Taking BT to a small claims court for loss of earnings?

liamwalshdotcom

The level of grief I have had from BT beggars belief. I can only assume that this level of incompetence and negligence has affected others.

Three weeks ago I received an SMS and email from them saying they were sorry to lose me as a customer, when I had made no attempt to leave, nor was I moving home.

After calling them it seems that my upstairs neighbour (same door number, same postcode) was leaving. I had called immediately upon receiving these messages and they assured me that this was an error and the cancellation would not be going ahead.

A few days later the same thing happened, and I called again. Again they apologised and assured me my services were not going to be cancelled. I asked for a note to be put on my account, ensuring that only I, the bill payer and sole resident could cancel my service.

Of course I was told that they would do so - and again an 'apology' for any inconvenience caused.

My inconvenience at this point was two hours on hold on the telephone. They were just getting started inconveniencing me.

Yesterday my broadband did not work, after an hour and a half speaking to various people and techincal support they discovered that my broadband had after all, been cancelled. A full three weeks after my first phone call telling them that I had not asked for this.

I was on hold for so long that the battery died on my phone. When I called back, I was told that the person I had spoken to and indeed that whole department were now gone for the day.

Today I have had another hour of phone calls. With different people telling me different things, one engineer told me that everything would be fine when I got home, and then a voicemail was left stating that no - it was cancelled and it would be at least five working days before I could be reconnected.

This, in itself is wholely unacceptable, but to be expected to take a day off work while I await an engineers visit (it took two attempts to get it installed in the first place as the first engineer didn't have the correct tools) is far beyond the pail.

I am a computer science contractor - self employed - it is galling to be patronised and told that it is 'technically impossible' for this issue (that is entirely BT's fault) to be resolved any faster. When you know that it is completely possible, but just inconvenient for them just adds insult to injury.

I would like to be compensated for the five and half hours I've spent on the phone so far and if I have to take a day off work (unpaid) while I await an engineer I would like to know what legal recourse I can take.

As it is only tot up a couple of days of my time this should leave me under the limit for a small claims court.

I will not be happy with any £20 credit, wine or flowers. This is costing myself and the people who employ me significant sums of money, through no fault of my own.

I can forgive actual techincal difficulties, but the fault here lies in BT's own customer services, processes and beaurocracy.

Has anyone successfully gained an acceptable level of recompense from BT through the small claims courts? Or the communications ombudsman?

DonnyDave

It doesn't make any sense to suggest that an engineer's visit will be required as all is OK at your end.

Ensure that you get it in writing that this was a "mistake" because it could come back to haunt you later on if they decide to hold you to a new contract due to their mistake.

E-mail warren.buckley@bt.com He is the MD of BT Retail (the bit of BT that deals with you).

As I say, as well as compensation I would ask for it in writing that it is a mistake and keep the letter for future reference.

liamwalshdotcom

Thanks Dave
I have emailed Ian Livingstone but I will also email warren.buckley
I have received nothing in writing yet but the next call I make I will record and get it in writing. So far I have spent six hours on the phone. Everyone is polite, everyone is powerless.

DonnyDave

If you requested a "new install" they would say it would require an engineer's visit and the reason being to check that everything was in order up to the master socket. Whilst it isn't to say that you are going to find yourself with a bill for a new install, maybe they (the "customer services" you spoke to) are treating it as such and are therefore informing you that the engineer must be able to gain access to the property.

liamwalshdotcom

That does seem to be the case.
It must be a new install as they have tried to change the contract to 12 months starting from next week.
That will also need changing.

When I asked how, or why someone was authorised to cancel my account on my behalf without answering any security questions, they said, and I quote, that I 'might have died and so we wouldn't want to upset the person dealing with that death'

Can that be real?

DonnyDave

That is, of course, absurd. Why would your (former) neighbour do such a thing? Was he allegedly requesting that both his and your services be ceased? Was your death what prompted him to move out?

In any case, it would surely be the case that a Power of Attorney would be required.

I would put that in the e-mail complaint. The call should be recorded.

Out of interest, do you know what phone provider your neighbour was with? Was it BT?

Basil1234

liam you say same door number and same postcode
so you are saying if i read right for both 20blah street po15 6as,
and not neighbour 20a and you 20b blah street.
If the first one is true have you thought of getting this changed so you are separately addressed because by the sound of this any companies you both deal with are going to have the same issues again and again. also as a side thought what if you neighbour runs up a huge bill and doesn't pay it you could potentially have the bailiffs knocking on your door because of the number issue alone and this is only going to get worse as time goes on imho.
as to the compo issue i think you are living in cuckoo land from a bt operators point they have 2 accounts on 1 address even though there are 2 separate premises yes what they have done is poor but that has not been helped by the address issue which by the sound of it should have been sorted out long ago by yourself and your neighbour together!

here is an interesting article you can read between the lines what you would need to do.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/propertyadvice/4209325/Property-advice-How-to-change-the-name-of-your-house.html

chanz4

Unless your on a business tariff, you would be relying on gesture of goodwill only. Mistakes do happen and whats most prob happen is a term has been put on your line but on the other persons account.

I would blame the owner of the property for having the property be known as the same.

pelirocco

We have just had a new business line installed ( and working ) after ordering it the end of January . Bt have been a complete nightmare , they must have sent out engineers / surveyors at least five times .

One would say they cant fit a line as no lines there ( despite previous occupiers being a large business with several phone lines )


Then we were told it had been done .err no engineer didnt even get out his van


Another time we were told it could be done , but we would need to pay £1100 ............apparently we had to agreed to buy and lay 170 metres of cable !!!


I have made countless phone calls , they have keft quite a few automated messages , which due to our phone system we only get to hear the last few seconds of


But , they have now informed me it is all working , apparently the bits didnt meet in the middle , we shall see come monday

DonnyDave

The mistake was probably that, somewhere along the line, the assumption was made that having found the address that that was the telephone line being requested to be disconnected. Whilst it is often the case that each dwelling has only one telephone line, this is not always the case.

In the case of the OP, there are two dwellings, albeit that their address is the same. This would be the same where there is one dwelling with more than one line, perhaps each being registered to a different person.


I think that any compensation would probably be solely a "gesture of goodwill" as, assuming that the OP gets reconnected soon, the effect is only the same as a fault.