account! Its happend to me before, DD basically allows them to take money from your account at anytime. Given that they havent been taking the money I suggest you check with your bank(or online) to see if there is a DD for the company. If there is cancel it then speak with demon and ask for a payment scheme to repay the money (reminding them that it was there fault!!!)

pootle_2

Thank You All So Much For Your Help. You Have Made Me Feel Like I Am Not Alone. I Have Decided To Beg Borrow And Steal And Accept The 37% Discounted Rate. I Hope This Is The Right Decision.

Thanks Once Again

Pootle : )